Chapter 76: The Plan Successfully Completed

Zhou Ma frowned, revealing a displeased expression. It was one thing to give such expensive malted milk powder to Grandma Zhou and the others, but she wasn't even allowed to drink a few sips. She was being as generous as a fool. If it were her, she wouldn't be willing to give Grandma Zhou something so expensive.

However, on the other hand, she really didn't lack for drinks. Although she was a little stingy and miserly, she wouldn't neglect her health. After she got food poisoning, she bought two cans of malted milk powder to replenish her body. One can was from her and Chow Tai Fook, and the other was from Sister-in-law Xue.

She originally intended to buy it for Lin Yuanshu, but Lin Yuanshu had already bought it for himself, so she gave the money and coupons for the malted milk powder to Lin Yuanshu, which was considered treating him equally.

Of course, it wasn't that she wanted to treat everyone equally, but rather that she had no choice but to.

Zhou's eldest daughter-in-law was already a little reluctant. Although the malted milk powder looked like a big jar full, if everyone shared a little, it wouldn't amount to much. So when she heard Lin Yuanshu say that, she stopped what she was doing without hesitation and put the lid on the malted milk powder.

When Zhou's mother saw Zhou's eldest daughter-in-law's behavior, she rolled her eyes, her face full of disdain.

Since Zhou Ma didn't refute Lin Yuanshu's words, the others were even less likely to. Besides, asking for malted milk powder at this time would make them seem stingy and petty.

Aside from Zhou's mother, they didn't want to lose face in front of their relatives and leave an impression of being stingy and petty.

Zhou's eldest daughter-in-law poured boiling water into a bowl, and a steaming, fragrant bowl of malted milk powder was ready. They had no patience to wait for the malted milk powder to cool down slowly; they sipped it slowly while blowing on it.

This was their first time drinking malted milk powder. It not only had the aroma of malt but also a rich milky fragrance. It was sweet but not cloying, and they were reluctant to swallow it. They had expressions of enjoyment on their faces.

They had never tasted anything so delicious before. It was truly wonderful to be a city dweller. Unlike them, the best thing they ever drank was brown sugar water. Little did they know, there are always better things out there, and the city had countless delicious options.

They came to the conclusion that it was useless to please Zhou Dafu and Zhou Ma. They had tried to please them for so many years but had not gained a single benefit from them. However, Lin Yuanshu, as their new daughter-in-law, was so generous to them and even gave them such delicious and expensive nutritional supplements.

In comparison, Sister-in-law Xue is not good enough. She has been married into the family for so many years and has not given Grandma Zhou anything. She is just as stingy as Grandma Zhou.

After everyone finished drinking the malted milk powder, Grandma Zhou immediately put it in her room. It was a gift from her granddaughter-in-law.

No one else had any objections, since Grandma Zhou held all the resources and money in the family, and her word was law.

Zhou Laoda led Zhou Dafu and the other men up the mountain to catch wild rabbits, except for Zhou Xiangyang. It wasn't that they disliked Zhou Xiangyang for being unsociable, but rather that Zhou Xiangyang wasn't strong enough and they were afraid he would catch a cold if he went up the mountain.

The eldest son's wife and the second son's wife were chatting with Zhou's mother in the main room, while their daughters-in-law went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Zhou's mother looked at the two of them with envy. This was the normal way for a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to get along!

Lin Yuanshu took the initiative to speak, saying, "I also brought some gifts for the children."

Upon hearing this, the children immediately became excited and surrounded Lin Yuanshu, asking all at once, "Auntie, what gifts did you bring us?"

Lin Yuanshu was taken aback when she heard this title. She didn't expect that she would become an aunt at such a young age. This was quite a high generation.

These children range in age from seven or eight to four or five years old, covering all age groups.

She glanced at the little boy surrounding her, then at the timid little girl standing in the distance, and took out six red plastic hair clips from her military green satchel, each with a yellow five-pointed star on it.

