When He Zifeng returned after washing the clothes, smoke was already rising from the chimney of the dilapidated house. As soon as he went inside, he saw his son sitting on a small stool holding a small bowl containing washed raspberries.

Upon seeing He Zifeng, she immediately offered him some: "Dad, here you go!"

He Zifeng kissed Xiao Heran's cheek and said, "You eat it yourself." The little guy was delighted by the kiss.

He Zifeng washed his hands and went into the house. He saw that Qiu Yu had already made vegetable dumplings. Their family hadn't eaten all day, and the dumplings smelled delicious.

Qiu Yu said, "Ranran hasn't been this happy in a long time." Because the child is a boy, he hasn't had many playmates since he was little. Qiu Yu had chores to do, and He Zifeng also had work to do, so this was the little guy's first time going out to play, and he was even carried by his father the whole way. You couldn't find such treatment anywhere in the village; even children have vanity. On the way back, he chattered incessantly, not walking properly, insisting on hopping and skipping like a little rabbit, his little face full of admiration for his father.

He Zifeng said, "I'll spend more time playing with the kids in the future." He looked up and saw a hole the size of a washbasin in the roof. Luckily, it hadn't rained in the past few days, but leaving it exposed like this wasn't a solution. "I'll find a plank tonight and fix the roof first."

“Do we really have to live here? But the He family…” Although Qiu Yu was annoyed by the people there, he had never done anything out of line. He always felt that He Donglai and Xiao Wanshi were up to no good. They were the breadwinners of the family, and for that reason alone, the He family wouldn’t let them leave easily.

Thinking about this made Qiu Yu a little nervous.

He Zifeng replied, "What's there to be afraid of? Those with nothing to lose aren't afraid of those wearing shoes." Then, looking at Qiu Yu, he changed the subject, saying, "Why didn't you make scrambled eggs with willow shoots? I specially substituted eggs for you."

Qiu Yu, however, was reluctant to eat it. She said, "Why eat eggs when it's not a festival? If you want one, I'll fry one for you."

He Zifeng said, "Then let's fry an egg for the child." Such a good child, yet he has never enjoyed any happiness living by his side.

Qiu Yu herself was reluctant to fry it, but if it was for her son, she would immediately go and fry it. It looked golden brown on both sides, glistening with oil and emitting a fragrant aroma.

Before I could even call the child, the little guy came running over on his own. His eyes lit up when he saw the delicious food.

Qiu Yu said, "Little glutton."

Xiao Heran weakly retorted in front of Qiu Yu, "Ranran isn't greedy."

He Zifeng said, "Here, Ranran, eat." He then gave her a wild vegetable dumpling and a fried egg.

The little guy's eyes were practically glued to it, and he said, "Daddy, eat."

He Zifeng laughed and said, "Eat up, if you like it, I'll make it for you again next time."

The little guy was quite modest; he insisted that Qiu Yu take a bite before he would eat. Qiu Yu took a bite, and Xiao He Ran, seeing this, ate it with satisfaction.

He rarely eats eggs. Today he finished them in just a few bites, and then ate vegetable dumplings.

Qiu Yu had tried her best to make the vegetable dumplings taste good. However, the coarse grains were hard to swallow. Xiao He Ran had to swallow very hard to eat the next bite.

I was full after eating half of it.

He Zifeng said, "If you don't want to eat, then don't."

Little He Ran took another bite and said in a childish voice, "We can't waste food."

Seeing how sensible their child was, even He Zifeng felt heartened.

Just as they finished eating, they heard footsteps outside. It was Wan Hai, the son Xiao Wanshi had brought. The two had never gotten along since childhood, and now he had come to see him. He said coldly, "Second son, your father and mother want you to go back home." He had told others about the family's shameful affairs, which had greatly displeased the elders. He had said many abusive things at home, but Wan Hai hadn't relayed them to him; he would hear them when he got home anyway.

He Zifeng had already finished eating and was thinking that this matter would have to be resolved sooner or later. He left Qiu Yu and the child at home and went to check on things alone.

Qiu Yu felt uneasy, knowing that her scumbag father, He Donglai, and Xiao Wan were not to be trifled with. She could only forcefully suppress all her emotions and let him go.

About fifteen minutes later, the dog ran over, carrying a small straw rabbit. During the day, He Zifeng had played with the children. Seeing how soft and cuddly little He Ran was, even cuter than his own younger brother, he had just made a little rabbit and wanted to give it to him. However, when he went to the He family mansion, he overheard some shocking news.

Then they heard Xiao Heran call out, "Brother Gouzi."

The dog was already seven years old. Children in the village mature early, so I didn't bother to play with the little guy. I looked at Qiu Yu and said, "Uncle, something bad has happened. They are plotting to give Ranran to the lame old man."

"What?" Qiu Yu's face turned pale instantly.

Gouzi said, "It's true. I just went to the He family's house to give this straw rabbit to Ranran, and I heard it from the people inside! If you don't believe me, go ask Uncle He. He's in the house too."

Qiu Yu rushed over immediately. The He family was capable of such a thing. No way, he could never give away his own son; that was forcing him to die.

He Laosan was the son of Xiao Wanshi and He Donglai. He was born missing a section of his lower leg; where his lower leg should have been was a smooth, round piece of flesh. Because of his congenital disability, he did nothing but be pampered with good food and drink every day, and often cursed people in his room. His eyes were sinister, as if everyone owed him something. Just looking at him sent chills down your spine.

Qiu Yu ran back to the old house, where the front door was wide open. Before he even entered the main hall, he heard his scumbag father, He Donglai, shouting loudly from inside: "You and Qiu Yu can still have children, but this little brat must be adopted by the third son to take care of him in his old age."

"No way!" He Zifeng said firmly.

Xiao Wan's shrill voice rang out from inside: "This is what you owe the third brother! Otherwise, He Ran would be the third brother's child."

Qiu Yu couldn't listen to it anymore and pushed the door open to go in.

But the moment he pushed open the door, he heard his husband say something even more unbelievable: "You still have the nerve to say that? Even if Qiu Yu hadn't officially married me, she would still be my wife. She wanted to get me drunk on our wedding day and then switch me with He Tong in the bridal chamber. If I hadn't discovered it in time, would Qiu Yu still be alive?"

He Tong was born with a disability, making it difficult for him to find a wife. That's why they came up with this vicious idea. They wanted Qiu Yu to mistakenly believe she was marrying He Zifeng, but instead sent He Tong to the bridal chamber. Once the deed was done, his family could say there was a mistake, and He Tong could get a beautiful wife for free.

When Qiu Yu pushed open the door and heard this, his face turned deathly pale. They were so shameless! Taking advantage of his being powerless and helpless to bully him. If it were true, his life would be ruined. He remembered that when He Zifeng and he consummated their marriage, half his body was covered in blood. He Zifeng had said he'd drunk too much and fallen, breaking his head. Now, thinking back, it must have been because He Zifeng had ruined his scumbag father He Donglai and Xiao Wanshi's plans.

Over the years, Qiu Yu felt that He Zifeng was blindly filial and was heartbroken several times. It turned out that He Zifeng had protected her life in places she couldn't see.

Qiu Yu's eyes instantly reddened. She felt an endless hatred for He Donglai and Xiao Wanshi. If she had a knife, she would have loved to kill all these hypocritical people in front of her, even at the cost of her own life.

He Zifeng pulled Qiu Yu behind him. Looking at the people in front of him, he said, word by word, "Adoption is not negotiable. I do not agree to this."

The scumbag father, He Donglai, was furious.