"She will come back, she will come back and take us away! Because she is our biological mother, we don't want to harm our stepmother!" Xiao Yutang shouted angrily.

Zhang Guifen chased after him, grabbing a broom.

"What nonsense are you talking about here! What's wrong with your stepmother? Where are you running to? Stop right there!"

When Xiao Yutang saw Zhang Guifen chasing out, he pulled Xiao Yuzheng and ran even faster.

The neighbors couldn't help talking about it.

"The new bride has just married and she has already made such a fuss. How is she going to live her life in the future?"

"Alas, how can a second marriage lead a good life? They all have their own calculations. It's just that Aunt Zhang is so stubborn that she has to find another daughter-in-law for herself."

"Of course not. I saw that she was more active than Dashan in finding a daughter-in-law. When she heard that Comrade Xiao Shen had agreed, she was so happy. Now that things have turned out like this, I wonder if she regrets it."

"Mrs. Zhang was the same. She was very kind to her previous daughter-in-law, but she didn't have a good ending. It seems that this second daughter-in-law won't be doing well either..."

"The Xiao family is unlucky. A lucky family would never get divorced. If they are unlucky, they won't be lucky even if they marry a new wife. Now we see them quarreling openly. Who knows, in a few days we'll see Dashan and Xiaoshen quarreling. Didn't Dashan and Lan Linxiang quarrel every day before?"

…

Xiao Shanhe was in the yard and also heard some of the discussions. He looked at Shen Huanxi and the two girls with guilt on his face.

"I won't argue with you. I'm just sorry that I didn't teach my child well."

Shen Huanxi smiled and shook his head.

"It's okay."

Chang'an Changning held her hand, his eyes were timid and a little sad.

"My elder brother and younger brother don't seem to welcome us very much."

Xiao Shanhe looked at the two girls.

"It's okay, you are welcome, this is my house, I have the final say, not them."

When Chang'an Changning heard Xiao Shanhe say this so gently, the sadness on her face disappeared and she nodded quickly.

"good!"

"Come on, I'll show you your new house."

"Good!" Chang'an Changning was overjoyed when he heard this.

When they were in Taolin Village, they didn't have their own house. They could only sleep in the woodshed and could only go into the house when their mother was at home.

Later, when the family finally built a small building, they were driven out.

The two little girls have never experienced what it feels like to have their own room.

Changning was only four years old, and she was young. Plus, they usually slept together and were inseparable. So Shen Huanxi had already told Zhang Guifen and Xiao Shanhe that they could just sleep in the same room.

Xiao Shanhe arranged the room on the west side, close to the main room.

Last time, Shen Huanxi looked around the Xiao family's house. At that time, the room had not been cleaned up yet. Although there were not many things in it, it was covered with dust because it had been vacant for too long.

Now that I've gone in, I realize that the place has been thoroughly cleaned, and there's not a speck of dust in it.

The kang next to the west window wall is connected to the north and south walls and is quite spacious.

The kang was first covered with a layer of leather, then a layer of corn husk, and on top was a large straw mat, which was soft and warm. There was also a large elm wooden bench on the kang near the window, which looked very new and must have been newly bought.

The two closets that were originally placed in the room were also cleaned up, so Chang'an and Changning could each have one.

The two girls were delighted when they saw the clean, spacious and bright room.

"I like this room, thank you, Dad!" Chang'an said to Xiao Shanhe.

Changning also said thank you dad.

The two children accepted Xiao Shanhe very quickly.

Xiao Shanhe was happy to hear them calling him like that, and nodded with a smile.

"You're welcome. Come play here if you like."

"good!"

Chang'an and Changning were not polite either.

Shen Huanxi bought a small schoolbag for each of them. The two girls' bags contained their small belongings. When the sisters heard what Xiao Shanhe said, they took off their shoes, climbed onto the kang, and took their things out of their schoolbags.

Changning took out her sketchbook and colored pencils, and Changan took out her plant atlas, and the two girls sat on the kang, one reading and the other drawing.

Shen Huanxi looked at his two healthy and happy daughters, with a slight smile on his face.

"I'll take you to see your house." Xiao Shanhe said to Shen Huanxi.

Shen Huanxi nodded.

It was also last time that she and Xiao Shanhe agreed that they would not live in the same room.

In fact, even if they got married, Xiao Shanhe had disabled legs, and the couple could not live a normal life together. Xiao Shanhe did not need Shen Huanxi's care, so they simply lived separately.

Shen Huanxi's room is also in the west room, next to Chang'an Changning's room.

As soon as she entered, she found that Zhang Guifen and Xiao Shanhe not only paid attention to the rooms in Chang'an and Changning, but also to hers.

This room also had a large kang, which was carefully paved like the ones in Chang'an and Changning. There was also a cabinet and a dressing table in the room.

The last time she came to see this room, there was no cabinet or dressing table.

Shen Huanxi looked at Xiao Shanhe.

Xiao Shanhe lowered his head and fiddled with the mortise and tenon mechanism box in his hand. His eyelashes were very long and thick, completely blocking his eyes. Shen Huanxi could not see his expression.

