"Either you treat everyone equally, or we'll split up!" Shen Zishan said decisively, his resolute tone leaving no room for negotiation.

"You beast! You actually want to separate from your parents for a bitch! Don't you understand such a simple principle as that parents should not separate from their children?"

"Are you treating me and your father as if we're already dead?" Qian Daniu roared angrily, her eyes wide with fury. Then, like a raging lioness, she pounced on Shen Zishan, scratching, hitting, and cursing him as she did so.

Faced with his mother's violent actions, Shen Zishan simply stood still, neither dodging nor resisting, letting his mother's fists rain down on him.

At this moment, Hen Chang, who had been sitting silently smoking his pipe, finally couldn't stand it anymore. He slammed his pipe heavily on the table with a loud "bang".

He shouted loudly, "Enough! What else do you want? You've almost ruined this family, and you still want to cause trouble."

Hearing her husband's reprimand, Qian Daniu trembled involuntarily, and her hand, which had been waving in the air, instantly stopped. She muttered something under her breath, but ultimately didn't dare to continue her outburst.

Seeing this, he sighed deeply, then turned to Shen Zishan and earnestly advised, "Third brother, your mother already knows she was wrong. Let it go this time. Give her one last chance, okay?"

Shen Zishan slowly raised his head, his gaze complex as he looked at Qian Daniu, his lips trembling slightly as he called out, "Mother..."

Seeing this, Qian Danu showed a hint of reluctance on her face, rolled her eyes at Chen Zishan with extreme impatience, and muttered, "I know, I know, you're so annoying!"

"From now on, I can only give one-third of my salary to my family for common use. I have to keep the rest for myself and keep it safe."

Shen Zishan spoke again calmly. His words were like a drop of water falling into a pot of hot oil, instantly causing an uproar.

Qian Danu, who had been sitting there silently, could no longer contain herself. She jumped up from the stool, her eyes wide with anger, and pointed at Shen Zishan's nose, cursing loudly.

"You heartless bastard! How dare you do this? Our family has always had rules. All the money we earn must be handed over to the family for unified use and management. How could you think of distributing it privately?"

I'm telling you, I absolutely will not agree! If you dare leave the money behind, you might as well just kill me with a knife!

Seeing this, Shen Zhong took a deep breath and said to Shen Zishan earnestly, "San'er, you are a sensible child."

“Look at your eldest and second eldest brothers. They toil away in the yellow earth all day long. How much can they earn in a year? The family’s expenses are already high. If you only have to hand over a third of your share, then life will be unbearable. It will be so tight that it will be hard to breathe.”

After speaking, Chen Zhong stopped talking and stared intently at Shen Zishan, as if waiting for his response.

However, Shen Zishan knew that his father would definitely have more to say, so he didn't rush to refute or defend himself, but just stood there quietly listening.

Sure enough, after a brief pause, he continued, "San'er, how about this? You hand over two-thirds of your salary to the family, and keep the rest for yourself. What do you think?"

After much hesitation, Shen Zishan finally decided to agree.

However, he immediately made a condition: "It's fine, but you have to keep this month's wages for me."

As you know, my wife is about to give birth. What if something urgent happens and we don't have any money in our pockets?

Upon hearing this, he nodded without hesitation and replied, "No problem!"

Qian Danu, standing to the side, was anxious to retort and was about to interject when she was suddenly met with a heavy, sharp gaze. Her heart tightened, and she swallowed back the words she was about to say, daring not to utter another sound.

Seeing this, Shen Zishan finally felt much more at ease.

He had initially worried that he would have to use a lot of persuasion to get these rights, and that he might even end up with nothing. But things went much more smoothly than he expected.

"Alright, I'll go and bring my wife back right away!" Before he finished speaking, Shen Zishan turned around and rushed out the door.

Henzhong quickly called out to him, "Wait! Look at the sky, it's already pitch black, and the road is difficult to walk on. Your wife is so heavily pregnant now, if she accidentally falls, the consequences would be unimaginable!"

"In my opinion, let's wait until it's light tomorrow before going! Aren't you tired from all this traveling back and forth? Have a hot meal first and get some rest!"

Hearing his father's words, Shen Zishan was extremely anxious and wished he could fly to his wife's side immediately to bring her home. However, what his father said made sense.

After all, it was already dark, and the journey was long and unsafe, so let's wait until after dinner before setting off.

I can stay at my mother-in-law's house for one night, and then I can come back with my wife tomorrow morning. It won't interfere with my work afterwards.

Before long, Shen Zishan's family sat down around the dining table to have dinner.

On the table were several dishes: fragrant stir-fried eggs with chili peppers, refreshing cucumber salad, tender and green green beans, and a plate of vibrant green stir-fried vegetables. Each dish was served in a generous portion.

After her mother sat down at the table, she carefully picked up the plate of golden, tempting eggs and began to distribute them to everyone in turn.

The first to receive their share were naturally the three sons in the family. Then they each took a little, and then shared some with their father and the younger children. Finally, a small portion was given to each of the daughters-in-law.

In the past, Shen Zishan would always just focus on eating and never pay attention to these details.

For some reason today, perhaps because of an argument, or perhaps for some other reason, he surprisingly began to observe this scene.

"Even if your wife is home, do you only get a few pieces of chili pepper?" Shen Zishan stared blankly.

"San'er, what are you thinking about? Hurry up and eat." Qian Daniu put a few more pieces of food on Shen Zishan's plate.

"Thank you, Mother!" Shen Zishan quickly finished the brown rice in his bowl.

"Mom and Dad, I'm going to my mother-in-law's house to pick up my wife. She'll stay at her house tonight, and I'll bring her back first thing tomorrow morning before I go to work."

Before his family could say anything, Shen Zishan ran off and disappeared in a short while.

At this moment, Ma Aning's family had just finished dinner.

Everyone put down their bowls and chopsticks contentedly, rested for a while, and then began their pre-bedtime washing and grooming routine.

Before long, everyone had finished washing up and climbed into bed, ready to drift off into a sweet dream.

Ma Aning, with her round little belly protruding, was digesting her food in the room when she felt the baby move, and two obvious bulges appeared on her belly.