Chapter 3: The Decision

So later, when the demolition happened, Uncle An was one of the wealthiest households in the entire Jiang Village.

Thinking of this, An Songyu couldn't help but feel a stir in her heart.

But whether this was a complete coincidence or truly as she had guessed, An Songyu could not be entirely certain.

However, she didn't need to be certain.

Father An looked at the group, who were still feeling conflicted, and said, "This matter... just keep it to yourselves for now."

"Those who need to go to work, go ahead!"

"Songlin, I don't have much work in the finance office this afternoon. When you go back to the factory later, help me ask the factory manager for a leave of absence."

An Songlin glanced at his mother, who looked like she had something to say but held back, and nodded.

Although An Jianping usually had a more steady personality, once he made a decision, he was full of initiative.

Seeing him already putting on his coat and heading out, Bi Lizhu couldn't help but ask, "Are you planning to rush back to the village right now?"

An Jianping nodded slightly, glanced at his three children, and explained in a low voice, "The matter of the homestead needs to be decided as soon as possible."

"The house for the eldest has already been picked out; if we wait any longer, there won't be any good floors left."

"But what Xiaoyu said cannot be ignored either."

"I have to go back to the village first... and ask what exactly Jianmin meant by that proposal."

Hearing her husband mention the uncle who had always been righteous toward their family, Bi Lizhu couldn't say what she had originally intended.

While it was her husband who made the decision to sell the old homestead, Bi Lizhu knew that it had, to some extent, taken her attitude into account.

If not for her second daughter's words, selling the homestead would have been fine.

But now...

Bi Lizhu thought

It’s good that Jianping is going back!

At most, they just won't sell the homestead.

As for the money missing for the house purchase, she would find a way to borrow some from her maiden family.

It’s just that she had never had to ask anyone for money in her life, and she didn't know how to bring it up.

Bi Lizhu turned back, full of worries, wanting to have a good chat with her children.

But she saw the eldest was already calling the second child to head out.

Today was Saturday, but most of the management staff at An Songlin and An Jianping’s factory still worked on a rotating schedule of long and short weeks.

As a hotel receptionist, An Songyu worked three shifts and had rotating days off.

Seeing her follow her brother out as soon as he spoke, Bi Lizhu hurriedly called out, "Xiaoyu, where is your bag?"

An Songyu was stunned and instinctively looked toward the entryway.

In her future home, there was a full-length cabinet at the entryway.

Whether it was bags for going out, car keys, umbrellas, or shoes, everything was kept there!

An Songxiang saw her dazed reaction, shook her head helplessly, and quickly got up to return to their room.

She hurriedly brought out a simple canvas bag.

As she handed it to An Songyu, she asked, "Sis, how about I take you to work!"

"Looking at you like this, I don't even know where your energy has gone."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but find it strange: "Sis, you've heard this news for two days now, why does it seem like you're only just reacting to it today?"

An Songyu’s hand, which had just taken the bag, tightened slightly.

Of course, she hadn't really met such a guest, nor had she overheard such important news.

It was just that in about half a year, their village and the unlucky neighboring village that only had two-thirds demolished would both truly be on the demolition list.

Then, they would become the famous logistics distribution center of their Nancheng.

Even twenty years later, let alone their village, several villages beyond them would be completely demolished.

"Songxiang, then you take your sister to work! I'm going to be late!" An Songlin said while checking his watch, giving instructions to his two younger sisters.

An Songyu also came back to her senses. Instead of answering her sister's question, she urged, "Then hurry up!"

An Songxiang looked at her sister speechlessly.

She had only offered to take her out of politeness.

But since her sister had actually asked, An Songxiang had no choice but to resign herself to going downstairs and pushing her treasure out of the bike shed.

An Songxiang’s bicycle was a 24-inch pink bike.

It was the first big item she had bought for herself with her savings after starting work.

She had only been riding it for about half a year now.

She usually treasured it dearly; let alone carrying people, even lending it to others to ride was extremely rare.

But seeing that her sister’s energy was indeed poor today, and that she had brought back such big news, An Songxiang made an exception.

As the sisters left the residential area together, they would greet other neighbors who were also heading to work from time to time.

The house the An family lived in now was from the second-to-last batch of housing distributed by the Shuncheng No. 1 Silk Weaving Factory.

So, not only was the area relatively large, but the layout was also quite trendy.

It was just that after several batches of houses were built for the silk factory residential compound, the footprint was truly quite vast.

The sisters finally left the residential area, and An Songxiang couldn't wait to ask, "Sis, do you think our old home can really be demolished?"

An Songyu was sitting on the back seat, carefully observing the surroundings.

Hearing this, she nodded without hesitation.

Remembering that her sister couldn't see her movements while riding, she quickly added, "It definitely will!"

"Really!" An Songxiang couldn't believe it and braked the bicycle directly.

An Songyu couldn't react in time, and her face slammed hard into An Songxiang’s back.

She rubbed her sore nose, her mind a bit dazed.

After a while, she said rather irritably, "It’s definitely as true as it can be!"

"Why are you so sure?" An Songxiang suspiciously tried to turn her head to look at her sister for confirmation.

An Songyu helplessly tugged at her clothes: "If you don't go now, I'm really going to be late!"

An Songxiang reluctantly started pedaling the bicycle again, not forgetting to ask once more: "Sis, are you really that sure?"

"Just wait for Dad to come back after asking around," An Songyu replied with some helplessness.

She was indeed sure.

But if asked how she was sure, she really couldn't answer!

An Songxiang thought about it and felt it made sense.

After all, no matter if her sister’s news was true or false, the one who could truly make decisions in their family was still their old man!

Thus, for the rest of the journey, An Songxiang didn't say another word.

Soon, the sisters arrived at their destination.

An Songyu got off the bicycle and waved goodbye to her sister.

Turning around, she saw the building that could be called magnificent in this era.

Xianquan Hotel was a garden-style hotel with an artificial lake in front and garden-style landscaping inside.

It backed onto Shuncheng Mountain, the highest peak in Shuncheng.

It covered an area of over 30,000 square meters and was built in the 1980s.

It was a well-known hotel in Shuncheng, with a main building 11 stories high, located in the center of tourist attractions, close to the highway leading to the provincial capital, and not far from the port.

At its entrance, there were two huge bronze lions; the male lion stepped on a silk ball, while under the female lion was a cute little lion.

An Songyu checked the time and didn't bother to look at anything else, quickly speeding up.

Before entering the main gate, An Songyu’s footsteps couldn't help but pause slightly.

The sign at the entrance that read "Those not properly dressed will not be served" was still standing there!

For a city like the future Shuncheng, which was full of a sense of relaxation, this was probably a rare sight!

Besides that, there were the floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides of the main entrance.

This was one of the first buildings in Shuncheng to use floor-to-ceiling windows!

Thoughts flew through her mind, but it didn't affect An Songyu’s pace.

Soon, she came out of the locker room after changing into her staff uniform.

(End of chapter)