The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 177 - 172: The Aunt’s Plan

Chapter 177: Chapter 172: The Aunt’s Plan

Because school let out early, it didn’t take long for her to get from the school to the new house; she stayed there for a little while and then took a bus to Fish Tail Market to check on her own house. The previously collapsed house had already been demolished, and they had even started digging the foundation.

There was no one there at that time, and the uncle had said she needn’t worry about it. Indeed, as promised, the reusable bricks had been stacked to one side. Some of the bricks she had ordered from the suburban cement factory had also been delivered. It seemed they didn’t deliver all of them probably because there was nowhere to store them.

She estimated the foundation would take about a week.

With this rough timeline in mind, Lu Jingqiu was no longer in a hurry. Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, she quickly took a bus back to the compound.

Upon arriving home and after a quick look around, she knew her father hadn’t returned that week. She called out for Hua Hua and Hua Guoguo a few times, and both little creatures came bounding down from upstairs.

Every time Jingqiu returned, the first thing she checked was whether the cats had runny noses or diarrhea. As long as they didn’t have these two symptoms, there wouldn’t be any major problems with the cats.

Considering her aunt and uncle had been gone for quite a while, she figured they must be back by now, so she locked up and went to her aunt’s house.

Noticing the lights inside, she hurried in, "Auntie, is that you who’s returned?"

"Qiuqiu, your uncle and I came back a few days ago."

"Auntie, how’s Older Cousin’s Wife doing? Is she having strong reactions?"

"Not particularly strong. It’s been three months now, and she’s not as picky with food as before. Luckily, Older Cousin’s Wife’s job as an announcer at the military district isn’t tiring. I cooked her some delicious food for a few days over there, oh, she loved it! I plan to take care of her after she gives birth, but her mother isn’t keen on the idea, saying something about hiring a nanny.

Ah, Auntie here has noticed that Older Cousin’s Wife’s mom is worried I might not take good care of her daughter."

"Auntie, making a trip over there only to have family conflicts."

"It wasn’t really a conflict; it’s just that your uncle doesn’t hold a very high position, and marrying into our family is considered a step down for them. They’re afraid their daughter might be mistreated here. I guess Sining’s mom must have had her fair share of tough times with her mother-in-law when she was young. She’s probably worried about our getting along and her daughter suffering."

"Would my aunt behave like that? They’re overthinking it." In her previous life, Older Cousin’s Wife and her aunt got along harmoniously, and there weren’t any major mother-in-law against daughter-in-law conflicts.

"Of course, I’m always kind and gentle to outsiders, and even more so towards my own daughter-in-law. Which family member doesn’t wish for their children’s families to be happy?

Older Cousin’s Wife actually wanted me to stay, but the room Older Cousin got is just a bedroom with a kitchen. If I really went over there, there wouldn’t be a proper place for me to stay.

Your Second Cousin has been checking out a few apartments in the city through his junior brother-in-law. He’s taken a liking to one in the city center, close to the hospital and the department store, with a large courtyard. They’re asking for twenty-three hundred, and your uncle and I paid this amount and bought them some furniture as well. Seeing all this, Sining’s mom didn’t make any further comments. Sigh, we hadn’t realized how much trouble our mother-in-law was during the wedding."

"Auntie, my Older Cousin married Older Cousin’s Wife, and as long as Older Cousin’s Wife is a good person, that’s all that matters. Older Cousin isn’t living with his wife’s parents."

Zhou Lanqin sighed, "Even though we don’t live together, he’s still under his father-in-law’s thumb, so they’ll have plenty of interaction."

"Auntie, are you going to go over to Older Cousin’s Wife’s place in the future?"

"I want to, but after what you said last time, I really can’t give up my job. Hiring a nanny could be an option, but I don’t want to let my in-laws dictate things over your Older Cousin, and I don’t know if I can trust a nanny we find through the agencies, not knowing their background. Since the young couple is busy with work, leaving a nanny and the baby at home during the day, I’m really not at ease."

Although Jingqiu didn’t want her aunt to give up her job, she still found it concerning to think that both Older Cousin and his wife would be working after having a baby.

