Zhao Yunxiang was startled by the visitor and took a few steps back, holding Zhou Yuanyuan's hand. She secretly complained in her heart: How could this person be so rude? Seeing a woman so close, really!

According to the custom in rural areas, men and women who are not from the same family will keep a distance of more than one meter when talking to each other.

Zhao Yunxiang came to her senses and realized it was Zhou Daniu from the same production team. Zhou Daniu was a well-known bachelor in Zhoujia Village. His family was extremely poor and he was still unmarried in his forties or even fifties.

Zhou Daniu had some money, but he used it all to curry favor with the village widow He. Widow He was a few years older than Zhou Daniu, with a face full of wrinkles, and only a man like Zhou Daniu would not despise her.

Zhou Daniu would eat from his bowl while looking at the pot. When he saw young girls and wives, he would stare at them and would not move his eyes away. The young girls and wives in Zhoujia Village secretly called Zhou Daniu an "old hooligan".

"I'm waiting for my Zhixin!" Zhao Yunxiang forced a smile and replied.

"Your Zhixin is back home? Zhixin, wife, aren't you afraid?" Zhou Daniu wanted to come closer again, but Zhao Yunxiang and Zhou Yuanyuan took a few steps back.

I'm so happy that Zhixin is back, what am I afraid of? Zhao Yunxiang was stunned.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you always getting in front of other people when you can just talk nicely?" Zhou Yuanyuan was also furious. Zhou Daniu probably rarely showered, so he had a foul odor. When he stood any closer to her, Zhou Yuanyuan felt like vomiting.

"Hehe, Zhixin's wife, give me ten dollars." Zhou Daniu said with a mouthful of yellow teeth, but this time he didn't move forward.

"What?" Zhao Yunxiang thought there was something wrong with her ears.

"I told you to give me ten dollars and I won't tell anyone about your affairs. Otherwise... you know the consequences." Zhou Daniu laughed, and there was an indescribable vulgarity in his laughter.

"Psycho." Zhou Yuanyuan rolled her eyes at Zhou Daniu and cursed, "Are you crazy about money? How dare you blackmail me on the road? Do you believe I will have my uncle take you to the police station?"

How despicable! Being poor isn't a mistake, but someone who's poor, lazy, and a blackmailer is worse than a pile of cow dung. Cow dung can at least fertilize the fields, but people like Zhou Daniu are truly the dregs of society.

"I don't have money, and I wouldn't give it to you even if I had." Zhao Yunxiang was also furious. She had only been making fish balls for a few days, and Zhou Daniu dared to blackmail her?

Another "smart guy" who, like Wu Jinfeng, thought she was a "speculator"? Even Wu Jinfeng and Zhao Yunxiang couldn't tolerate her. How could Zhou Daniu have the nerve to try to extort money from her?

The incident with Wu Jinfeng had just happened that morning, and Zhao Yunxiang directly regarded Zhou Daniu's behavior as the same "red-eye disease" as Wu Jinfeng, so she missed the good opportunity to find out the truth.

"Okay! You're so cruel!" After Zhou Daniu said this, he didn't stay any longer and walked away with a hunched back.

"Yuanyuan, do you think this guy is crazy?" Zhao Yunxiang pondered over it, not realizing she had ever offended Zhou Daniu in any way. He'd asked her for money for no reason, and he'd asked for ten yuan right off the bat. Was Zhou Daniu truly mad? Ten yuan! That was a huge sum of money. Two-thirds of a town worker's monthly salary!

Before Zhao Yunxiang and Zhou Yuanyuan could figure out what was going on, Zhou Zhixin came back with a small bag in his hand.

Seeing Zhao Yunxiang and Zhou Yuanyuan waiting there obediently, Zhou Zhixin's heart was filled with joy. He was really afraid that Yunxiang would blame him for what happened that morning!

