Chapter 103: I’ll Move In First!

As Old Lady Xiao was dreaming of moving into the luxurious villa at Tangchen Yipin, Xiao Changqian rubbed his hands together and sighed, saying, “Mom, I plan to send someone to Yanjing soon to invite the Dong family over for a visit, and then subtly hint that we hope they will betroth Dong Ruolin to Hailong. What do you think?”

“Ah, the Dong family…” Old Lady Xiao sighed and said, “Last time, Hailong abandoned Dong Ruolin and ran off on his own. I reckon Dong Ruolin must have a very low opinion of him now!”

Xiao Changqian replied, “I think this is a minor issue. Families should support each other, and what matters is the future development prospects. Although our Xiao family is not as prominent as the Dong family, we have secured a partnership with the Empire Group, which holds great potential for us. Who knows, the Dong family might agree to this marriage proposal.”

Old Lady Xiao pondered for a moment and nodded, saying, “In that case, try inviting them and see if the Dong family is interested in visiting Jinling.”

“Alright!” Xiao Changqian quickly added, “Mom, the Dong family is a big family. If we don’t have a decent villa, we’ll lose face in front of them, and that won’t do.”

He continued, “If we could get the villa at Tangchen Yipin from Ye Chen, when the Dong family visits and sees the villa, they will think more highly of our Xiao family. Don’t you agree?”

Old Lady Xiao nodded.

People rely on their appearances, and living in a villa worth over a hundred million certainly enhances the family’s prestige.

Moreover, she had long coveted Ye Chen’s villa at Tangchen Yipin, and this was a perfect opportunity.

So she said sternly, “Tomorrow, call your brother and his family to the old house! I’ll speak to them personally!”

Xiao Hailong and his sister exchanged glances, feeling secretly pleased.

Currently, Xiao Changkun’s family relied on the company for their livelihood, and since Old Lady Xiao was the family’s authority, once she spoke, what standing would Xiao Changkun’s family have?

If the old lady demanded the villa, would he dare to say no?

Given the old lady’s favoritism towards her own family, once the villa was secured from Ye Chen, it would belong to their family in the future!

…

Early the next morning, Xiao Changkun hurriedly took his daughter and son-in-law to the Xiao family’s old house.

As Xiao Churan opened the car door, she asked, “Dad, Grandma specifically called you over. Didn’t she mention anything urgent?”

“She said we’d talk about it when we got there,” Xiao Changkun replied. “And your uncle Xiao Changqian will be there too.”

Ye Chen frowned slightly; judging by the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like good news.

Xiao Churan said irritably, “What could it be? I bet it’s about the villa.”

“About the villa? You can explain it clearly to your grandma later,” Xiao Changkun said without much thought as he hurried into the car, urging Ye Chen to drive.

At nine-thirty, the car arrived at the Xiao family’s old house.

As the family entered the main hall, Ye Chen glanced around and frowned slightly.

Old Lady Xiao was seated in the central master chair, with Xiao Changqian standing beside her, while Xiao Hailong and his sister stood on the other side.

In addition to them, several elder relatives from the Xiao family were seated on either side of the hall, with a number of younger members standing on both sides, watching intently.

Wasn’t this just a trivial matter about travel? Why did it feel like a grand inquisition?

Xiao Changkun, true to his name, was usually very honest and couldn’t muster a word of protest.

Now, seeing the situation, he shrank back, trembling as he called out, “Mom,” and then awkwardly added, “Big Brother.”

Xiao Changqian seemed not to hear him and ignored him completely.

Old Lady Xiao nodded slightly.

Xiao Changkun tentatively asked, “Mom, you called me here today for something specific?”

“I want to know what’s going on with the villa at Tangchen Yipin,” Old Lady Xiao coldly questioned.

Xiao Changkun quickly replied, “That villa was a gift from President Wang to Ye Chen; Ye Chen helped him with feng shui before.”

“Feng shui?” Xiao Hailong scoffed, speaking sarcastically, “If feng shui could determine a mansion, then everyone in our Xiao family should quit their jobs and become fortune tellers!”

A low murmur of laughter echoed in the hall.

Hearing the relatives’ mockery, Xiao Changkun felt embarrassed and could only smile awkwardly.

However, Xiao Changqian chuckled a couple of times and amicably tried to smooth things over, “Mom, regardless of Ye Chen’s situation, President Wang has explained that it was indeed a gift to him as a token of gratitude. This matter can be clarified, and my second brother doesn’t need to explain further.”

Xiao Changkun looked gratefully at his elder brother, feeling somewhat flattered.

Usually, his elder brother looked down on him, but today he was actually speaking up for him—this was truly unprecedented!

Xiao Changqian smiled slightly and turned to Old Lady Xiao, saying, “Mom, you don’t need to pursue how the villa came about any further. After all, President Wang himself said it was a gift to Ye Chen, so we have nothing to worry about.”

“Hmm.” Old Lady Xiao nodded and said to Xiao Changkun, “Changkun, your elder brother wants to form a marriage alliance with the Dong family, hoping Hailong will marry Dong Ruolin. What do you think about this?”

“That’s a good thing,” Xiao Changkun said with a smile. “The Dong family is a prestigious family in Beijing. If we can marry into the Dong family, it would be beneficial for our Xiao family.”

“It is indeed a good thing,” Old Lady Xiao sighed, “but compared to the Dong family, our family is really far behind. Even if your elder brother has this intention, he doesn’t have the face to approach the Dong family about it.”

Xiao Changkun nodded seriously and said honestly, “Mom, to be frank, I also think Dong Ruolin probably wouldn’t look at Hailong.”

Xiao Hailong’s expression turned extremely ugly as he blurted out, “Second Uncle, what do you mean by that?”

Only then did Xiao Changkun realize he had misspoken and quickly corrected himself, “Oh, I didn’t mean it that way. I meant to say that our Xiao family is indeed quite a distance behind the Dong family.”

Old Lady Xiao said lightly, “People rely on their appearances; we need to live in the best villa in Jinling. When the Dong family comes, they will look at us more favorably!”

Xiao Changkun asked in surprise, “Mom, are you planning to change houses?”

Old Lady Xiao replied nonchalantly, “I want to get a better one, but unfortunately, I don’t have that much money.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Changkun quickly said, “If you need money, I still have over a million here.”

Old Lady Xiao snorted coldly, “A villa easily costs tens of millions or even hundreds of millions. What good is a million?”

As she spoke, she deliberately changed the subject, saying, “Changkun, doesn’t your family have a ready-made villa at Tangchen Yipin?”

“Yes,” Xiao Changkun said, confused. “What’s the matter?”

“What’s the matter?” Old Lady Xiao’s face showed displeasure as she said, “I’m your mother. Can you bear to see me living in this old house for so many years? Now that you have the villa at Tangchen Yipin, shouldn’t you honor me as your mother and let me live there first?”