Chapter 16

Huā Zhāo smiled happily. This group of in-laws could be brought to her side in the future. She just didn't know what her official in-laws were like.

She had acted cute twice. Next time she could ask Yè Shēn about important matters. If necessary, she might need to win over her father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Of course, she needed to win over the child's father first! ~ She was very satisfied with this answer! What kind of surprise should she give him next? ......

Yè Shēn was writing a letter. Now that they had a child, it was time to let his parents know. He wrote a letter to his grandfather, explaining the situation and asking him to relay it to his parents. In the letter, he didn't say he was forced... Actually, it was hard to say who forced whom later... The last time, she clearly didn't want to, it was him... cough cough cough!

Yè Shēn pulled back his wandering thoughts and continued writing. He explained that he proposed marriage because he discovered Huā Qiáng had a terminal illness and didn't have long to live. Huā Qiáng's only concern was his granddaughter, Huā Zhāo, and he felt Huā Zhāo was a good person, so he proactively proposed marriage. Now that the wedding was done, the marriage certificate obtained, and Huā Zhāo was pregnant, he was writing to his family to share the good news. ......

Yè Zhèngguó almost broke his glasses while reading the letter! "Xiao Wang! Xiao Wang!" His eyes were fixed on the letter as he shouted, "Come here and see what this says? The writing is too small, I can't see!" "Yes! Coming!" A young man in his twenties ran out from the kitchen and stood behind the old chief, reading aloud. The letter was very short. After a few sentences, he was also stunned. After a few seconds, he suddenly asked, "Should I still make dinner then?" Yè Zhèngguó's excited expression froze, then he gritted his teeth and slapped the table, "No! You call them and tell them I suddenly have a meeting and won't be home. Don't let them come." "Okay." Xiao Wang immediately went to make the call. Originally, they were preparing dinner to host Yè Mào, Yè Shēn's father, his family, and a young lady. It was rumored that this young lady was the daughter-in-law that Yè Shēn's mother, Miáo Lánzhī, had chosen. Yè Shēn had already met her, and while he hadn't expressed his opinion, Miáo Lánzhī felt there was hope and brought her to see Yè Zhèngguó this time. If Yè Zhèngguó also thought she was suitable, then she would finalize the matter! It was fine for Yè Shēn to not show up for the wedding; they would directly get the marriage certificate. Mother and son were of the same mind, and she planned to do it this way. "Wait a moment!" Yè Zhèngguó called out to the guard who had picked up the phone. He thought for a moment and said, "Don't lie. Tell them the truth. Their youngest son got married and they have a child. Tell them to come here to celebrate." He was afraid that if it wasn't explained clearly, Miáo Lánzhī might do something that would harm his grandson. And it would also delay things for that young lady. "Yes." Xiao Wang continued making the call. ......

