The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead-Chapter 444: Extra Four

"In a few days, your grandfather will come over, Xiao Cheng, so he’ll be taking your room," Jingqiu said.

"Mom, I get home late from class every day. Won’t that bother Grandpa?"

Jingqiu laughed, "As long as you’re not afraid of Grandpa treating you like Xiao Jun during his training, he won’t mind the noise."

The little girl hummed in protest from the side, "Grandpa would never do that, he dotes on us so much."

"Smart girl."

"Sis, your place is too small to accommodate everyone, so let Dad stay at mine for now. My place in Happy Valley has just been handed over, and the renovation will take several months."

"Several months? I think it’s going to take a year."

Shen Manman said, "A year? Surely it doesn’t take that long to renovate a house."

"It’s three floors above and one below, making it four stories, plus there’s the yard outside. You don’t have to worry about the renovation; I’ll take care of it for you. What style do you want?"

"Just make it comfortable. I trust your taste, sis. Okay then, I’ll give you the money some other day and you can handle the renovation."

"Alright."

Lu Xianrun had retired. The team had originally arranged everything for him, including a security guard.

But he declined it all, saying he wanted to follow his daughter instead.

He had not even been retired for a week when he packed his bags and returned to West City.

Before, having one daughter didn’t seem much, but with two daughters vying for their father’s attention now, he found it odd.

In the end, there was no choice: Jingqiu would get him for two months, Manman for another two months.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t adapt to staying at Manman’s. The child always came back after ten at night and didn’t get up until ten in the morning.

And then there was Zhuang Yan, that lad was over there every day.

Seeing her father unhappy, Jingqiu came to pick him up today to visit the construction site.Riding back, she tried to console him, "Dad, actually Zhuang Yan is just someone who loves money. He has become much more steady from working with Old Wei these past few years."

"Loving money is fine, but what if, for money, he deceives Manman one day?"

"That’s hard to say, but we shouldn’t ostracize him for something that hasn’t happened. However, it’s up to Manman to decide. If she’s willing, we won’t interfere; if not, Dad, you’re free now and can help keep an eye out for eligible bachelors in West City."

"That’s true."

Jingqiu felt it was just because Dad had recently retired and wasn’t used to the sudden idle time.

He couldn’t sit around like Grandpa, listening to the radio and taking walks every day.

It was perfect timing with the Happy Valley renovation, so she decided to let Dad oversee it.

With three properties of their own, she was not comfortable with two unfamiliar teams working on them.

At this time, renovations were done by individuals rather than companies, with no formal contract involved.

She worried some might take the money and vanish, so she also advised other families not to pay the workers too much at once.

They should finish one task before starting the next.

The masons Jingqiu hired were the same ones who had worked on their houses before, though now the trade had been passed down to their sons.

The electrical and plumbing work was designed by Jingqiu herself.

Now, they didn’t have only TVs, fridges, and washing machines but also water heaters and future provision for air conditioning.

All the outlets had to be planned in advance to avoid rework later.

The other families didn’t understand, but they just followed Jingqiu’s lead.

In the end, they all went with Jingqiu’s plans.

Now, they had begun tiling, starting with Dad’s place. Today, she took him to the building materials market to choose tiles.

Since it was Dad’s house, she let him make the final decisions.

Jingqiu also picked out tiles for her own house.

In the end, Dad liked the terrazzo ones, so Jingqiu helped him choose a pattern.

For Manman, Jingqiu selected a European-style vintage white and blue tile.

Jingqiu picked an American country vintage tile for herself, but choosing the corner decorations and border tiles was a bit troublesome.

Plus, she found a type of colorful tile from the old days, pink, white and blue, very pretty.

After some thought, she decided to use them in Manman’s basement. The lively style suited her.

The exterior flooring for the yard was also of the non-slip variety.

Renovating a house wasn’t easy, it required daily oversight.

Dad had found something to keep himself busy with, alternating between the materials market and the construction site each day.

Zhuang Yan, on the other hand, was astute, finding ways to show up with a van whenever Dad needed him.

Those who came to help with the renovation were mostly retired folks.

Take her uncle-in-law, for example; he wasn’t fond of dealing with greasy auto work every day.

It just so happened his daughter-in-law asked him to watch over things here.

Niannian’s side had Professor Shi, Xinyue’s side had her father-in-law.

Several elders together would discuss which worker did a good job and which one shirked their duties.

They would organize group trips to the building materials market, and from time to time, Zhuang Yan would drive to help them deliver goods.

Everyone praised him, and Lu Xianrun began to take this young man seriously.

Capable in handling things, and does work too. It’s just that he has a past.

Heard he was also a riffraff in the village.