"If Auntie is worried, then discuss it with Uncle and Second Cousin."

"Your uncle is also worried about them and willing to let me go over. Your Second Cousin, sigh, is always busy with work, focusing on nothing but earning money, and hardly ever comes home, so I’m not worried about him."

Lu Jingqiu chuckled, "Auntie, don’t forget I’m here too. You can have peace of mind about Uncle; I’ll take good care of things."

"You silly girl, your uncle is a grown man, with neither hearing loss nor blurred vision; he doesn’t need your care. And let me tell you, in all these years I’ve been married to your uncle, he’s the one who takes care of the day-to-day chores, including cleaning and laundry.

Ah, that’s the advantage of an older husband and younger wife. When your mom introduced your uncle to me, I was against it because he was older. But I couldn’t stand up to your mom, and, oh, after getting married, it was truly wonderful. You wouldn’t guess it from his silence outside, but at home, he’s even more diligent than I am."

Lu Jingqiu rarely heard her aunt talk about the daily life of her uncle. Thinking about it, it seemed true—the uncle was seven or eight years older than her aunt.

Come to think of it, her uncle was even a year or two older than her father.

But her aunt was right; her uncle really was a good man.

"What’s there to worry about, auntie? Even though you’re leaving, there will be three men at home, and I’m here too. Besides, my uncle gets days off; he can still visit."

Zhou Lanqin knew this too. Now, for the kids, the old couple could only endure the hardships.

This time when Zhou Lanqin went there, she saw a new model of thermal kettle in a supply and marketing cooperative. Although it was one of the smaller ones, its heat retention was really good—water kept hot for three days still came out at forty or fifty degrees.

So Zhou Lanqin bought two of them to give to Lu Jingqiu as part of her dowry.

"Every place has its different products. Over there, the fruits are truly cheap, and those sea goods are delicious. If only they weren’t so difficult to carry, I would have bought more to bring back."

"Auntie, it seems like we don’t have many specialties here."

"What do you mean we don’t? Our suburbs are full of mountains, which produce plenty of bamboo shoots, cured meat, fermented tofu, chili peppers, bananas, and there are even more snacks."

"Yes, yes, my favorite is your chili sauce and fermented tofu, and also the sauce meat."

"Right, I should take advantage of my free time now to prepare some fermented tofu and chili sauce for you. It will come in handy when visiting relatives and friends during the New Year. I’m not working tomorrow, I’ll go to the village in the suburbs to exchange for some chili peppers. They also have people making tofu. Do you want to come with your aunt?"

"I’d love to come with you, auntie, but I have to check on the new house tomorrow. Oh, I bought a house recently; it was so dilapidated it almost collapsed, so now I’m rebuilding it."

"A new house? But you just rented a place and spent so much on renovations...and now you’re building a house. Where is it?"

"Don’t worry, auntie, there’s no conflict. The one I bought is not far from Fish Tail Street Market, right next to the main road intersection. The courtyard isn’t very big, so I built two storefront rooms facing the road.

"Storefront rooms? What’s that?"

"Ah... it’s like a state-owned restaurant style. I don’t plan to live in that courtyard. In the future, more and more people will go into business, and I’m thinking of renting it out to those businesspeople."

With that explanation, Zhou Lanqin understood, but she still didn’t really approve of her niece rebuilding a house. Building a house was no simple matter.

"What kind of house are you building, and how much will it cost?"

"Ah, two or three thousand, maybe." Knowing her aunt wouldn’t accept hearing a higher number, Lu Jingqiu lowered the amount somewhat.

As soon as Zhou Lanqin heard the price, she exclaimed that it was expensive, saying that even a three-room tiled house in West City costs just over three thousand yuan.

But after thinking it over, she felt it could be reasonable. Upon adding everything up, including the foundation, it would cost more than four thousand yuan. Although it was pricey, getting a new house was somewhat acceptable.

Lu Jingqiu silently listened to her aunt’s analysis, nodding again and again, yet inwardly she sighed with relief. If her aunt knew that building the house would cost more than four thousand, maybe even over five thousand, she wondered if her aunt would accuse her of being reckless with money.