Miáo Lánzhī was talking to Sū Lìzhēn, telling her not to be afraid of the old man she was about to meet. She said the old man was like that, always stern with his children and grandchildren, looking intimidating but actually very kind. She didn't believe herself as she said this. Having been married into the Yè family for 30 years, she had never seen the old man smile at any of his sons or daughters-in-law. Even among his grandchildren, few were seen occasionally, and Yè Shēn was seen more often. Sū Lìzhēn smiled politely, "Auntie, I'm not scared. My grandfather is also like that! I understand. Their faces might be cold, but their hearts are the warmest!" "Yes, yes! That's exactly right! The men in the Yè family are all like that!" Miáo Lánzhī said happily, holding Sū Lìzhēn's hand. She was very satisfied with this prospective daughter-in-law: from a good family, educated, sensible, gentle in nature. She looked like a virtuous wife and good mother, the type her son liked... perhaps? Did her son have a type? Probably not! So she, as a mother, would worry about it for him. Chapter 38 Excellent Chapter 38 Excellent "Let's go." Yè Mào came down the stairs with a stern expression. Miáo Lánzhī held Sū Lìzhēn's hand and chuckled softly, "See? The men in the Yè family are all like that." Sū Lìzhēn gave her an understanding smile. The two of them got along harmoniously, like a mother and daughter. The phone suddenly rang. "Let's go quickly, Dad is hurrying us." Miáo Lánzhī said, answering the phone casually. After listening for a few sentences, her face froze. "What's wrong?" Yè Mào's eyes were sharp, and he noticed her abnormality. He snatched the phone and asked nervously, "Is something wrong with the old man?" The sound leaked from the phone. Yè Zhèngguó, sitting nearby, heard it and grinned, "I'm fine. It's your youngest son who's in trouble." Actually, he didn't dislike smiling; he was just habitually putting on airs in front of his son and daughter-in-law. Xiao Wang, with a complex expression, said, "Chief, Comrade Yè Shēn just wrote to say that he got married a few months ago and now has a child. He's here to share the good news with you." "What?" Yè Mào suspected he had misheard, "Who did you say? Did Yè Ān or Yè Tāo get married?" He was referring to the two nephews from his second brother's family, neither of whom was married. Xiao Wang cleared his throat and said loudly, "It's not Yè Ān or Yè Tāo, it's your youngest son, Comrade Yè Shēn! He's married! He has a child! You'll be a grandfather next year!" Yè Mào was also stunned. His expression was unreadable, unsure whether to laugh or be angry. The phone quality was too poor. Sū Lìzhēn also heard it and was completely bewildered. Yè Mào glanced at her expression and immediately cursed into the phone, "This unruly brat! He didn't even tell the family about such a big event beforehand! Now they even have a child... Where is his wife? When will he bring her back?" "He didn't say. You can call him and ask," Xiao Wang said, "The old chief asked you to come over for dinner and celebrate." He hung up the phone with a click. Although he had a good relationship with Yè Shēn, he didn't want to take the scolding for him~ Yè Mào hung up the phone and looked at Miáo Lánzhī and Sū Lìzhēn, who had gone stiff. He had said his wife's handling of this matter was wrong, too hasty. How could he not see that his son liked this Sū Lìzhēn? Was his silence last time when he asked about it considered tacit approval? He looked at her as if she couldn't remember who he was talking about! "Shall we go?" Yè Mào asked Miáo Lánzhī, his gaze sweeping over Sū Lìzhēn. Sū Lìzhēn immediately stood up, "Uncle, Auntie, I just remembered I have something to do. I'll be going now." She endured it at first, but after taking two steps, she couldn't hold back any longer. She ran out crying. "Look at what you've done!" After the others left, Yè Mào immediately lectured Miáo Lánzhī, "Do less of this kind of thing in the future!" "What did I do? What did I do?" Miáo Lánzhī exploded and stood up to argue with him, "It's your son who did something immoral! And I have to be embarrassed along with him!" "What are you saying?" Yè Mào's expression immediately turned ugly. "My son got married and had a child, how is that immoral? You were the one who rushed things, a one-sided effort, and now you can't admit your mistake and are pushing it onto others!" "Yes, I didn't handle this matter very well." Miáo Lánzhī generously admitted, "But it's not right for Yè Shēn not to tell me about such a big event as marriage, is it?" This was indeed not right. Yè Mào didn't want to argue with her about this, "If he's wrong, you go scold him." He then turned and went out. Miáo Lánzhī was angry for a long time, then chased after him. She had to go see the old man and find out what was going on. Where did this daughter-in-law come from? She was pregnant so quickly? ......

