Chapter 128 He wouldn't dare be a rogue anymore.

"Go ahead and go see." You Yun was speechless. She wasn't Tian Keshu; she couldn't possibly covet something from a pregnant woman.

In You Yun's opinion, Zhu Meng was alright.

After the family discussed how to allocate the houses, Qin's father quickly went to look at houses and made a decision. After the relevant procedures for the houses were completed, Qin's older brother even paid for the renovations.

How the house should be decorated is up to Qin Li'an and Zhu Meng, the engaged couple, with Qin's older brother providing a certain budget. If it doesn't exceed that budget, Qin's older brother will cover the cost; if it does, then Qin Li'an and Zhu Meng will have to pay for it themselves.

The house was already relatively new, so Zhu Meng didn't want any major renovations. She mainly just replaced the furniture and lights. Zhu Meng and Qin Li'an weren't looking for a super nice house; three bedrooms, two living rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom were enough for them.

Zhu Meng's family home only has three rooms, and since three rooms aren't enough, they have to stay in the living room.

Zhu Meng didn't make a fuss about wanting more things, so she was satisfied.

You Yun naturally wouldn't make things difficult for Zhu Meng; she thought Qin's mother was just crazy. If Qin's mother truly cared, she would have delivered the items herself, since there were caregivers available. Instead, Qin's mother insisted on having someone else deliver them, and even questioned whether they had actually delivered them. Qin's mother was incorrigible. Back when Song Fenglan was in postpartum confinement, Qin's mother had Tian Keshu deliver things to her. Why didn't Qin's mother question Tian Keshu then to see if she had hidden the items?

Now, Qin's mother is criticizing You Yun, but You Yun just wants to roll her eyes.

“When you go there, just give them the money,” You Yun said. “Let them buy it themselves.”

"I'll give it to myself, I'll give it to myself," Qin's mother said. "I asked you to do something, and you can't even do it properly."

You Yun stopped talking. Qin's mother wasn't in good health, and it was best not to upset her. You Yun felt she shouldn't have talked to Qin's mother so much; if anything happened to her, everyone would blame it on her. You Yun thought it was so good that Song Fenglan didn't have to live with Qin's mother, while she herself hadn't had much of a good time living with her.

Qin's mother was waiting for Zhu Meng to give birth so she could hold her great-grandson. Only after holding her great-grandson could she leave this world.

Tang Lu hadn't found a partner yet, so her father went to see Aunt Song again, hoping she could persuade Tang Lu.

“Her surname is Tang, not Song.” Aunt Song disliked Tang’s father, who even tried to stop her on the road. “Ask her when she’s getting married and when she’s having children. She’s your daughter, her surname is Tang, and she listens to you.”

“She is your daughter too,” Mr. Tang said.

“Who do I am? Back then, you all told her not to acknowledge me as her mother. And your good son, none of them treat me like their mother, nor do they treat my family as relatives,” Aunt Song said. “Now, all you know is to come to me, asking me to intervene. I can’t manage it, and I really can’t get an official position. Anyway, Tang Lu is getting married, and her child won’t have the surname Tang, so why do you have to interfere so much? You might as well let her fend for herself.”

“She’s a woman, and she’ll need someone to take care of her in her old age. She can’t stay single forever,” Mr. Tang said. “She misses you, her own mother, so if you talk to her, she’ll definitely listen to you.”

"By the way, you've retired, haven't you?" Aunt Song said. "No wonder you have so much time to do all this."

Mr. Tang has indeed retired. While others might be rehired or given nominal positions in some institute or office, Mr. Tang didn't. His retirement was a simple, honest retirement, without any empty titles. After his retirement, it's even less likely that others will respect him. If he were still at the company, even if he weren't the deputy factory director, they would at least have some respect for him.

Once people leave, they forget about you. After Mr. Tang completely left the factory, no one paid him any attention anymore. Feeling insignificant, Mr. Tang sought validation from Aunt Song.

“If you don’t want to live anymore, find a rope and hang yourself. Don’t come to me,” Aunt Song said. “Don’t think others don’t know what you’re thinking.”

There was a reason why Aunt Song disliked the Tang family; that's just how the Tang family is.

