The Wu family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, who always considered themselves natives of Beijing, looked down on their daughter-in-law Zhou Hongmei, who was from another province, not even by a glance.

Wu's mother-in-law originally planned to kick her son out and wait until he was desperate, at which point he would naturally divorce Zhou Hongmei. Then she would arrange a marriage for her younger son with a girl from Beijing who was of equal social standing.

But to her utter surprise, her son really didn't come back.

She wanted to go and find him, but her eldest daughter-in-law stopped her, saying, "Mom, it's too early. You have to make Jianjun suffer enough before he realizes what's happening!"

The eldest daughter-in-law naturally had her own calculations. The house was only 20 square meters, and seven people, young and old, lived there. If her younger brother and his wife were to come back and live there as well, they would all suffocate!

Without Wu Jianjun and his wife, life went back to normal, proceeding as before.

Until last month, when Wu Jianguo came home from work, he didn't even have time to eat. He mysteriously told his wife and mother, "It's incredible! Jianjun opened a shop! Hongmei opened a shop too!"

At that time, Wu's eldest daughter-in-law was stir-frying a pot of cabbage with pork cracklings.

Her triplets are growing rapidly, and this big pot of cabbage isn't even enough for all three of them!

Grandma Wu was chopping mustard greens. She was cutting the pickled mustard greens into thin strips, soaking them in water to remove the saltiness, then taking them out, squeezing out the water, and mixing them with some sesame oil. It's best eaten with steamed buns.

The kitchen, barely two square meters, was so cramped you could barely turn around. The pan was sizzling and popping as Wu's eldest daughter-in-law frantically stirred the food. She casually asked, "What kind of shop do you run?"

Wu Jianguo tore off a small piece of the freshly baked flatbread, threw it into his mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed it.

"Your pancakes aren't very good, not as good as Hongmei's. Let me tell you, the noodles, scallion pancakes, and braised pork head at Hongmei's shop are all delicious!"

"If you don't like it, don't eat it! You only earn a pittance a month, and you're talking about scallion pancakes and braised pig's head... What did you say? Zhou Hongmei's shop? She opened a shop?"

Wu Jianguo soon broke out in a sweat in the kitchen. He turned around, took a small stool, and sat down in the cramped courtyard.

"That's right, Hongmei opened a small restaurant that specializes in noodles. My colleague said it was delicious and took me there."

Zhou Hongmei recognized her brother-in-law and not only gave them two bowls of noodles for free, but also gave them a plate of braised pig's head and a plate of cold dishes.

Wu Jianguo didn't dare to recognize Zhou Hongmei at first.

Nothing more. At this moment, Zhou Hongmei's eyebrows were relaxed, her cheeks were fuller, and her temperament was calm. She looked exactly like a small shop owner. Where was the timid, thin, and dark-skinned girl she used to be at home?

He went there a few more times and happened to run into Wu Jianjun, who was there to pick up Zhou Hongmei.

After chatting for a bit, he learned that Wu Jianjun was already the manager of an antique shop.

After he finished explaining, the Wu family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were dumbfounded, their mouths agape, wide enough to fit a goose egg!

After the meal, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law exchanged a glance and understood each other's thoughts.

They first went to check out Zhou Hongmei's shop. Although the shop was small, it was in a prime location with a constant flow of people and a very high turnover rate.

Wu's eldest daughter-in-law roughly calculated that the small shop had collected more than 20 yuan in half an hour!

Goodness!

At this rate, the daily turnover must be several hundred!

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law's eyes revealed barely suppressed excitement.

They went to visit Wu Jianjun's antique shop again.

Antique shops naturally don't have as many customers as noodle shops, but judging from the luxurious decor and the location, it goes without saying that Wu Jianjun has made a fortune!

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law followed Zhou Hongmei back to Tianshui Hutong like detectives.

When they saw the spacious and tidy courtyard house again, without a single unauthorized addition, the Wu family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law felt a surge of bitterness welling up inside them.

No wonder Wu Jianjun and Zhou Hongmei didn't come back; they live in such a spacious and comfortable place!

When they dragged their tired bodies back to their cramped homes, their dissatisfaction with life and their jealousy of Wu Jianjun and Zhou Hongmei collectively erupted.

They originally planned to go to Wu Jianjun that very night.

However, they were stopped by Wu's father-in-law, who said, "What's the rush? What's the point of you going over like this? Think about it carefully, hmm?"

After thinking for a few days, they came up with a perfect excuse, so the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law came over excitedly.

Because Zhou Hongmei was further along in her pregnancy, she didn't go to the noodle shop as early as before.

Every day after having breakfast at home, Wu Jianjun would first take Zhou Hongmei there before going to the antique shop.

As a result, as soon as the two of them stepped out today, they saw the Wu family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law waiting at the door.

Once the shelf is put up, it's hard to take it down.

Despite having prepared herself mentally for several days, Grandma Wu still couldn't bring herself to say anything sweet at this moment.

She looked down at Zhou Hongmei's large belly and uttered a few cold words, "What a tragedy! Fine, since she's carrying our Wu family's child, I have no choice but to accept it."

Seeing her brother-in-law and sister-in-law's faces gradually darken, Wu's eldest daughter-in-law quickly tugged at her mother-in-law's sleeve, signaling her to stop talking.

A smile appeared on her face. "Hongmei, how many months pregnant are you? You're so far along in your pregnancy, why didn't you tell your family? You have no parents, who will take care of you?"

Although what my sister-in-law said wasn't very pleasant to hear, it was still a human being's words.

Wu Jianjun helped Zhou Hongmei up and asked, "Sister-in-law, Mom, what brings you here?"

Grandma Wu was displeased. "Why don't you invite us in to talk? What are you doing standing at the door? Do you think we're beggars who can't enter your house?"

"Oh, Mom, what are you saying!"

Having no other choice, Wu Jianjun had to invite the two people in.

Even if Zhou Hongmei was unhappy, she didn't immediately turn on her.

What caused them to break off relations and start fighting was a few words spoken when they came in.

As Grandma Wu entered the courtyard, her breath caught in her throat. "Is this courtyard just for your family?"

Wu Jianjun didn't take it seriously, "And there's also Grandpa Jin and..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wu's eldest daughter-in-law interrupted, "That down-on-his-luck old man? Why did you bring him into our house?"

Grandma Wu agreed, "That's right! Even if we kick him out, he has his own place to live!"

"Jianjun, Hongmei, Mom and I came here to take care of Hongmei. You should go to work. We'll move our things over in a bit, and you won't have to worry about things at home anymore!"

Wu's eldest daughter-in-law laughed heartily and said, "Judging from her appearance, she already considers this courtyard house her own."

Wu Jianjun could not agree to that and hurriedly explained that the house did not belong to him.

But if this were mentioned now, Wu's wife would never believe it, and she immediately gave Wu Jianjun a thorough dressing-down.

Seeing her husband being taken advantage of, Zhou Hongmei quickly stepped in front of him.

Wu's mother-in-law was initially reluctant to hit her son, but when she saw her daughter-in-law approaching, she reached out and slapped Zhou Hongmei across the face.