Yè Zhèngguó had digested the news and was sitting in his chair, flipping through the calendar, calculating how many days were left until the child's birth. Next year, he would have a great-grandchild? He was so excited! Yè Mào and Miáo Lánzhī arrived soon after. The two families didn't live far apart. "Dad, what exactly is going on?" Yè Mào asked. He was also very concerned about his youngest son's marriage, and his grandson! "See for yourself." Yè Zhèngguó handed him the letter. The couple read it together. Within seconds, Miáo Lánzhī exploded, "From the countryside? A village woman?" "What's wrong with people from the countryside?" Yè Zhèngguó immediately retorted. "I came from the countryside too! Your husband farmed when he was young! Your father and mother are also from the countryside!" Miáo Lánzhī immediately shrunk back into the chair. That's just how the old man was. He would explode whenever he was displeased. Every time he told others he had a good temper, she felt guilty! "Furthermore, read carefully, she is Huā Qiáng's granddaughter, Huā Qiáng!" Yè Zhèngguó said. "Don't you know Huā Qiáng's status back then? If he hadn't retired early and persisted until now, his position might have been even higher than mine!" Miáo Lánzhī lowered her head and pursed her lips. What was the use of such a comparison? Reality was that time could not be reversed. Huā Qiáng was now a farmer, nothing. However, Huā Qiáng's son and daughter now held good positions. As for the Qí family, they were in some turmoil. She didn't know if they could weather it. Miáo Lánzhī remembered Huā Qiáng's complicated family situation and suddenly asked, "Was this granddaughter born to his first wife?" "Nonsense." Yè Zhèngguó said. If she wasn't part of the first wife's lineage, why would she live in the countryside with Huā Qiáng? Did the Qí family have such good intentions? "I heard that the Qí family recently used their connections to try and persuade Huā Qiáng to come back," Yè Mào suddenly said. "Hmph!" Yè Zhèngguó snorted coldly. "After 10 years, they ignored him completely before. Now they remember to ask him back, what for? To take the blame for them?" Miáo Lánzhī immediately became worried, "Dad, what do you mean? Is the Qí family really going to collapse? Then we definitely can't marry into their family!" Yè Zhèngguó's eyes widened. He was truly exasperated with his daughter-in-law, "When did we ever agree to marry into the Qí family? Qí Xiàoxián and Huā Qiáng divorced long ago! Her two children also broke off relations with Huā Qiáng and changed their surnames to Qí! Huā Qiáng, Huā Qiáng's original wife's child, her child, what does that have to do with the Qí family?" "Oh, oh." Miáo Lánzhī shrunk back again. It was good that they weren't implicated. Xiao Wang finally finished preparing the meal and placed it on the table. Yè Zhèngguó ignored their protests and opened a bottle of liquor. "I'm going to have a great-grandchild!" After a few drinks, Yè Zhèngguó became a little drunk. "Tsk tsk tsk, I wonder how beautiful that Huā Zhāo must be to make our little Shēn fall in love at first sight and get married that same day!" "Dad!" Yè Mào quickly stopped him. Thank goodness there were no outsiders at the table! They couldn't let the old man drink casually anymore! But Yè Zhèngguó was drunk, and no one could stop him. "This Comrade Huā Zhāo is also very excellent. Pregnant on the first try! She must have a good constitution and will surely be able to give our Yè family many descendants in the future! Hahaha!" A young couple who had just entered the door paused. Wén Jìng felt her legs were as heavy as lead, unable to lift them. She was Yè Shēn's elder sister-in-law, Yè Míng's wife. She had been married into the Yè family for 10 years but was completely useless. Doctors had checked, and it was her problem. She was a sinner in the Yè family. Now, finally, the Yè family would have the next generation! But why wasn't she as happy as she imagined? Chapter 39 Maternal Grandmother Chapter 39 Maternal Grandmother Huā Zhāo, being praised as "excellent" thousands of miles away, was unaware. She was busy tending to her small vegetable garden. It was already mid-June. The vegetables in the garden had grown. Some early-maturing varieties, like tomatoes and cucumbers, had already ripened. Eggplants and beans, which should have ripened in July, also ripened early because Huā Zhāo was craving them! Pregnancy symptoms had started to appear. Fortunately, she didn't have nausea or vomiting, just cravings. If she saw something, she suddenly wanted to eat it and couldn't wait even a second longer; she had to eat it immediately. She had also planted strawberries, blueberries, Northeast cherries, and wild grapes in the yard. They were called wild grapes, but who knew how many times she had secretly improved them. They were so delicious now that even Huā Qiáng, who had never eaten grapes, couldn't stop. But even eating like this, they couldn't finish them. The grapes grew densely. Huā Qiáng always wondered why the more he ate, the more the grapes seemed to multiply? And the other vegetables also bore fruit exceptionally well this year. Huā Zhāo simply built a clay kiln in the yard. It could be used to dry fruits, bake bread, roast chicken, and grill fish – anything could be baked. It was just an oven. The former sprout-drying shed also found a use. After modification, it was used to dry raisins. Of course, some were kept for making wine. Huā Qiáng couldn't drink alcohol, but he enjoyed it. Recently, his stomach felt less uncomfortable, and he even started secretly drinking a little. After drinking, he would feel uncomfortable. Huā Zhāo had no choice but to make some grape wine for him. She thought that the wine brewed from these spirit-filled grapes might help with his illness. Even if it didn't, it wouldn't hurt to drink it, right? After picking the various ripe vegetables of the day, Huā Zhāo went to the backyard to feed her little darlings. The few little pigs had grown quite a bit, white and plump. The chicks and ducklings had grown up, their feathers smooth and shiny. They didn't leave the yard, spending all day eating in the garden. Huā Zhāo sectioned off 2 rows of land for them. They could eat whatever they wanted here, but not elsewhere. If they crossed the boundary, they would face the threat of a kitchen knife to the throat. Perhaps the animals that grew up on these things also had special spiritual năng lực. They actually understood. After a few times, they never dared to take another step. ......

