"Zhou Hongyu, stop making trouble. How can you afford a house? I'm not going to live in a cramped apartment with you, and I'm not going to the south. I'll stay in Zhoujia Village. If you have a conscience, come back and visit often!"

Granny Zhou knew exactly what kind of person her daughter was.

Since marrying into the Chang family, Zhou Hongyu has been left in Beijing to live a life of widowhood because her husband works in other places for many years. She is full of resentment and spends money extravagantly. After so many years, she probably doesn't even have 500 yuan in savings.

Buying a house?

Buy two bungalows in the city, and a bunch of people squeeze into them?

She couldn't afford those two bungalows!

"Mom, I have money!" Zhou Hongyu didn't dare to tell the truth to her mother-in-law. She earned the money to buy a house by working as a middleman for a clothing factory. Her mother had suffered greatly from exploitation in the old society and spoke of it with extreme disgust.

My sister-in-law's poor family background led to a strained relationship with her mother-in-law. Her mother even refused to take care of her during her postpartum period, so the two of them only maintained a superficial relationship.

Her mother and sister-in-law didn't get along, and her second sister-in-law was a full twelve years younger than her second brother, so they couldn't talk to each other. Therefore, it would be better for her mother not to go to the south to retire.

"I know how much money you have!" Granny Zhou glared at her.

Thinking of Zhou Hongyu's audacious nature, Granny Zhou couldn't help but worry again.

She spoke with such conviction when she said she would support herself in her old age. Could it be that she was tempted by bad people to take risks and do something she shouldn't have?

"Zhou Hongyu, where did you get the money to buy a house? You wouldn't be..."

Looking at her two bewildered granddaughters, Granny Zhou swallowed her words and gave Zhou Hongyu a fierce glare.

Now that things had come to this, Zhou Hongyu honestly admitted: "Mom, I promise you, I haven't done anything illegal. I earned the money myself and bought a batch of goods from Sister Sun, a relative of mine who is a leader in the garment factory. My husband's sister-in-law and I sold them, and we both got a share of the profits!"

"What can I say to you?!" Granny Zhou said angrily.

In her view, the money Zhou Hongyu earned was illicit, and she was terrified that her youngest daughter might get into trouble because of it.

After a long pause, Granny Zhou finally managed to utter, "This is the last time!"

Zhou Hongyu stuck out her tongue. Impossible! If there were another opportunity like this, she would definitely make another fortune. Who wouldn't love ill-gotten gains!

Granny Zhou, who could read minds, snapped at her, "Don't even think about playing tricks on me. I'll be watching you closely!"

Granny Zhou despised anything related to capitalism, and many of her close friends and family members had lost their lives because of it. The one she could never forget was the sacrifice of her maternal grandfather.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhou's maternal grandfather took his family to work in a province in the Northwest. In the end, he was killed in a sabotage operation carried out by remnants of capitalism and foreign forces. Only then did Zhou's mother leave the place of sorrow and return to her hometown with her second son, Zhou Zhongliang, who was still in school, and her youngest daughter, Zhou Hongyu.

Zhou Hongyu lowered her eyes and obediently agreed.

Granny Zhou snorted, picked up her pipe and bit her lip: "I don't know how much money you have, but if you want to move out, I don't recommend buying a house. Right now, out-of-towners are flocking to Beijing, and there are even quite a few foreigners. Houses in the city are ridiculously expensive. Take my advice and find a piece of land to build a house!"

The Chang family were indeed rare and wonderful in-laws, but it was precisely because they were so wonderful that Granny Zhou agreed to let Zhou Hongyu buy her own house and move out.

Granny Zhou always had a premonition that one day in the future, the Chang family's nine rooms would be divided up to their two married daughters!

If Zhou Hongyu knew what her mother was thinking at this moment, she would definitely give her a thumbs up!

Yes, her in-laws were indeed too good, so good that they made a decision that seemed outrageous to their generation: to leave a share of the property for their married daughter.

There were nine rooms. The parents-in-law each got one room, the two sisters-in-law each got one room, and the remaining six rooms were divided equally among the three brothers.

