Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

The dry heave was crisp and loud, like a large stone thrown into a calm pond.

The noise that filled the courtyard was instantly absorbed.

The chopsticks froze in mid-air, the wine glass rested on their lips, and everyone's eyes turned to the corner of the courtyard.

Yu Li covered her mouth, her back to everyone, her shoulders heaving, clearly vomiting violently. Hearing the commotion, Yan Jiecheng rushed out of the house, grabbing Yu Li's arm, his face filled with panic: "Lili, what's wrong? Did you eat something bad?"

He didn't sit at the table. According to the rules set by Yan Bugui, only one person from each family could come. Yan Jiecheng felt sorry for his wife and told her to eat the good food herself, while he stayed inside eating cornbread with pickled vegetables.

Sha Zhu immediately ran over to explain, especially to Xu Damao: "Xu Damao, to be honest, the ingredients I, Sha Zhu, picked could absolutely not be problematic!"

"No one else has experienced any problems with the food, right? The dishes are absolutely fresh. Even if we assume there's something wrong with the food, it's impossible that only Yu Li has experienced it..."

As he spoke, his eyes suddenly widened, as if he had thought of something. Xu Damao's eyes also widened, and then he looked at Yu Li—and Yan Jiecheng.

At the table, Lou Xiao'e put down her chopsticks and looked at Yu Li thoughtfully. She had just experienced all of this herself, and the feeling was all too familiar. She and Yu Li exchanged a glance, and though they were several meters apart, an invisible thread seemed to connect the two women.

Lou Xiao'e asked tentatively, her voice not loud, but loud enough for everyone to hear in the quiet courtyard: "Yu Li, when was your last period?"

Yu Li was being helped by Yan Jiecheng to catch her breath when she heard this and was taken aback. She counted on her fingers, muttering to herself as she counted the days. As she counted, her face visibly changed from the paleness of her previous vomiting to a blush that was a mixture of astonishment and embarrassment.

She wasn't sure, but it seemed... it was more than a month late?

These days, irregular lifestyles and malnutrition are common, and irregular periods are frequent for young women, so she didn't initially take it seriously. But Lou Xiao'e's question, coupled with the nausea she'd felt earlier…

The entire courtyard was deathly silent for three seconds.

Then, with a "boom," it exploded.

"Snapped!"

Xu Damao slammed his hand on the table, making the plates on it jump. He stood up abruptly, pointing at Yan Bugui, who was still frantically eating and drinking across the table, completely oblivious to what was happening. Xu Damao laughed so hard he almost fell over, his voice filled with schadenfreude.

"Teacher Yan! Teacher Yan, did you hear that?! There's double happiness in our courtyard! Your daughter-in-law is pregnant! You'd better hurry up and prepare those two tables of food!"

"You said it yourself, you're paying, there's no going back on your word!"

Yan Bugui's chopsticks fell onto the table with a "clatter," rolled twice, and got some food sauce on them.

He stood there frozen, his "I'm happy to freeload" smile still etched on his face, but his lips had begun to twitch uncontrollably. His expression was worse than crying.

Zhang Dabiao was sitting at the corner table, having just taken a sip of tea, when he heard the news and almost spat it out. He quickly lowered his head, covered his mouth with his hand, his shoulders shaking as he tried to suppress his laughter, his face turning red. Hu Zi and Liu Gen next to him were even more pathetic, turning their backs to everyone and making strange "coughing" noises.

Sha Zhu leaned against the kitchen doorway, arms crossed, watching Yan Bugui's face turn from red to green, then from green to white. A wide grin spread across Sha Zhu's face. That felt good! That was fucking satisfying!

The news spread like wildfire from Xu Damao's banquet. In less than a minute, everyone in the front and back yards, whether they should or shouldn't know, knew—Yan Jiecheng's wife, Yu Li, was also pregnant!

Moreover, three days ago, his father, Yan Bugui, patted his chest and guaranteed in front of the entire hospital that as long as his daughter-in-law got pregnant, he would treat everyone to two tables of food! Four meat dishes, four vegetable dishes, two cold dishes, and one soup! The standard was the same as Xu Damao's!