“You still have your wife, she’s waiting for you at home,” Aunt Song said. “If you come here, people who don’t know the situation will think you wish your wife were dead and that you want to get back together with me.”

"This..." Mr. Tang thought it wasn't impossible, but when he saw the disgust on Aunt Song's face, he knew that Aunt Song would never reconcile with him. "She can't have misunderstood. She's not a petty person."

"Heh." Aunt Song scoffed, "Are you going to call the police and say you're harassing me?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Tang stopped stopping Aunt Song; he didn't want to actually go to the police station. Mr. Tang simply felt...

Aunt Song is being too disrespectful. If Tang Lu really never gets married, will Aunt Song be happy?

Tang's father might be happy with Aunt Song, but Aunt Song has no intention of caring about Tang Lu at all.

Aunt Song glanced coldly at Tang's father, thinking, "Coward!"

After Jiang Yufei's husband lost his job, neither of them were employed. Lu Ping went out to look for work but faced setbacks everywhere. Lacking sufficient skills and wanting a higher salary, he was stuck in a limbo. Lu Ping thought about asking his relatives and friends for help, but most of them were helpless. Someone suggested he try visiting the Song family.

Jiang Yufei is related to the Song family, so Lu Ping felt awkward going to the Song family's house.

It's all Jiang Yufei's fault for treating the Song family badly in the past. Now they want the Song family to help them, but it's impossible; the Song family has no reason to help them, and they won't gain anything from it.

Lu Ping dragged his tired body home, and Jiang Yufei asked, "Did you find a job?"

"No," Lu Ping said helplessly. "If that doesn't work, I'll just have to go work on a construction site."

"Construction site?" Jiang Yufei's eyes widened.

“Yes,” Lu Ping said. “The wages in some factories are very low now, and I can’t possibly get the same salary as before. There are so many people who want to be workshop foreman, it’s not my turn. As for ordinary employees, the wages are really too low.”

Lu Ping had no idea what else he could do. Walking down the street, he even doubted whether he would be able to find a job. But it wasn't that there were no job openings or people looking to hire; it was just a matter of whether it was a good fit and whether Lu Ping was willing to take the job.

“With such low-paying jobs, you can’t save much money at the end of the month,” Lu Ping said. “It’s only because we have our own house that we don’t need to rent. If we had to rent, it wouldn’t be enough to make ends meet. If there are other things going on at home, it would be even harder.”

“We have to find jobs eventually,” Jiang Yufei said. “You don’t have a job, and neither do I. Are we supposed to wait for our child to support us? They’re not married yet, and if they were to get married, it would cost money.”

Jiang Yufei felt a headache just thinking about it. She never used to have to worry about these things. Now, at this awkward age, she has to worry about them. Originally, Lu Ping's salary was good, so it didn't matter that Jiang Yufei wasn't working. Now, neither of them is working, so they have no income, only expenses.

Jiang Yufei's son isn't unemployed, but he doesn't even have enough to live on himself, and Jiang Yufei often subsidizes him. With the family in this state, they'll only become more strapped for cash later on.

“Everything costs money,” Jiang Yufei said. “We have to attend a banquet in a few days and give out money as a gift. We can’t not give that gift, even if we don’t go. Your relatives are having banquets this year and next.”

"I know." Lu Ping knew perfectly well that these social obligations required money.

"Find a good job," Jiang Yufei said. "But it can't be a bad job either, or people will laugh at me."

"At a time like this, are you still afraid of being laughed at?" Lu Ping said.

“I…I’m afraid of being laughed at. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?” Jiang Yufei said. “You used to have a relatively high salary.”

“If others want to laugh at us, there’s nothing we can do. Right now, we’ve lost our jobs.” Lu Ping didn’t understand why Jiang Yufei was acting so aloof.

Their family is just an ordinary family, not a wealthy one at all. Why bother comparing themselves to those people? They can't compete with them.

“These days, I’ve been to several factories, and none of them need a workshop director,” Lu Ping said. “Especially not someone like me who came from a state-owned enterprise and is older. They all think we’re old hands who are hard to manage.”

