After four years of living alone after marrying far away, he went back to his parents' home and

Lan Yujuan said seriously, "How could I joke about something like this?"

"The woman said she wanted to marry a city man."

"My mother-in-law is thinking that we should buy an apartment in the city as soon as possible and transfer Liu Zhigang's household registration there so that it will be easier for the young couple to get married and register their marriage!"

Liu Meiling stared at her, her face full of disbelief, as if she were looking at an alien.

He even reached out and touched Lan Yujuan's forehead, saying, "She doesn't have a fever, how could you agree to this?"

"Whoever's name is on the deed owns the house in the future!"

"Can't you see that your in-laws are biased and trying to squeeze money out of your first wife's family to subsidize the second wife's family?"

"Lan Yujuan, Lan Yujuan! I think you've really gone crazy from studying!"

Lan Yujuan shrugged and calmly smiled, "I'm not stupid."

"My parents-in-law said that the whole family supported Liu Zhiyuan to go to university, which made his younger siblings feel wronged."

"Now that Liu Zhiyuan has graduated and can earn money, it's only right and proper for him to take care of his younger siblings."

"As you all know, I have no say in this family. As long as Liu Zhiyuan agrees, I have no objections..."

As soon as it got completely dark, the absurd story of Tian Xiuhua preparing to use the money her eldest son had saved to buy a wedding house for her second son in the city spread throughout the entire Xiahe Village.

That evening, several respected elders in the clan, upon hearing the news, went to visit him in the dark.

"As parents, we must treat all our children equally!"

"In the past, many parents who showed favoritism ended up with family discord and a miserable old age! We should learn from their mistakes!"

No sooner had the elders arrived than Liu Defu slipped out through the side door.

Tian Xiuhua was left alone at home to deal with the situation. She smiled on the outside but cursed the other person in her heart for being nosy and meddling in other people's business!

After the elders of the clan left, Tian Xiuhua started knocking on the door again.

Before Lan Yujuan could open the door, he stood outside and angrily demanded, "Lan Yujuan! Did you spread those rumors in the village?"

"You haven't even bought a house yet, and you're already going around the village spouting nonsense. What are you up to?"

"Say something! Stop playing dead in your room! Come out!"

Just as Tian Xiuhua was about to raise her hand to knock on the door again, the door creaked open, and she missed, almost straining her back.

Lan Yujuan crossed her arms and asked directly, "So what do you want to do?"

"Or, I could go to the village broadcasting station tomorrow and explain to the whole village that it's all a misunderstanding?"

Tian Xiuhua looked at her with complicated emotions, unable to guess what her daughter-in-law was thinking.

"That won't be necessary!"

"I just wanted to remind you, from now on, don't gossip about our family matters to outsiders!"

Lan Yujuan ignored her, simply looking at the cold, sterile living room, muttering a few words under her breath, and deliberately changing the subject:

"Huh, where is everyone else? Why is the house so quiet..."

"I heard that during the recent Chinese New Year, many people in the village were playing cards, and someone in the next village lost so much that he had to sell his house and car."

"Liu Zhigang was already in a bad mood, and he was never home at night. I hope he doesn't get set up."

Tian Xiuhua glared at her fiercely, "You jinx! What a coincidence that something like this could happen during the New Year!"

Lan Yujuan bluntly retorted, "Anyway, I just heard it from someone else, believe it or not!"

Then he closed the door and went back inside to prepare for bed.

Tian Xiuhua was already feeling uneasy, and Lan Yujuan's comment made her even more uneasy.

She was working alone in the kitchen when she became restless and uneasy.

After Tian Xiuhua finished cleaning the house, the father and son still didn't go home.

She walked to the door, looked around again and again, and finally couldn't stand it any longer. She picked up a flashlight and quietly went out the door.

A short while later, she saw her second son, Liu Zhigang, sitting at the mahjong table in front of the convenience store.

Upon seeing this, Tian Xiuhua immediately stepped forward to persuade her:

"Zhigang, stop hitting him!"

"Come on, come home with me!"

Liu Zhigang was having a great time, winning several rounds in a row in one night. He had a thick stack of red bills in front of him, so he was unwilling to leave.

"Mom, you should go home now!"

"I'm on an incredible winning streak this year, I'm winning all the time!"

"Leave the door open for me, I'll just play a couple more times and then go home!"

Just as Tian Xiuhua was about to continue persuading him, the other two villagers at the table also jokingly spoke up for Liu Zhigang.

"Auntie, you really know how to pick your time to come. Who leaves right after winning money?"

"Exactly! My cousin only came once during the Lunar New Year, and he lost quite a bit just now. None of the losers said anything, but Liu Zhigang tried to run away after winning; that's just too unfair!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhigang immediately declared, "Don't worry! I promise I won't leave!"

"Today I'll risk my life to accompany you to the very end!"

Then, Liu Zhigang turned around and started yelling at Tian Xiuhua, "Mom, mind your own business!"

"I'm an adult, I know what I'm doing!"

"Besides, there are no outsiders at the card table today, so relax and go home!"

After saying that, he turned away and ignored her.

Tian Xiuhua wanted to say a few more words of advice, but more and more people gathered around and gradually pushed her out of the circle.

After thinking about it again, Tian Xiuhua also felt that what Liu Zhigang said made some sense.

My son always loses when he plays cards during the Lunar New Year, but he's having a lucky night tonight, so let him win a little more and recoup his losses!

More importantly, once a son grows up, he is no longer under his mother's control; she can't control him even if she wants to!

But after searching the entire village, she couldn't find Liu Defu and began to wonder:

"Strange, where could a grown person go so late at night?"

"Could it be that they took the wrong route and he went home ahead of time?"

Tian Xiuhua stopped looking and was about to turn around and go home.

As a result, she ran into a few teenagers chasing and playing in the village, who bumped into her and made her stumble.

"Oh dear, aren't you watching where you're going?"

Tian Xiuhua, supporting her back, scolded him a couple of times.

Suddenly, a stroke of inspiration struck him, and he grabbed a child and began to inquire:

"You lot, running all over the village, have you seen Grandpa Defu?"

As soon as she asked the question, several slightly older children nearby started making faces and laughing.

Tian Xiuhua watched, completely bewildered. "What do you mean? Did you see it, or didn't you see it?"

The little boy she had grabbed suddenly blushed, pointed in the direction of Widow Zhang's house, and stammered softly:

"It seems...yes, it went in that direction..."

Tian Xiuhua turned around in confusion, looking in the direction the child was pointing. "Over there?"

That direction leads directly to the other side of the river, where only one family lives.

"Hey, isn't that Widow Zhang's house?"

"What is he doing there so late at night...?"

Thinking of the children's laughter earlier, and the trade that Widow Zhang usually did, Tian Xiuhua suddenly felt a chill all over her body, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her from head to toe, chilling her to the bone!

Tian Xiuhua immediately let go of the child and quickened her pace to the other side.

"You bastard Liu Defu!"

"It's not like we're starving at home, why are you sneaking out to hunt?"

"He dares!"