Suddenly, she craved fish... Huā Zhāo picked up a bucket and a net bag, grabbed a handful of raisins, and left. Using these as bait for fish was the most effective. The fish didn't even need to be fished; they could be scooped up. Once again returning with a full load, Huā Zhāo scooped out two large fish, each about 2 catties. She planned to braise them later, stew the remaining more than 1 catty for soup, and put the fish less than 1 catty in the water tank to feed them delicious food for a few days, then dry them into small fish jerky to mail to Yè Shēn. Just as she was thinking about whether he would like it, she heard someone call her from behind, "Little Huā! Come quickly and see who's here to see you!" It was Aunt Ma's sharp voice, happy but tinged with strangeness. Huā Zhāo turned around and saw Aunt Ma leading an old woman and a middle-aged woman into the yard. The old woman was in her sixties, her graying hair neatly combed back. She wore a mended blue jacket and walked unsteadily towards her. Huā Zhāo looked at her and saw that she had awkwardly bound feet. The toes were pointed, the instep was raised and thick, but the entire foot was still not small. Many elderly people of this age were like this. Their families might have been well-off in their youth, and foot-binding was still popular. They bound them, but before the shape could set, society changed, and they unbound the bandages, resulting in this situation. The old woman's dark eyes stared tremblingly at Huā Zhāo. The middle-aged woman beside her had even brighter eyes, openly appraising her. The rumors were really exaggerated! Who said Huā Zhāo weighed over 200 catties and looked like a bear?! This girl looks sturdy at most, where is she fat?! And they said she was dark? Her face was so fair it seemed to reflect light! And they said she was ugly? With these big eyes, high nose bridge, and small lips, if this appearance was ugly, then there would be no beautiful people in the world! It was mid-June, and Huā Zhāo had already slimmed down to about 130 catties. Combined with her height of 170 cm, she was considered to have a standard figure, and she was of the slightly plump type that male otaku in later generations liked very much. Full and fleshy, where it should be big, it was particularly big, and where it should be thin, it couldn't be thin now, being pregnant. Sūn Chūnyīng suddenly regretted it very much. If she had known two months earlier that Huā Zhāo was like this, perhaps her maternal nephew would also have a partner! Huā Zhāo asked Aunt Ma, "Who is this? Do I know them?" Aunt Ma winked at Huā Zhāo and said strangely, "You don't even recognize your maternal grandmother and your eldest aunt? Oh, it's not your fault. The last time you saw them, you were only five or six years old. What could you remember then! Your maternal grandmother and eldest aunt haven't visited you for so many years, so it's not strange that you don't recognize them." Sūn Chūnyīng's eyes immediately glared. Was she already belittling them? Belittle them, she wasn't afraid of that. "Little Huā, I am your eldest aunt. It's okay if you forgot before. From now on, Auntie will visit often, and we won't forget!" She smiled and walked up to Huā Zhāo, pushing Old Mrs. Zhāng forward. "This is your maternal grandmother. You don't remember, right? It's okay, you'll remember from now on!" After speaking, her eyes roamed around. This large courtyard was really big. The vegetables were growing really well! They had already ripened! And they were so dense. Well, her family's vegetables wouldn't be a problem from now on. "Oh, so it's my maternal grandmother and eldest aunt... How many aunts were there?" Huā Zhāo asked Aunt Ma, seemingly ignorant of her maternal grandmother's family. Actually, she had already remembered. Her maternal grandparents were alive. She had three maternal uncles: Zhāng Dàfù, Zhāng Dàguì, and Zhāng Dàquán. Besides her mother Zhāng Guìlán, she had a maternal aunt, Zhāng Guìzhī. None of them were easy to deal with. "There is a second maternal aunt, but your third maternal uncle is not married yet," Sūn Chūnyīng said, glancing at Huā Zhāo's house. It was really spacious. Huā Zhāo's eyes dimmed. She and her grandfather, the weak and the ill, were indeed targets of covetousness. "Maternal Grandma and Eldest Aunt, you haven't visited in over ten years. Why have you come today out of the blue? Is there something going on?" Huā Zhāo suddenly asked. She hadn't expected her to be so direct. Sūn Chūnyīng and Old Mrs. Zhāng were startled for a moment. But only for a moment. Old Mrs. Zhāng smiled and said benevolently, "We just missed you and came to see you. Nothing else." "Why after more than ten years, you finally remembered me?" Huā Zhāo asked even more directly. "Did you hear that I have money recently?" Sūn Chūnyīng's face immediately fell. "Child, what are you saying! We heard you got married and are pregnant, so we came to see you! You're ungrateful! If you're ungrateful, we'll leave!" "Then goodbye, Maternal Grandmother, Eldest Aunt," Huā Zhāo said with a gentle and polite smile. Sūn Chūnyīng was immediately put in an awkward position. Old Mrs. Zhāng immediately patted Sūn Chūnyīng's arm and said with feigned anger, "How old are you, to argue with a child like this!" She then turned to Huā Zhāo and said, "Your aunt is just like this, sharp-tongued but kind-hearted. She was very happy to hear you were pregnant and even brought you eggs." Following her words, Sūn Chūnyīng took out 2 eggs from her pocket. Huā Zhāo......