It's a bit childish for adults, but just right for little girls.

She originally planned to give hair ties, but then she thought that girls in the countryside would definitely not have long hair because it would be too troublesome to wash, so she changed it to hair clips.

She hadn't considered anything else, since anything that wasn't for a girl would likely end up in the hands of a little boy.

The moment she saw the little girls, she knew she had made the right choice with her gift—they all had short hair.

The little girls' eyes lit up when they saw the five-pointed star hair clip.

"How is it? Do you like it?" Lin Yuan asked with a smile.

The boys' faces changed instantly when they saw the gift, and they said unhappily, "Auntie, this is something only girls like. We don't like it."

Lin Yuanshu said with a regretful expression, "That's a real shame. I can only give these gifts to your sisters."

"Then we don't get any gifts?" one of the little boys asked.

Lin Yuanshu nodded.

Upon hearing this, the little boy burst into tears.

When Zhou Lao Er's wife saw her grandson wailing, she quickly covered the little boy's mouth and said apologetically, "This child has a lot of tears. He has cried more than ten times a day. Don't worry about him. You can't control him anyway."

As she spoke, she pulled the little boy out of the main room, not wanting to leave a bad impression on Lin Yuanshu.

The oldest boy said aggrievedly, "This is not fair. They have gifts, but we don't."

Lin Yuanshu thought for a moment and said seriously, "There's no such thing as fair or unfair. Compared to your older or younger sister, your parents are biased towards you! As for me, I just prefer girls to boys. I like well-behaved and sensible girls and don't like naughty boys."

The boys looked at Lin Yuanshu with blank expressions. It was the first time they had heard of the idea of ​​valuing girls over boys. How could anyone like a girl who was a financial burden?

Grandma Zhou returned to the living room. She heard Lin Yuanshu's words but didn't show a hint of disapproval. Instead, she impatiently waved her hand, dismissing them, saying, "You all go out and play. Don't bother your aunt with your chatter. Your aunt can give her gifts to whomever she wants. Why are you all making such a fuss?"

It was the first time the little boys had been scolded by their great-grandmother. They didn't dare to throw a tantrum, since even their grandfathers didn't dare to contradict their great-grandmother. They could only leave the main room feeling wronged.

Even if they didn't receive any gifts, at least they got to drink some delicious sweet water, which was enough for them to brag about.

Only after the little boy left did the little girl dare to come over and surround Lin Yuanshu.

Lin Yuanshu gave each person a hairpin in a very fair manner.

The first thing the little girls did after receiving the hair clips was to clip them onto their heads, and then they left the main room with satisfied expressions.

Zhou's mother couldn't help but ask, "When did you buy gifts for these girls? Since you bought them, you should at least treat them equally. How could you buy gifts for the girls but not for the boys?"

Although Zhou's eldest daughter-in-law thought Zhou's mother was right, they didn't dare to say anything, for fear of angering Lin Yuanshu, and also wanted to see Lin Yuanshu's status in the family.

Lin Yuanshu said speechlessly, "Mom, when you were secretly distributing candy before, you only gave it to the boys and not the girls. You didn't say you would treat them equally then. Now that I'm giving a gift, I expect you to treat them equally!"

Zhou's mother muttered under her breath, "Girls are just a waste of money. What's the point of being nice to them?"

Lin Yuanshu raised an eyebrow, looked at Zhou Ma with sympathy, and said confidently, "Mom, I don't blame you for being so ignorant. After all, your parents have always treated you like a money-losing burden. They probably think that being good to you is useless, so they raised you to be so ignorant."

Zhou's mother remained silent because she didn't know how to refute Lin Yuanshu. If she won the rebuttal, she would be a financial burden; if she lost, she would still be a financial burden.

While admiring Lin Yuanshu, Zhou Laoda's wife also felt sorry for Zhou's mother. If she were Lin Yuanshu, her life would be incredibly comfortable. But if she were Zhou's mother, it would be an extremely stifling life, as a mother-in-law, she would be verbally abused by her daughter-in-law until she couldn't say a word.

