Chapter Two: News of the Demolition

Having just fallen asleep, An Songxiang was roused once more, leaving her irritable and agitated. But seeing that she was not the only one seated in the living room, she could only rein in her temper for the time being.

An Songyu took a couple of deep breaths, struggling to compose herself before turning to look at the rest of her family. Her parents, elder brother, and younger sister—each of their faces appeared at least twenty years younger, overlapping with the faces she remembered from her past.

For a fleeting moment, An Songyu was lost in a daze.

“Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu…” An Jianping’s steady voice called her back to awareness.

Rallying her spirits, An Songyu glanced at the others. Yet her earlier demeanor had already aroused some thoughts in An Jianping and his wife.

Seeing that An Songyu was still unable to speak after a long pause, An Jianping quickly tried to reassure her.

“Xiaoyu, don’t worry too much about your brother buying a house,” he said. “It’s true that we’ve spent all our savings this time, but once we sell the plot back home, it should be enough.”

“There’s no outside debt. Both your mother and I are working, and your brother will help out when the time comes.”

“As long as you wait a little, your dowry won’t be any less.”

For reasons she couldn’t explain, An Songyu suddenly felt a sting in her nose, tears threatening to well up. She fought them back and called softly, “Dad…”

Indeed, even in her previous life, her father had managed all of this, even after suffering such a heavy blow.

Sensing their daughter’s change in attitude, both An Jianping and his wife let out a sigh of relief. Bi Lizhu, half in jest and half in reproach, added, “Really, Xiaoyu! We only have the three of you siblings—how could we not do our utmost in preparing for you?”

“Just over this, you made us hold a family meeting?”

The sourness in An Songyu’s eyes quickly faded a little. She looked at her mother’s faintly reproachful gaze and pressed her lips together.

As the saying goes, every foot has its length, every inch its shortcoming. In her mother’s heart, not to mention her, even if she and her sister were added together, they could not compare to their one and only brother.

But could she be described as someone who favored sons over daughters? Not entirely. She was simply—a rather traditional woman.

She believed it was the son who would support them in their old age.

And in her previous life, her brother had truly lived up to that role.

As she thought this over, An Songyu felt a sudden sense of release. After all, when she’d awakened, she was about the same age her mother was now. And at that time, her mother, still alive, would occasionally help the sisters, but otherwise, she’d let her son take full responsibility for their care, just as she’d always intended.

With this realization, An Songyu wasted no more time. She looked earnestly at her family and asked, “Dad, do you know about the demolition going on near our old home?”

Hearing his daughter mention this, An Jianping nodded, then asked, “It’s still half a village away—why are you suddenly asking about it?”

An Songyu didn’t answer directly, but pressed on, “Do you know what that land is being used for after demolition?”

“The land after demolition? I heard they’re going to build a new district. Right now it’s all factories, mostly for clothing, I think?” An Jianping glanced uncertainly at his wife.

Bi Lizhu nodded as well—these past few years, the garment industry in their southern city had flourished. Even her own relatives who did wholesale had made a small fortune.

“Then, have you or anyone else been to see the area nearby?” An Songyu took a deep breath and asked her father the most crucial question: “Once those factories are up, will there be enough space for transporting goods?”

The rest of the An family exchanged puzzled looks.

Noticing their confusion, An Songyu bit her lip lightly, then said, “Dad, Mom, Brother, Songxiang! A few days ago, I overheard something at work in the hotel—something I’m not sure is true.”

“What is it?” The others in the family weren’t fools. Remembering the questions An Songyu had just asked, they unconsciously clenched their fists as they waited for her answer.

“I heard that the government might be planning a logistics center near those large factory zones.” Drawing on her memories from the future, An Songyu spoke without hesitation.

“What?” The others cried out in disbelief.

Fortunately, the TV next door was still blaring the theme to “Princess Pearl,” so no one noticed the family’s sudden clamor.

“Xiaoyu…are you sure about this?” Bi Lizhu rose nervously, pacing in place and licking her lips, her words coming out in a jumble of explanation and inquiry: “This is such important news—if you could just overhear it at the hotel…”

“I didn’t just hear it by chance!” An Songyu shook her head quickly, thinking fast. Drawing on her current internship, she improvised, “A very impressive man came to check in at the hotel, but he left his ID at the front desk.”

“He hadn’t gotten far, so our supervisor asked me to take it to him.”

“When I caught up, he was already in the elevator. I watched the floor number and followed.”

“I found out he was staying on the hotel’s top floor, carrying a briefcase and an old-style cell phone.”

“When I caught up with him, he happened to be on the phone, mentioning that the newly approved garment factories were nearly finished, and that there was no need to worry about logistics.”

“The government was planning a logistics hub nearby.”

“But the clothing factories aren’t necessarily near our old place…” Bi Lizhu interjected instinctively, only to see the other three deep in thought.

Bi Lizhu frowned. If she had believed thirty percent in her second daughter’s story before, now she was entirely unconvinced.

But before she could speak, An Jianping suddenly said, “A few days ago, I called the village to ask your uncle to check the price of our homestead.”

“But your younger uncle called me that evening, asking if I needed money urgently.”

“He said if I was just short on cash, he’d be willing to lend me some.”

“And he mentioned his family was planning to rebuild their house, and asked if we wanted to tear down and rebuild ours too.”

“If we wanted to build, he could discuss the price of materials with us!”

Younger uncle?

An Songyu’s heart stirred. Among the entire An family, before her younger uncle’s fruit chain stores had spread across the city, her father had undoubtedly been the most accomplished.

But in recent years, her younger uncle had not only caught up but surpassed everyone else. His business kept growing larger and larger.

Yet he always stayed humble, claiming he was just in fruit sales and wholesale, earning only through hard work.

Besides that, her younger uncle still owned a large orchard back home. And earlier this year, he began to lease fish ponds, flower fields, and mulberry groves.

He even renovated both his own house and their parents’ old home.