Gao Guoqiang said that, and Gao Guofu’s face turned a bit red. Finally, unable to argue back at Gao Guoqiang and seeing that Gao Guoqiang hadn’t easily agreed, Gao Guofu said as he was leaving, "Brother, pretend I never mentioned this. Don’t tell Mom, okay?"
Gao Guofu was still afraid of Old Lady Gao finding out because if she made a fuss, it would certainly not be a small matter.
Gao Guoqiang watched Gao Guofu’s retreating figure and sighed deeply. He was just about to head to the team’s office when he ran into Gao Jiazhi.
"Dad, are you going to the team office?" Gao Jiazhi asked.
Gao Guoqiang nodded, then shook his head, "No, let’s go home."
"How’s school?" Gao Guoqiang inquired.
Gao Jiazhi shook his head, "Not good. It’s fortunate that I come from a poor peasant background; otherwise, being a teacher would be dangerous."
Gao Guoqiang said, "If it’s that dangerous, then don’t do it. Farming at home can sustain you just the same."
Gao Jiazhi shook his head, "It’s not like I can just quit if I want to. If I resigned, they might accuse me of deserting. But school is temporarily suspended, so I’ll just stay at home for now."
"That’s better, but be cautious if you’re outside. If anything happens, have someone from the production team inform us. Keep the family in mind, just remember to be careful. Disasters stem from careless talk, and be mindful of what you write."
"Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll be careful," Gao Jiazhi nodded.
Father and son returned home together, where Zheng Xianghong and Gao Jiaxing were discussing the old house. Upon seeing Gao Guoqiang and Gao Jiazhi, Zheng Xianghong said, "Jiazhi, why are you back? Don’t you have class tomorrow?"
Zheng Xianghong asked, "Jiazhi, are you alright?"
"Mom, I’m fine," Gao Jiazhi replied. He hadn’t expected becoming a teacher would involve so many issues that he couldn’t even properly teach.
Gao Jiaxing looked at Gao Jiazhi and said, "Brother, they have arranged a house in the city at the old house. Aunt came over today to see Mom. They want to move out but don’t want grandma to go with them. They still want us to take care of grandma, and they said they would leave the old house to us if we give them two hundred yuan. They also want Mom to handle the canteen work."
"That’s shameless." Zheng Xianghong was still very angry when she was about to tell Gao Guoqiang, but then she saw Gao Guoqiang asking Gao Jiaxing, "Did your aunt really say that?"
Gao Jiaxing raised an eyebrow, saying, "No joke, Dad can ask Mom. You wouldn’t believe the tone and attitude she had, as if our family owed them a huge favor. I almost chased her out with a broom."
Gao Jiazhi frowned and said, "Housing in the city isn’t that easy to arrange. Moreover, if my uncle’s family moves there, it’s also a big house. They all work in that factory; how could that be possible? The Wangs are just the deputy directors, not the ones who call the shots there. Isn’t this maneuver risky?"
Zheng Xianghong muttered, "Who knows, maybe they have connections. Teacher Wang’s family has money and connections; maybe they could go to another factory?"
"It’s not right to use connections and money like that," Gao Guoqiang frowned.
Gao Jiaxing turned to Gao Jiazhi and said, "Brother, things are so chaotic outside; we should find out more about their house. If there’s no issue, fine, but if something erupts, we can’t let it implicate our family."
They had never benefited from the old house. From childhood to adulthood, they had only suffered because of it. If they were dragged down by those from the old house, Gao Jiaxing would be terribly depressed.
Gao Jiazhi nodded solemnly and said to his family, "Dad, Mom, Jiaxing, you haven’t seen it, but it’s chaotic outside. The atmosphere is very tense, and everyone is being extremely cautious."
Gao Jiazhi also mentioned a few incidents he had witnessed, which made everyone’s expression turn grave.
"I’ll just stay at the production team," Zheng Xianghong said.
As soon as Gao Jiaxing mentioned this, the expressions of the Gao family members grew solemn. In these most critical times, Old Lady Gao indeed posed a big problem.
Zheng Xianghong voiced her concerns, "In our family, your dad leads the production team, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who are displeased. If someone gets jealous of your dad’s position and reports your grandma, that could spell trouble."
"We should go to the old house and clarify things properly, reminding grandma to be cautious about the influence, lest she stirs up trouble now," Gao Jiaxing stood up.
Gao Jiazhi also said to Gao Guoqiang, "Dad, we really need to speak clearly at the old house. Things are serious outside now, and our production team can’t avoid it either. If grandma stays out of trouble, we can protect her, but if she causes problems, we’re all doomed."
Apart from Zheng Xianghong, Gao Guoqiang and his two sons went to the old house. Gao Guofu and Lin Xuebi were vigilant when they saw Gao Guoqiang and his sons arriving, and their faces flickered unnaturally.
Old Lady Gao, however, was happy and even boasted with a smile, "Oh, this is rare." Then she turned to Gao Jiazhi and smiled, "Jiazhi, how is teaching at the school?"
Gao Jiazhi smiled but didn’t start with the school matters; instead, he asked, "Grandma, I heard Jianmin and Jianhua have arranged a house in the city."
Old Lady Gao laughed and said, "What house? It’s just their dormitory."
Gao Jiaxing raised an eyebrow; what they had heard was definitely not that. Otherwise, why would they even consider letting go of the old house?
"Ahem, Jiazhi," Lin Xuebi called out, stopping Jiazhi from going on to avoid revealing too much.
Gao Guofu and Lin Xuebi had kept it from Old Lady Gao that their sons had arranged a house in the city. They didn’t keep it from Gao Guoqiang because they felt it couldn’t be hidden and also because not wanting the old house was obviously unrealistic.
Now Lin Xuebi even pulled back, talking about not needing the old house, mainly wanting to shake off the burden of Old Lady Gao and also hoping Zheng Xianghong would give them two hundred yuan.
Little did Lin Xuebi know that Zheng Xianghong’s side wouldn’t care less about the old house, frustrating Lin Xuebi deeply.
Gao Jiaxing didn’t want to keep this concealed and thus said to Lin Xuebi, "Aunt, aren’t you moving to the city?"