When Grandma Zhou saw this, she had no intention of standing up for Zhou Ma, since she had already decided to side with Lin Yuanshu.

She walked up to Lin Yuanshu and said with a smile, "Your mother is a blockhead. You can't reason with her. I'll take you for a walk around the neighborhood. All my old friends want to meet you. They all envy me for having such a good granddaughter-in-law."

"Okay," Lin Yuanshu readily agreed.

Zhou Xiangyang looked at his mother, then at his wife, and finally chose to follow behind her. With his wife there, the older women probably wouldn't make things difficult for him. Even if they did, he wasn't afraid because his wife was there.

If he chooses to follow his mother, he is very likely to be angered by her over something trivial.

Although Sister-in-law Xue was very upset that she was being ignored, she did not suggest going out with Grandma Zhou. After all, she was heavily pregnant and it was not good for her to run around with Grandma Zhou. She didn't have the energy for it.

After Lin Yuanshu left, Zhou Ma glanced at Zhou Laoda's wife and gave a wry smile, "My daughter-in-law is a bit mean."

Zhou's eldest daughter-in-law felt a mix of emotions. She had always been jealous that Zhou's mother didn't have a mother-in-law to keep her in check. But now it seemed that she had envied her too soon. Although Zhou's mother didn't have a mother-in-law, she did have a daughter-in-law!

She added, "Our mom is quite harsh too."

“I think my daughter-in-law is even more mean-spirited. You have no idea how she treated me in the city…” Zhou Ma couldn’t help but pour out her grievances.

After listening, Zhou's eldest daughter-in-law frowned and said, "I still think our mother is more mean. You live in the city, so you don't know how our mother treats me. I'm a grandmother now, and she still treats me like I'm at her beck and call..."

The two women, both suffering from the same misfortune, found themselves increasingly resonating with each other, and for the first time, they didn't find each other so repulsive anymore.

Sister-in-law Xue was very sad because she was ignored once again, and because she not only had a mean-spirited mother-in-law, but also a difficult sister-in-law.

Lin Yuanshu followed behind Grandma Zhou to the home of a stranger. Some of the women were sewing shoe soles in the main room, while others were mending clothes.

When they saw Grandma Zhou, they were very excited and greeted her warmly, saying, "This is your new daughter-in-law! She's really pretty and a perfect match for your grandson."

The host quickly brought over three stools and placed them in front of Lin Yuanshu.

Lin Yuanshu said softly, "Thank you."

The host covered his mouth and chuckled. As expected of city people, they were so polite. They even thanked her for bringing him a stool.

The three of them then sat down on a bench. Grandma Zhou patted Lin Yuanshu on the shoulder and praised him with a smile, "I'm not bragging, but my granddaughter-in-law is incredibly filial to an old woman like me. She even buys me nutritional supplements. The new clothes I'm wearing were made from fabric they gave me. Filial piety is just one of her many virtues. She's also very capable at work. My son worked for most of his life before becoming a team leader, while my granddaughter-in-law became a team leader in just half a year..."

The older women stopped what they were doing and looked at Lin Yuanshu in shock. They never expected that Lin Yuanshu, who looked so young, would be so capable and become a leader in the factory.

They didn't hesitate to say nice things to Grandma Zhou.

"The old saying is true, the older you get, the more blessed you are. Such a capable granddaughter-in-law is hard to find even with a lantern. We are so envious."

"That's right! My granddaughter-in-law is only good for eating and being lazy. She wouldn't even lift a finger to pick up an oil bottle if it fell over, let alone be filial to me. She just avoids me all the time."

"You've made a good choice in marrying your granddaughter-in-law; she's very generous."

Grandma Zhou smiled and agreed, "The only good thing my incompetent daughter-in-law did was to bring such a wonderful granddaughter-in-law to the Zhou family."