Professor Shi said, "The riffraff they speak of refers to those who dislike farming. Back then, farming was mostly what children from farming families could do, with only a few going to factories.

"He didn’t like farming, so naturally, he became idle. But he is not a bad person by nature. His aspirations don’t lie with farming, and there’s nothing wrong with loving money."

Xinyue’s father-in-law agreed, "Even poets have a chance to start anew. His past, well, there were extenuating circumstances."

Professor Shi and Xinyue’s father-in-law were, after all, outsiders. It wasn’t their daughters getting married, after all. The uncle said, "We should observe him a bit more."

Lu Xianrun said, "There’s no rush."

Professor Shi said, "How can there not be a rush? How old is your goddaughter this year?"

Lu Xianrun pondered for a moment, "Ah, twenty-seven or twenty-eight already."

Xinyue’s father-in-law exclaimed, "The girl can’t wait any longer, we must hurry."

In this era, a person of such age still unmarried usually indicated a problem, if not physical, then psychological.

Upon hearing this, Lu Xianrun became concerned. That evening, he cautiously asked Manman for her opinion of Zhuang Yan.

Shen Manman said, "Zhuang Yan? He has strong professional abilities and can put aside his pride. He’s not bad."

"Not bad? I think he’s taken a liking to you. What do you think?"

"Ah, I..."

"What ’I’? Tell me your true feelings. If you don’t like him, I’ll have your aunt set you up with some matches. You’re not young anymore, a girl can’t just keep waiting. We are, after all, factory directors; you can’t settle for less."

"Oh, Dad, didn’t you look down on Zhuang Yan? After all, he has many stains on his record."

"He did in the past. He hurt your sister and even led to my very good apprentice getting discharged from the military. But I see that he has changed for the better now. Besides, with Zhuang Chen around, if he ever dares bully you, I can just get Zhuang Chen to straighten him out."

"Dad, he’s quite afraid of you, there’s no need to involve his brother."

"He’s afraid of me now, but what if I’m gone? There needs to be someone to keep an eye on him."

Shen Manman gave a shy acknowledgement.

Lu Xianrun realized it then; it seemed Manman also liked the boy.

There was no point in obstructing this, better to get the kids married soon.

On Guan Mountain’s side, when Zhuang Chen heard that his little brother was getting married, and to his master’s goddaughter no less,

it had been many years since he had seen his master. Now they were becoming even more closely related.

Zhuang Yan didn’t have parents, so it was left to his old father and mother to help organize things for him.

Zhuang Chen even made a special call to his master to ask about the procedure.

It was Lu Xianrun’s daughter, after all; she deserved a proper celebration.

A dowry was essential, and he would let them decide how much to take.

As for the amount of dowry, even Zhuang Chen didn’t dare to just give any amount.

"Brother, I’ve asked around. Here in West City, it’s usually one thousand or one thousand six hundred. I will give two thousand. In addition, I’ll buy an apartment here. Second Cousin Yang will get a car, how about that?"

"You handle West City as you see fit, we’re not familiar with the situation there. But here, we are supposed to prepare an apartment for you. You’ll want to come back to visit during holidays, right?"

"Oh, then I’ll buy an apartment in the county. Let my sister-in-law help me with that."

"As for the house at home, you’re not simple, my young man. You’ve even managed to win over my old teacher’s daughter. You should reflect on the deeds of your past. I’ll have our parents refresh the house for you; when you two are married and come back for a visit, it’ll also show the villagers that you, Zhuang Yan, are no longer the lazy and idle good-for-nothing."

"Oh, brother, I’ve caused a lot of trouble for you and Uncle over the years. Okay, have Uncle take care of it, and I’ll wire the money over tomorrow. I can’t let you all exert effort and pay as well."

"What are you saying? These past few years, you haven’t taken money from home, and Uncle has been saving it for you."

"That’s my way of showing filial respect to Uncle. Once we set the date, you and sister-in-law must bring Uncle and Auntie over."

"Got it."

And so, Shen Manman got married at the age of twenty-eight.

They didn’t let him buy a house. After all, Manman had just finished decorating her place, which would now serve as the couple’s marital home.

Although he had been skilled in his work over the years, it wasn’t the type to make a lot of money quickly. The couple would save where they could.

Plus, living in the same neighborhood, Dad could keep an eye on him.

Zhuang Yan ended up buying a car from his second cousin’s shop, making it convenient for both spouses and easier to handle business in the future.

Second Cousin Yang, feeling generous, gave him an eighty percent discount, considering that they were going to be family.

But what surprised everyone the most was that at the wedding, Director Zhao of the Housing Bureau burst into tears.

He had watched Manman grow up and was a good friend of her father.

Now, seeing his old friend’s daughter have such good fortune must have put his old friend’s mind at ease.