The one yuan that Grandmother Yu took out did indeed turn into dumpling filling. That evening, the three of them gathered to make dumplings together. After giving the small building to Xia Xiaolan, Grandmother Yu seemed relieved and felt more at ease living in Shichahai!

It wasn’t exactly Grandmother Yu treating everyone, as now Min Xiaoju was also staying at Xia Xiaolan’s place, and one yuan’s worth of meat filling wasn’t nearly enough for her alone to eat.

The Song family was also having dumplings tonight.

The family was lively, with only Old Song absent.

Due to work, Old Song had separate living quarters and didn’t usually live with his children and grandchildren. He had fallen ill this spring and now occasionally went to Xiangshan for recuperation.

If Old Song were present, the Song family wouldn’t be so relaxed.

Blood ties remained strong, but he was still a powerful elder, and no one dared to act carelessly in his presence.

Even for the Song family members, meeting Old Song depended on his schedule – whether he could spare a few minutes, and if the matter was important enough.

This made the Song family unhappy, as Tang Hong’en would meet with Old Song every time he came to Beijing.

Whether at his Beijing residence or the Xiangshan recuperation facility, Tang Hong’en could visit as he pleased. Comparing this treatment, the Song family felt quite disgraced.

If they didn’t trust the old man’s character, they might have suspected Tang Hong’en was the Song family’s illegitimate son!

Some particularly understanding people realized that no matter how impressive Tang Hong’en was, he was still running errands for the Song family.

During dinner, Second Sister-in-law Song kept her eyes fixed on her sister-in-law Song Nanzhen.

Song Nanzhen had just returned from Shanghai, yet she rushed back to Beijing to stay – she was competing to show filial piety! She even brought her son Huo Chenzhou to Beijing to please the old man. The second Sister-in-law strongly disliked how mother and son were in cahoots.

But why did Song Nanzhen rush back to Beijing?

Second Sister-in-law’s eyes lingered on her sister-in-law, “Nanzhen, I heard your Chenzhou is doing business in Shenzhen now. Have you heard about an interesting incident that happened there recently?”

Song Nanzhen put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth: “Second Sister-in-law, are you referring to Tang Hong’en’s ex-wife remarrying and inviting him to the wedding? If that’s what you’re talking about, I know about it.”

“Aunt, is this true? Uncle Tang went, and brought a female companion!”

The speaker was the second branch’s daughter, the Second Sister-in-law’s own daughter, truly the third-ranked girl among the younger generation, the new Third Young Lady Song.

Song Nanzhen looked at her with a smile, “You seem to know the details clearly, why are you asking?”

Third Young Lady Song wasn’t particularly beautiful, but she had an air of confidence that others couldn’t imitate. She tilted her head and spoke frankly: “Of course I’m curious! Everyone knows my cousin fell in love with Uncle Tang at first sight, and has waited several years past thirty. If Uncle Tang doesn’t marry at all, that’s fine, but if he’s going to remarry, I naturally have to worry for my cousin.”

Third Young Lady Song’s words echoed the Second Sister-in-law’s thoughts.

This mother-daughter pair could make most decisions for the second branch, which meant it was also her second brother’s intention.

However, as a man, her second brother couldn’t properly interfere with Tang Hong’en’s marriage matters, so he pushed this issue onto the women in the family.

Song Nanzhen’s lips curved, “You should let your cousin worry about herself. While she’s still young, she should quickly find someone suitable and get married. She may have fallen in love with Tang Hong’en at first sight, but Tang Hong’en himself needs to be satisfied too.”

Song Nanzhen’s words were quite cutting.

But she didn’t deny what her Second Sister-in-law and her daughter had asked about.

So it seemed the rumors were true.

Tang Hong’en hadn’t deliberately brought a woman to spite his ex-wife but truly had remarriage plans.

How could a woman suddenly appear out of nowhere?

Nobody continued this topic.

Song Nanzhen left after dinner. After all, she was just there to confirm that such a thing had indeed happened. Whatever the second branch planned to do wasn’t her concern.

When Song Nanzhen returned to her residence, she found her son had also returned from Shenzhen, looking travel-worn.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise: “I thought you said you had a new project in Shenzhen?”

Huo Chenzhou washed his face, “Don’t even mention it. Grandfather has helped Tang Hong’en so much, and Tang Hong’en is usually so respectful and attentive to Grandfather, but when we need something from him, he just keeps making excuses and being difficult!”

So there were problems with the project.

Song Nanzhen sat down on the sofa, not rushing.

“No matter how much your grandfather loves you, you don’t bear the Song surname. Understandably, Tang Hong’en makes excuses. Being respectful to your grandfather doesn’t mean he’s willing to take orders from you. He’s not the old man’s little secretary anymore – you should speak more politely to him. First, tell me, what didn’t he agree to?”

Huo Chenzhou wasn’t actually that angry anymore.

Half his anger was due to Tang Hong’en’s excuses, the other half because of Xia Xiaolan.

He briefly explained the Shenzhen situation, and Song Nanzhen pondered, “Tang Hong’en treats that woman’s daughter so well. As the saying goes, love extends to the beloved’s things – it seems he values that woman. Chenzhou, don’t think Tang Hong’en’s marriage is a small matter, something beneath your notice. A man shares his bed with a woman every night; whoever lives with him will influence him. Pillow talk is very powerful.”

Huo Chenzhou looked at his mother.

She preached about how couples need to live together long-term to develop good feelings, yet she rarely returned to Shanghai herself.

Seeing him silent, Song Nanzhen smiled again:

“Someone unwilling to help us is useless by Tang Hong’en’s side anyway. You weren’t wrong – that Xia girl still has a long way to go if she wants to be Tang Hong’en’s stepdaughter peacefully. She won’t help you now, but there will come a time when she seeks to join forces with you. Just be patient – your Second Aunt and the others are even more anxious. Tonight the mother and daughter were asking about this, and Third Young Lady Song said in front of everyone that Tang Hong’en owes her cousin an explanation.”

So there was no need to play the villain – others would naturally take the lead.

Helping in times of need is better than adding flowers to brocade. When that mother and daughter realize they can’t stand firm without support, they’ll naturally understand who to cooperate with.

Huo Chenzhou wanted to laugh, “Is Third Young Lady Song sick? When did Tang Hong’en ever say he would marry her cousin? Second Uncle’s family is just talking to themselves, insisting on pulling Tang Hong’en in as their cousin-in-law.”

Isn’t this a joke?

If Huo Chenzhou announced today that he had his eye on some princess, and after four or five years still hadn’t gotten married, would that mean the princess should marry him?

There’s no such logic in the world.

Grandfather wouldn’t speak up for this matter either – Second Aunt’s cousin wasn’t even a Song family member.

Song Nanzhen murmured:

“Your Second Aunt knows the chances are slim. If Tang Hong’en wanted to marry her cousin, would he have waited until today? I’ve been thinking these past few days – rather than finding another woman to give to Tang Hong’en, we might as well support this one he found himself. But they can’t continue as they are now – we must make them understand their place.”

That meant making Xia Xiaolan and her mother suffer a bit.

Relying on Second Aunt?

Huo Chenzhou somewhat doubted whether Second Aunt could make Xia Xiaolan suffer.

Xia Xiaolan was indeed slippery – to date, no one had managed to take advantage of her!