Anyone would know how to choose: one is a stingy and miserly daughter-in-law, and the other is a generous and willing-to-spend granddaughter-in-law. Of course, she would side with the granddaughter-in-law.

Lin Yuanshu's visit with gifts was not only a gesture of respect for her, but also a show of support. If his wives wanted to bully her, they would have to think twice about the Zhou Dafu family in the city.

Upon hearing this, the older women knew that Grandma Zhou really liked this granddaughter-in-law, so they showered her with compliments and sweet words.

Their main reason for wanting to build a good relationship with Lin Yuanshu was that he lived in the city and they might need his help in the future.

Lin Yuanshu couldn't take the praise anymore. If it continued, she wouldn't be human, she'd be a god. She quickly said modestly, "You flatter me. I'm not as amazing as you say. I'm just an ordinary person..."

Not only Lin Yuanshu received praise, but Zhou Xiangyang also received a string of compliments.

The whole scene was filled with joy and harmony.

After chatting with Lin Yuanshu, the older women discovered that he was indeed quite capable. No matter what topic they discussed, Lin Yuanshu could speak logically and eloquently, handling any situation with ease and never being at a loss for words.

No wonder Grandma Zhou's granddaughter-in-law became a leader; her eloquence is unmatched. It's such a pity that such a wonderful woman is paired with Grandma Zhou's taciturn husband.

On the other side, the Zhou family's little girls were showing off their pretty hair clips to the girls in their production team.

"This is high-end stuff from the city. My aunt bought it for us specially. She also gave us some sweet and fragrant malted milk powder, which contains milk powder! You've probably never had milk powder before, but it's really, really delicious," Zhou Wuyue said excitedly.

The girls in the same production team looked at Zhou Wuyue and the others with envy; they also wished they had an aunt like that.

Seeing everyone's envious looks, Zhou Wuyue was very happy. She said generously, "I can lend you yours for a while, but you must wear them in front of me."

"I want to be the first to wear it," one of the little girls shouted.

Seeing this, the other little girls also began to vie for the second place to wear the hair clip.

The other little girls in the Zhou family were not as generous as Zhou Wuyue. They were reluctant to lend out their hair clips, in case they broke them.

Seeing the commotion around the little girl's group, the boys from the same production team jokingly asked the Zhou family's boys, "Don't you have any gifts? Why don't you take them out and show them to us? Are you afraid we'll break them? Are you being stingy?"

Friday Yue excitedly explained, "They didn't get any gifts because Auntie only likes girls."

Zhou Wuyue's older brother retorted confidently, "That's because Auntie has no taste."

Zhou Wuyue looked at her older brother with a smug expression. She didn't care what her brother said. Anyway, her rich aunt liked them the most, unlike other relatives who only gave things to her brothers and ignored them.

Zhou Wuyue's older brother really didn't want to see Zhou Wuyue's smug look, so he ran over and snatched Zhou Wuyue's hair clip.

Zhou Yue stopped her on Friday, saying, "If you dare touch my hairpin, I'll tell on you."

Zhou Wuyue's older brother wasn't scared at all. Instead, he laughed loudly and said, "Even if you tell on me, Mom and Dad won't be angry with me or help you deal with me."

On Friday, Zhou Yue declared confidently, "I will tell my aunt that if Mom and Dad don't discipline you, your aunt will. She doesn't like naughty boys like you."

Mentioning Lin Yuanshu, Zhou Wuyue's older brother dared not make any rash moves, afraid of angering his aunt and not letting him drink good water.

Time passed slowly, and every household began preparing lunch. Grandma Zhou didn't continue chatting with the women in the production team. Instead, she took Lin Yuanshu home and chatted with him about the gossip of the women in the production team. Lin Yuanshu's eyes lit up as he listened.

Zhou Xiangyang had absolutely no interest in these gossips, but he was still forced to listen to them the whole way.