"You women all need these things, right? I just picked out these cheap ones from a carpenter. You can use them together."

"Thank you." Shen Huanxi said, and went to see her new wardrobe and dressing table, both of which were made of fine elm.

In that era, the price of furniture wood had not been driven up, and elm was not a precious wood. But this cabinet and this dressing table would cost at least 20 or 30 yuan in total.

Nowadays, workers in general state-owned factories only earn 20 to 30 yuan a month.

Shen Huanxi looked at Xiao Shanhe again.

"I'm sorry to have cost you money."

"It's okay, it's not expensive, and I bought it for my family."

When Shen Huanxi heard him say this, she couldn't tell whether he meant that the furniture would belong to him anyway, or whether he meant that she was already a member of his family.

Xiao Shanhe suddenly took out a small notebook from his pocket and gave it to her.

Shen Huanxi took it and found it was a passbook.

"What do you mean?"

"Matchmaker Zhou said that you have three conditions for marrying me. First, you will be in charge of the family money after marriage. Second, we will never have children again. Third, you can get a divorce at any time if you want. I can agree to all three conditions."

"Uh..." Shen Huanxi felt his hands were a little hot when he held the passbook.

At first she said that to Matchmaker Zhou just to get her to give up on matchmaking, but she never expected that Matchmaker Zhou would agree.

What was even more unexpected was that Xiao Shanhe actually took it seriously and agreed.

Now the big red passbook is in her hands.

"Our unit only gets bonuses if we complete a project. I only completed a small project before, and I used a little of the first bonus to build this yard, and the rest was taken away by my ex-wife.

Later, I injured my leg at work, and I received a pension of 20 yuan every month, which was all deposited into this passbook. There is still some savings in it now.

In addition, when I was injured, my company gave me a large initial pension. I bought two shops, which were registered in my mother's name, so the rent of 14 yuan a month was also given to her. We don't have to bear her pension in the future. This is our family's financial situation."

Xiao Shanhe made it very clear in just a few words.

Shen Huanxi held the passbook in his hand, feeling as if he was doing something he was not entitled to.

"Can you agree to my conditions? I have two other conditions. Aren't you afraid that you will give me too much and I will get a divorce?"

"Let it be, it's all fate." Xiao Shanhe's tone was still calm and his face showed an indifferent expression. If it weren't for his thick black hair, Shen Huanxi might have thought he was a high monk.

She wants the passbook, and she just wants to hold it in her hand. She would rather let others think that she is not someone who can be messed with than give people the impression that she is someone who speaks gently and well.

Of course, she would not spend the money in it. If Xiao Shanhe and the Xiao family needed money, she would be the first to take it out.

She just has a problem that she can't figure out.

"Comrade Xiao, why did you agree to marry me?"

Those who remarry and have children all have their own calculations.

She wanted her child to have a city hukou, so what did Xiao Shanhe want from her? He couldn't have wanted her to divorce and take care of the two kids.

Xiao Shanhe paused for a moment while playing with the mortise and tenon box in his hand, then he slowly spoke.

"If I don't marry you, my mother will urge me to marry someone else. That day you asked me to help you, so I just helped you, and my mother didn't have to urge me anymore."

Oh yes...Shen Huanxi just remembered it now.

That day, Xiao Shanhe didn't want to implicate others and didn't want to marry her. It was she who told others that she needed him.

Thinking of this, Shen Huanxi's face became a little hot. He also felt that Xiao Shanhe was too Buddhist. He gave the passbook just as he asked, and his tone was also very calm when he said that his ex-wife had taken away his pension.

Has this person really seen through the worldly affairs and has no desires or requests?

That's not right. From the first time he met him, Shen Huanxi saw him constantly changing various mortise and tenon boxes to play with. He also has his own interests.

"When do you plan to transfer your household registration from Chang'an to Changning?" Xiao Shanhe asked.

"As soon as possible... school is about to start. Chang'an is seven years old this year. I want her to go to school directly in the city."

"Okay, then I'll go to the Household Registration Department tomorrow to ask what procedures are required. The Household Registration Department will be open for business the next two days."

"Hmm...right." Shen Huanxi thought of a question.

"Comrade Xiao, Chang'an Changning, I want them to have the same surname as me, Shen."

Shen Huanxi also shamelessly made this request.

In their previous lives, Chang'an and Changning suffered from severe lung disease at a young age. Because they did not receive timely treatment, their conditions worsened and they died early.

She saw her son die young and lived in pain for more than ten years before she died of depression.

After her rebirth, she had a deep obsession with Chang'an and Changning. She wanted to protect them all her life and be a big tree that sheltered them from the wind and rain.

They are her daughters, Shen Huanxi's daughters, and they should take her surname.

Shen Huanxi knew that he was living in Xiao Shanhe's house, using his household registration, and managing his money. It might be a bit too much to make such a request now.

But she couldn't let go of her obsession, so even though she knew she was thick-skinned, she still brought it up, looking straight into Xiao Shanhe's eyes, waiting for his answer.