Lianshan smiled and sincerely thanked his brother-in-law for his kind offer, expressing their deep hope to live closer and even closer to them, as if in a dream. As soon as Liu Shouren heard his foolish brother-in-law’s unusual enthusiasm, he knew that his wish to live next door with his little sister in the east and west courtyard was probably doomed. Indeed, after trying to get close for a while, it came right away! Liu Shouren had a slight smile on his lips, took up his teacup, and sipped a couple of times, with an expression of quietly watching him chat aimlessly. Of course, if he didn’t come up with a reasonable explanation, he couldn’t blame him if the smiling mask of the smiling tiger faded away to reveal the fierce nature of the predator. He knew that his brother-in-law appeared easygoing and easy to manipulate, but actually, he was a smiling tiger. If his answer wasn’t appropriate, it wouldn’t be easy to get by. But to protect his wife, Lianshan would dare to measure up even against a real tiger, let alone his brother-in-law! He insisted that this place brought him prosperity, and what other plan could his brother-in-law have! He choked on a mouthful of tea, and after a huge bout of coughing, he managed to recover. Liu Shouren’s gaze towards Lianshan was full of reprimand: "These days, everyone is advocating breaking the old and establishing the new. If you don’t want to live next to me and your second brother as neighbors, that’s fine, but don’t bring up these feudal superstitions. Otherwise, if word gets out, neither you who speak nor we who listen will have a good time." Hey, look at the trap he set! Not willing to live next to you and the second brother-in-law isn’t anything serious. If Shuzhen didn’t know why I kept pushing away, your one sentence could have buried me. Lianshan grumbled inwardly but had a foolish smile plastered on his face. He scratched his head like a model pupil: "Hehe, with others, I guarantee not a peep; it’s just with you, big brother, that I’m being open. This may sound quite superstitious, but who can clearly say how fate works? You see, we three siblings of the Lian family have always been hardworking and able to endure hardships, whether it’s working in the production team or secretly going up the mountain or down the river in spare time, genuinely have suffered a lot. But in the past few years, natural disasters and then man-made disasters happened, and the harder we worked, the poorer we got. Not a bit of money was saved; instead, we owe the production team over a hundred bucks. Though Lianshan is known far and wide in ten miles and eight villages as a hardworking person, he’s also famously poor. Throughout the year, we couldn’t even afford new clothes, and there was often no leftover grain at home." "But ever since I moved out, luck has soared for me. First, I married Shuzhen; I went hunting to give her a decent wedding and happened to catch a deer. Then it was picking mushrooms, digging herbs, planting fungus, raising chickens. Hey, I didn’t even graduate elementary school, yet I suddenly turned into a college student. Now, whoever sees me greets me respectfully as Expert Lian? Life is so good, it’s just like a dream. Hehe, I’ll be honest, big brother, sometimes I wake up and have to light a lamp to see if Shuzhen is beside me. With her around, I can be sure this is a real happy life and not another dream I wove during hard times!" "Superstition or not, I just feel this place particularly brings me good fortune! If I hadn’t moved here, I wouldn’t have encountered a series of good things, let alone married such a good wife. Anyway, I’m not willing to leave this place for anything. Sorry, big brother, I can’t accept your kind offer. I’m sorry, wife, because of my stubbornness, we can’t be neighbors with big brother and second brother!" With words like these, what else could Liu Shouren do? Swallow down all the persuasion stuck in his throat and go along with the couple’s own wishes! After all, it’s the little sister’s husband building the house, and they’re the ones living day to day. Even if he wants all three siblings to live together for convenience and mutual aid, he can’t wholly ignore the couple’s opinion! Clearly, it was their own issue, yet it was the husband who shouldered all the blame. Shuzhen was feeling thoroughly embarrassed indeed, and hearing this, how could she not immediately follow the flow? "We’re all living in the same village and it’s just a five-minute bike ride, what does being neighbors matter? But for the place we live our whole life, it has to be somewhere that makes us feel comfortable and happy. We’ve lived here a few years, and this place holds too many good memories for our family. To be honest, I’m unwilling to move too! If big brother doesn’t mind, I’m thinking about applying for more land to build further to the west. Keep the original small stable and the current thatched house, like a progressive history of our family’s slowly growing prosperity. Isn’t it a bit commemorative when you think about it? Haha, when we tell the stories of our homes to the kids in the future, it will definitely be interesting." Shuzhen’s eyes shone with excitement, with an eagerness in her tone. What a clever idea that came at the spur of the moment, just couldn’t be better! "Shuzhen’s idea is not bad, but I’m afraid the villagers might have opinions. After all, the land size is big here, with spacious gardens in front and back. We don’t want big brother to get criticism for favoritism because of this. Better to follow official procedures and buy the land!" Lianshan frowned as he voiced his worry while providing a solution. For village officials, the most crucial thing is a just and unbiased reputation; having a name for favoritism could greatly reduce his brother-in-law’s credibility. Besides, buying a piece of land is just 20 to 30 bucks now, so Lianshan naturally prefers to go the proper route by spending money. "Why spend money? With Lian En and Chenchen, you have the right to apply for two more plots to build houses for your sons. Just apply rightfully, and I’ll approve according to procedures, not a bit of problem, no need to spend unnecessary money." Liu Shouren waved a hand, expressing that the land issue is no issue at all. The real issue is how they plan to build their house: "Are you really planning to build it twenty-eight by nine? I think building six rooms in a row is not as good as building two fourteen by nine adjacent to each other. If the little sister has another son, build another house; otherwise, the two houses, one for each family, will save trouble later on! If a big house is built, what if future relationships between mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, don’t go well?" "Haha, big brother, you’re thinking far ahead. When the young spread their wings, who knows where they will land; who else would favor these old brick houses? Even if they want to stay like us living a rustic life, they will have to build a new house nearby. I am, together with your brother-in-law, not involved with others." Being aware that "distance is what keeps relationships pleasant", better off having a bit of distance between family members. Better harmony comes with distance, rather than stirring conflicts together all year round. There is a joke that a mother-in-law relationship is the third-largest global problem after international relations and racial tensions. Shuzhen, who wants peace and harbor no intention to fight within her family, naturally hopes not to live with her children; simply wishes for some distance to create a beautiful relationship.