Not long after they returned, Zhou Dafu and his group went home empty-handed. They hadn't caught a single rabbit, but they had set some traps, and the rabbits might take the bait tomorrow.

Grandma Zhou's family reunion dinner wasn't as lavish as the Zhou family's. The meat dishes were just pork stew with vermicelli, radish and tofu stew, fried meatballs, and pork bone and cabbage soup. There was very little meat in them; most of the food was vegetables.

Instead of steamed buns made from two kinds of flour, they were served cornbread.

Lin Yuanshu is now tired of not only radishes, cabbage, and potatoes, but also vermicelli; she has switched to eating tofu.

After finishing their meal, Zhou's mother and the others stayed at Grandma Zhou's house for another two hours before leaving.

Although Grandma Zhou was reluctant to see them go, she knew they all had to go to work the next day, so there was no point in trying to persuade them to stay. She watched Lin Yuanshu and the others leave with a heavy heart.

Although Zhou Xiangyang didn't give his grandmother anything this time, he secretly gave her a 100-yuan note.

Before the Chinese New Year, he secretly hosted banquets for several leaders, earning extra income. He saved some of it and used the rest to buy a small desk lamp so he could read after turning off the lights at night.

The money given to Grandma Zhou also came from this source.

After Lin Yuanshu and the others left, the Zhou family was still as lively as ever, given the large number of people present.

Zhou Laoda's wife and others also gained a clear understanding of Lin Yuanshu: he was magnanimous, easy to get along with, and more reliable than Zhou Ma.

May's mother grabbed Zhou Wuyue and asked anxiously, "Have you had a good chat with your aunt? Does your aunt like you? If you don't want to live like your mother for the rest of your life, you have to learn to please your aunt. As long as you make your aunt happy, when you grow up, your aunt can easily introduce you to a boyfriend from the city, and your life will change dramatically."

"Third Grandma is also a relative from the city, so should I try to please her? Can Third Grandma introduce me to someone?" Zhou Wuyue asked curiously.

May's mother couldn't help but show a disgusted expression. "Forget about your third grandmother. She's too hard to please and extremely unreliable. Even if she introduces you to someone, she won't be able to find anyone good."

Not only did she dislike Zhou Ma, but most people in the production team disliked Zhou Ma. She was unreasonable and stingy. If she hadn't married Zhou Dafu, how could she have had the opportunity to go to the city?

Although Aunt Zhou is unreliable, her belly is so fertile!

Zhou Wuyue nodded thoughtfully. She didn't understand the benefits of introducing potential partners. Anyway, her mother told her to please her, so she did. She quite enjoyed chatting with her aunt because her aunt was the gentlest person she had ever met.

The other girls' mothers were also urging their daughters to try and win Lin Yuanshu's favor if they had the chance.

On the way home, Zhou's mother said to Lin Yuanshu in a serious tone, "If I had known you liked being praised, I would have given you the malted milk powder, and I would have praised you every day."

Lin Yuanshu looked at Zhou Ma with a puzzled expression and asked, "What makes you say that? What makes you think I like flattery?"

Aunt Zhou argued, "If you weren't here to hear their flattery, why would you give malted milk powder to Grandma Zhou? Only you would give something so expensive."

Lin Yuanshu explained with a smile, "I'm just showing respect for the elderly and care for the young, not trying to flatter them. It's a traditional virtue."

Aunt Zhou sneered. She thought Lin Yuanshu's words were nonsense. Anyone could respect the elderly and care for the young, but Lin Yuanshu could not. In her eyes, Lin Yuanshu had no morals at all.

Lin Yuanshu was too lazy to explain to Zhou Ma any further, because Zhou Ma was completely inept at interpersonal relationships and had no sense of propriety. She had always lived as she pleased, which was why she had offended so many people. How could Zhou Ma possibly understand the importance of maintaining friendly relationships?

The gift of malted milk powder was to build a good relationship with the Zhou family relatives, while the gift for the little girl was purely to make up for the regrets of her childhood in her previous life. After all, back then, the relatives would only give gifts and red envelopes to her younger brother, while she could only watch longingly.