It's all the fault of some of the people who left before; they were seasoned veterans who always liked to talk about how great their old factories were. One bad apple spoils the whole bunch. Some people who worked in state-owned factories for years have lost their drive; they want higher-paying jobs but don't want to do much work or take on much responsibility. Others, now working in private companies, still talk about how they behaved in the state-owned factories.

How could a private business owner not be angry? They need capable people, not just people who talk a good game. Talking a good game doesn't make money, so what's the point of keeping these people around? They all demand high salaries but don't do any work. If a private business can't make money, the factory can't operate and will have to go bankrupt.

Some of the factories Lu Ping visited had encountered some bad experiences, so they no longer wanted him. No matter how well Lu Ping claimed to be doing, they didn't believe him. The people Lu Ping knew were all unemployed themselves, so how could they possibly introduce him to a good job? If there were high-paying jobs available, they would simply go for them themselves. "We still have to keep looking," Lu Ping said. "If we don't look for work, we'll all starve."

"Hmm," Jiang Yufei said, "It's good that you're not thinking about not finding a job."

Jiang Yufei thought of her second brother and sister-in-law, Jiang Ersao. Jiang Ersao had once borrowed money at exorbitant interest rates, but the couple had now made a good living selling tofu and would be entitled to a share of the demolition compensation and a new house. Jiang Yufei wondered why her own family hadn't received any compensation; she also wanted that much money.

“My parents…they must know you’re unemployed, they haven’t even come to visit,” Jiang Yufei said. “My mom doesn’t care about me at all, she…”

"It's all because you insisted on getting your mother's compensation for the demolition," Lu Ping said. "Stop thinking about those things. Go and talk to your mother properly, and you can still have contact."

In the period leading up to the Lunar New Year, Jiang Yufei refused to send New Year's gifts to Aunt Yu and wouldn't allow Lu Ping to deliver them. Even when Lu Ping was halfway there, Jiang Yufei would intercept him and bring the gifts back. What could Lu Ping do? He was afraid that if he delivered the gifts, Jiang Yufei would simply go to Aunt Yu's house and take them away, which would be awkward for everyone.

So Lu Ping didn't send anything over, to avoid losing even more face.

“They’re just biased,” Jiang Yufei said. “They’ve always been like this since I was a child.”

"..." Lu Ping was too lazy to say anything more. He was having a hard time finding a job, while Jiang Yufei was only concerned about the demolition compensation.

If it's not theirs, and others don't give it to them, no matter how hard they try to get it, it's useless.

That's not just a few cents, it's a lot of money. Why would anyone give money to Jiang Yufei? Judging from Jiang Yufei's attitude, it's clear she's not going to be filial to her aunt and uncle.

Once, Qin Yizhou ran into Lu Ping on the street. Lu Ping was moving furniture for someone. Qin Yizhou didn't go over or get too close. He told Song Fenglan about it when he got home.

"I heard that Jiang Yufei's husband has been having trouble finding a job and hasn't been able to find one that suits him," Song Fenglan said. "The whole family is waiting to be fed, how can he really not work? Is he going to work for a moving company to move furniture? If so, it's physically demanding work."

“It’s physically demanding,” Qin Yizhou said. “You have to carry such large items on your back and go up stairs.”

There's no elevator; people have to walk up, which is quite difficult.

Qin Yizhou didn't follow, but when he looked at the house over there, he knew that Lu Ping was carrying things up the stairs.

“That’s very hard work,” Song Fenglan said. “He didn’t work this hard when he was a workshop director. I don’t know if he can handle it now. Whether he can or not, it’s his own choice. I don’t care about other people’s husbands.”

That's something Jiang Yufei should worry about, not something Song Fenglan should worry about.

Recently, Song Fenglan has heard that too many people have lost their jobs. There's nothing she can do; times have changed. In Song Fenglan's previous life, large corporations could lay off employees or outsource projects at will. Companies valued profits, not individuals.

In the tides of time, some people are always left stranded on the beach.

"Did you go and talk to him?" Song Fenglan asked.

"No, he's working. Why would I go over there?" Qin Yizhou said. "If I went over, he might feel embarrassed."