Now that Yunxiang was willing to wait for him, it meant that most of her anger had subsided. Back in Zhaojiagou, he could coax Yunxiang in the evening, and she would surely calm down. He didn't come home often anyway, so making Yunxiang happy was his duty as a husband.

The three of them walked slowly towards the town. Halfway there, Zhao Yunxiang, realizing it was getting late, insisted on riding her bike to her brother's place to deliver the goods, leaving Zhou Zhixin and their daughter to follow behind.

When Zhao Guohui heard what Zhao Yunxiang said about Wu Jinfeng this morning, he couldn't suppress the anger in his heart.

When Zhou Zhixin brought Zhou Yuanyuan to the supply and marketing cooperative, Zhao Guohui's face was dark and gloomy, as if water could drip out of it.

Seeing Zhou Yuanyuan, Zhao Guohui's gloomy face slowly brightened up. Zhou Yuanyuan liked her uncle and would always go up to him and kiss him when she saw him.

Zhou Zhixin's heart ached when he saw the interaction between his daughter and Zhao Guohui. Just now, on the way home, Zhou Zhixin tried to hold Yuanyuan, but Yuanyuan shook her head, refusing him to hold her, and walked to town on her own short legs. Furthermore, even when Zhou Zhixin asked her about family matters, she would either say "hmm," "huh?" or "I don't know," which frustrated Zhou Zhixin immensely.

Where was the imagined loving father and filial daughter? The last time he went home, the little girl was clinging to him tightly.

Zhou Zhixin was depressed, but he had no way to deal with Zhou Yuanyuan.

Zhou Zhixin thought his daughter had become introverted and quiet because she fell into the water. Thinking that he hadn't been home for more than a year, he had an explanation for his daughter's coldness in his heart: Yuanyuan was not familiar with him, so she was not close to him!

Unexpectedly, when Zhou Yuanyuan saw Zhao Guohui, she first called him "Uncle" sweetly, and then rushed into Zhao Guohui's open arms. After being held high by Zhao Guohui, Zhou Yuanyuan giggled and kissed Zhao Guohui on both cheeks.

Where was the promised shyness? Where was the promised indifference? Zhou Zhixin felt his heart was hurt a thousand times.

Zhao Guohui ignored Zhou Zhixin's sullen expression. For Zhao Yunxiang's sake, he'd been kind enough not to confront him directly. What was the point of a grown man being so unsure of right from wrong and merely being filial? His mother's mischief was all due to Zhou Zhixin's indulgence. It was hard on his sister.

However, Zhao Guohui secretly had a plan in mind. He would never let Wu Jinfeng's matter go. Zhou Zhixin did not pursue Wu Jinfeng's responsibility out of filial piety. He was his sister's family member and did not have so many scruples.

After Zhao Guohui finished his work, he took Zhao Yunxiang and the others home to pick up Zhou Jiasheng. It was rare that Zhou Jiasheng agreed to stay in town with him yesterday. If Zhou Zhixin hadn't returned, Zhao Guohui would have been reluctant to return Zhou Jiasheng to his sister.

For the past few months, Zhou Jiasheng has been attending preschool in town and has been living at Zhao Guohui's house. Zhou Jiasheng is a chubby and smart boy, and not only Zhao Guohui likes him, but his aunt Xu Liqin also likes him.

After the winter vacation, Zhou Jiasheng happily followed Zhao Yunxiang back to Zhoujia Village. Zhao Guohui and Xu Liqin felt that their home suddenly became a lot quieter.

Zhao Guohui and Xu Liqin had been married for almost two years, but for some unknown reason, Xu Liqin hadn't gotten pregnant. Zhao Guohui was the only son in the Zhao family, and Xu Liqin hadn't gotten pregnant. Zhao Qingshan and Zhao Guohui hadn't said anything, but Xu Liqin's mother was getting really anxious.

Xu's mother secretly consulted a fortune teller, who said that Xu Liqin was destined to have a child, but it would be difficult. If there was a boy living with her, it would improve Xu Liqin's chances of having a child.