On the third day of the first lunar month, the second son, Lin Aidan, had just arrived in Beijing from the northwest, along with his wife, Jiang Jiangyu, and their two sons. The atmosphere in the Lin family had subtly changed.

The family reunion moment that Mrs. Lin had been looking forward to finally arrived, but she no longer felt any joy or excitement. Many things had gone beyond her expectations.

With the relationship between the brothers of her natal family, the Gu family, breaking down, her eldest brother Gu Changqing being imprisoned and awaiting sentencing, and now all her natal family's property being confiscated, several marriages she had her eyes on have fallen through.

The old sisters who used to be on good terms with her were more or less subtle in their attitudes. Just when she was getting angry, her daughter-in-law started to act strangely.

In the bedroom, Old Mrs. Lin had a calm expression on her face, her eyes fixed on her young daughter-in-law Jiang Jiangyu.

Jiang Jiangyu avoided the old lady's gaze and explained with a smile: "Mom, seeing that the Shengli brothers were about to get married, I had no choice. My eldest sister-in-law wrote to me and said that such a suitable courtyard was rare. I didn't have time to discuss it with you and let her buy it first. Please don't be angry."

Old Mrs. Lin never thought that her daughter-in-law, who was away from home, would dare to hide it from her and make the decision on her own to let her sister-in-law buy the yard.

Two thousand eight hundred yuan—she might not have blinked an eye before. But now she was planning to fill the gap in her boss's salary, so how could she care about buying a yard? Since he had the ability to act first and ask for permission later, what else could he say?

After a moment, Mrs. Lin looked away and asked, "Whose money did you borrow? How are you going to pay back such a large sum? What did the second son say?"

"My brothers and sisters helped me collect one thousand yuan, and I agreed to return it to them when I come back for the New Year. The remaining eighteen hundred yuan was borrowed from a friend for two months. The child's father doesn't know about this yet, so I'm waiting for you to help me." After saying this, Jiang Jiangyu lowered his head, his toes sliding on the ground.

Old Madam Lin laughed in anger, "Then tell me how I can help you. Come and see how much my old bones are worth."

"Mom, can you ask my older brothers and sisters for help? I'm only waiting for 1,800 yuan to save my life. I'll pay back the 1,000 yuan from my brothers and sisters from my mother's side slowly."

Mrs. Lin was puzzled. The daughter-in-law said her parents had contributed a thousand yuan, so it was probably her own private savings.

Her mother's family, the Jiang family, is now helping relatives in their hometown. They are so poor that they have only one fish and one chicken for more than ten people in their family. Where did they get a thousand yuan? This kid is a traitor!

Mrs. Lin didn't want to bring it up. Since the money had already been spent, there was no point in talking about it. Besides, the house would belong to her grandson in the future. She had the will but not the means.

The old lady sighed helplessly and began to explain how she usually supported her family. She was reluctant to go into detail, only briefly explaining how much money she had embezzled from her eldest son-in-law, Zhou Xiaozheng, over the years, how much she had supplemented with her eldest son's salary, and how much she still owed her eldest son-in-law.

After saying this, she spread her hands and shook her head at Jiang Jiangyu. She didn't intend to keep it a secret from the second brother and his wife any longer. Now, besides the old man, everyone in the family knew about it. Even the old man couldn't be guaranteed to be unaware.

After hearing this, Jiang Jiangyu was stunned and his face turned pale.

After a long while, she regained her composure and carefully looked at the old lady's expression. "What did my brother-in-law say? Mom, what should we do now?"

"Hmph... leave it alone!" The old lady snorted coldly and said with a sullen face. What did Zhou Xiaozheng say? He treated her coldly, not even bothering to see her, let alone talk to her.

Thinking of that idiot boy with a stern face who ignored her without a word, Old Lady Lin was furious. Don't think she couldn't see the disdain in his eyes. Just because he had a few bucks, he was so arrogant that he was the best in the world?

Seeing the situation wasn't right, Jiang Jiangyu didn't dare mention it again. She had just returned to Beijing and needed to find out more before speaking. She had no choice but to tell the truth to the child's father.

She walked forward with a smile to help the old lady tuck in the quilt, and whispered softly, "Mom, don't be angry. Although I don't know what my brother-in-law will think, it's natural for a son-in-law to respect his mother-in-law. As long as my eldest sister is here, he is your son-in-law. He has to help you if you need anything."

The old lady was too lazy to pay attention to this fool who was still hoping for luck, and waved her hand to let her go out.

Jiang Jiangyu left the main room, glanced at her sister-in-law in the kitchen, and paused. After a while, she immediately turned back to her room, picked up her backpack and gifts, and went to her parents' home.

The Jiang family was allocated three rooms on the ground floor and first floor of the former unit building, with a small courtyard in front of the door. Mrs. Jiang came from a farming family and had always taken care of the children and worked in the fields in her hometown.

