Zhou Hongyu didn't join in the fun; she pushed her bicycle into her house.
When Chen Zhaodi saw her pass by, she quickly broke away from the onlookers and ran to gossip with Zhou Hongyu.
"What are you doing?" Zhou Hongyu put down her bicycle and bent down to wash her hands at the tap.
"You don't want to see any jokes about Granny Liu's family? I thought you were hoping for their misfortune every day!"
Zhou Hongyu rolled her eyes: "They're about to fight, would I be so bored as to run over and join in the fun?!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than urgent shouts came from the alley.
Someone shouted, "Someone's been assaulted! Granny Liu is just beating people because her daughter married into a good family!"
Zhou Hongyu frowned.
Chen Zhaodi was full of curiosity and couldn't wait to run out and see what was going on.
Before leaving, she thought for a moment and asked, "You're really not going? If you're not going, then I'm leaving!"
She had barely finished speaking when several neighbors screamed and ran into their homes.
One of them, his face filled with terror, cried out, "Old Lady Liu used a knife—"
Zhou Hongyu and Chen Zhaodi exchanged a glance. Alright, neither of them needs to go out!
Zhang Da Niang, who couldn't hold back her words, grabbed Chen Zhaodi's arm and vividly recounted what had happened outside.
"The restaurant that was supposed to be a restaurant turned into a temporary tent set up in the alley for a banquet. The bride's family had a lot of complaints. They said that when they went to pick up the bride, they made a scene at her parents' house, which delayed the wedding. They still haven't been able to hold the wedding ceremony."
"After all that trouble, we finally got to pick her up. The wedding car delivered the new bride to her doorstep, but then the bride's family started causing trouble again. After all that commotion, Granny Liu somehow went home and came out with a knife. Once the knife comes out, the situation changes. I bet this marriage is going to fall through!"
Several neighbors who had been watching the commotion outside quickly gathered their opinions, and Zhou Hongyu soon understood what had happened.
Chen Zhaodi became more and more confused as she listened. What was there to make a fuss about on such a joyous day? Any objections should be addressed after the wedding ceremony.
Zhou Hongyu, cracking open a melon seed that someone had handed her, asked curiously, "Where is the new bride from? What does she look like? I find it strange that anyone would marry their daughter into Granny Liu's family!"
Granny Liu is greedy and loves to talk her way out of trouble, which offends people everywhere she goes.
Liu Laoguai had driven away his wife; he was lazy and loved to eat; his salary was barely enough to support his family of three.
Liu Xiaoguai is a simpleton, a bit dim-witted, and doesn't do anything productive. He takes every opportunity to harass strange girls passing by in the alley.
None of the three members of the family are honest or upright. Liu Laoguai, the breadwinner of the family, doesn't even earn enough to support his family on his salary. No respectable family would want to be related to Liu's family by marriage.
Zhou Hongyu asked a question about a point of knowledge that her aunt had.
Aunt Cheng slapped her thigh, her face full of excitement: "That girl came from out of town to stay with relatives a few years ago. Her relatives live in Yanzi Hutong, just a few streets away. I heard that the girl doesn't have a house and is renting. Her parents are both alive, and she has three younger sisters and two younger brothers..."
Zhou Hongyu and the others listened attentively as Aunt Cheng thoroughly explained the girl's situation.
Chen Zhaodi nodded, disdainfully saying, "That girl is incredibly beautiful. She's so pretty. If it weren't for Liu Xiaoguai, who's from out of town, not even worthy of carrying her shoes, what a waste of such a good girl!"
Aunt Cheng smiled mysteriously: "Those from out of town are the most shrewd. Do you think they would do a losing business?"
Chen Zhaodi immediately looked at Zhou Hongyu, hoping to get her approval: "With Liu Pozi's house, even dogs would avoid it. That girl must have been fooled!"
Aunt Cheng clicked her tongue and told everyone a secret: "You all don't know this yet, do you? Liu Yujie funded the opening of a shop for her family. Liu Xiaoguai is the only male in the third generation of the Liu family, so everything will be his in the future. If I didn't tell you this, you would really think that the outsiders are confused!"
"Who lied to them? They were the ones eagerly trying to climb the social ladder!"
Zhou Hongyu and Chen Zhaodi exchanged a glance. They had originally wanted to keep the matter a secret for a while, but it seemed that after all the trouble Liu Pozi's family had caused, they couldn't keep it a secret for long.
Aunt Cheng kept talking.
"These are all things that Granny Liu herself told people. At that time, Liu Xiaoguai and that girl were already engaged. After Granny Liu said this, I think quite a few people were still interested. It's not easy to find a job these days. Although it's shameful to work for a self-employed person, at least you can have enough to eat. Besides, once your daughter marries into the family, she'll be working for a relative, which isn't bad!"
When the topic of work came up, others had something to say. It's hard to find a job these days, and every family has unemployed people. So, a few neighbors started chatting.
Chen Zhaodi leaned close to Zhou Hongyu's ear and whispered, "Old Liu is really a killer!"
Zhou Hongyu nodded. Her business was already at risk of being exposed before it even got off the ground, which could bring a lot of trouble in the future. Her disgust for Granny Liu intensified.
The neighbors chatted about work for a while, but to no avail. They felt disgusted by the unchangeable social situation and quickly ended the conversation.
The most gossipy old lady in the neighborhood, Aunt Zhang, recounted a rare event that happened nearby.
"Have you heard? A few suckers have come to our neighborhood. These nouveau riche from out of town have a lot of money. Instead of living in comfortable and clean apartments, they keep coming to our ordinary alleys. They've bought quite a few houses in this short period of time!"
Zhou Hongyu's eyes lit up instantly; she was interested in this topic!
Who is this clever and resourceful person who is buying up these properties that will be demolished in the future?
Aunt Cheng nudged Aunt Zhang with her elbow and urged, "Who is it? So foolish! Even if you have money, you can't just squander it like that. Nouveau riche are really wasting money!"
Aunt Zhang frowned and thought for a moment: "...Wangwang? I don't know what his name is, I just heard those old women talking about something like 'Wanglai, Wangqu'..."
Big success? Small success?
Suddenly, the names of her troublesome second son's two younger brothers popped into Zhou Hongyu's mind.
That feels too far-fetched.
Why did Chang Rihui's two underlings buy properties nearby? Wasn't this his first pot of gold? And he just spent it all like that?
Despite being urged by the others, Aunt Zhang couldn't remember the nouveau riche's name; she only remembered that it was something like Wangwang.
When Aunt Zhang got impatient with the urging, she changed the subject.
“Since I heard the news, they have already bought three large courtyard houses. That’s why people say they have money to burn. Any child knows that houses in alleyways are worthless. With that money, they might as well buy an apartment building with a toilet, heating, and natural gas for cooking!”
Aunt Cheng listened with increasing delight and couldn't help but start fantasizing: "Just imagine, if this sucker came to me to buy my house, oh my..."
Aunt Wang, who had been relatively unknown, laughed: "You still want to sell the house? You're so stupid. If you sell the house, the young people in your family will definitely want to move to an apartment. Daughters-in-law these days are not like we used to be. They have a lot of airs. They won't live with you. You'll be sleeping on the streets!"
Zhou Hongyu: "..."
Stop talking, I'm just talking about that guy sleeping on the streets—
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