Chapter 577: Sister and Brother

Chapter 577 -578: Sister and Brother

Mrs. Bai patted Bai Suihe’s hand. As expected, a daughter was much more considerate; that bastard son of hers only cared about gossiping.

She shot Bai Jiannan a glare. “Your grandmother called me over right then. She knew your father was easily swayed and that it wouldn’t be easy to correct his ways, so she handed over the indentured servitude contracts of all the servants in the Bai family to me.

“At the same time, she gave me the deeds to the Bai family’s main properties. The actual contracts are all in my hands; your father only has management rights.”

Otherwise, with his personality, it would have been absolutely impossible for her own children to inherit the majority of the estate.

“But wasn’t it Father who handed over the properties to us back then?” Bai Jiannan wasn’t trying to question his mother, but the family division hadn’t happened that long ago, and his memory of it was still fresh.

“Don’t forget, the butler is my man. Where do you think the things he brought out came from?”

Bai Suihe’s mouth twitched. This was the benefit of having a strong, assertive mother. However, their own family seemed to operate the same way. All the valuables and land deeds were kept in her spatial realm; Gu Kaiyuan only had some silver on hand at most.

“Mother, why are you telling me all this?” A sudden sense of foreboding washed over Bai Jiannan. “You’re not planning to copy Grandmother, are you?”

“That depends on your behavior.” Mrs. Bai looked at Bai Jiannan with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “You’re of age, and it’s time you settled down and started a family.”

Bai Jiannan rolled his eyes. “Mother, of course I’ll start a family. I’m just worried that your future daughter-in-law won’t be as virtuous and capable as you. What if I end up with one of those women who obsessively drains her husband’s finances to support her younger brother? Wouldn’t the Bai family just be working for someone else’s benefit?”

“You’re not stupid, knowing how to use this counterargument against me,” Mrs. Bai replied. “Don’t worry, I’m not a fool. I will test her when the time comes.

“However, you have to trust your mother’s judgment. I will definitely find you a good, supportive wife.

“I’ll leave my words here: if you don’t mature over the next few years, I won’t feel at ease handing over the reins to you.”

Bai Jiannan looked at Mrs. Bai with resentment, then glanced at Bai Suihe, who had her head turned and was secretly laughing. Finally, he looked at his little niece for help. “Uncle Jiannan’s little Xing Yang, look at how your grandmother and mother are bullying me.”

Gu Xingyang reached out and tugged his ear, complaining to Bai Suihe in her mind, “Mother, control your brother! Is he trying to act cute with me?

“I haven’t even exercised my rights to act spoiled as a granddaughter yet! What right does he have to beat me to it?”

Bai Suihe almost burst out laughing; it seemed that was indeed the case. Clearing her throat, Bai Suihe finally said, “Jiannan, it’s not that your little niece won’t help you, but how exactly do you want her to help?”

Bai Jiannan poked Gu Xingyang’s forehead. He didn’t mind her tugging his ear at all; her tiny bit of strength felt just like a tickle. “Hurry up and throw a crying fit for your grandmother. When the time comes, Uncle Jiannan will buy you candy.”

Of course, he knew he had indeed been getting a bit carried away lately, and he understood his mother was only saying these things for his own good. She had even gone as far as bringing up his old man’s embarrassing history as a warning. But he still wanted to save face, so he simply grabbed his little niece to be his scapegoat. Acting cute and throwing tantrums were things children were supposed to do, anyway.

“Ahhh!” Gu Xingyang screamed internally, “I want candy! I want candy…”

Bai Suihe snorted coldly. “She’s so little, what candy can she eat? Don’t let her teeth rot before they’ve even grown in.”

“What a pitiful little thing.” Since the previous topic had finally been bypassed, Bai Jiannan rewarded Gu Xingyang with a pat on the head. “It’s not that Uncle Jiannan won’t buy you candy, it’s that your mother won’t allow it.

“But speaking of which, Sister, shouldn’t little Xing Yang be starting to talk by now? Don’t babies start babbling around seven or eight months old?”

Some of his friends had kids at home, and he had heard them show off quite a bit.

Bai Suihe looked at Gu Xingyang. It seemed that was true. This little girl communicated with them in her mind every day, but her tiny mouth had indeed never opened to speak.

“That’s true,” Mrs. Bai agreed. Having raised three children herself, plus dealing with so many illegitimate children in the backyard, she naturally knew the milestones of child development.

Children from wealthy families like theirs never lacked nutrition from a young age, so they usually started talking and walking much faster and earlier than ordinary kids.

Gu Xingyang was also stunned. That was right, shouldn’t she be talking? Furthermore, it required a process—slowly popping out single words and phrases, which was the normal progression.

“Have Nanny Pang take a look at her when you get back,” Mrs. Bai instructed. “You all are really too careless. This is not something that can be delayed.”

It simply wouldn’t do to not have an elder around to keep an eye on things. She seemed to recall that her own three children had already started babbling “Mama” at just over seven months old.

“You silly girl. You don’t have any experience raising children, and you didn’t even think to ask your elders for advice.”

“It’s not as serious as you’re making it out to be. Some children speak early, and some speak late. Don’t worry, your granddaughter is so smart, she might just call you Grandmother in a few days.” Bai Suihe still had a lot of confidence in Gu Xingyang; after all, this daughter of hers was incredibly chatty.

“Gu Xingyang, did you hear what your grandmother said? Remember to start slowly practicing speaking when we get back.”

Gu Xingyang pursed her lips. She had to pop out words one syllable at a time? Wasn’t this just making things difficult for her? However, under her mother’s despotic authority, Gu Xingyang could only agree. It wasn’t her first time acting cute, anyway. This damn dark history…

After Mrs. Bai took Gu Xingyang to find Nanny Pang, Bai Suihe dragged Bai Jiannan straight to the backyard.

“Sister, you’re not going to lecture me too, are you?” he asked.

“Your sister doesn’t have the mood for that. You are our parents’ responsibility; as a sister, I’m not going to be a nuisance,” Bai Suihe said disdainfully. “I’m just a bit curious. Father is so old, yet he really took another concubine. We’re going to have more younger siblings. Aren’t those other concubines making a fuss?”

She remembered they had agreed back then that if any more children were born, their inheritance would be taken out of the concubines’ shares.

“Of course it’s true.” Bai Jiannan hadn’t expected she had pulled him aside for this. “She even came to serve Mother tea, and Mother gave her a greeting gift.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Are you that stingy? You’re even fussing over a greeting gift?” Hearing this, Bai Suihe immediately smacked the back of his head. “You’re the Family Head of the Bai family now, how can you be so shortsighted?”

“Sister, how is this shortsighted? I’m just a bit indignant. He’s already so old, yet he still hasn’t settled down.

“Just watch, who knows how many more people will be added to our family next? And since Mother is the old madam of the Bai family, who knows how many things she’ll have to subsidize out of her own pocket.”

Bai Suihe smiled and shook her head. Sure enough, his temper hadn’t settled yet. “Then you can’t learn from our father in the future. Can you do that?”

Bai Jiannan thought about it for a moment, then nodded solemnly. “I can’t guarantee that I won’t take a concubine in the future, but at the very least, I won’t be like him.

“Right now, it’s not just our mother who can’t stand him. Even the concubines he used to favor don’t give him a good look anymore.

“People are realistic. I know exactly why those women followed Father back then. Now that they’ve gotten what they wanted, it’s only normal for them to change their tune.”