CHAPTER 378: CHAPTER 378: BUILDING A SMALL VILLA (SECOND UPDATE)

"Xiao Yue, why did you come back so late?" Zhang Hualian saw Tang Yue return and quickly asked, "Didn’t you say you were going to your mother-in-law’s house for lunch? Why did you stay for dinner too?"

"Mom, tonight I visited Si Yu’s uncle’s place, that is, Mo Weidong’s house."

Tang Yue explained, because she had hastily only left a phone message before and had not gone into detail, she said, "It’s Sister Xiaoyu, the daughter of the big uncle who’s come back, the one from Sea City that we visited before, so we had dinner together this evening."

"Oh, did you bring something with you?" Zhang Hualian asked.

Since the engagement, it wasn’t considered appropriate for Tang Yue to visit relatives of the Mo Family empty-handed.

"I brought some fruit." Tang Yue replied succinctly and asked, "Mom, did Si Yu call back?"

"He did, I told him you weren’t here." Zhang Hualian mentioned Mo Siyu and cheerfully laughed, "Xiao Yue, you should talk with Si Yu and tell him not to bother sending anything over. It’s such a long distance, and it’s quite expensive."

"Is he sending something?" Tang Yue was also very shocked, completely unaware of what Mo Siyu wanted to send over.

"Yes."

Zhang Hualian couldn’t stop praising this son-in-law.

Zhang Hualian kept mentioning the things Mo Siyu liked to eat, insisting that Tang Yue should take them to him when she goes to Jing City.

Home-made sausages, cured meat, and moldy tofu may not be worth much money, but they’re filled with the flavor of home.

"Mom, why do I feel like I’m not your own daughter?" Tang Yue couldn’t help but say, she hadn’t even gone to Jing City yet, and Zhang Hualian kept harping on about what Mo Siyu liked, completely forgetting about the pine nut meat she enjoyed.

Zhang Hualian glared at her and said, "How can you not be? If you weren’t my own daughter, could I have such an outstanding son-in-law?"

Zhang Hualian said proudly, "By the way, Xiao Yue, your dad and I are thinking of buying the bungalow next door and then building a new house ourselves."

"Good idea." Tang Yue agreed and took a sip of water before saying, "But, will the neighbors sell it?"

"They will, we’ve asked." Zhang Hualian thought for a moment and then said, "Xiao Yue, it’s like this, we used your money to buy this house, so your dad plans, with both places combined, to build two houses, a big one, and a small one. We’ll live in the big one, and the small one will be yours."

"Don’t." Tang Yue quickly interrupted, "Mom, we’re a family. Although I’m about to get married, I haven’t yet, and you guys are already getting rid of me?"

Even though she knew Tang Zhengde and Zhang Hualian didn’t want her to be short-changed, the idea of building two houses made her feel like an outsider to her own family.

"Xiao Yue, your dad is worried..."

Zhang Hualian had only gotten halfway through her sentence when Tang Yue cut her off, "Mom, am I not your own daughter?"

"Of course." Zhang Hualian replied without hesitation.

Tang Yue got up to find Tang Zhengde and asked, "Dad, am I not your daughter? Have you ever thought of me as your own daughter?"

"Xiao Yue, even though you are not my biological daughter, in my heart, there’s no difference—you are my daughter," Tang Zhengde, though puzzled by Tang Yue’s sudden query, still replied seriously.

"Sister, you are my real sister, my own blood-related sister," Tang Jun joined in the fun and said, "I will protect you from now on."

"Stop making a fuss," Tang Yue pulled Tang Jun to sit down and said, "Dad, since you consider me your own daughter, why are you building two houses? Does it mean you want me to split from the family?"

"No, that’s not it," Tang Zhengde denied.

Tang Yue continued, "Mom and Dad, I know you’re thinking of me, but in the future, I will get married, and I want to return to my parental home, not a place of my own. I really like the new house you’re building, as long as there’s a room left for me in your new house."

"Sister, who made you split from the family?" Tang Jun was still clueless and had no idea what was going on.

Tang Zhengde instantly understood Tang Yue’s thought. His expression shifted, and he said, "We are one family; we do not split up, never ever."

"Xiao Yue, I was mistaken," Tang Zhengde said, apologizing.

Tang Yue smiled and said, "Dad, I know you want the best for me. However, I still want to live with you. I have no plans to live separately. Now that we have bought the house next door, we have plenty of space. Could we consider building a small villa?"

"What’s a small villa?" Zhang Hualian asked.

"It’s like..." Tang Yue was momentarily at a loss for words, then said, "It’s like when we build our house, we leave a large courtyard, where we could have a pavilion, a swing, and even dig a small fish pond. Behind it are the hills, and with mountains and water, it would be a very comfortable place to relax, wouldn’t it?"

"It does sound wonderful," Zhang Hualian smiled after hearing Tang Yue’s description, "Don’t the houses in our village have courtyards too?"

"Hehe, Mom, the courtyards in the village are too small. Look, we’ve bought the house next door, and there’s also an empty space behind it, so the courtyard will be big." Tang Yue had many ideas for the small villa they were building; although not as luxurious as those mansions, as long as the house was well-designed and comfortable, she would be content.

Tang Yue excitedly started to discuss it with Tang Zhengde.

Tang Zhengde wasn’t too demanding about the house, but listening to Tang Yue’s ideas, he too couldn’t help but yearn for it.

When Tang Mingli arrived with Tang You’an and Wei Jiajia, and he heard about the small villa concept, his eyes immediately lit up and he said, "Second Brother, I want to build a small villa too. We can share a common wall; that would be nice."

Wei Jiajia was also intensely curious; the small western-style house in Jiang City where she lived was already pretty, but listening to Tang Yue’s description, she seemed to prefer the house Tang Yue was talking about, especially the big swing in the courtyard. Just hearing about it made her long for it.

Taking the initiative, Tang Mingli thought that his place wasn’t big, and although his house was a multi-story building, it was old. His plot had a decent area, and he didn’t have a major requirement for a large yard, so even if they demolished the old house to build a new one, there would still be enough space.

The next day, Tang Yue spent the whole day coming up with a rough idea. Tang Mingli didn’t understand, so Tang Zhengde brought in people who specialized in building houses to take a look. Even before the old house was torn down, plans for the new house had already emerged.

Tang Mingli, unable to wait, said, "Xiao Yue, I really want to see how good-looking this house will be once it’s built."

"Little Uncle, don’t be too anxious. You should be thinking about where to stay during the construction," Tang Yue reminded.

Tang Mingli said nonchalantly, "I can stay at the factory. Besides, it’s convenient for Jiajia to stay at the factory too."

On the day before Little New Year’s, as soon as Tang Yue walked out the door, she ran into Lian He, who had brought over a lot of gifts.