When Widow Wang and Wu Wanyi shoved their way in, Xu Keke and Xiuzhi were sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), chatting and picking out the shriveled and spoiled seeds from a pile of vegetable seeds.

Widow Wang was wearing a bright gray polyester jacket and trousers. But after only three days, when she wore the same clothes again, she no longer had the same spirit and energy she had when her son got married.

Widow Wang grabbed Ma Yuying's hand and cried, begging her to make a decision. "I spent the whole day visiting her uncles, and I didn't borrow a single penny. When I got home, I asked her to heat up some food for me, but she refused. She said I was just wandering around aimlessly, and that she and Xichun had already eaten, so I should cook for myself if I wanted to go hungry. Can you believe how you treat a mother-in-law like that? This whole mess is clearly her fault, what am I going to do..."

Ma Yuying sighed and pulled her to sit on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). "You, what can anyone say about you? When you and Xichun borrowed the courtyard from the brigade, didn't Jianguo tell you not to be extravagant? Everyone in the village knows your family's situation. Why do you have to put on a show? These days, when other families borrow money to hold a banquet, they're careful with every penny. Why is it the opposite for your family?"

Hearing this, Widow Wang sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and cried even harder. "How was I supposed to know? She borrowed the money. I didn't object to her marrying Xichun. She insisted on making all the arrangements herself. I thought she got it from her family."

Xiuzhi picked up the seeds, occasionally glancing up at them. Unlike Xu Keke, who did nothing but stare at the two of them. It was clear she was just watching the show.

Wu Wanyi, who followed Widow Wang in, stood by the door and, before speaking, glared at Xu Keke.

“You won’t let Xichun go to the fields, so I’ll stay home and take care of him all day. Why don’t you say that? Besides, who gets married just by getting a marriage certificate and doing it quietly? I’m not ashamed of anyone, so why should I do it secretly? I said I wanted to have a banquet, but she insisted that we didn’t have the money and told me to figure it out myself.”

Widow Wang became anxious, "But I didn't ask you to go out and borrow money to do it!"

Ma Yuying had spoken with Wu Wanyi a few times and knew that she had a bad temper. "Your mother-in-law went out for a day because she was worried about you. You're only thinking about borrowing money to hold the banquet. Have you thought about how you'll pay it back later?"

Wu Wanyi tossed her braid nonchalantly, "What's so difficult about this? Xichun will pay it back once she earns enough."

"Xi Chun makes money!" Wu Yuying looked at her as if she were a fool. Those who worked honestly in the village didn't earn much, and Xi Chun, who always loafed around, wouldn't be called a good-for-nothing by the villagers if he could actually make money. "You say Xi Chun makes money? Where do you expect him to make it?"

Wu Wanyi raised her hand and gathered her braid from behind her back to her chest, without saying a word. This was a business opportunity; how could she tell these people about it?

Ma Yuying said, "You can't even tell him how to make money, so how dare you borrow so much money?"

Wu Wanyi glanced at them and said, "What do you know? As long as Xichun wants to, he can make money. Don't underestimate him. He was just hurt, otherwise he would have made his money back by now."

Hearing her say it so confidently, Widow Wang was dumbfounded, and even her tears dried up. She, as her own mother, couldn't believe her son was so successful. She didn't know how her daughter-in-law had figured it out.

Xu Keke sat on the kang and laughed. Wu Wanyi had just assumed that this was how it was based on what she had seen in her previous life. But she only saw the thief eating meat, not the thief getting beaten.

In her past life, because of Chen Hong, Gao Jie, and Wu Wanyi, Bai Lu was forced to rush her marriage through a combination of persuasion and intimidation. Since her uncle couldn't come in person, he sent her money and various coupons, including cloth coupons, grain coupons, and coupons for buying bicycles and sewing machines.

Bai Lu didn't want so much money from her uncle and planned to return it later, so she didn't tell Chen Xichun. Unexpectedly, he saw the receipts for the purchases in the envelope. By the time Bai Lu realized it, Chen Xichun had already secretly stolen all the receipts.

According to Chen Xichun's later account to Bai Lu, when he was browsing items at the town's department store, the salesperson teased him, saying he had no money and was just looking around. In a moment of excitement, Chen Xichun showed off his tickets to the salesperson. Unexpectedly, the salesperson was even more excited than Chen Xichun upon seeing the stack of tickets in his hand. She pulled him into a nearby alley. The two huddled together and whispered for a long time, eventually buying all of Chen Xichun's tickets. This became his first pot of gold.

But the villagers didn't know, and his explanation was vague, so everyone spread rumors that he had made a fortune by reselling goods. Chen Xichun, rarely receiving such praise, simply accepted the misunderstanding.

Later, the saleswoman thought he had some connections, so she approached him again. Chen Xichun's family didn't have any special background, but Bailu's uncle was no ordinary person. Chen Xichun used this connection to his advantage and started doing reselling business with them. Later, when policies were relaxed, his business grew bigger and bigger.

"Now that Chen Xichun is injured, let alone going out to earn money, he can barely even get out of bed. What do you suggest we do? Your mother-in-law complains to you, and instead of listening, you even hit her. As a junior, isn't that wrong of you?"

Wu Wanyi scoffed, "Don't listen to her nonsense. Xichun's injury isn't so bad that he can't get out of bed. It's just that she insisted on keeping him in bed. I'll take him to town on my bike tomorrow, and we'll pay him back in a couple of days. She's always worrying about nothing."

How could she possibly persuade him? Besides, Chen Xichun's biggest problem right now was a lack of money. She couldn't help them solve it herself, and since his wife had so much faith in her husband, she shouldn't worry about it. With that thought, Ma Yuying shut up and stopped trying to persuade him.

Widow Wang was completely stunned by Wu Wanyi's words. She stopped making a fuss and went home with Wu Wanyi, one after the other.

Chen Xichun was lying on the bed, bored out of his mind. He used to be able to go out and find people to play with, but now he couldn't do anything. He could only stare blankly out the window.

Seeing his mother walk in dejectedly, he knew she must have lost the argument again.

"I was originally planning to plead my poverty with your Aunt Ma and borrow some money. But she just said I could earn it, so I didn't say anything more."

As soon as Widow Wang entered the house, she began to complain to her son.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xichun raised his face and said, "Where am I supposed to earn that? Whoever borrowed it, they can earn it themselves."

Wu Wanyi entered the room with a sullen face. She saw Chen Xichun's injured foot propped up on her pillow, and Chen Xichun picking her teeth with a thin wooden stick she had taken from somewhere. Wu Wanyi was about to get angry, but then she thought about the future. She couldn't push Chen Xichun away like Bai Lu had done back then.

Thinking of this, Wu Wanyi suppressed her discomfort and laughed, "Why are you using a pillow to stand on your tiptoes? It's so short. This way, the blood doesn't circulate properly, and it will heal slowly."

Then she took a quilt from the cabinet next to her, gently lifted Chen Xichun's feet, took her own pillow from under Chen Xichun's feet, and then gently placed his feet on the quilt.

Widow Wang had to believe that her son truly possessed extraordinary abilities. She had witnessed her daughter-in-law's face change just moments before, only to instantly transform into a meek lamb.

Widow Wang stared at her son for a long time, wondering if he could really make money.