The fact that his spoiled youngest son had taken the initiative to kneel down and apologize suddenly piqued his interest in what Li Chu had said in the room earlier.

After Li Chu and his sister and brother-in-law pushed the car out, he asked, "Sister, where are Jia Dong and Jia Yuan?"

"They didn't come; they're playing in our compound. It's a good thing I didn't bring them along," Li Qin said, pursing her lips.

"You should go back quickly, they must be hungry too." It's already past three in the afternoon, and they all ate dumplings for breakfast. The adults are a little hungry, let alone the two children.

"We're heading back now. When you go out tomorrow, make sure Qiu Nan is dressed warmly. Don't ride your bike too fast, and be careful on the road." Li Qin gave these words of advice, worried that Li Chu and the others were going back to Ding Qiu Nan's parents' home tomorrow.

"Okay, sister. Brother-in-law, you two go back now. I'm leaving too."

After parting ways with them, Li Chu rode his old bicycle with the feeling of a road racer, speeding home.

Back home, when Li Chu pushed open the courtyard gate, Xiao Hei stood warily outside the living room door, looking in his direction. Upon seeing Li Chu, it wagged its tail and lay down again.

On the living room table was a plate and a small dish of dipping sauce, with a few dumplings left on the plate.

The room was quiet. Li Chu tiptoed to the bedroom door, lifted the curtain, and saw Ding Qiunan sleeping on the bed.

Li Chu didn't disturb her. He gently lowered the curtain and retreated to the living room. He finished the remaining dumplings on the table and didn't cook anything else. He planned to wait for his wife to get up and see what else she wanted to eat.

On the morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year, after it was fully light, Li Chu set off with Ding Qiunan.

Since we had already delivered New Year's gifts in advance, we only brought a package of pastries and a piece of salted meat that they had cured themselves.

Li Chu rode very carefully along the way. What should have been an hour or so took more than two hours to get there.

Aunt Ding was a little anxious; they were standing at the entrance of the alley waiting when they arrived.

"Why are you so late coming back today?" Ding's mother asked as soon as they met. Usually, they would arrive much earlier.

"Mom, Happy New Year! We set off a little later than usual today, and I rode slowly on the road." Li Chu said as he stopped, and after coming to a complete stop, he turned around and grabbed the girl's arm with one hand to help her slowly get off the bike.

This action left Ding's mother, who was standing nearby, completely stunned. "Wow," she thought, "is she serving an ancestor like this?" When did her daughter become like this?

After Ding Qiunan regained her footing, Li Chu let go of her hand and got out of the car himself.

The girl walked up to Ding's mother, took her hand, and said sweetly, "Mom, I missed you so much."

Aunt Ding gave the girl a meaningful look, then reached out and tapped her head: "Come on, there are fewer of you who came back than Xiao Chu. You think you miss me? Who are you trying to fool?"

He then said to Li Chu, "Xiao Chu, hurry home, your dad is worried inside."

Watching Li Chu walk ahead, Aunt Ding whispered in the girl's ear, "How come you've spoiled Li Chu so much that you don't behave anymore? You even need help getting out of the car."

"No way, Mom, he's just making a mountain out of a molehill," Ding Qiunan said, stamping her foot.

"What do you mean by that?" Ding's mother sensed something was off.

Even in front of her mother, the girl was still a little embarrassed, her face slightly flushed, and she said shyly, "Mom, I...I'm pregnant."

"Really? You're not kidding me?" Ding's mother looked at her daughter with surprise, her voice much louder. Her daughter hadn't gotten pregnant after more than a year of marriage, and Ding's mother was getting anxious.

Hearing Ding Ma suddenly shout loudly, Li Chu, who was walking ahead, turned around. Seeing his wife's appearance, he knew that she must be talking to her mother-in-law about the pregnancy, so he turned back around.

"Oh my god, how could I joke about something like this?" the girl protested.

Upon receiving her daughter's affirmative reply, Ding's mother said happily, "That's great! This is great! Your dad will definitely be happy when we get back. Now I can finally relax."

"Mom, what's there to worry about?"

"Silly girl, there's already gossip going around." Ding Ma got angry just thinking about it.

Ever since Ding Qiunan married Li Chu, all the gossipy women in the alley have been incredibly envious after finding out about Ding's son-in-law.

Furthermore, after they got married, Li Chu would often come back to bring them things, showing more filial piety than a biological son, which made the people in the alley even more envious.

Fortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Ding are good at interpersonal relationships and maintain good relationships with the neighbors in the courtyard, so no one in the courtyard usually says anything bad.

With her daughter still not pregnant after so long, gossip spread even more, and people in the compound started talking about it behind her back.

Ding's mother was furious, but there was nothing she could do. Now that she heard her daughter say she was pregnant, Ding's mother wanted to go door to door to inform everyone.

Li Chu walked quickly ahead, and by the time the mother and daughter entered the courtyard, he had already gone inside.

After entering the courtyard, Aunt Ding walked home while loudly announcing, "Old Ding, Old Ding, I have something to tell you, our daughter is pregnant!" Good heavens, her voice was so loud that the whole alley could hear it.

Ding Qiunan, who was holding her mother's arm, blushed as her mother's loud voice rang out.

The neighbors who heard the commotion, whether sincerely or not, all came out to congratulate Aunt Ding.

Aunt Ding accepted all the congratulations from her neighbors, beaming with joy.

Ding's father heard Ding's mother's voice from inside the house and looked at Li Chu, who had just entered the house, with surprise and delight.

Li Chu nodded to Ding's father: "Dad, Happy New Year! Qiu Nan is indeed pregnant; it was just confirmed a couple of days ago."

Upon hearing Li Chu's words, Ding's father slapped his thigh with joy, repeatedly saying, "Great, great, great news! This is a good omen, especially during the New Year!"

Ding Jianguo also came over and asked, "Brother-in-law, does that mean I'm going to be an uncle?"

"That's right, next year it will be your turn to give your nephew or niece lucky money."

"Huh? I'm going to give out New Year's money?" Ding Jianguo was a little surprised. Where would he get the money to give out money?

“That’s right. You’ll be the elder then, so you’ll definitely have to give the younger generation lucky money,” Li Chu said seriously.

Ding Jianguo turned to look at his father in disbelief, and his father nodded in agreement.

Seeing his father nod, Ding Jianguo's face immediately fell.

Just then, Ding's mother and Ding Qiunan entered the room. The girl saw her younger brother standing there listlessly and asked, "What's wrong with Jianguo? Did he get scolded for being naughty again?"

Ding's mother also looked at her son, and she felt something was wrong; she hadn't disciplined him today.

Li Chu suppressed a laugh and said, "I told him that I'll be getting lucky money next year, and I'm worried about it."

After saying this, Ding's mother and daughter both laughed, and Ding's father sat there chuckling.

Ding's mother said with a smile, "That's right, son. You need to start saving money now, otherwise you won't be able to pay for your New Year's money, and you'll be embarrassed."

Ding Jianguo glanced resentfully at his mother. "She only gives me a dime a month. How am I supposed to save money?"

Seeing Ding Jianguo's expression, the people in the room laughed even harder, and Li Chu couldn't help but laugh along.