That evening, Su Wenshan rode his bicycle back to the courtyard, his mind distracted and heavy.
As soon as he entered, he heard Aunt Gao's cheerful voice:
"Oh my, be careful! Don't get your hands caught in my electric fan…"
"Gao Tianci! You naughty child! How dare you reach in on purpose? Are you out of your mind?"
Su Wenshan stepped into the courtyard and saw a crowd gathered outside Aunt Gao's house. All the neighborhood children were there, including Su Baoguo.
Someone noticed him and immediately called out loudly, "Oh, Director Su is back!"
"Director Su, your future son-in-law is really capable! Not only can he get bicycles, sewing machines, and watches, but now he's even managed to get an electric fan. And he's so hardworking—he jumped right in to help as soon as he arrived. Your family is going to live well from now on!"
Lost in his thoughts, Su Wenshan barely heard them and simply nodded perfunctorily.
Su Baoguo quickly ran over, his face full of excitement. "Dad! My second sister's boyfriend got us an electric fan today too! He even assembled it himself—the airflow is super strong! He's amazing! I want to learn how to assemble fans from him in the future!"
Father and son went inside. As soon as they entered, they saw an iron-framed electric fan placed on the kang table.
Compared to Aunt Gao's fan, Gu Hai's handmade one looked much rougher, since he had sourced the parts from various places.
Chen Xiue sat by the kang, smiling brightly as she said to Su Yun, "Xiaoyun, how does Gu Hai's brain even work? He can actually assemble an electric fan! You're really lucky to have found a man like him!"
Su Yun refused to concede. "You're lucky too! My dad is also a rare good man, and you managed to marry him, didn't you?"
Chen Xiue happened to see Su Wenshan walk in and immediately snorted in mock disdain.
At that moment, Gu Hai entered from the kitchen wearing an apron and carrying two plates of food. With a smile in his eyes, he said, "Dad, you're back? Perfect timing—I've finished cooking. Let's eat!"
"Oh, time to eat!"
Su Baoguo cheered and ran off to the kitchen to help bring out the food.
At the table, Su Yun and Gu Hai sat on the same side as usual.
Su Yun picked up a piece of stir-fried pork liver and placed it into Su Wenshan's bowl. "Dad, eat more liver. Gu Hai specially went to the slaughterhouse to buy it for you—it's very fresh!"
Su Wenshan kept his head down and said nothing, clearly distracted.
Chen Xiue couldn't help kicking him lightly. "What's wrong with you? Ever since you came in, you've been absent-minded. Did you make a mistake at the factory?"
Snapping out of it, Su Wenshan hesitated, then lied, "I was just worried about Yonghe's injury. I wonder how he's doing."
Chen Xiue snorted. "Worried about him? There's no need!"
"Just at noon today, Zhao Manfen came all the way to the textile factory to brag about her daughter Su Xiu's boyfriend. She said he's a police officer—not only did he bring a lot of good things, he even brought people to stand up for Su Xiu and scared that He Qiang family half to death!"
"Hmph, I don't believe a word she says. Does she think everyone can find someone as good as Gu Hai, like our Xiaoyun did?"
After hearing this, Su Yun couldn't help adding, "Mom, the police officer she mentioned is named Zhou Ziyang. He really is quite outstanding."
Hearing Su Yun praise another man, Gu Hai instantly lost his appetite.
Chen Xiue glared. "No matter how outstanding he is, can he compare to our Gu Hai?"
Without hesitation, Su Yun replied, "Of course not!"
In terms of looks, Zhou Ziyang might be slightly inferior to Gu Hai, but in terms of status, being a police officer was currently far more advantageous.
Still, Su Yun naturally sided with Gu Hai.
Hearing her answer, Gu Hai immediately felt better and resumed eating.
Seeing Chen Xiue about to question him again, Su Wenshan quickly changed the topic, unusually quick-witted. "Gu Hai, I heard people say you've been collecting scraps outside?"
"…."
The room fell silent instantly.
Gu Hai picked up a piece of cucumber, his expression stiff.
Chen Xiue was the first to react, her voice filled with concern. "What? Gu Hai, you're collecting scraps? You child—if you don't have money, you should tell me! I'll sell the watch and return the money to you!"
Su Yun quickly signaled Gu Hai with her eyes.
Gu Hai put down his chopsticks and began, "Mom, let me explain. The reason I collect scraps is because—"
"Because Gu Hai likes collecting antiques!" Su Yun interrupted hastily, afraid he might slip up.
"Mom, did you forget? You just helped him sell a watch to Chen Jie and collected 420 yuan! How could he possibly be short of money? He just likes collecting old items with historical value, so he goes around picking things up."
Gu Hai nodded seriously. "That's right."
Chen Xiue asked suspiciously, "Really? Gu Hai, if you don't have money, don't push yourself!"
Su Yun sighed. "Mom, don't worry. Gu Hai has money—his money is all with me. It's enough to buy this entire courtyard."
Ten million in total—even she felt tempted by that amount!
"What?!"
Both Chen Xiue and Su Wenshan were stunned.
Enough to buy the entire courtyard? How much money would that take?
Chen Xiue started calculating on her fingers. Back then, she and Su Wenshan had saved just over 500 yuan to buy their three rooms. Now housing prices had doubled—buying the whole courtyard would cost at least over 10,000 yuan!
"Oh my heavens… Xiaoyun, how could you take so much money from Gu Hai? Return it to him immediately!"
Chen Xiue was nearly frantic as she scolded her.
Su Yun pouted. "It's not that I wanted to take it—Gu Hai insisted on letting me keep it."
"That's right," Gu Hai said. "I asked Xiaoyun to hold onto my money. She said that after we graduate from university, we'll get married, and then she can spend it however she likes!"
Hearing this, Su Yun turned to him in confusion, her mind full of question marks.
When had she ever said that?
She had clearly said that if Gu Hai still didn't have a partner after graduation, she would consider getting engaged—not married!
Since when did he start making things up?
Chen Xiue, however, was delighted. "Really? You've already discussed it? You'll get married after graduation?"
"Well, it's a bit far off, but you're both still young… Gu Hai, since you entrusted the money to Xiaoyun, I won't say anything more. As long as you two are happy, I'll be at ease!"
Su Wenshan nodded. "Your mother is right."
Su Yun: "…"
Does no one want to hear her opinion?
This is too much!