Back at the Meng family home, Su Xiulan and Su Xiuju were both waiting at the door.

Seeing that Xiaoli and Xiaojuan had returned safely, the group hugged each other and cried for a long time.

Seeing Su Xiumei's much older face and Zhou Xianye's full head of white hair, I was deeply moved.

Meng Shuyun gave Li Quan ten yuan for the fare and gas, thanking him for his help, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to get to the Zhou family so smoothly.

Everyone was exhausted after a day and a night. After tidying up a bit, they all went back to their rooms to sleep.

Su Xiangyang stood awkwardly to the side, wondering why no one had arranged a room for him. "Mother, I, I..." he began cautiously.

Meng Shuyun almost forgot that Su Xiangyang was still there. She pointed at him and said, "You sleep in the room next door. This isn't a place where you can eat and sleep for free. It's 30 yuan a month. If you can't afford it, get out."

Su Xiangyang could hardly believe his ears. What?

30 yuan per month!

His face instantly turned ashen, as if he had eaten shit.

Looking at his expression, Meng Shuyun pointed to the door and said coldly, "If you don't want to stay, then get out now."

Upon hearing this, Su Xiangyang immediately wilted. His lips moved, but he didn't make a sound and obediently shut his mouth.

He knew perfectly well that if he really left this place, he would truly become a homeless, wandering ghost.

When it was time for dinner, Su Xiangyang didn't even have the right to sit at the table; he could only reluctantly eat his food in the kitchen.

They looked so pitiful.

Meng Shuyun looked at the two sisters, Xiaoli and Xiaojuan, with heartache, constantly putting food on their plates. Watching them wolf down their food, she felt as if her heart was being pricked by needles.

These two kids must have suffered a lot of injustices these days.

With so many more people suddenly joining the family, there simply aren't enough rooms to accommodate everyone.

With no other option, Zhou Xianye had to move into a house in the county town.

But the sisters Xiaoli and Xiaojuan couldn't bear to part with Meng Shuyun and insisted on staying.

As it was almost time to go to bed that night, Su Xiulan brought over the dividends from the hair accessories she had received over the past few days and shared them with everyone.

Meng Shuyun really didn't expect the income to be so considerable; she received nearly a thousand yuan.

Everything at home gradually returned to normal, and Meng Shuyun also told everyone about Su Xiangnan's condition, saying that his leg surgery was very successful.

That evening, Meng Shuyun pulled Deng Jiaqi aside and said earnestly, "Jiaqi, Su Xiangyang is really not someone I can entrust my life to. I sincerely hope that such a good girl like you will go astray."

A blush crept onto Deng Jiaqi's face; she was a little shy, but she still told her thoughts frankly: "Auntie, I want Su Xiangyang to be my son-in-law. I'm the only girl in my family, and I asked him before, and he said he didn't mind." As she spoke, Deng Jiaqi's eyes were full of anticipation.

Su Xiangyang replied, "Why should I mind? I don't mind. As long as I like it, I'm fine with anything."

In truth, he was already overjoyed, thinking that if he could really become a live-in son-in-law and marry a rich woman, he could live a comfortable, carefree life, getting whatever he wanted, as long as he served one woman well.

Since Su Xiangyang himself had agreed, Meng Shuyun couldn't say anything more. She just offered a few more words of advice, because in her eyes, Su Xiangyang was really not good enough for Deng Jiaqi.

But Deng Jiaqi was determined. She was not only attracted to Su Xiangyang's face, but also deeply attracted to something about him, and she was completely smitten.

...

Time flies, and it's New Year's Eve in the blink of an eye. The Meng family is bustling with activity, with lanterns and decorations everywhere and bright red lanterns hanging high.

The construction of the new house is also nearing completion.

Su Xiangnan and Gu Xue returned from Guangzhou in their car, which was parked steadily in front of the Meng family's courtyard, attracting a lot of attention.

Passersby couldn't help but stop and discuss it.

"The Meng family has really made it big! They're even driving cars now!"

"Such a beautiful car must be really expensive!"

Meng Shuyun was killing a chicken in the yard when she heard these words, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

Those people stared at the car with reddened eyes, unable to resist reaching out to touch it.

During the New Year's Eve dinner, the whole family sat together neatly around the table, which was so full that there were almost no seats left.

Meng Shuyun handed out red envelopes to everyone one by one, and Xiaoli and Xiaojuan jumped for joy.

Mingyue and Minghui are chubby now, heavy to hold, fair and tender, just like the dolls in New Year paintings.

The family sat in the yard, warming themselves by the fire and chatting.

With a smile on her face, Gu Xue handed a thick envelope to Meng Shuyun: "Mother, this is a gift from Xiang Nan and me to you."

Su Xiumei quickly stuffed the envelope into Meng Shuyun's hand: "This is a small token of our appreciation from Xianye and me."

Following that, Su Xiulan, Su Xiuju, and Meng Kangshun also handed over envelopes of varying thicknesses.

Even Xiaoli and Xiaojuan prepared red envelopes for Meng Shuyun.

All eyes immediately fell on Su Xiangyang, who was peeling an orange.

Su Xiangyang's hand trembled, and the orange rolled into the fire with a "glug". He quickly reached out to pick it up, blew on it, and put it in his mouth.

"I..." Su Xiangyang wanted to say that he had no money.

In order to pay the 30 yuan monthly rent, he found a job at a newspaper and earned 35 yuan a month.

After paying the rent, he would have been barely able to support himself if it weren't for the free room and board.

With so many people staring at him, Su Xiangyang felt his face burning with embarrassment. He felt that if he didn't pay, he would become an unforgivable sinner.

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