Qin Yizhou isn't unemployed; in fact, he's doing quite well, even if his position wasn't ideal and he got promoted. But by retirement, someone at his level will have a substantial pension. His family doesn't rely on his salary; it was only during the early, more difficult years that they needed to depend on him, but now they don't.

“But going there was the right thing to do,” Song Fenglan said. “Jiang Yufei is a person who cares about her reputation, but I don’t know if her man is like that.”

Song Fenglan paid no attention to Lu Ping, nor to Jiang Yufei's children. Given Song Fenglan's poor relationship with Jiang Yufei, it was even less likely that she would get close to Jiang Yufei's children.

Jiang Yufei's children didn't do well in school and didn't get into high school; they were lucky to even get into a vocational school. Some even dropped out of junior high, saying studying was too hard and not very useful—as long as they could read, that was enough. Jiang Yufei had hit and scolded her children, but to no avail. The children even said that if their own mother wasn't smart, they couldn't expect their children to be either.

Jiang Yufei was very angry, so she stopped forcing her child to study.

Actually, Lu Ping saw Qin Yizhou, but he didn't think of greeting him; the difference between them was too great. Besides, Lu Ping had to work and couldn't stop. Moving was physical labor, not easy work, but it paid well.

Lu Ping wanted to earn more money, but he didn't do this kind of thing often.

A few days later, Lu Ping accidentally missed a step and fell down the stairs, taking the refrigerator with him. Fortunately, the fall wasn't too serious, and he didn't roll very far, but he still had to be hospitalized.

Jiang Yufei's eyes were red; she hadn't expected her husband to get into this mess. He had broken his hand and had surgery, but thankfully he survived.

Aunt Yu visited Lu Ping at the hospital, and she even cooked soup for him.

“You’re not cut out for those kinds of things,” Aunt Yu said. “You don’t usually move those big things, you don’t have that much strength, so you shouldn’t be doing it.”

When Aunt Yu learned that Lu Ping had an accident, she rushed over.

"You people... really are something else." Aunt Yu thought of Jiang Erge selling his blood to pay off his debts. These people just love to show off. Do they think that what they're doing is right and that they'll be praised for it?

"It's nothing serious for me," Lu Ping said.

"We didn't make much money, and we even lost money," Aunt Yu said. "If all else fails, you can set up a stall and sell fried noodles, roasted sweet potatoes, or anything else."

"Mom, all you ever do is set up a stall," Jiang Yufei said disdainfully.

“What’s wrong with setting up a stall?” Aunt Yu said. “Your second brother didn’t make much money when he rented a shop to open a restaurant. He only started making money selling stinky tofu later. For a long time, he was setting up a stall outside. He didn’t have a storefront, and he made quite a bit of money. Don’t look down on people who set up stalls. You’re just too ashamed to do it.”

"Setting up a stall requires cooking skills. How can you do it without them?" Jiang Yufei asked. "Or do you have a secret recipe to share with us?"

"..." Aunt Yu was speechless. "Where did I get so many secret recipes?"

"Without a secret recipe, it really won't work," Jiang Yufei said. "How many people set up stalls outside, and how many of them make big money? If all laid-off workers went to set up stalls, how many more stalls would there be on the street?"

Jiang Yufei had no intention of setting up a stall; she was simply not cut out for it, as was Lu Ping.

“If we don’t set up a stall, we can do something else, there are other things to do,” Aunt Yu said. “But the most important thing now is to rest and recover.”

"Mom, why don't you go to Auntie and ask her to help us out?" Jiang Yufei said.

“When your second brother and sister-in-law came back from the countryside, we didn’t go to see your aunt, and we can’t go now either,” Aunt Yu said. “What will your second brother and sister-in-law think if we go to see your aunt at this time?”

"You're just concerned about your reputation, afraid your aunt will look down on you," Jiang Yufei said. "Back then, you made Song Fenglan..."

"I've told you a hundred times, don't mention this. Our family got the better deal," Aunt Yu said. "You take good care of your husband, and wash the food box and send it to me later."

Aunt Yu left first; with her son-in-law in such a state, now was clearly not the time to discuss those matters.