It wasn't that her relatives from her past life were immoral, but rather that her parents asked them not to send her gifts or red envelopes, saying it would be a waste and that they should spend more money on her younger brother.

After returning from the production team, Lin Yuanshu's life returned to normal, and he no longer needed to visit relatives and friends.

By the way, we didn't go to Zhou's mother's family home because it's in a remote mountainous area in another province. Zhou's mother hasn't been back to her family home for more than ten years. On the one hand, the distance is far and the transportation is inconvenient. On the other hand, we heard that they had a falling out and the two families are now completely estranged.

Lin Yuanshu was not surprised at all; most people couldn't stand Zhou Ma.

Zhou's mother was initially resentful about Xue's father and mother taking advantage of her on New Year's Eve, but unexpectedly, Xue's father and mother suffered from diarrhea for several days afterward. Although they did not go to the hospital, they were not feeling well either.

They weren't suffering from food poisoning or diarrhea, but rather from indigestion caused by suddenly eating a lot of meat after not eating meat for so long.

When Zhou Ma heard the news, she was overjoyed. She grumbled, "Some people are just not meant to be. It's no use forcing them if it's not theirs. If I had known they would just eat and then pass out, I would have kicked them out. They're wasting my family's meat..."

Although Sister-in-law Xue felt somewhat uncomfortable after hearing Zhou Ma's words, she felt even more disgusted with her parents, Xue Dad and Xue Ma, for making her lose face.

After the New Year, Lin Yuanshu returned to her post and continued to be in charge of the training class. Once she finished teaching this batch of students, the training class would be over. She didn't know what she would be responsible for next!

As Ma Long prepares to leave Beijing, his affair with Li Xiaohua comes to light. Lin Yuanshu and Zhu Huilan had already instilled in the neighborhood aunties the idea that women, regardless of age, have the right to pursue revolutionary feelings. So the neighborhood aunties reacted well; no one came over to mock Li Xiaohua for being disrespectful to her age. Instead, they wished the two a long and happy life together.

The approval of her neighbors made Li Xiaohua even more determined to continue her relationship with Ma Long.

So Li Xiaohua decided to take Ma Long to the public to get everyone's approval for their marriage. Lin Yuanshu, as Ma Long's relative, naturally went along as well.

The public was completely unable to accept this. He never expected that Ma Long would be involved with his family, and that he would secretly have an affair right in front of him, and now he even wants to get married. He was extremely frustrated in the living room.

This incident was too much for him. He looked at Ma Long and Li Xiaohua and roared, "I don't agree to this. If you want to marry my mother, you'll have to die."

Zhu Huilan was stunned when she heard what the public said; she hadn't expected the public to resist this matter so much.

Malone took a deep breath, his emotions very stable, and asked, "I want to ask, why do you disagree with this? I genuinely want to protect your mother for the rest of her life. If it's because of work, don't worry, I've already found a job."

Quanmin argued vehemently, “You shouldn’t be thinking about why I disagree, but rather why I agree. There are plenty of women in Beijing who are better than my mother—young, beautiful, and all kinds. Why did you choose my mother? You don’t want to marry a wife; you want a maid so your mother can take care of your every need.”

Ma Long quickly denied it, saying, "You misunderstood me. I genuinely love your mother, not want her to be my nanny. According to you, if I really wanted a nanny, I would definitely choose a younger woman, not your mother. I genuinely want to be with your mother for the rest of my life, which is why I proposed marriage so quickly, because I want to take responsibility for her."

After all, he didn't marry a wife just to find a nanny.

Quanmin was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to refute, so he simply chose to argue irrationally, saying, "I don't want to hear your sophistry, anyway, I don't want my mother to get married."

He turned to look at Li Xiaohua, his face filled with sorrow, and asked, "Mom, can you really bear to abandon me? Don't you want your son anymore?"

