Originally, Qin Jiao and her family had planned to mail their things, but the post office was too much of a hassle. It would take a long time, plus they didn’t even have a definite address yet. As it happened, Du Liya returned right then. She also needed to move her dad and son to North City, so she just hired an enormous truck and had them load Qin Jiao’s family’s belongings on as well.

However, Du Liya didn’t seem happy about being back. Mr. Du, who knew his daughter best, waited until everyone else was busy loading the truck, then asked her in a low voice, "Liya, what’s wrong? Did you run into some trouble?"

"You know how I got the Shen Family’s clothing factory for Xiao Yi when Shen Zhengfeng and I divorced, right? The transfer process was held up because of all the paperwork and the year-end financial closings. I came back this time thinking I could finally get it all sorted out, but now they’re telling me that since the factory is for Xiao Yi, I have no authority to handle the paperwork."

Mr. Du said calmly, "In that case, just wait until Xiao Yi gets there. You can have him go with you to handle the paperwork, and then transfer the factory completely into his name."

Du Liya sneered. "Some bastard must have given Shen Zhengfeng the idea. They’re saying it’s fine for Xiao Yi to have the factory, but only after he gets married and starts a family. Xiao Yi just got into college—he has four years of university to get through! And with his personality, where is he going to find a girl to marry on the spot? Besides, Xiao Yi will only be twenty after the New Year."

Of course, Du Liya didn’t want her son to get married so young. But more than that, she was disgusted by Shen Zhengfeng’s stunt. It was obvious he regretted the deal and no longer wanted to hand over the clothing factory.

She wrung her hands. "Oh, Dad, how could I have been so blind? How could I have ever fallen for that son of a bitch Shen Zhengfeng!"

Mr. Du said calmly, "You were blind. It’s as simple as that. Besides, Xiao Yi is too young to legally register a marriage right now. You can use that to counter their argument."

Du Liya said, "Shen Zhengfeng’s response was that Xiao Yi can have a wedding ceremony and live with his wife. They can worry about legally registering the marriage once they’re of legal age."

This kind of arrangement was fairly common in the countryside, but Du Liya was reluctant to use it. Plus, she knew her son—he would definitely refuse.

Not to mention...

Du Liya looked at her father, her spirits low. "Dad, do you think that girl, Xiao Jiao, would be willing to marry Xiao Yi?"

In truth, both Du Liya and Mr. Du were quite fond of Qin Jiao.

The problem, however, wasn’t on their end.

Mr. Du let out a soft sigh. "Once we get to North City, we’ll first get Qin Zhonghui and his big family settled at our place. After that, you should discuss this with Xiao Yi first."

"Yeah, I was already planning to go into business with that couple. I told them they could stay at my courtyard house in North City for a while and move out once they find a rental. As for discussing this with Xiao Yi... sigh, I just get the feeling he doesn’t want to get married right now."

Shen Yi, meanwhile, had no idea the elders had started to worry about him getting married. He was currently helping Qin Jiao move her belongings and noticed that she had surprisingly little stuff. Xiao Shi didn’t have much either.

He walked over to her side and asked in a hushed voice, "Did you put some of your things in your space?"

"Yeah. The plan was to mail everything to save some money, remember? Now that there’s room on the truck, it’s too late to take it all out again." After saying her piece, she gave him a shove. "Get away from me," she said with a look of distaste. "It’s hot."