A lonely, unlucky military officer with a stubborn fate insisted on marrying me.

He Jingxian and the others stayed in the courtyard house for three days.

But today is an important day for the Ho family, as it is the annual budget review and shareholder dividend distribution, and she must be present.

So she told An Shuqiao early in the morning, "Come back early this afternoon, I might be a little late."

An Shuqiao looked troubled. "Mom, I have a meeting at work today, so I'm afraid I won't be able to come over until later."

As the two were talking, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and Wu Zehui walked in carrying a basket. "I knew no one was going home alone, and I guessed you were really here!"

Both of them were overjoyed!

With the second son's wife around, they felt at ease.

On the other side, Lin Yinyin had just received a phone call.

Her mother-in-law was very helpful; she even installed a telephone in her house.

It was still my third brother on the other end of the phone.

"Yinyin, I have great news for you! Wang Erhua has brought all eight of her sisters-in-law to Giant Rabbit Peak!"

Lin Yinyin was delighted to hear this, "Really? Eight people actually came!"

"So, finally someone's helping you take care of those thousand-plus rabbits?"

"That's right! Oh, and there's something else. The plastic film you ordered has arrived, and Xiao Chen is studying the greenhouse blueprints you gave me."

Do you still remember the Chi family from Liantang Village?

"Remember."

"Yes, the Chi family used to run a hardware factory, and they are quite knowledgeable about keel installation and metal grafting."

That day, Chi Chengyan came to borrow the phone. He saw the situation here and had been tinkering with things with Xiao Chen for two days. The greenhouse frame was almost complete.

"That's great! You're short-staffed, so you can hire more people!"

"I know that. By the way, I wanted to tell you that the Chi family is probably going to be exonerated soon, and they'll be able to return to Beijing in a few months. These past few days, he's been coming over to our place to use the phone to contact people outside."

"Well, it's just a few phone calls. Let's do him a favor and let him use it as much as he wants."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yinyin still had a smile on her face. Turning around, she saw Wu Zehui standing at the door. "Second sister-in-law, what brings you here? Didn't you go to the research institute today?"

"I had a day off today, so I came to see you. This courtyard is really nice, elegant and quiet." She paused, then added with a smile, "On my way here, I took a detour to Houhai Lake. There were people chiseling ice there, and I heard some people are even winter swimming. Do you want to go check it out?"

"Great!" It's so boring to stay cooped up in the yard all day.

Lin Yinyin turned around and called to Lin Huizhi, and the three of them walked towards Houhai together.

The winter wind was biting in Beijing, but the ice on Houhai Lake was unusually lively. Several elderly men with gray hair, wearing swimsuits, were preparing to jump into the ice hole they had carved out. Their energy and spirit were truly admirable.

The three of them found a lakeside teahouse, sat down, and ordered a pot of hot tea to warm themselves up.

Drinking tea, gazing at the lake, and enjoying the scenery offer a rare sense of leisure.

However, after a short while, faint voices came from the second floor next door. Lin Yinyin looked up and saw a middle-aged man leaning against the railing. He was dressed well, but his demeanor had a lazy air of a spoiled brat. He was carrying a birdcage and pointing at the old man swimming in the winter downstairs. His tone was full of disdain.

A woman dressed in a gentle manner sat beside him, bending down to refill his water bottle.

Immediately afterwards, a young woman stormed up to the second floor and glared at the middle-aged man.

"Who is she?" The girl's voice was sweet and delicate, but the end of her sentence carried an barely suppressed anger as she pointed her finger directly at the middle-aged woman who was refilling the water.

"Dad! Who is she?" she asked again, raising her voice.

"Pfft!" Lin Yinyin almost spat out her tea.

Seeing the girl's aggrieved yet fierce demeanor, she thought she was catching her lover cheating. But after all that fuss, it turned out to be her own daughter!

"Yaoyao!" He Junxian immediately explained, "This is your Aunt Cheng."

At this moment, Wu Zehui also whispered to Lin Yinyin, "These are your mother-in-law's relatives. He Junxian is your mother-in-law's older brother, and that woman's name is He Yueyao."