Song Fenglan didn't visit Lu Ping; her family sent some things over instead. Qin Zihang was busy with his experiments, and when things got crucial, he didn't want to go anywhere else. It wasn't that Qin Zihang was cold-hearted, but rather that his relationship with Jiang Yufei wasn't really that good; they weren't even considered ordinary relatives.

Song's mother went to see Lu Ping, and when she returned, she told Song Fenglan about Lu Ping's miserable condition.

“He thought he could just bang his head against the wall, but he’s over forty,” said Song’s mother. “If he used to do heavy work regularly, it would be one thing, but he doesn’t. He’s never done this kind of heavy work before, and after working for several days in a row, his body couldn’t take it, which is why he missed a step on the stairs. It’s good that he didn’t die. No wonder your aunt said over there that these people have no sense of propriety, no judgment about what they can and cannot do.”

“I have no job and can’t find another one, so this is the only way,” Song Fenglan said.

“That’s because they’re unwilling to do jobs that pay less,” said Song’s mother. “If they could accept lower wages, they could find jobs relatively quickly.”

“If your salary stays low, it’ll be harder to get promoted,” Song Fenglan said. “Maybe you’ll think about doing something else first, and then figure out how to find a better job. What about your aunt? Did she say anything else?”

“No,” said Song’s mother. “When your second cousin and his wife came back to the city, she didn’t ask us to help them. How could she ask us now? Your aunt was worried that your eldest cousin would be laid off. You know, the whole batch of people laid off from the grain bureau really scared your aunt.”

“Auntie doesn’t need to worry so much. She just needs to live her own life well,” Song Fenglan said. “Worrying about so many things is pointless. There are too many things to worry about.”

"That's exactly how it is," Song's mother sighed. "Your aunt is destined to be a hard worker."

“Isn’t the demolition going to be carried out?” Song Fenglan said. “The demolition compensation is a lot, so Auntie will have an easier time in the future. With that money, it’s good to buy another house to rent out, or to keep the money in hand. Buying a house is good, and gold is also good; it doesn’t depreciate so easily. If Auntie doesn’t want to do anything, she can hire a maid.”

“Your aunt is reluctant to spend this money,” said Song’s mother. “Your aunt is used to being frugal. There are so many mouths to feed in the family. Even if we get a few more houses, there are so many grandchildren. They still need to get houses. If we divide them up, we won’t have that many houses left.”

“That’s true.” Song Fenglan nodded.

“You’re just being too optimistic,” Song’s mother said. “Right now, Jiang Yufei and her husband are unemployed, and your aunt doesn’t dare to say she’ll give them any of the demolition compensation.”

“They can still find jobs, it’s not like they can’t, why worry so much?” Song Fenglan said.

“How could I not care about my own daughter? If anything happens between you and Yizhou, of course I, as her mother, have to come and check on things. I can’t just ignore everything,” said Song’s mother. “Your aunt’s life is really something. She just started to have a little bit of good fortune, and then all sorts of things happened.”

"..." How could Song Fenglan possibly respond? That's just how the tides of the times are.

Song's mother didn't ask her second brother to find a job for Jiang Yufei's husband. If she did, she would be doing right by Aunt Yu, but how would she face Song Fenglan afterwards? Jiang Yufei had made things difficult for Song Fenglan in every way; the fact that the Song family hadn't caused Jiang Yufei any trouble was already quite commendable. Even if Song's mother approached her second brother, he wouldn't possibly help Jiang Yufei's man.

When Song Erge was talking to his wife about Lu Ping at home, he said, "Fortunately, they still have some pride and didn't come to me for help."

"If they come to you, will you help them?" Cao Fang asked.

"No!" Second Brother Song said decisively. "Back then, Jiang Yufei made things difficult for Fenglan quite a bit. Just because of what she did back then, we can't help her. Even if her man is alright, it won't make a difference."

Even after Jiang Yufei got married, she still made things difficult for Song Fenglan. Whether Lu Ping tried to stop her or not, the outcome would have been the same.

“Jiang Yufei doesn’t have the face to come here now. If she really wanted to ask us, she would definitely go to her mother. Auntie will talk about their family in front of Mom, but she doesn’t dare let Mom help them too much,” said Song Erge. “Auntie is naturally a bit timid; she’s afraid her relationship with Mom will deteriorate. Auntie and Mom don’t have the same mother, so she’ll still be somewhat careful.”

