The weather was great over the weekend, and almost everyone in the compound who had nothing to do gathered in the front yard to chat. Some even sat at the gate watching the children play.

The person sitting near the entrance was the first to notice Sha Zhu. Mainly because the girl next to him was truly beautiful; not only was her face pretty, but she also had a curvaceous figure, the kind that's good for bearing children. Crucially, she was wearing a brand new outfit.

The only slight flaw is her pale complexion, clearly caused by long-term malnutrition. But this also shows how good her figure is; even with malnutrition, she has such a physique. If she were well-nourished, she would surpass Qin Huairu.

The people at the door saw Sha Zhu and the girl chatting and laughing, pointing and introducing the alley and courtyard, and knew that the two had a special relationship, so they called Sha Zhu over.

"Yingzi, this is the courtyard house where I live. I live in the middle courtyard, in the largest room. These are all my neighbors. I won't introduce them to you now, there are too many people, you'll get to know them later."

Hello everyone, let me introduce you. This is my girlfriend, her name is Niu Yingzi, you can call her Yingzi.

As Sha Zhu introduced her, the whole courtyard erupted in excitement. No one expected Sha Zhu to bring home such a beautiful wife so quietly. Those at the entrance, seeing Yingzi, were full of praise, while those behind couldn't see her and could only keep pushing forward.

"Don't push, everyone, be careful of trampling." At this moment, Yi Zhonghai, who was following behind Sha Zhu and the other two, rushed over and maintained order at the scene.

Fortunately, Yan Fugui and Liu Haizhong were in the courtyard, and Yi Zhonghai was outside. The courtyard and surrounding areas finally quieted down, and the neighbors lined up at the gate, all wanting to catch a glimpse of her.

After a while, Sha Zhu led Yingzi across the front yard like an honor guard, waving as they went. At that moment, Sha Zhu felt that all the hardships he had endured these past few days were totally worth it. Why find a beautiful wife? For him, it didn't really matter much; the important thing was saving face.

Sha Zhu walked through the front yard to his own home in the middle yard, while the neighbors were all gathered around Yi Zhonghai, asking him what was going on. It was really strange that this girl had come out; no one could help but be surprised.

At this point, Yi Zhonghai could no longer hide the truth for Sha Zhu, so he simply said that the girl had fled to the capital from famine and fell in love at first sight with Sha Zhu, who was doing volunteer work. Then, today, Sha Zhu took the girl to buy a new set of clothes and they went home together.

Because it's the weekend and the neighborhood office is closed, Sha Zhu will have to wait until tomorrow to take the girl there to get their marriage certificate. Tonight, Yingzi will stay with Yu Shui for the night.

"That silly Zhu is really lucky! He only did a few days of volunteer work and found this beautiful wife. He's really struck gold. Mom, I'm going to go check it out later," a quick-witted young man said to his mother.

"I think Sha Zhu's volunteer work is a pretense; he's really looking for a wife." Someone saw through Sha Zhu's scheme at a glance.

"Whether it's true or not, the fact that he found a beautiful wife is enough. I think Yingzi is even prettier than Qin Huairu, no wonder Shazhu was willing to bring her over," Auntie San chimed in from the side.

"Qin Huairu has come up with nothing but a wasted effort, losing both her wife and her army. Haha, I heard Qin Huairu moaning in Sha Zhu's room when I went to the toilet a few days ago. Let's see what the Jia family does now." The second aunt also gloated.

"Wow, such exciting news! Auntie, tell us the details!"

Hearing there was some juicy gossip to share, the older women who had originally planned to go home and cook refused to leave, insisting that Second Aunt explain the whole story. Second Aunt discovered what had happened that night and told Liu Haizhong about it, but Liu Haizhong asked her to keep it a secret.

He'd been holding it in for days. Now that everyone was here, she couldn't hold it in any longer and blurted out everything she'd seen and heard that night, even imitating Qin Huairu's cries, which made everyone around her burst into laughter.

The topic quickly shifted from Sha Zhu's beautiful wife to gossip about Qin Huairu. After the second aunt finished speaking, someone else said that one night when they went to the toilet, they saw someone who looked like Qin Huairu walk into the men's room with another person, and then they heard moaning and groaning coming from the men's room.

The more people talked, the more excited they became, with all sorts of gossip flying around, regardless of whether it was true or false. Anything sensational was linked to Qin Huairu. At that moment, all the carefully constructed personas Qin Huairu had built collapsed. As the saying goes, "It takes only a mouth to spread a rumor, but exhausting legs to refute it," the power of rumors was immense.

Meanwhile, Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi, who were the subject of gossip, were still at home, completely unaware of what was happening outside, until Bang Geng reminded them.

"Grandma, Mom, Sha Zhu brought a wife back. Quick, get me a bag, I want to go find Sha Zhu and ask him for wedding candy."

As soon as Banggeng returned, he grabbed a bag to fill with candy, proving he was indeed Jia Zhangshi's grandson. But after waiting for a long time, neither his grandmother nor his mother brought him any.

"Hurry up, or there won't be any candy left. Lots of kids are going home to get their own things now," Banggeng urged again.

"What did you say? Sha Zhu brought his wife back?"

Qin Huairu was the first to regain her senses, frantically shaking the rod. Her face was filled with disbelief; she felt cheated. She, Qin Huairu, was always the one taking advantage of others; how could anyone dare to take advantage of her, especially so thoroughly?

"What are you doing? You've hurt my grandson. If you're so capable, go ask Sha Zhu why he's taking his anger out on a child."

When Jia Zhangshi saw her eldest grandson being shaken by Qin Huairu, she immediately jumped up. She couldn't believe that Sha Zhu would do something so clever without revealing a word; she was certain that old man Yi Zhonghai was behind it all.

"Don't overthink it now. Let's go see what's going on. Whether Sha Zhu's marriage is real or fake, he messed with you like this. He should at least compensate us. This won't be over without at least 100 yuan."

Madam Jia's logic was clear. Seeing that things were beyond saving, she focused on securing the most tangible benefit. She referenced the prices in the Eight Great Hutongs and set a compensation standard for Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu didn't hear what her mother-in-law said, otherwise she would have been furious. She went out with Jia Zhangshi and saw the neighbors gathered in front of Sha Zhu's house.

"Hurry up, Qin Huairu is here! This is going to be interesting," someone said.

"I think Qin Huairu will definitely scratch Yingzi to death, and so will Jia Zhangshi. With their physiques, even four Yingzi wouldn't be a match for them."

"If all else fails, I'll just take Yingzi home and raise her. Anyway, Sha Zhu didn't marry her, so I won't lose out," a young man said with a laugh.

The group chatted and laughed, but when they saw Qin Huairu coming, they automatically made way for her and Jia Zhangshi to enter the room.

"Sister Qin, you're here." Sha Zhu was a little embarrassed when he saw that it was Qin Huairu who came in.