"Shut up, all of you!" Commander Zhou roared as he stood up, and the room fell silent instantly.

"Xiaoyu, help your sister to the sofa. Xiao Deng, you sit down too! You can act tough in your own home all you want, but this is my home. If you have something to say, say it!" Commander Zhou's words made everyone obediently step aside, and no one dared to disobey.

Those who were not involved also left the table and found a place to sit further away.

"Lisheng, come here." Commander Zhou beckoned.

Lisheng's face was swollen on one side and covered in tears, making him look pitiful.

He timidly walked to Commander Zhou's vicinity and stopped where Commander Zhou couldn't reach him.

"You did this, didn't you?"

"Yes," Li Sheng'er said in an almost inaudible voice.

"If you want to buy marbles, why don't you ask your parents for money?"

“I gave him pocket money,” Zhou Yue interrupted.

"Shut up, I'll talk to you later." Commander Zhou's words silenced Zhou Yue.

"I already have so many glass marbles, but I still want more." Lisheng's voice trailed off.

"Where did these foreign exchange certificates come from?"

"I took it from Uncle Are's house."

"Do you know?" Commander Zhou asked Qin Xiaoyu and A Lei.

"Ah Lei discovered that some money was missing, but he doesn't know who took it," Qin Xiaoyu answered for him.

"Now that everything is clear, let me make a judgment. Zhou Yue, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but as a mother, you haven't cared enough for your son. Giving him a room and ensuring he has enough to eat and wear isn't enough to show care. The same goes for Xiao Deng. We understand that you're newly married, but you have more than just that one child in her belly; you have two more. Xiao Jin is sensible and tries to communicate with you, but you always side with Xiao Jin. What about Li Sheng?"

Commander Zhou's words made Deng Jianyan and Zhou Yue blush.

“Lisheng, you were wrong, and you should face your mistake. Apologize to your classmate tomorrow.” Commander Zhou said, pushing Hanhan from his arms in front of Lisheng, and continued, “Apologize to Hanhan.”

Lisheng, tears welling in his eyes, remained silent. Hanhan stepped back and looked to Qin Xiaoyu for help.

"Alright, Hanhan, come here." Qin Xiaoyu came over and pulled Hanhan.

"Don't stop him. Although Hanhan is sensible, he shouldn't always suffer losses. He doesn't need to always give in to others," A Lei stopped her.

Fearing that Zhou Yue might get a sore throat, Qin Xiaoyu accompanied her upstairs.

"Little Fish, being a stepmother is really tough. I've been very good to Lisheng."

“I know, sister, you’re a good person, but being a good person doesn’t necessarily mean you can be a mother.”

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, what the leader said is right, you should learn from it."

"Do you need to learn how to teach children?" Zhou Yue seemed to have heard something unusual.

"Of course. I'll have Wenwen send you some books later; it should be easy to buy books in Shanghai." Qin Xiaoyu started missing Baidu again. If she had Baidu, she could solve everything by simply turning on her computer.

"Little Fish's here." Deng Jianyan pushed open the door and walked in.

"I'm leaving." Qin Xiaoyu stood up and walked out quickly. She wasn't worried about the couple having a fight; she figured they'd make up by the end of the night, as long as she didn't get in the way.

"I feel like it's not easy for this whole family to live together. It's hard to manage such a large group!" Qin Xiaoyu couldn't help but complain to A Lei.

"That's right. I remember there's a book called Dream of the Red Chamber, and there's a character named Wang Xifeng who's a strong woman. You're pretty much like her."

Qin Xiaoyu never dreamed that she would be associated with Wang Xifeng.

Before the end of the first month of the lunar calendar, Qin Xiaoyu wasn't busy, and she would go home early even when she went to the garment factory.

As soon as I entered the hospital that day, I saw Grandma Hanhan walking over with two women.

When she was down on her luck, she was bullied terribly by her family. But after she moved into the apartment building, they realized their mistake and started fawning over her.

From the first day of the Lunar New Year, Grandma Hanhan's relatives kept coming to pay their respects. Grandma Hanhan is a very vain person, and she was easily flattered by a few words, leading her relatives up and down the stairs of her house.

These days, being able to live in an apartment building is already quite an achievement, let alone living in a villa. They have refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioning.

"Good heavens, you're living in a fairy cave! That's incredible, you'll have great fortune in your old age!"

Grandma Hanhan was overjoyed and even paid for a meal herself. Once this precedent was set, even more relatives came to visit. She had plenty of money and treated them all.

Grandpa Hanhan sensed something was wrong, and after several attempts to reason with him failed, he gave up. He was always busy and rarely home anyway. His wife, annoyed, simply went to Building 4 every day to bask in the sun, out of sight, out of mind.

Qin Xiaoyu was so busy all day that she didn't have time for these things, which was really inconvenient.

"Oh, this must be Wenzhi's wife. She doesn't look old at all, almost the same as when we met at the wedding." The female guest squinted at Qin Xiaoyu before asking Grandma Hanhan.

"These are your second and fourth aunts. They live in another county and rarely come back," Grandma Hanhan introduced.

"Hello," Qin Xiaoyu greeted them politely.

"You used to work in a textile factory, right?" Auntie's question was so blunt, it startled Qin Xiaoyu. She thought for a moment before nodding. What year was that? She had forgotten herself.

"Wenzhi's wife now runs her own factory and no longer works at the textile factory," Grandma Hanhan said softly.

Qin Xiaoyu seemed to understand something. They still thought she was a textile worker. Did they all think this villa belonged to the Tang family?

“Running your own factory is hard work. Young people don’t understand. It’s so much better to work in a textile factory and get paid every month.” Auntie looked at her sympathetically and said, “My husband has a nephew who works as an electrician in a repair shop in the county. His wife died, leaving behind three children. He’s a good man.”

Qin Xiaoyu stared at them wide-eyed, as if she had seen a ghost in broad daylight. Were they really going to arrange a marriage for her?

"There's no rush to find Wenzhi's wife." Grandma Hanhan panicked and tugged at her second aunt's sleeve, trying to pull her away.

“Look at you, she said she’s not in a hurry, how can she not be in a hurry? You’re almost thirty, if you don’t find someone now, will you ever find someone else? Can you support her for the rest of your life?” Auntie was a kind-hearted person, and when she got anxious, she advised Qin Xiaoyu again: “Think about it, if you’re interested, I can help you matchmake. I can speak on behalf of my nephew.”

"Think it over. Your second sister's eldest nephew is a very handsome man. People from all over the county are lining up to propose to him. If he takes a liking to you, that would be a blessing." Auntie San, who was not usually talkative, saw Qin Xiaoyu's anxious attitude and had to say a few more words.

"Come on, come on, the food will get cold!" Grandma Hanhan pulled the two of them, trying to run away.

"Sister, that's not right. This daughter-in-law has been living in your house all along, only you can tolerate her. Judging from her clothes, she must have cost a lot of money."

"Exactly, you're willing to spend other people's money. You're just too soft-hearted, sister."

"No, my daughter-in-law has her own money to spend, she didn't spend mine!" Grandma Hanhan couldn't explain anymore.