“Fenglan basically didn’t say any of those things.” When Cao Fang was protecting Song Fenglan, she didn’t hear Song Fenglan say anything bad about Jiang Yufei. After she married Song Erge, Song Fenglan basically didn’t say anything either. It was just Song Erge who said a few words to Cao Fang.

“Fenglan has always been like this. She doesn’t want to dwell on past hardships, nor does she want to blame others,” said Brother Song.

“That’s because she’s kind,” Cao Fang said.

“Besides, we’re still relatives. Jiang Yufei is my aunt’s biological daughter, so Fenglan will be careful,” said Brother Song. “My aunt has helped her, and she doesn’t want to embarrass my aunt too much.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Cao Fang said.

Cao Fang stopped working as Song Fenglan's bodyguard. She lived close by and would visit Song Fenglan during her holidays. Sometimes, when Cao Fang passed by, she would glance around to see if anything seemed amiss. Cao Fang and Song Fenglan had a good relationship. If Song Fenglan hadn't agreed to Cao Fang's relationship with Song Fenglan's second brother, they most likely wouldn't have ended up together and wouldn't have gotten married.

After Lu Ping was discharged from the hospital, Aunt Yu went to visit him again. Lu Ping is currently unable to work for a while; it will take a hundred days to recover from such a serious injury.

"Just rest," Aunt Yu said to Jiang Yufei. "You're already like this, don't put on airs."

"Where am I putting on airs?" Jiang Yufei asked, her eyes red. "We've already come to this."

"You still

"You have a house, you have a place to live, but what about your savings?" Aunt Yu asked.

"Where would we get so much savings?" Jiang Yufei asked. "It all went to the hospital."

"After all these years, don't you two have any savings?" Aunt Yu asked.

"We really don't have that much money," Jiang Yufei said. "If we did, I wouldn't be asking you to share some of our demolition compensation."

"Don't even think about the demolition compensation." Aunt Yu got a headache whenever Jiang Yufei mentioned the demolition compensation.

The demolition compensation hasn't come through yet, and even if it does, it can't be given to Jiang Yufei.

Aunt Yu suspected that Jiang Yufei was deliberately playing the victim at this moment, as Jiang Yufei was not a particularly filial or family-oriented person to begin with. Aunt Yu looked at Jiang Yufei; her daughter's red eyes were of no use.

“It’s not easy for your son-in-law to find a job, so you can go,” Aunt Yu said.

“What kind of job can I find? If I go to the mall to sell things, people will think I’m too old,” Jiang Yufei said. “If I go to work in a restaurant, they’ll make me wash dishes. Like Tian Keshu, if I were to wash dishes, I’d be laughed at to death by her.”

Jiang Yufei used to laugh at Tian Keshu for remarrying and divorcing, and for only being able to wash dishes. Well, now it's her turn. Jiang Yufei absolutely cannot go to a restaurant to wash dishes; she can't go.

"At a time like this, you still care whether others laugh at you or not?" Aunt Yu reached out and poked Jiang Yufei's forehead. "Without savings, how will you live? Will you borrow money?"

"I……"

“You’re a grown woman now, don’t always wait for others to earn money for you to spend,” Aunt Yu said. “I’ve told you before that you should save money and not spend all the money you have. You didn’t remember what I said and you still spend all your money so quickly.”

“There are so many mouths to feed at home, it costs a lot of money,” Jiang Yufei said.

"Do you think we don't have many mouths to feed?" When Aunt Yu was in charge of the household, she was very careful and didn't waste money. She spent money when necessary and saved money when she could. "But you, you just don't save money. You're always comparing yourself to others. If Fenglan wears a nice dress, you quickly buy a nice dress too. If Fenglan has a new bag, you buy a new bag too."

Aunt Yu saw it all; she didn't miss it. Aunt Yu felt that Jiang Yufei shouldn't have bought things like that. It wasn't just that when Song Fenglan changed her clothes to new ones, Jiang Yufei changed hers too; when Jiang Yufei's neighbor changed her clothes, Jiang Yufei followed suit.

