“My mom wants to convert the west courtyard into a kindergarten.
I took a look today, and it’s still a bit small.
I want to acquire the courtyard of the family to our west.
Do you know what kind of people live there?” Guo Xuyang asked.
“West? That’s old Li’s place.
Both his sons are abroad, and he lives alone, with enough food for himself.”
“Can you see if you can talk to old Li and buy his courtyard?”
“I did hear your eldest uncle mention this.
Old Li wants to go abroad to live with his two sons, but he’s afraid of being in an unfamiliar place and not knowing the language, causing trouble for his sons.” Guo Yixiang said.
“Dad, how old is old Li now?”
“He must be over sixty. What’s up?”
“He’s already over sixty. In a few more years, he won’t be able to go out anymore.
The older he gets, the weaker his body will become.
If he goes out then, he’ll only be looked down upon by his daughters-in-law.
If he goes now, he can at least converse with them and won’t need their care.”
“What do you mean?”
“Persuade old Li to go abroad quickly. Then old Li’s courtyard will be for sale, won’t it?”
“Who’s going to persuade him? Don’t ask me, I don’t have that kind of influence,” Guo Yixiang said to Guo Xuyang.
“What did old Li do for a living before?”
“He was in business. I heard he was a millionaire twenty or thirty years ago. His family has deep roots.”
“The wealthier people are, the more they fear death. What about his wife?”
“She passed away four or five years ago. It seemed to be a sudden illness.”
“He’s not too old at his age, he hasn’t remarried.”
“I don’t know about that. I don’t talk to him much.
Your eldest uncle talks to him more often.”
“Dad, how about this?
You talk to my eldest uncle about my idea, and let him gauge old Li’s interest.
If he wants to sell, I’ll buy it at a high price.
This way, if we open up the walls of the three courtyards, there will be enough space for the children to play and use.”
“I’ll talk to your eldest uncle about this. Let’s probe his interest first.”
“Okay. Just tell my eldest uncle what I said and see old Li’s reaction.”
“Alright. This matter isn’t too urgent anyway. The children are still young, building it in a year or two won’t be a problem,” Guo Xuyang said.
“As long as it’s not urgent. Why haven’t your mom and the others returned yet?” Guo Yixiang said, glancing at the time.
“I’ll call and ask them where they are.”
As Guo Xuyang was about to make a call, he saw Wu Shangqing return with the main group.
“Speak of the devil, here they are. Dad was just saying where you were, and you’re back.”
“We waited until Gao Yuan arrived before coming back, fearing Li Xiaolu couldn’t manage alone,” Ye Zi said.
“Today we hired two more caregivers. Gao Yuan left after seeing them off.
I asked her to drive Xiao Hong’s car, but she refused, afraid of scratching or bumping it, so she was a bit slow returning,” Guo Xuyang said.
“Hired two more? Where are they?” Ye Zi asked.
“They’ve gone back. They went to move their belongings and will be back this afternoon.”
“Where are they going to stay?”
“The second floor of the west courtyard. I asked Brother Qi to buy two bunk beds.
We’ll need more people eventually anyway.”
“We certainly need help. Looking at Xiao Hong these past two days, even though she’s a mother now, she doesn’t know anything and has to learn everything. She’s even learning how to change Bao Bao’s diapers.
And with feeding, she doesn’t know to pat Bao Bao’s back after feeding.
Today there were many of us, and we didn’t pay close attention, so Bao Bao spit up milk and almost choked,” Wu Shangqing said.
“Where’s Li Xiaolu? What did she go to do?”
“She went to help Xiao Hong with the laundry.
Seeing we were all here, she went to wash the clothes Xiao Hong had changed out of.”