Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

"Brother-in-law, my sister's morning sickness is over now and she doesn't need much care anymore. I want to go back to work too."

"You're mine now, why are you worried I can't afford to support you?"

"I'm not without hands and feet, why should I need you to support me? Find me a job, I can support myself and even save money!"

"You're so beautiful and have such a great figure, I'm afraid you'll fly away! Haven't you seen those bad boys in our compound, their eyes are practically glowing when they look at you! I'm worried about you going out to work!"

"Brother-in-law—I'm not as good as you say. They don't just look at me with their eyes shining, they look at other women with the same gleam. That's because they want women, what does it have to do with me? Okay, okay!" Saying this, she put down her chopsticks, grabbed Niu Dazhuang's arms with both hands, and swayed them back and forth in front of her chest.

Niu Dazhuang was like a mule that's easily swayed; even after Qin Ningru pulled out her trump card, he immediately surrendered: "Fine, I agree, but you can't take this job. I can't bear to see you working in the workshop!"

"It's okay, I can manage. I can earn seven work points a day at home!"

"There's no room for discussion on this. Let's look for opportunities slowly. See if you can get into a supply and marketing cooperative, and since you're literate, see if you can find a job in the logistics department of a work unit!"

"Hehe, that's great." He gave Niu Dazhuang a reward.

Because Qin Ningru was too excited, she didn't close the door, which was seen by Aunt Qi who lived across the street.

"Oh my god! These young people nowadays are shameless! Don't they know they should be prepared for trouble?"

Wait a minute! That didn't seem to be Qin Xueru just now...

The two families already had a conflict, and now Aunt Qi caught them red-handed. The incident was broadcast over the loudspeaker at the Intermediate People's Court.

Both men and women enjoy hearing such gossip.

"Hey lady, guess what I just saw...tsk tsk. That scene made my face turn red."

"Aunt Qi, just say it!" The first aunt wasn't in a hurry, but the third aunt was.

Qi Da cleared his throat and began to whisper.

"Young people these days are so open-minded, they even start eating together while they're having a meal!" he said, glancing westward.

Jia Zhangshi quickly said, "Why are you looking at my house? Dongxu and his wife wouldn't dare to do that when I'm home!"

"It's not like we're talking about your house. What's the rush?"

Everyone immediately understood whose house they were referring to.

The second aunt asked, "Isn't Xue Ru pregnant right now?"

Aunt Qi said sarcastically, "Who said it was Xue Ru? They also have Ning Ru!"

"Qi Da? Don't talk nonsense. Isn't Ningru Dazhuang's sister-in-law? Are you sure?" The old lady didn't believe it.

"I knew their relationship wasn't simple. You didn't even notice how Ningru talks to Dazhuang, and the way she looks at him. She's even more... you know... than Xueru!" Auntie Er added insult to injury.

Aunt Jia retorted, not to be outdone: "What's all the fuss about? I don't believe there aren't cases like this in your village where two sisters both fall for the same man!"

"Aunt Jia, that's the village. Think about where we live now, in the capital. That's a bad habit!" Aunt Jia even came up with a new term.

"Men these days, they're always looking for something better than what they have. I have so many kids, and Old Yan wanted my sister to come and help look after them, but I absolutely refused, afraid of causing trouble. Hey! Aunt Qi, did you see that clearly?"

Aunt Qi swore to heaven that she really saw it.

"That's not right! I didn't hear Xue Ru making a fuss!" an older woman retorted.

"Yeah, yeah! Why didn't I hear Xue Ru making a fuss?"

"Hey! What's so strange about that? There's a saying in my hometown: 'A sister-in-law's little waist is a brother-in-law's prey.'"

"Ha ha……"

The older women burst into laughter.

"Second Aunt, you know what, your summary is pretty accurate."

"This isn't my summary; I heard it when I was young. It's been like this since liberation. Before, it was all too common, especially when the older sister married into a well-off family. It wasn't unusual for several sisters-in-law to throw themselves at her, let alone just one!"

The older women were chatting animatedly. Within five minutes, everyone who had come to the courthouse to chat knew about it. Even the men started to react.

"Old Niu, go back and talk to your nephew. Even though it's a mutual agreement, you should still be mindful of the consequences!"

"Old Yi, don't believe everything you hear. A woman's mouth is like a cotton waistband; if there's only one point, she can exaggerate it to eight, and she'll even start talking about it like it's the truth!" Niu Youliang was defending his nephew.

Uncle Er quickly chimed in, "Exactly! Isn't it normal for a brother-in-law and sister-in-law to be close? What's the big deal? Holy crap, checkmate!"

"Old Liu, when did your horse jump here?!"

"Hehe, serves you right for not paying attention. I think you're old in years but young at heart. You just love listening to gossip."

Sha Zhu and the other three were incredibly envious. Yan Jiecheng felt a pang of jealousy: "No wonder Da Niu disagreed; he was keeping it for himself."

"Come on, it's Da Niu's wife who disagrees. But Da Niu is really capable, a role model for us all!" Liu Guangqi was genuinely envious.

Xu Damao grinned and said, "So what? Once I'm officially hired, as soon as I go to the countryside, all those young women and wives will come running to me. I can pick and choose!"

"Get lost! What you're doing is womanizing. If someone reports you, you'll be shot!" Sha Zhu said, watching him smugly.

"You idiot, you're the one who'd get shot! You're just being envious and jealous!"

"Hmph! Me, envious of you? Which eye of yours saw that? You're just a temporary projectionist! What's there to brag about?"

"You even go to the countryside to show movies, and young women and wives are all throwing themselves at you. Why don't you just fly to the heavens? Even the Seven Fairies would be chasing after you!"

"That's better than you, a lousy cook. You're always covered in the smell of smoke and fire; even good girls would be scared away by you."

"I'm really fed up with you two. You're always arguing the moment you meet. There's never a time when you don't argue. Now you're talking about Da Niu and his sister-in-law. Can't you have a normal conversation?" Liu Guangqi hadn't had enough when these two idiots interrupted him.

He Yuzhu cleared his throat deliberately and said mysteriously, "Let me tell you some exciting news. Compared to what I know, what happened today is nothing!"

"Damn! There's something even more exciting, Sha Zhu, hurry up and tell us!" Yan Jiecheng asked impatiently.

He Yuzhu picked it up and turned to look at Xu Damao: "Want to hear it?"

"Hey! Silly Zhu, just say it!"

"Haha... Let me tell you, a while ago, the day before the May Day holiday, I came back a little early, and I happened to run into someone looking for Sha Zhu..."

Sha Zhu concealed the fact that he and Cai Quanwu were half-siblings, but told them everything else in one go.

"Holy crap! Holy crap, this guy is something else! He's got a stable wife at home and mistresses on the side!"