After the Liberation, she returned to the compound with her husband. She was a hardworking person who could not sit still. Every season, every corner of the yard was filled with fruits and vegetables.

Jiang Jiangyu entered the house and immediately saw her mother, a head full of white hair, bent over, kneading dough. She had hurried home to see her parents the previous night. She hadn't noticed then, but now, taking a closer look, she saw her mother had aged considerably. Looking around the house, she saw nothing but the military-issued furniture and supplies.

She frowned tightly and complained to her mother, who was surprised to see her, "Those people still won't let you and Dad go? How can our family live? We have to repay all the kindness we received over the years. Look at how many patches are on your clothes. I made this dress for you when I gave birth to your second child."

Old Mrs. Jiang suppressed her smile, glared at her sullenly, and said, "Have you forgotten that your eldest brother was nearly killed, and it was your uncles who saved his life; that your second brother was sick every other day in the middle of winter and couldn't get up, and it was your aunts and the others who gave him as a dowry to save him; have you forgotten that you were raised in your grandmother's house, and it was your aunts who raised you with their milk? If you and your brothers and sisters didn't have these relatives and friends, how could a woman like me raise you? As a person, you should never forget your roots. People come to you when they don't have any difficulties? Don't let me hear these words next time. If you don't like it, don't go back to your mother's house."

Jiang Jiangyu was choked by the words, sighed with mixed feelings, and nodded.

In the kitchen, Jiang Jiangyu accompanied Old Lady Jiang in doing housework, asking about the situation of everyone in the family. When she learned that everyone in her family was doing well except for the relatives who often visited, she immediately smiled.

Then she thought of the purpose of her visit. She paused, glanced at her mother, and said casually, "Mom, do you know the eldest son-in-law of the Lin family? He's Zhou Xiaozheng, the one who just came back and lives in the small courtyard behind."

Mrs. Jiang nodded. How could you not know her?

The small courtyard at the back was occupied only by Zhou Xiaozheng and two young officials; the rest were elderly. It was incredibly attractive! Furthermore, he was the eldest son-in-law of the in-laws.

"How could he not know him? Even though there are so many people in the compound, he definitely knows everyone. In the first few days after he came back, all the women in the compound, young and old, secretly ran over to see him. They all said they were there to see a handsome man.

"Haha... she's really good-looking. Isn't this his precious baby back? Oh, now it's the boy's turn to visit his girl every day. Who wouldn't know his family?" After saying this, she couldn't help laughing.

Jiang Jiangyu hadn't met Zhou Jiao yet, but she knew Zhou Xiaozheng. She wasn't in the mood to talk about handsome men. She was feeling annoyed.

She nudged the old lady and whispered, "I saw my mother-in-law mentioned that something was wrong with her eldest son-in-law. Did something happen? I came back last night and haven't seen her eldest son-in-law and his family come to visit."

The old lady looked outside and said in a low voice, "Everyone in the compound says your mother-in-law is a bad person. They say she dresses up all day and walks around everywhere, but leaves her own granddaughter to suffer in the countryside.

I even heard your father mutter something about your mother-in-law and Chief Zhou's mother being cousins, sisters from the same great-grandfather. Things are complicated between their two families, and he told me to be careful. You too, don't say too much. Just remember, the Zhou family's grandchildren are now being raised by Old Madam Cheng.

Jiang Jiangyu looked at her mother in bewilderment, even more puzzled. Wouldn't this closer relationship make the relationship even better? Why was it becoming even more mysterious?

"Anyway, remember not to say too much about your in-laws' affairs. I don't know the details, but I heard from your father that if Shanshan hadn't given birth to a good daughter, he would definitely not want Zhou Xiaozheng as his daughter-in-law. There are many people who want to marry him." The old lady didn't want to say more, but her husband specifically told her to be careful.

Jiang Jiangyu sighed. She had been planning to borrow money from her sister-in-law, but it looked like that was out of the question. She hesitated, looking at her mother, then glanced at the wilted cabbage by the stove, and sighed again.

Rejecting Mrs. Jiang's request to stay, Jiang Jiangyu returned home with a heavy heart. As soon as she arrived at the west wing, she collapsed on the bed with her eyes rolling non-stop.

She really couldn't think of a solution, but suddenly she smelled the fragrance of food. She immediately got up and ran to the living room, calling out to her sister-in-law with a smile, and went forward to help serve the food.

Jiang Jiangyu was curious to find that the old man and the men in the family had all returned from the reunion, but why were her children still missing? She slipped over to Chen Jingru and quietly pried into her sister-in-law's side. She learned that the children had all gone out shopping, so she took the opportunity to ask about Zhou Jiao.

Aunt Lin, like Aunt Zhou, had been given a holiday by the old man. Chen Jingru was now busy preparing meals and doing housework. This time, she saw her sister-in-law coming home without any help. Not wanting to antagonize her, she ignored her and casually told her to go to Zhou's house and take a look.