"Do you have to let everyone know you're living a good life?" Aunt Yu said. "Whether you're living a good life or not isn't determined by your clothes or your bags."

“Not all women like to buy clothes and bags. I don’t buy that many,” Jiang Yufei said. “I do buy some for the kids and for your son-in-law.”

"So you've spent even more money," Aunt Yu said. "Before, we didn't know how to save money, but now we know how difficult it is to have no money."

Aunt Yu still took two hundred yuan from her bag and handed it to Jiang Yufei. She didn't want Jiang's second brother to sell his blood again. Even though Aunt Yu knew Jiang Yufei wouldn't do such a thing, she was still a little scared because of the previous example.

"I... Mom." Jiang Yufei didn't expect Aunt Yu to give her money.

"That's all the money we have," Aunt Yu said. "Don't even think about the demolition compensation money. I'm serious. Your older brothers have so many children; they can't just stand by and watch us give you the compensation. If your house gets demolished, would you share the compensation with us?"

“How could that be?” Jiang Yufei blurted out, “I’m already married.”

"You know you're already married," Aunt Yu said.

“But that’s different. Mom and Dad, you’re still alive,” Jiang Yufei said. “I’m not taking things from my older brothers, I’m taking things from you, Mom and Dad.”

"Your parents are getting old and will have to rely on your older brothers to take care of them in their old age." Aunt Yu gently patted Jiang Yufei's hand. "You're all grown up now, so don't always say such unpleasant things. This time, your older brothers have also come to see your man. That's enough, don't make things too ugly."

Aunt Yu talked to Jiang Yufei for a long time, but Jiang Yufei was still unwilling to just take any job. She couldn't be worse off than Tian Keshu.

Jiang Yufei didn't go to the Song family or Song Fenglan. She figured she had enough money to last a while, and would deal with other things after that.

With Song Fenglan busy, she didn't continue to pay attention to Jiang Yufei's situation. When Song Fenglan learned about Jiang Yufei again, Jiang Yufei still hadn't found a job; however, the demolition policy for the area where the Jiang family lived had been released. The demolition policy for the area where Qin Yizhou's house was located was also released at the same time.

When allocating housing and compensation, both household registration and land area should be considered. It's unfair to give more housing to those with smaller homes simply because they have more people, and vice versa. Such an approach would discourage many from relocation and lead to protests. A balanced approach, taking both factors into account, would better address the needs of all parties involved.

After the policy was announced, Qin Yizhou signed it immediately. The renters didn't dare to ask for a share of the money, as they all knew Qin Yizhou's identity. Qin Yizhou's home was fine, but some tenants in the same area were making a fuss. They refused to move out and demanded a share of the rent and rent unless the landlord gave them some money.

This is ridiculous. The house isn't theirs; they've rented it for years, and they think they've contributed a lot, so they deserve a share of the demolition compensation, maybe even a 50/50 split. They believe that without their help, there's no way to get the demolition compensation, and that the authorities will just use force to carry it out.

When Qin Yizhou went to handle the related matters, he heard others making a scene, and it was quite a commotion. Some tenants had their elderly relatives sit at the door, refusing to let the landlord in. The landlord and his people tried to pack up the tenants' belongings and take them out, but the tenants refused.

When someone asked Qin Yizhou for help, he could only say that this matter was not under his jurisdiction and he really couldn't handle it.

"It's a bit chaotic over there, don't go over there." Qin Yizhou returned home and reminded Song Fenglan, "Several households have not agreed and want more houses and money. Some tenants are also making a fuss about getting a share of the money. It's too chaotic."

“I don’t usually go there, so it’s even less likely I’ll go now,” Song Fenglan said.

“When I walk down the street, some people might see me in military uniform and think I can handle those problems. But how could I possibly handle them?” Qin Yizhou said. “I told them to go to the relevant departments to solve the problem. I can’t handle it.”

Qin Yizhou rushed back after finishing his business; things were in complete chaos over there. He truly couldn't manage it; everyone thought they were right and didn't care about anyone else's life or death. Many of them were clearly unreasonable, yet they still caused trouble. Dealing with such scoundrels was extremely difficult.

