Everyone knew Zhou Cheng would attend the academy for two years of advanced studies. His work unit had approved his leave, and he wanted to bring Xia Xiaolan to visit his grandparents, so naturally, other Zhou family members would also come.

Gradually, many family members gathered at the Zhou household today.

Xia Xiaolan’s happiness was evident, and Grandmother Zhou noticed it. The elderly lady, no longer as reserved as in her younger days, felt free to ask directly.

Xia Xiaolan felt somewhat embarrassed to say it in front of so many people, worried it might seem like showing off.

Zhou Cheng didn’t miss the chance to make his wife look good:

“This morning, I accompanied Xiaolan to buy a house. She had her eye on it for a while, and now it’s officially hers, so naturally, she’s happy.”

Did you buy a house?

Who bought a house?

Zhou Cheng’s aunt couldn’t hold back, “Isn’t it too early to worry about marriage housing? Xiaolan is still a university student; her work unit will surely prioritize housing allocation once she starts working.”

Work units would indeed allocate housing, but following seniority and rank.

Units with good housing resources might allocate a small two-bedroom apartment; those with fewer resources might only offer a single room.

In 1984, everyone was concerned about housing, especially urban residents. No one complained about having too much living space; everyone felt cramped.

Although Xia Xiaolan had been admitted to Hua Qing University, it would take many years of hard work to be allocated housing like Aunt Zhou’s.

They said college graduates became state cadres, but there were differences between cadres—hence the term “high-ranking cadre.” At the senior cadre level, state-allocated housing wasn’t cramped. Places like where Grandfather and Grandmother Zhou lived couldn’t be rented even with money.

Aunt Zhou implied that Xia Xiaolan and Zhou Cheng weren’t ready for marriage, so why rush Zhou Cheng into buying a house?

Why not wait patiently for allocated housing like everyone else? Even the Zhou family had no special privileges in this regard. Those who performed well at work and showed capability naturally received housing priority. Those with exceptional abilities got more spacious accommodations.

Aunt Zhou’s pettiness stemmed from the fact that Zhou Guobin’s position was two ranks higher than her husband Zhou Wenban’s.

Among the Zhou family’s living conditions, the grandparents naturally had the best.

Following them was Zhou Cheng’s family.

Zhou Cheng’s family already had good housing; even after marriage, they wouldn’t need to live elsewhere. Aunt Zhou wouldn’t be comfortable without finding fault—it wasn’t that she was truly malicious, she just wanted to cause trouble for Zhou Cheng’s family. Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships were often tense, and Aunt Zhou was making things difficult for Guan Hui’e. What mother-in-law would be happy if her future daughter-in-law pushed her son to live separately before marriage?

Zhou Cheng understood his aunt’s pettiness perfectly.

Guan Hui’e also understood and ignored her sister-in-law, choosing instead to help in the kitchen. She was quite surprised; she’d heard Xia Xiaolan ran her own business but hadn’t expected her to buy a house in Beijing so soon. How could she manage the business so well while also studying?

For some reason, Zhou Cheng’s cousin’s sister had learned to be wiser and didn’t jump in first to comment today. Since they were at the Zhou family home, Xia Xiaolan didn’t need to take center stage herself; she trusted Zhou Cheng to handle it.

Since she was his elder, Zhou Cheng wasn’t too harsh in his response:

“You misheard. It’s not that we bought a house together—I just accompanied Xiaolan while she bought her own house in Beijing.”

The Zhou family members all looked at Xia Xiaolan.

Aunt Zhou had a moment of realization, “Did Xiaolan’s family buy her the house?”

Playing dumb while knowing better, Zhou Yi tugged at her mother’s sleeve, “I think Zhou Cheng means Xiaolan bought the house herself.”

Zhou Yi didn’t want to embarrass her mother.

But she had a feeling that if she didn’t stop her mother now, the embarrassment would be worse later.

At this point, Xia Xiaolan had to step forward and explain: “Yes, I bought a courtyard house. It’ll be convenient to have a place in Beijing.”

Every penny spent on this house was her own earned money—why shouldn’t she say it proudly?

It wasn’t that Xia Xiaolan wanted to maintain strict financial separation from Zhou Cheng; she just prepared for days like this. Most of the Zhou family members were easy to get along with, but with so many relatives, some were bound to be critical.

Now it seemed Aunt Zhou had taken on the role of “Chief Fault-finder.”

But Xia Xiaolan wasn’t afraid. She could speak confidently because she bought the house herself!

Grandmother Zhou was quite pleased, “You’re such a capable child. Last time you mentioned doing some business, and now you’ve bought a house in Beijing? Where is it? Take grandmother to see it sometime.”

“You can visit anytime, Grandmother. It’s at Shichahai, a small siheyuan courtyard.”

The earlier tone from her aunt had made Gu Siyan hesitate to speak, but now she couldn’t help joining in: “Sister Xia, you’re amazing. When Grandmother goes to visit, can I come along?”

Gu Siyan had private interactions with Xia Xiaolan and, influenced by her father’s attitude, had become something of a devoted fan.

By now, essentially all the Zhou family members knew about Xia Xiaolan buying a house.

A small siheyuan by Shichahai!

How much would that cost?

To qualify as a siheyuan, it needed to be a proper courtyard enclosed on all four sides, definitely not just a simple single-story house. The ones available for private purchase now were “ancestral properties” returned by the state. While these courtyards might not be as new as work unit-allocated housing, they were certainly spacious.

Moreover, the location was excellent—not in some remote area beyond the Third Ring Road, but right by Shichahai.

Aunt Zhou finally had nothing more to say. Though she still suspected Zhou Cheng had contributed money, pursuing the matter further would anger the grandparents.

Last time, someone had already complained to Zhou Wenban about Zhou Cheng’s behavior at work.

Unexpectedly, he was now going for advanced studies at the academy… Among the Zhou family, Zhou Cheng’s career prospects were the brightest. Aunt Zhou could only swallow her jealousy. What could she do? She had only given birth to a daughter who lacked career ambition—forget comparing with Zhou Cheng, she couldn’t even measure up to Zhou Cheng’s chosen partner.

Grandmother Zhou was the most practical.

She had thought Xia Xiaolan’s several years of study would be too long a wait, but seeing Zhou Cheng’s attitude, what use was there in objecting?

Since they couldn’t be separated, better to be warm and welcoming to prevent conflicts between the young couple.

Near mealtime, the practical Grandmother Zhou pulled Xia Xiaolan aside and asked quietly: “The courtyard at Shichahai must not be cheap, right? Tell grandmother, do you need more money? Grandmother can help.”

This completely surprised Xia Xiaolan.

Guan Hui’e was helping in the kitchen, and it wasn’t clear if she had heard. Xia Xiaolan quickly explained:

“The house isn’t cheap, but I spent almost all the money I earned from my business. I’m not short on funds at the moment, thank you!”

Except for Aunt Zhou, the Zhou family members had no objections to her buying a house.

Xia Xiaolan’s action won the approval of Grandfather Zhou and others—hadn’t they previously thought Xia Xiaolan’s intentions weren’t serious? Now the young woman had purchased property in Beijing, proving she had truly considered her future life with Zhou Cheng.