My Prince said he'd break my legs.

When Niu Xiaoyong was one and a half years old, Wang Niannian became pregnant again, and this time the child was Niu Guangxing's.

However, the three brothers get along very well. No matter whose child Wang Niannian is pregnant with, the three of them are as considerate to her as ever.

Once Bai Niannian's pregnancy was stable, she asked Niu Decheng to take her into the city to buy some items and do some shopping. She then asked Liang Zhiyi, "Do you want to go shopping too?"

Liang Zhiyi thought for a moment. It had been almost two years since she escaped, and at the beginning of the year, the palace held a grand selection of beauties. With new beauties to keep her company, she guessed that Pei Yue had completely forgotten about her.

Thinking this through, she nodded and replied, "Go."

She also wanted to see what kind of business she could do to make some money, since she couldn't just sit around and do nothing, even though she didn't spend much in the village.

Upon hearing that they were going to the city, Niu Dazhuang dropped the sweet potato he was eating and insisted on going too.

Tian Guixiang slapped him on the head: "Where are you going? You'll only cause trouble for your sister Zhiyi."

Liang Zhiyi smiled: "It's alright, let him go with us. But Dazhuang, you have to stay with your sister after we enter the city, okay? Don't run around."

Niu Dazhuang's face immediately lit up with a smile: "I understand, sister."

She had lived with Tian Guixiang and her son for two years. They treated her very well, and she had long regarded them as family.

Seeing that Liang Zhiyi had no objections, Tian Guixiang didn't say anything more, only reminding them to be careful.

Liang Zhiyi and Wang Niannian had already obtained new household registrations. They escaped the war that year, and a large number of refugees left their homes in the border areas. The government had no choice but to issue them new household registrations, which allowed the two of them to take advantage of the situation.

As Wang Niannian's pregnancy progressed, her original ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) became too small, so their first task after entering the city was to buy her a loose-fitting ruqun.

Winter is just around the corner. Winters in the south aren't as cold, so we need to buy some winter dresses.

The fine silks and satins they used to wear are now out of reach, but the Niu brothers wouldn't let Wang Niannian suffer. They did their best to give her the best, buying her cotton fabric, which was the best material a commoner could afford.

Wang Niannian touched the rough fabric and whispered to Liang Zhiyi, "A fallen phoenix is ​​still no match for a chicken. I wonder when this kind of life will end."

Although the Niu brothers treated her very well, she sometimes missed her former life of wealth and luxury.

But then she thought again, she was lucky, at least she didn't have to be reduced to a lowly slave and trampled on.

Wang Niannian was good at comforting herself, and she quickly made herself feel better.

Liang Zhiyi patted Wang Niannian on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, things will get better. I'll take you to do some business in the city, I guarantee you'll make money."

Wang Niannian instantly perked up: "What kind of deal?"

"Hot pot restaurant."

"Huh??!" Wang Niannian looked completely bewildered. "What's a hot pot restaurant?"

"You don't understand, do you?" Liang Zhiyi smiled brightly. "I'll explain it to you in detail when we get home. Dazhuang is hungry, let's go find him something to eat first."

Wang Niannian watched Liang Zhiyi's departing figure, completely bewildered. But inexplicably, she actually believed that Liang Zhiyi could really lead her to wealth and prosperity.

To be honest, Wang Niannian's intuition was right.

Upon returning to Niujia Village, Liang Zhiyi immediately wrote a detailed plan and called a meeting with everyone.

The Niu brothers, Wang Niannian, and Tian Guixiang couldn't understand the plan, so Liang Zhiyi explained it to them in detail.

The others seemed to understand but not quite. Without a second thought, Tian Guixiang took out all of her meager family fortune and gave it to Liang Zhiyi: "Although I don't understand, I trust you. Take this money."

Even if she didn't understand anything, Tian Guixiang knew that opening a shop required capital, and that the amount of money needed in the early stages would be considerable.