“It’s up to the relevant departments to handle this,” Song Fenglan said. “If you go and talk to them, you won’t understand. People will think you made a promise to them, and then they’ll say you said it and try to drag you into it.”

“That makes sense.” Qin Yizhou nodded. “I rushed back and didn’t stay there long. As for the tenants, I returned their deposits and gave them another month’s rent. They’ve moved out, and the house has been cleaned up, with some old furniture still inside.”

"Is it still usable?" Song Fenglan asked.

"It's still usable, but it's quite old," Qin Yizhou said. "It's too old, and there's no guarantee anyone will use it."

“Then leave it there,” Song Fenglan said. “If there’s anyone available, we can ask them to take it.”

"Mm." Qin Yizhou nodded.

Even after Zhu Meng became pregnant, she continued working at the supermarket, though she no longer did heavy work; she could still manage the cashier duties. Zhu Meng and Qin Li'an haven't registered their marriage yet; Qin Li'an isn't old enough yet, so they have to wait a few more months.

Zhu's mother sometimes comes over to help out, and when others tell her that Zhu Meng has married well, her mother feels embarrassed to say otherwise. In other people's eyes, Zhu Meng and Qin Li'an are already husband and wife. Zhu Meng is even pregnant with Qin Li'an's child; even if they haven't registered their marriage, they are still husband and wife.

"Where is Li'an?" Mother Zhu looked around.

“He went to buy supplies,” Zhu Meng said. “He’s not the one who stays at the supermarket the whole time.”

"Could he have gone out to hang out with his cronies?" Zhu's mother worried that Qin Li'an was with those hooligans again.

"Once bitten by a snake, twice shy," Zhu Meng said. "Back then, he listened to others and raped a young girl. Now, he wouldn't dare hang out with those people. The supermarket business is good; some items sell very quickly, so someone has to go and get the stock. I'm heavily pregnant and can't go, so he's the one who goes."

"That's good," said Zhu's mother. "You didn't know you should have gotten pregnant later. People say you were afraid Li'an would run away, so you got pregnant quickly."

“That’s not wrong. We’re not married yet, just engaged. Who knows what will happen in the future? Having a child changes things. He can’t just abandon the child.” Zhu Meng knew that Qin Li’an didn’t love her deeply. She just happened to be a bit more enthusiastic. She was willing to be with Qin Li’an, and since she wasn’t a bad person, Qin Li’an nodded in agreement.

If someone better had pursued Qin Li'an, he wouldn't have chosen to be with Zhu Meng back then.

“Mom, Li’an and I have a child now, so please stop saying those things. They’re unpleasant to hear,” Zhu Meng said. “I can let it go if I hear it, but if Li’an hears it, it’s like you’re stabbing him in the back.”

A while later, Qin Li'an drove back with the goods. He carried the items himself, without letting Zhu Meng help. Zhu Meng stood beside him with a notebook and helped count the items.

Seeing this, Zhu's mother only hoped that Qin Li'an would continue like this.

Qin Li'an and Zhu Meng moved into the house that the Qin family had bought for them, while Zhu Meng didn't live in the Zhu family's house. The Zhu family's house was small, and Zhu Meng felt it was cramped, so she preferred to move into her own house. They hadn't held a wedding banquet yet, but that didn't matter; the important thing was that they were comfortable.

Qin's mother had a caregiver push her over, and she brought chicken soup for Zhu Meng to drink so that Zhu Meng could nourish her body.

Just then, Gu Qian's parents arrived. The Gu family had almost spent all the money the Qin family had given them. Gu Qian's parents wanted to get some more money from the Qin family, so they came again.

When Qin Li'an saw Gu Qian's parents coming over, he quickly stood in front of Zhu Meng.

"You've ruined my daughter! You got another woman pregnant like this!" Father Gu said. "Your Qin family is too bullying! My daughter has disappeared, and you're with another woman. You have no conscience!"

“Our family has already compensated you.” Zhu Meng could tell at a glance what Gu’s father wanted to do. “The matter was settled long ago. Why are you still asking for money? Do you think our money grows on trees and we have to fill your bottomless pit? Li’an has already been to jail. If you keep making trouble, even if you take it to the police station, Li’an has no obligation to give you any more money!”