After lunch, Jiang Jiangyu took advantage of the men at home to ask when her two aunts would be returning home. Should they prepare in advance?

Old Mrs. Lin glanced at her and knew she wasn't giving up. She didn't bother to pay attention. Seeing that her grandchildren were about to get married, she had no mood to deal with such matters.

Zhou Jiao looked at the so-called second aunt who was running around in front of her and looked at Old Lady Cheng with a headache.

As soon as she got home, she never expected Jiang Jiangyu to be waiting at her house for quite a while. Were they really that close? Wasn't she supposed to wait for her mother to finish her work and return to her parents' home?

She had visited several elders with her father today and was busy dealing with them. She was very tired at the moment and just wanted to lie down and rest.

Seeing Zhou Xiaozheng leading Zhang Guoqing back to the study to avoid Jiang Jiangyu, Zhou Jiao quickly handed her a cup of tea. She had to let someone sit down first. She believed that given the other person's character, he would definitely not be so tactless as to barge into the study without permission.

Jiang Jiangyu had a loving smile on his face as he held Zhou Jiao's hands, his eyes constantly looking at the material of her clothes. He apologized repeatedly and made excuses for not fulfilling his duties as an elder and neglecting Zhou Jiao.

Zhou Jiao looked at her with a smile.

This play, written and performed by herself, was quite good. She hadn't forgotten how Lin Lishan had promised to send gifts from Northwest China in a few days when Ping'an was born. Lin Lishan had mailed two large sacks, but she hadn't received a single penny from Northwest China. And as for the full-moon gift, forget it.

Was he trying to trick her by mistaking her for her mother, Lin Lishan? I wondered how someone like that could possibly catch Gu Ruyi's eye. Could it be that the so-called lady from a noble family, Gu Ruyi, had a very unusual hobby?

Zhou Jiao agreed with her with a smile on her face, nodding her approval from time to time.

Seeing that she didn't mind at all, Jiang Jiangyu held Zhou Jiao's hand, touching and patting it from time to time, and talked a lot, praising Zhou Jiao to Mrs. Cheng beside her, saying that she was the most perfect junior in the world.

Zhou Jiao, looking shy, pulled her hands away under the pretext of serving her tea. She suspected she was being harassed.

Old Mrs. Cheng held back her laughter and kept nodding.

Zhou Jiao felt her hands go numb, unable to hold or hold anything. She wished she could wash them until the skin peeled off. Holding her breath, she winked at Old Lady Cheng and glanced at the clock on the wall.

Old Mrs. Cheng understood and blinked, so that Jiang Jiangyu wouldn't have to worry about not being able to stay until dinner time - she told her to stay shamelessly.

"If someone shows unwarranted kindness, he's either a traitor or a thief"—Zhou Jiao knew full well that the only thing that could attract the other party's attention was money. However, she now followed her father's instructions regarding the Lin family: give them the cold shoulder.

Looking at her, Zhou Jiao really wanted to slap her in the face. Where did she get such a big face? Did she really think that they were easy to bully? Soon... soon her father would mobilize several uncles to come to Beijing for assistance.

Her godfather, Zhao Chuangguang, had devoted over a decade to her, yet they kept silent about it. What about that uncle from the Northwest who had been transferred to Beijing? And what about all those uncles who had devoted themselves to her over the past decade? Did they really think the facts could be hidden, the truth concealed?

After Jiang Jiangyu finished praising, he began to focus on the difficulties of his own family life.

Listening to her talk about how her family had no savings and how she was worried about her children getting married and starting their own families, Zhou Jiao blinked in confusion and didn't respond.

Old Mrs. Cheng made a series of witty remarks and used a set of theories on hard work and plain living to finally shut Jiang Jiangyu up and change the subject to gossip.

After sending him out, Zhou Jiao hurried to wash her hands. Returning to the living room, she saw Zhou Xiaozheng and his son-in-law, who looked like they had survived a disaster. She glared at them fiercely, then burst out laughing to herself.

Old Mrs. Cheng smiled and shook her head. "This isn't a solution. Next time she comes, she'll just ask for money straight away. You better come up with a reason."

"Our Jiaojiao knows what's going on," Zhou Xiaozheng assured her. As soon as his Jiaojiao got home, she took over and arranged all these chores, even taking care of any future worries.

Zhou Jiao nodded thoughtfully.

Reason? What more reason do you need?

Money can be a powerful tool! She deliberately revealed to Mrs. Lin that she had all the family money, just to prevent those with ulterior motives from coming after her. She even started sending money to the homes of her father's fallen comrades in the compound, just in case.

Besides, seeing that Jiang Jiangyu couldn't wait to come to her house, the amount of money she needed must be quite large. If she came to her again, she would have a good chat with him about Uncle Northwest.