"Okay, okay, Hongmei, I'll come see you again tonight."

"Okay, Uncle, what would you like to eat tonight?"

"Anything is fine with me."

"Then I'll make whatever I eat."

"good!"

After seeing Zhou Shixiong off, Su Chen accompanied Zhang Hongmei into the bedroom.

"Go and rest. I'll call you if I need anything."

Zhang Hongmei locked the door and entered the space. She drank some water and took a bath. Lying on the comfortable bed with soothing music playing, she fell asleep in no time.

I slept very soundly. I always feel uneasy outside and wake up after a while. I guess I subconsciously feel that this is the safest place.

Waking up naturally feels so good. I turned on my computer, watched an old comedy, and laughed heartily, feeling a sense of relaxation I'd never felt before.

After going outside, I checked the time and decided to keep the old lady company and chat with her. Otherwise, she might get lonely.

With Hu Aifen around, most of the gossip in the village can still be known.

"Auntie, what exactly happened between Dashan and Wang Xiaorui? I've been quite curious about it."

There are many versions of this story, but I don't know the specifics.

However, I know that Dashan has liked Xiaorui since they were little.

"Oh, I see! I was wondering! But if Dashan likes her, why did he seem like a different person when we went back last time? He's not usually such a quiet person!"

"Xiao Rui was unhappy after marriage. She was spoiled rotten by Wang Hongxi and his wife. Even if she liked them, it would wear her down."

"I still prefer the old Da Shan Ge. I was too embarrassed to ask last time."

The old lady rolled her eyes at Zhang Hongmei. "Stop meddling in their business. None of them are sensible. Da Shan's mother was so angry that she didn't get out of bed for half a year. All the young people know is love and affection; they don't care about what their families think."

Would an old person harm you? They're giving you the most reliable advice, but none of you listen.

"Grandma, tell me, if there's no love or affection, what's the fun in life?"

How much affection did you have for Zhang Shouyi back then?

"Well, none of you wanted to come back then."

“We’re not willing because his status is too high. I’m still alive, and if something really happens, I can still support you. But once I’m dead, who will stand up for me? You stubborn girl, you just don’t like Jingze. You could have found an ordinary person, but you insisted on finding him. He’s so sarcastic and scheming. Living with him would be exhausting.”

"Hehe, I was forced into it back then, wasn't I? Besides, Zhang Shouyi has performed quite well so far."

"You've only just gotten married, what can you possibly know? If he's not treating you well now, then you're really blind."

"Hehe, how could that be? Grandma, I'm really happy right now."

"Sigh! I know, that's why I hope you can stay like this for the rest of your life."

Zhang Hongmei wondered to herself, how did this get involved with her?

"Auntie, aren't Dashan and the other guy going back to Liujiatun?"

“Go back, but everyone should go back to their own homes. Wang Xiaorui is such a rude child. You are the younger generation. Even if the elders are really wrong, you can't argue with them. You don't know, she almost got into a shouting match with Dashan's mother.”

“Dashan is an only child, which has really saddened his two elders.”

"What can we do? Now the two families are enemies. When Jianshe got married, Dashan's father just gave a gift of one yuan like any other village relative. Neither of them went."

"You say the children are all together, so why are they still fighting like this? What's the point? It just puts the two children in a difficult position."

"Auntie, they've been married for two or three years, why don't they have children yet?"

"I don't know. Dashan has a gloomy face whenever he sees anyone now, he's not like he used to be at all."

"They're all spineless cowards, cowards who dare to do things but not to take responsibility." The old lady was genuinely angry. She had originally planned to train Dashan to succeed Liu Maocai in this generation. Don't be fooled by Wang Hongxi being the village chief; that's just a facade. The real power still belongs to Liu Maocai.

"Grandma, maybe I shouldn't have found them jobs in the city. They would have stayed in the village and behaved themselves."

"It's the same. You can't make a wall out of mud. You can't make a wall out of mud."

"Grandma, how come all ten of them have changed? Do people change as they grow up? I can no longer feel the pure and sincere feelings I had when I was a child."

"Haven't you changed?"

"Grandma, Auntie, have I changed too?" Zhang Hongmei was a little shocked.

Can't you feel it?

Zhang Hongmei nodded. "Auntie, how have I changed? Is it that people don't like me?"

“If it were you in the past, you would never have done what Li Cun’s mother did last time.”

"So you're saying I'm arrogant and overbearing now?"

"It's not that serious, but you have indeed lost some of your former simplicity."

"Alright, why think so much? Do you expect your current status to remain the same as before?"

"Grandma, I haven't become hideous, have I?"

No, you're still the same person you always were.

"You didn't try to comfort me?"

Why would I try to comfort you? If you've really changed, I won't have time to pay attention to you.

"That scared me to death. I may not be a hundred-yuan bill and can't be liked by everyone, but I don't want to become cold and heartless. At least I should be able to avoid being disliked by everyone."

"You've already won, yet you're still thinking about useless things. All you need to do now is take good care of yourself and give birth to the baby safely." The old lady rolled her eyes at Zhang Hongmei; this girl was getting more and more pretentious.

"Grandma, this is really not good of you. I feel that after I give birth to the child, I will completely lose favor in the family."

"Aren't you ashamed? You're such a grown man, and you're still competing for attention with a child? Where's your sense of shame?"

"What does this have to do with saving face? Can't I be jealous?"

"Great-Grandma, I've tried so hard to persuade you to come to the capital before, but now the baby isn't even born yet, and you've already come all this way! Humph! You can raise the child from now on, I don't care anymore."

"I don't care. I can raise the child even without you."

"Are you sure you don't need me anymore?"

"That's because you don't want to deal with it!"

"Baby, your great-grandfather doesn't want his mother anymore."

Hu Aifen was particularly happy to see the old and young bickering; this was still the same girl who only cared about her family.

Aunt Li came over. "Hongmei, your Uncle Li bought a big grass carp, it weighs seven or eight pounds! What are we having for dinner tonight?"

"The fish balls are ready, and they're easy to digest."

"Okay, let's steam some buns then?"

"Okay, I want to eat steamed buns with red bean filling."

"Okay, I'll do it right away."

"Grandma, I'm starting to feel a little uncomfortable with Zhou Shixiong coming over for meals all the time!"

"What can we do? Kick him out?"

"This doesn't seem right, we really can't blast this."