In the 1990s, Shuangdong Hutong was demolished. While others became rich and changed their fate, the Chang family was thrown into chaos and chaos.

Zhou Hongyu is open-minded; she'll give the property belonging to the elderly couple to whomever they want, as long as she contributes whatever amount of money and effort she can.

Both of her sisters-in-law were like that, but her parents-in-law still didn't mind.

Between the two, she didn't want to appear cheap.

"Mom, I also want to buy a plot of land to build a house, but you don't understand. If I'm not from this village, and the house appreciates in value after I buy the land, I can sue the seller and take the house back if they want to back out!"

Property appreciation isn't the most important thing; when faced with a demolition and relocation opportunity—a chance to get rich quick and defy fate—anyone, good or bad, would be tempted.

Granny Zhou rolled her eyes at her: "You can buy it in the village, let's see who dares to touch it!"

Yes, she's a formidable and domineering village bully mom!

“Their household registration hasn’t been transferred; they’re legitimate villagers. Who says they can’t buy…”

"Mom, Mei-Ying's household registration is still valid!"

Zhou Hongyu was confused; she thought that Mei Ying's household registration had been transferred back to Shuangdong Hutong.

Back then, Zhou Hongyu's unexpected pregnancy with Meiying was considered an over-birth. If she had given birth, she would have been fined a large sum of money. The Chang family relatives did not agree with the birth, as two sons and one daughter each had their own uses, and that was enough.

Abortion is harmful to her health, so Zhou Hongyu hesitated. But her mother-in-law made the decision to let her give birth. To evade the family planning policy, her mother-in-law used her connections to register her household in Zhoujia Village.

The eldest son, Chang Pengfei, is simple-minded and easily fooled. The second son will be handed over to the state in the future. The third son is obedient but lacks his own opinions. The first three children were not of much use. The arrival of the fourth child was just the will of heaven.

"Are you out of your mind! Don't you, as her mother, know whether it's been transferred or not? You should have transferred it when you brought Meiying home, but you kept saying there were annoying guys among your colleagues and you were worried about being reported. You lost your job and your parents kept nagging you. You've dragged this out until now, and you still have the nerve to do this!"

"Meiying, you are Mommy's little darling!"

Zhou Hongyu was overjoyed and hugged Chang Meiying, kissing her repeatedly. Chang Shuying laughed along with her.

Zhou Hongyu was a little worried: "Mom, I heard that married women are not necessarily allocated land. Only Meiying's household registration is in the village. Will that be okay?"

Grandma Zhou assured her, "I know several families who have used their connections to get land in the village. Some are distant relatives of my wife's family, some are godparents, all sorts of people. They all seem to have plenty of money and I don't know where they're making their fortune. Don't worry, I'll find you a big and cheap plot of land!"

Zhou Hongyu nodded vigorously, thankfully she had some money on hand.

In the future, she will be able to own a detached villa near the third or fourth ring road in Beijing!

She knew that Zhoujia Village wouldn't be demolished, and that was good.

*

Today is Sunday, and Chang Rihui pretends to be still in school, carrying his schoolbag as he goes home.

Given his mother's strange behavior these days, he was very worried. He was the most beloved child!

Upon entering, he frowned when he noticed that Zhou Hongyu's favorite bag was missing.

"Grandma, where's my mom?"

"Your mother, she took your two younger sisters back to your maternal grandmother's house!"

"Shuying is going too?" Chang Rihui looked puzzled as the person Shuying least wanted to see was her grandmother.

"Go, all of you!" Granny Chang nodded, her face beaming with smiles.

Before Chang Rihui could figure out what was going on, he was assigned by Granny Chang to repair Chang Shuying's bookshelf.

“Yesterday you told me that Meiying was being naughty and climbed up the bookshelf, which made it a little crooked. I’m worried that if Meiying climbs up it again next time, it might fall over. It’s good that you’re back so you can help fix it.”

Chang Rihui went back to his room to put down his schoolbag. Since he was ready to work, he changed into the old undershirt and ripped shorts that his uncle was going to throw away.

There's no need to feel awkward or uncomfortable in your own home.