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

The bursts of laughter and the enticing aroma of meat wafting from the other side of the wall were like invisible needles, constantly pricking the nerves of everyone in the room.

Xiao Dang and Huaihua were taken out to play by Qin Jingru early in the morning, leaving only the mother and son in the house.

They were all family, yet they were always treated differently, which naturally made Bang Geng very resentful.

Qin Huairu smelled that aroma, and her stomach growled involuntarily.

She swallowed hard, walked to the window, and looked through the crack at the brightly lit and bustling scene in the east courtyard. Her eyes became empty and complicated.

Why is there such a big difference between people who live in the same courtyard?

Qin Huairu couldn't understand it, nor did she dare to think about it any further. She could only silently close the window, completely shutting out the liveliness and happiness that didn't belong to her.

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In the east courtyard at night, the charcoal fire was burning brightly, and the marbled mutton sizzled on the red-hot coals, sending up plumes of white smoke carrying a smoky aroma.

They added a lot of cumin and chili powder, and the taste was absolutely amazing!

Zhang Dabiao was clinking glasses with Xu Damao, Liu Guangqi, and a few others, the bottles of chilled Arctic Ocean soda dripping with water. Yu Li sat on a wicker chair by the pool, a large slice of watermelon in her hand, which she was devouring in a whirlwind.

Zhang Dabiao glanced at the pile of watermelon rinds at Yu Li's feet, then at her enormous belly, and couldn't help but twitch, asking in bewilderment, "Yu Li, you're almost due, why are you eating so much cold watermelon? Aren't you afraid of getting an upset stomach?"

Yu Li froze, a blush creeping onto her face. She muttered softly, "Da Biao... just let me eat it. It's just that... I don't usually get to eat it."

"Jie Cheng and I used our salaries to pay off the housing provident fund contributions from the mutual aid society over the past two years, and we also had to pay off his account books at his father-in-law's place. We just finished paying them off last month."

"The rest needs to be saved for the cost of having a baby, so..."

Zhang Dabiao was stunned for a moment, then speechless. So, Yan Bugui and Yan Jiecheng hadn't given Yu Li anything good to eat during her pregnancy?

He was truly impressed. The Yan family was truly a case of birds of a feather flocking together; the whole family were reincarnations of shrewd schemers, even managing to make their pregnant daughter-in-law so envious.

As soon as she finished speaking, the watermelon rind in Yu Li's hand fell to the ground with a "thud," and she slid down as if her bones had been removed, her hands gripping the armrests of the rattan chair tightly.

"Ouch...it hurts! Da Biao, I can't take it anymore, my stomach is killing me!"

The shout startled everyone away from the smell of alcohol in the courtyard. Mu Wanqing quickly caught Yu Li's waist, and Zhang Dabiao looked down to see that the blue brick ground beneath Yu Li's feet was already wet.

"My water broke, we need to get her to the hospital right away!" Zhang Dabiao made a quick decision—Damn it, here we go again?

Could you give birth prematurely while I'm not around?

I'm not a midwife!

Yan Jiecheng was completely stunned, clutching a half-eaten chicken wing, his legs trembling: "This...it's not even the due date yet, could it be from eating too much watermelon?"

"Stop talking nonsense! Saving lives is the priority!" Zhang Dabiao roared.

Zhang Dabiao frowned and quickly assigned tasks to everyone: "Da Mao, go next door! To Master Huang's longboard cart in the big courtyard next door!"

"Wanqing, Jingru, and Ezi, Sister Hongjuan, you just need to take care of the children."

"Yu Shui went to Yan Jiecheng's house to help pack clothes, blankets, towels, basins and other things that the baby and the new mother would need, and then took them to the hospital."

"Jiecheng and Damao are coming to the hospital with me. Guangqi will stay here to take care of your wife. Shazhu, you clean up the pots and pans for me, and then make some light chicken soup and bring it over later!"

"Okay! Alright!"

Zhang Dabiao gave the order, saying that it was more effective than anything else, and everyone immediately got busy.

Xu Damao borrowed the cart and laid out thick quilts on it. Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangqi hurriedly lifted Yu Li onto the cart. Zhang Dabiao spat in his palm, gripped the wooden handle tightly with both hands, his muscles tense, and his cloth shoes clattered on the ground as he steadily pulled the cart out of the courtyard at No. 95.

When Yu Li was wheeled into the delivery room at the emergency room of Hongxing Hospital, Zhang Dabiao's shoulders already had two red marks from the straps of the cart.

"The family member must pay a deposit of thirty yuan first." The nurse came out with the form.

Yan Jiecheng searched his entire body but didn't have a single coin. His third uncle, Yan Bugui, and third aunt arrived, panting. Upon hearing it was thirty yuan, Old Yan's face instantly fell. He instinctively clutched his pocket, his eyes darting around: "This… it's the middle of the night, all the money is in my passbook, I'll have to wait until the bank opens tomorrow…"

"Dad! That's your daughter-in-law!" Yan Jiecheng's eyes turned red with anxiety.

The old man rummaged around and pulled out five yuan, his voice barely audible: "That's all I brought. How about... I pay you back?"

Zhang Dabiao sneered to himself, thinking that this shrewd swindler truly lived up to his reputation. He turned and went to the toilet, then slipped into his "little nest" and took out another hundred yuan.

He was having a barbecue and party in the afternoon, wearing only a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, with just a pack of cigarettes in his pocket and no money on him.

Then he pulled out three ten-yuan bills and slammed them on the table: "I'll cover the cost first, get the patient settled quickly!"

After an unknown amount of time, the delivery room door opened.

"Yu Li's family: She's given birth! It's a girl, weighing 5.8 pounds. Mother and daughter are safe."

The old man's smile froze instantly, like a punctured balloon, his eyes filled with disappointment. In his eyes, paying five yuan upfront only to have a daughter was a terrible loss.

Yan Jiecheng, utterly exhausted, leaned against the wall, grinning foolishly. A nurse came out carrying a bright red baby and asked, "Have you named it yet?"

Yan Jiecheng looked at the Third Uncle, but the Third Uncle had his hands behind his back and was looking down at his shoes, not in the mood to name the child. Zhang Dabiao looked at the faint dawn light outside the window and casually said, "This child came out before dawn, so let's call him 'Xiaochen'. Yan Xiaochen, bright and elegant."

Yan Jiecheng nodded repeatedly: "It sounds good! Let's call it that!"

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Time flies, and Yu Li and her daughter were discharged from the hospital safely. Before they knew it, it was August 1st.

As Xu Xiaojun of the Xu family celebrated his one-month birthday, Xu Damao was determined to hold a grand celebration in his backyard.

However, this time he was wiser; he only invited the young people, omitting all three elders from the courtyard, especially Yi Zhonghai and the Jia family—he didn't even send them a message. They were birds of a feather; why bother inviting them?

The banquet was held in the backyard in front of Xu Damao's house, with two large tables set up. The guests were Liu Guangqi, Yan Jiecheng, Zhang Dabiao, and other close friends, along with their wives and children.

Smoke rose from the chimney, and the aroma of meat filled the air, but the person in charge of the cooking surprised everyone—

His arch-nemesis, Sha Zhu.