The three Niu brothers were still hesitant. They had never been to school and usually earned money by doing manual labor, which didn't bring in much income. Moreover, they had to support Wang Niannian and their child, and Wang Niannian was due to give birth in a few months, so money was needed for everything.

What if we lose money...?

Seeing that they were not moving, Wang Niannian kicked Niu Decheng nearby: "What are you doing? Go home and get the money."

Despite the fact that the Niu brothers are all tall and strong, at home they all listen to Wang Niannian and do whatever she says.

They wouldn't object to what their daughter-in-law wanted to do. Without a second thought, Niu Decheng got up and prepared to go back to get the money.

Liang Zhiyi refused Tian Guixiang's money: "No need, you don't need to contribute any capital. I'll provide the funds, you provide the labor. You just need to follow my instructions. As for the profit sharing..."

"I'll take 40%, and you and Aunt Tian will each take 30%, how about that?"

They had no reason to refuse since they could do business without putting up any money, especially since Liang Zhiyi provided the costs and plans. With this profit-sharing arrangement, they felt they were getting a great deal.

To prevent Pei Yue from sending people to investigate after the hot pot restaurant becomes popular, Liang Zhiyi decided that she would not appear in the store for the time being, but would let Tian Guixiang be the head manager and the three Niu brothers be the second managers.

After agreeing on the plan, Liang Zhiyi and Niu Decheng went into town early the next morning to check out shops, sources of goods, and to work on hot pot base and dipping sauces, etc.

In ancient times, the food of ordinary people was limited. When Liang Zhiyi's hot pot restaurant opened, they had never seen such a way of eating before, and those with some money came to try it.

Without much advertising, the hot pot restaurant was incredibly popular. The three Niu brothers and Tian Guixiang were so busy that they had to hire two helpers.

By the time Wang Niannian gave birth, they had actually saved up enough money to buy a courtyard house in the city.

Liang Zhiyi and Wang Niannian are "fugitives" and don't go to the store much. Niu Dazhuang would only cause trouble if he went to the store, so they simply left him at home to help Wang Niannian take care of the children.

Moving here is fine in every way, the only downside is that before, she couldn't sleep at night because of Wang Niannian's shouting, now she can't sleep because of the young couple next door.

Liang Zhiyi eavesdropped on the argument next door for several days and finally figured out why they were arguing.

A large family lived in the next courtyard. The older brother, Liu Dashan, lived in the east side of the house, while the younger brother, Liu Ergou, lived in the west side of the house. The parents-in-law lived in the small side room.

Liu Dashan and his wife had two sons, while Liu Ergou had a son and a daughter. They were originally two happy little families, but Liu Ergou was biased towards his older brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, and really didn't care about his wife and children at all.

For example, when Liu Ergou's child is young and quite noisy, his parents-in-law don't help him. When Liu Ergou isn't working, his wife Ma Xiuer asks him to cook, and he'll grumble and complain for a long time until they start arguing, at which point Liu Ergou will reluctantly go to the kitchen.

The two brothers separated their households after getting married, but they only had one kitchen, so they shared it.

After Liu Ergou finished cooking his own meal in the kitchen, he also prepared the dishes that his sister-in-law had prepared there and brought them to her table for her to eat.

Ma Xiuer was furious. Why did she have to go to so much trouble to order her husband around, while her husband turned around and cooked for another woman and served her food? Naturally, the two started arguing again.

For example, when the child had a headache or fever, Ma Xiuer asked Liu Ergou to take the child to see a doctor, but Liu Ergou said he had to go to work and didn't have time to go, so he told Ma Xiuer to take the child herself.

He spoke in a particularly impatient tone, clearly unwilling to care about the life or death of Ma Xiuer and her two children.

The next day, Liu Ergou's sister-in-law, He Feng, told him that her brother-in-law was not home and that her child had a fever, so she asked Liu Ergou to take the child there. Liu Ergou took the child there without saying a word.

These kinds of trivial family matters, though small things, made Ma Xiuer feel uneasy. She felt like a widow, and sometimes it was really pitiful to raise two children alone, while He Feng had two husbands to take care of her.