What's this called?

This is called karma in this lifetime; it comes quickly!

The neighbors in the courtyard, eager to watch the spectacle, peeked out, their faces beaming with anticipation. This was going to be a good show; Old Man Yan was about to suffer a huge financial loss!

Yu Li was helped back into the house by Yan Jiecheng, Yan Bugui, and her mother-in-law Yang Ruihua, who rushed over. As soon as they entered the house, Yang Ruihua closed the door and asked in a low voice what had happened.

Yu Li stammered, her face turning bright red, before finally telling the truth.

She and Yan Jie lived a frugal life, carefully managing their finances. To save money, they washed and reused the birth control rubber sleeve repeatedly. Eventually, it became so worn out that neither of them noticed when a hole appeared…

Upon hearing this, Yang Ruihua nearly fainted, unable to catch her breath. She pointed at Yu Li's nose, wanting to yell, but felt it inappropriate in front of her son, and finally managed to stammer, "You two...you two are really...so stingy with money?!"

A family planning product only costs a few dollars, how could they do something like this!

Yan Jiecheng stood at the door, scratching the back of his head, his expression extremely complicated.

Half of me was happy, and half of me was panicked.

He was happy to be a father, the Yan family would have an heir. But he was also worried; the timing was terrible. The family had recently separated, and they were struggling financially. They hadn't even finished paying off their mortgage (bought with a loan from the Youth Mutual Aid Association's housing fund). Would they have enough food for another mouth to feed? And with his wife pregnant, would she get enough nutrition?

But then he thought about it again and he wasn't so panicked anymore.

Didn't his father promise to host a banquet? Two tables of food and drinks; according to custom, in-laws and friends should all give a gift. That money should be enough to tide them over.

Besides, his father paid for the dinner, so it was Yan Bugui's money that went into the pocket, not Yan Jiecheng's personal savings.

Thinking this way, Yan Jiecheng's initial panic was quickly overshadowed by joy. He even felt that the child's arrival... was quite timely?

In the courtyard, Xu Damao's banquet was still ongoing.

Yan Bugui came out of his house and sat back down at the table. Without saying a word, he picked up the spare chopsticks and began to eat. It was as if he wanted to turn all the frustration in his heart into his appetite, and to eat back part of the cost of the two banquets from Xu Damao's meal.

Seeing his reaction, no one dared to say anything more, and the atmosphere at the table became somewhat awkward.

Let them eat! This meal is on Xu Damao's side, and the next one will be on Yan Bugui's. They're having a great time eating two meals in a row. As for whether Yan Bugui is happy or not, that's none of their business.

------------

The banquet ended, and everyone went home.

Yan Jiecheng was pulled into Zhang Dabiao's small courtyard by Liu Guangqi, Hu Zi and the others to talk. Several young men surrounded him, congratulating him and asking when his father planned to hold a banquet.

After learning how Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li got pregnant, Zhang Dabiao gave them a thumbs up—【They're really something else!】

Meanwhile, the Yan family lived in the front yard.

Yan Bugui returned to the house and plopped down on the worn-out old chair. He didn't turn on the light; the room was pitch black, with only the moonlight streaming in from the window outlining his stiff features.

His hands were resting on his knees, his eyes, which had spent his entire life calculating, were now fixed on the peeling paint on the ceiling. His lips moved silently, as if he were muttering something.

Yang Ruihua came in from the outer room, turned on the light, and the dim light illuminated Yan Bugui's face, which was more bitter than bitter herbs.

Five minutes later, Yan Bugui finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth, his voice hoarse and filled with disbelief and indignation.

"What a tragedy... that thing... it only costs a few dollars... he... he actually washed and used it so many times, fine, you can use it, but didn't you know it was broken and unusable?"

He couldn't understand it. He had been meticulously calculating his finances his whole life, all to save money. How could his son be more "successful" than him, saving money to raise a child and afford two banquets? This wasn't saving money; it was like stabbing him in the heart!

That'll take Yan Bugui's life!