Today is the day Liu Chengcai is taking his girlfriend home to meet his parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Liu got up early in the morning and busied themselves cleaning the house and preparing a large table of delicious dishes.

The spacious and bright house, the soft and comfortable sofa, and the understated yet luxurious furniture are all the result of Liu Zhaodi's hard work.

But in this 140-square-meter, four-bedroom, one-living-room new house, Liu Zhaodi lives in the smallest room, which is less than eight square meters.

The largest master bedroom with a private bathroom belongs to Liu Chengcai, and the second largest master bedroom is where Liu's parents live.

The second bedroom is intended for the future grandchildren; it has already been converted into a children's room.

Only the small, poorly lit, and poorly ventilated room in the far corner belonged to Liu Zhaodi; it was essentially a storage room given away by the developer.

Liu's mother said, "You're going to get married anyway, and you won't be staying here for more than a few days, so this house is just right."

Mr. Liu spoke in a condescending tone.

“Go ask around in our village, which girl still has her own room at her parents’ house? It’s because your parents love you, you should be grateful.”

Liu's parents, who usually waited for Liu Zhaodi to come back and do all the work, were unusually diligent this time.

The food was already on the table, and the floor was so shiny that a mosquito could do the splits if it landed on it.

The two were dressed smartly, and Liu's mother was wearing a gold bracelet and gold earrings, standing in front of the mirror tidying up her permed hair that she had just gotten a few days ago.

"Old Liu, how much red envelope should we give our daughter-in-law later?"

After thinking for a moment, Mr. Liu said, "They usually give five or six hundred in the village, but in the city, let's give a thousand."

"Isn't that a bit too little?"

"A thousand is too little. With Chengcai's conditions, she'll be living a life of luxury after marrying into the family. Even the children she has will be raised with help. What more could she ask for?"

Mother Liu laughed and said, "Let's give her two thousand, plus the gold necklace I just bought yesterday. She's not even married yet, so let's not make any mistakes."

"Don't you already have several gold necklaces? Why are you spending money on more? You spendthrift old woman, will your son ever get married?"

"That was a gift I bought for my daughter-in-law when we first met."

Liu's mother said happily, "Zhao Di just transferred last month's money to me yesterday, it's almost 50,000 yuan, so it's not a big deal."

Mr. Liu nodded in satisfaction and smiled, "It's a good thing you fished her out of the chamber pot back then."

"That's not true."

Mother Liu said proudly, "You used to complain that I gave birth to a money-losing child and beat me so many times. Now look at her, which daughter is as filial and capable as our Zhaodi? Which daughter can build a small villa for the family and buy two houses?"

Mr. Liu said matter-of-factly, "I gave birth to her and raised her, isn't that what I should do? If she doesn't give us the money she earns, does she expect it to benefit her in-laws in the future?"

Liu's mother said, "That's right. She's Chengcai's older sister, so it's only natural for her to be good to her younger brother."

Mr. Liu cautioned, "You must make sure you keep all the money clean, or she might be saving up a secret stash."

"Don't worry, she's not that smart. I check the accounts every day, so not a penny is missing. Besides, I give her five hundred yuan a month for living expenses; she's perfectly well-off."

"That's good. Last time I went back to the village, Old Li complained to me that his son wanted to buy a wedding house, and he asked his daughter to contribute 100,000 yuan. But Li Panzi actually said that she didn't have money to get married, and that she needed the money to buy a house for herself. Old Li was so angry that he kept praising our Zhaodi for being filial."

Mother Liu snorted and said disdainfully:

“That Li Panzi is an ungrateful wretch. She beat her younger brother to death when they were kids. She even tried to instigate Zhao Di not to give money to the family, calling her a ‘brother-supporting demon.’ Luckily, Zhao Di didn’t listen to her, or I would have torn her mouth apart.”

"Hmph, she's still too bookish and too wild. Old Li shouldn't have supported her through university; he could have saved that money for his son to buy a house."

"We were farsighted; we let Zhao Di make money a long time ago. Now she earns much more than that college student Li Panzi."

"Don't let anything slip later. Cheng Cai told his girlfriend that he is an only child and that he bought the house outright."

"Don't worry, I remember everything."

Outside the door, Qi An stood with his hands in his pockets, sneering incessantly.

With me around, does your son even think about getting married? He'd need my approval to eat shit.

Fu Gui kept rolling his eyes: "Even leeches would have to call these two old geezers 'big brother'."

"Perfect, it must feel great to bleed out like this."

"Ding-dong..."

The doorbell rang.

Liu's mother was overjoyed: "They've arrived, I'll go open the door."

As soon as the door was pulled open, the smile on Liu's mother's face froze.

Outside the door stood Liu Zhaodi and a very sweet-looking young woman.

Why are you back at this time?

Qi An pushed the door open, with Fu Gui following closely behind.

Qi An glanced at the exquisite decor of the living room, then looked at the less than 100 yuan worth of Pinduoduo goods he was wearing.

There are also chapped and rough hands, greasy hair, and oily grime that can never be washed out from under the fingernails.

Standing in this house, Liu Zhaodi looked like a beggar who had wandered in by mistake.

Who would have thought that she was the actual financier of this house?

Looking at Liu's mother's silk suit and the dazzling gold bracelet, Qi An cursed Liu Zhaodi as an idiot in his heart.

She plopped down on the sofa, put her feet up on the coffee table, and looked at Liu's mother with a cold eye.

"This is my home, the house I bought. Do I need to report back in advance to come back?"

Mr. Liu frowned: "What do you mean 'yours' and 'mine'? If you delay for a day, you'll lose a lot of money. If there's nothing else, just go home."

Liu's mother glared at Qi An.

The coffee table she had just wiped clean got dirty because that brat stepped on it.

The sofa was made of white fabric, and it must have gotten dirty when she sat on it, covered in grease and grime.

With outsiders present, Liu's mother suppressed her anger and coaxed:

"Good girl, listen to me. We're having some family visits soon, so go set up your stall first. When you come back, Mom will make you tomato and egg noodles for a late-night snack."

She was anxious and wanted to get rid of Liu Zhaodi as soon as possible, afraid that she would be exposed later.

Just as they were getting ready to grab him, Qi An said, "I quit. I gave the stall away."

"What did you say?"

Mr. and Mrs. Liu both screamed in surprise.

Ignoring the presence of outsiders, Liu's mother blurted out, "If you don't earn money, how will your brother get married?"

Qi An scoffed: "What does this have to do with me? It's not like I'm getting married."

Mr. Liu angrily retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting? That's your own brother! If you don't care, who will?"

Qi An raised an eyebrow and sneered, "If you hadn't told me, I would have thought he was my own son. How can he get a wife if he can't afford it?"

As he walked away, Liu's father raised his hand, ready to hit her.

Qi An had already figured out how to remove his claws, but Liu's mother stopped Liu's father.

Boss Qi lowered his hand in disappointment.

Liu's mother glared at Fugui, thinking that Liu Zhaodi had been instigated by her, but none of that mattered now.

She took out her wallet, first took out a fifty-yuan note, hesitated for a moment, then changed it to a hundred-yuan note and stuffed it into Qi An's hand.

"My dear daughter, you must be tired. I'm giving you a day off today. Take your friends out for a nice meal, and you can go back to work tomorrow."