Chapter 208 - 205: Mrs. Zhou’s Joy

Chapter 208: Chapter 205: Mrs. Zhou’s Joy

"An apartment building can only be so big!" Seeing her thirty-year-old daughter acting so playfully, Mrs. Zhou chuckled softly. ’Her husband must be the one who spoils her so. My girl never acted this coquettish before she married him.’

"Who said anything about an apartment building? We bought one of those large, old-style courtyard houses in the Capital City. It’s a residence with three courtyards, and it even has a big garden next to it. It’s gorgeous! And it’s right near the Imperial Palace!" Zhou Lian whispered to her mother. She couldn’t stand apartment buildings; she found them stifling. A courtyard house like this was much more comfortable to live in!

Mrs. Zhou stared at her in shock. "How much must that have cost?" she asked, astonished.

"It was manageable. Jin Chen makes a lot of money now. He said he’d never let me be troubled by money," Zhou Lian said nonchalantly. ’What’s the point of earning money if you don’t spend it?’

"So in all these years, you’ve never earned any money yourself?" Mrs. Zhou asked, not expecting much.

"I was in school the whole time, how was I supposed to earn money? But I’ll start earning this year. I’ll be getting a salary," Zhou Lian said, sounding a little excited. ’I really haven’t earned a single cent in this life!’

"Then do you know how much money the family has?" Mrs. Zhou asked cautiously. She was genuinely afraid her son-in-law had spoiled her daughter silly. ’Whoever holds the purse strings in a family is the one who calls the shots!’

Zhou Lian thought for a moment before saying, "I haven’t really counted. There’s a small courtyard house we bought when we first arrived in the Capital City. Then a couple of years ago, when we were looking to move, there was a four-courtyard residence. That one didn’t have a garden, though, so Jin Chen said we’d buy it and keep it for the kids. So, with the one we’re living in now, we’re still one short. I’m having Li Xiu ask around to buy another four-courtyard place, so Nuonuo and Yanyan can each have one. As for our savings, I haven’t looked closely, but it should be enough to live on. Just the other day, Nuonuo fell in love with an ancient zither. Jin Chen had someone look into it, and it’s supposed to be nearly ten thousand. Don’t worry, Mom. We have enough money!"

Mrs. Zhou looked at her daughter, a bit exasperated. ’Is that what I was asking about?’ Still, it seemed her son-in-law had really made a fortune. But... "Whose name are the savings and the houses in?"

"Mine, of course," Zhou Lian said, looking at her mother with a puzzled expression. "Everything our family owns is in my name. I’m even the legal representative for the company Jin Chen runs!" ’Why is she asking such a strange question? Hasn’t everything Li Xiu ever bought that needed a registered owner always been put in my name?’

Zhou Lian had forgotten that since no one had ever asked, she’d never said anything. How could her mother have known? Besides, in most families nowadays, things like houses were registered in the man’s name. Only because Li Xiu cherished her and doted on her would he do something like this—a rare gesture, considering how many couples would one day turn on each other over money.

Seeing Zhou Lian’s matter-of-fact expression, Mrs. Zhou was finally, completely at ease. ’Her son-in-law really has been as doting as ever, all these years! That’s wonderful, just wonderful. He’s the same now as he was when they first married. My girl didn’t marry the wrong man.’ Now she was blessed with a son and a daughter and had even become a university professor. Barring any accidents, her daughter was set to live a charmed life.

"Oh, right, Mom," Zhou Lian said, her spirits sinking a little. "How are my big sister and my younger sisters doing? I’ve been so busy and haven’t been back much. I missed Fourth Sister’s and our youngest sister’s weddings, and I wasn’t even here when Second Brother, Third Brother, and my sisters had their children. I wonder if they’re mad at me?" At the time, not only were her own children still young, but her studies had been incredibly intense. She had completed her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees back-to-back. The program normally took ten years, but she had managed to graduate two years early in just eight. One could only imagine how heavy her workload must have been, not to mention all the extra lessons her professors assigned.

"They’re all doing fine. Your big sister has two sons, and they’re doing well in school. Your third sister has two daughters; her situation is perhaps the only one that isn’t perfect. Your fourth sister has one son, and Xiao Wu just got married, so no news on that front yet. You don’t need to worry about any of them. Your father personally looked into the men they married, and they’re all honest, down-to-earth types. You don’t have to worry about them being mistreated. As for your brothers, your second brother has two daughters and a son, and your third brother has the same. Don’t worry about them. Everyone is responsible for their own life!"

Seeing her daughter’s downcast expression, Mrs. Zhou’s heart ached. Of all her eight children, this second daughter of hers had always been the most endearing. She was well-behaved and sensible from a young age. Then she got married, and not two years later, she was accepted into university and left for the Capital City. For so many years, they sometimes went a full year without seeing each other. With her daughter so far away, Mrs. Zhou constantly worried that she might be suffering in some way. Even knowing her son-in-law adored her, she couldn’t help but worry since she couldn’t see her with her own eyes.

"Lian’er, your brothers and sisters are all married and have families of their own. They’re adults now. Whatever kind of life they want, they have to work for it themselves. Besides, even though you haven’t been back these past years, whenever any of your siblings had the slightest trouble, your husband sent money and things. He even helped them strategize. Thanks to that, they’ve all been quite comfortable financially these last few years. So, you can set your mind at ease. Just focus on living your own life. Once siblings marry and start their own families, they’re more like relatives. And among relatives, you help when you can, and you don’t when you can’t. You must understand this: helping is a kindness, not a duty!"

’My daughter is so well-behaved and sentimental,’ Mrs. Zhou thought. ’But once siblings get married and have their own children, those bonds naturally weaken a bit. And the spouses they bring into the family don’t share that same history. Among all my children, my second daughter is the most successful—she married a capable man who adores her. I can’t let anything damage their blood ties, but I also can’t let her family from home become a constant burden. If that happens, even her husband will eventually grow resentful. We can’t help her much, so the least we can do is not hold her back.’

"Mom, isn’t that what we should do? Even if I can’t make it back in person, the gifts should still get there!" Zhou Lian knew her mother was worried that her extravagance would spoil her siblings and make them greedy. But Li Xiu was the one who prepared and sent everything to her family; he never let her worry about such matters.

"What do you mean, ’what you should do’?" Mrs. Zhou said earnestly. "You live in the Capital City, so sending some rare items we don’t have here to give the family some prestige is one thing. But you give so much gift money on top of that! It’s not easy for your husband to make a living; you can’t be so free-spending!" ’She was glad her daughter was so thoughtful toward her family,’ she thought, ’but she couldn’t let it create problems with her son-in-law!’

"All I knew was that my sisters each received a jewelry box for their wedding," Zhou Lian said, her curiosity piqued. "Jin Chen prepared everything else. The items, the money... he handled all of it. I don’t actually know what he sent or how much it was. Mom, was the gift money really that much?"

Staring blankly at Zhou Lian, Mrs. Zhou was stunned. ’Her son-in-law sent all those things and all that money, and my daughter didn’t even know?’ she thought. In a hushed voice, she asked, "What about for New Year’s, the holidays, and for your father’s and my birthdays? Does your husband send those things, too?"

"Mhm," Zhou Lian replied nonchalantly. "Jin Chen has always handled those mundane affairs so I don’t have to worry. When it’s getting close to a special occasion, he’ll ask if there’s anything in particular I want to send home. If there is, he’ll go buy it. If not, he prepares something himself. It’s the same for his family, too—he takes care of everything."