Lin Yinyin picked up the snacks next to her and started eating. Hmm, watching and eating at the same time, not bad.

Upon hearing this, He Yueyao reacted as if her tail had been stepped on. "Aunt Cheng? That distant aunt from the Cheng family?"

"It was she who persuaded you to marry me off to Cheng Laoliu!"

The woman called Aunt Cheng slowly raised her eyes and said in a nonchalant tone, "Yueyao, that's not quite right. Cheng Shun works at the Revolutionary Committee, your father is rich, he's powerful—what a wonderful marriage!"

"But I have a better choice! The Li family is richer and more powerful..."

"Yaoyao!" He Junxian immediately stopped her. "Have you forgotten what your aunt said? She doesn't agree to you marrying into the Li family, so don't bring it up again. Besides, you're already married, so don't even think about Li Jinye!"

Lin Yinyin: "..." I never expected that watching the fun would turn into seeing my own situation.

"Dad!" He Yueyao exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Dad, do you know what it will be like if we leave the Li family and my aunt? We...we have no money!"

Where do you get the money to support your child?

He Yueyao didn't say this directly. Instead, she asked, "Dad, do you know why I'm here today?"

He Junxian then remembered, "Oh right, isn't today the day the He family calculates its budget and distributes dividends? What are you doing here?"

"Dividends?" He Yueyao's tears finally fell. "Dad, Aunt... Aunt donated all of our family's dividends this year! She didn't leave us a single penny!"

"What?!" He Junxian's expression changed drastically. "Why should she donate our dividends? Let's go find her and argue with her!"

"Wait a minute!" Cheng Fang, being a mistress, still had some sense. "He Jingxian has never been one to do whatever she wants. She has to give an explanation, right?"

"My aunt announced directly at the meeting that she would donate last year's dividends to the front lines to support national defense!"

They also said they wouldn't force every shareholder to donate, but each person's name would be written on the donation receipt.

Seeing this momentum, who among the people below would dare not follow suit and donate!

She immediately submitted the decision regarding the He family's share of the decision! She also said that she was in charge of the He family and that anyone with objections could contact her anytime.

"Huh? What?" He Junxian exclaimed anxiously, "That's my annual expenses, she can't make decisions for me again."

"Let's go, hurry up and go to the Li family to find her!" He Junxian packed up the birdcage and was about to leave.

"I've been to the Li family's house, but no one was there!"

"Then where can she go?"

"I asked around in the compound and they said she's been going to Houhai a lot lately, and that the youngest daughter-in-law of the Li family lives nearby, so I came here to try my luck. I didn't expect to run into you instead of finding her!"

"I often stroll around Houhai Lake, but I've never seen or heard of this person!"

"Yes, do you know of any other clues?"

"That's all..." He Yueyao's face fell. "But some people in the compound are talking about it privately, saying that something seems to have happened to the Li family."

These past two days, Old Master Li has been absent-minded while practicing his boxing, and so has Aunt Zhao from the Li family. I ran into her and specifically asked her a couple of questions. Although she didn't say anything, she stammered and her expression wasn't good; it was obvious she was hiding something.

Wu Zehui's expression turned serious upon hearing this. She quickly tugged at Lin Yinyin's hand and whispered, "Yinyin, let's go. It's all just idle chatter, nothing of substance."

Lin Yinyin subconsciously looked at Wu Zehui. Could it be that something really happened to the Li family?

My mother-in-law specially brought my sister over and arranged for them to stay in the courtyard by Houhai for three days, practically never leaving their side.

Even if I have to leave today, my second sister-in-law will take over.

She thought it was because she was about to give birth, and her mother-in-law and others were worried about her, which was why they were fussing over her. Now that she thought about it, could it be... that something really happened to the Li family?

She suppressed her thoughts and said, "Second sister-in-law, my sister is also pregnant, and she needs to go to the hospital for a check-up."

I thought I'd also ask the doctor about my health and whether the baby is stable.

So I want to go to the old house to get the test results, and then go to the hospital.

"Where's the test report? I'll go get it for you." Wu Zehui blurted out almost immediately.

Lin Yinyin understood; as expected, her second sister-in-law didn't want her to go back.