Li Xiaohua's expression became uncertain; these two men were the most important men in her life.

Lin Yuanshu, who was watching the scene unfold, suddenly sensed something was wrong. After all, in this era, a son was a powerful weapon for his mother. A mother might give up her daughter, but she would never give up her son.

The plan has reached its final stage; we can't afford to backtrack now.

Lin Yuanshu immediately stepped forward and questioned him with a serious expression: "Comrade Quanming, because of you, your mother has already sacrificed the first half of her life. Are you sure you want her to sacrifice the next? Are you sure you want to be so selfish as to let her be bound by her son for the rest of her life? You may think your mother is always incredibly strong, but please don't forget that sometimes your mother also wants to find someone to share her burdens and keep her company."

“I can be my mother’s support,” Quanmin said without hesitation.

Lin Yuanshu countered, "Then what about your wife and children? Can you be with your mother every moment? Are you sure your mother won't feel lonely on cold nights?"

Quanmin's mind is in turmoil. On one hand, he doesn't want his mother to get married and leave the family, but on the other hand, he doesn't want his mother to be alone for the rest of her life because of him.

It's one thing if he didn't have the chance before, but now that the opportunity is right in front of his mother, is he really going to stop her because of his own selfishness?

He's already stopped it once, why would he stop it a second time?

He wasn't unaware that his mother wanted to remarry, but he couldn't bear to part with her, so he simply ignored the matter.

Seeing this, Zhu Huilan also began to persuade, "No matter what, Comrade Ma Long is Comrade Lin Yuanshu's distant cousin, and we can trust his character. Besides, Comrade Ma Long won't take our mother to the production team. Our mother is still in Beijing, and we can see her every day if we want."

Aunt Zhou chimed in, "Quanmin, your wife is right. What else are you worried about? My sister Ahua's life has been so hard. She lost her husband at such a young age, raised her child with great difficulty, and now that she finally has a wonderful marriage, they're forced to separate because of the child. It's so painful, so incredibly painful..."

Everyone took a deep breath, trying to calm themselves down. He turned his gaze to Li Xiaohua and asked with a serious expression, "Mom, do you want to get married?"

Li Xiaohua glanced at Ma Long beside her and nodded firmly. Every moment she had spent with Ma Long during this time was imprinted in her mind.

She had never been so happy since her husband left, as if she had returned to her youth, still that shy little girl.

"Yes," Li Xiaohua said firmly.

Despite his heartache, Quanmin gritted his teeth and said, "Then I will prepare a dowry for you."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Huilan couldn't hide her smile. Her mother-in-law was finally getting married! This day had come so quickly! Happiness can be so sudden.

Li Xiaohua was stunned for a moment, then gave a bright smile. She held Ma Long's hand and said excitedly, "Brother Long, I can marry you now."

Ma Long couldn't help but laugh. His job and urban residency were now secure. "You are the most precious thing in my life."

Li Xiaohua blushed with embarrassment. Ah Long was really something, how could he say sweet words in front of so many people!

All the people felt was excruciating pain. He stared at Ma Long and said coldly, "You had better treat my mother sincerely, otherwise, I'll send you back to where you came from."

Ma Long held Li Xiaohua's hand and solemnly promised, "I will."

Lin Yuanshu breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this scene. Fortunately, he finally convinced the whole nation. When they first got together, everyone was so fond of each other and wanted to be together for a lifetime. But if they had dated for several years, Li Xiaohua might not have been willing to marry Ma Long.

What happened next was no longer her concern; the finishing touches were left to Zhu Huilan. Zhu Huilan had many other things to worry about, such as Ma Long's job and housing.

Zhu Huilan's mother-in-law had it much easier; she only needed to worry about one thing: how long it would take for her to marry Ma Long.

As Li Xiaohua's best friend, Zhou Ma didn't hold back and started offering advice on Li Xiaohua's marriage. The two chatted happily in the living room.

The others had different expressions.