and some of our comrades in Pingbei were also being watched by the Nationalist Party."Ripples frowned."Before you destroyed the headquarters, you should have evacuated some people. After that, didn't...Lian Yi smiled and bid farewell to Lu Fang, then silently returned home. It seemed that Xu Xin Ya was very clever, devising such a way out for herself. If she succeeded, she would truly be free to soar high in the sky. That absolutely couldn't happen.

After returning home, Lian Yi cooked a braised pork ribs dish, leaving some for the younger son. After picking up the eldest child, she went to visit her granddaughter at the family courtyard of the mechanical factory.

As soon as Dabao heard he was going to see his little sister, he was also very happy. Moreover, he smelled the aroma of meat. Grandma must have cooked something delicious! He skipped happily with his small backpack on and bounced all the way into the family courtyard of the machinery factory with grandma.

"Aunt Luo, come and see your son!"

As soon as I entered the family compound, acquaintances greeted me.

He's nothing to look at. I'm here to see my granddaughter and bring some treats for my in-laws. She works hard taking care of the children.

Liàn Yī raised the bag in his hand and said with a smile.

"Aunt Luo, I think you're contradicting yourself. Your granddaughter wants to see, and your son wants to see too."

Another woman, similar in age to Ripple, chimed in playfully.

Liàn Yī this time did not deny, just smiled, then took her grandson to the five-story Building of Dry Department.

When she slowly walked into the unit, the rest of them started gossiping.

Ripples don't care about these things. What they say behind closed doors is that Song Qingshan is burning through his money, refusing to live in a house without spending a fortune on it. He insists on buying an expensive house and even borrows from everywhere, racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. Who knows how many years he'll have to tighten his belt to pay it all back

"Those are none of our business. Other mothers don't object to it, and even if we say something, they won't listen. We should just mind our own affairs. Besides, I heard that the company is going to build a new building in the second half of this year."

"Really"

"Really, my son's new girlfriend works in the logistics department."

Outside, things had gotten out of hand. Lian Yi also saw her granddaughter Beibei and held the little one, playing with her for a while before being taken over by her eldest grandson.

Dabao was crawling on the blanket spread out on the floor of the living room with Beibei. The two of them were talking animatedly, but it was unclear what the two little ones were discussing.

The mother-in-law was very happy and chatted with her for a while, then the two began to prepare dinner.

Since the braised pork ribs in batter were considered meat, they also stir-fried a dish of spicy and sour potato shreds and a small dish of blanched Chinese cabbage. Lian'er took out two eggs from her cloth bag, steamed a small bowl of egg custard for Beibei, and scrambled the other one to make egg drop soup. With three dishes, one soup, and rice, it was also quite a good meal.

Li Juan walked in and immediately smelled the aroma of meat. She knew without a doubt that her mother-in-law had arrived. She smiled sweetly and greeted her mother-in-law, then changed her clothes and started setting the table for dinner.

"Mom, let's eat first. Qingchuan has been finishing work later than usual these two days."

"Any new jobs"

Ripple asked casually.

"Well, a new machine has been brought in and is currently being installed and debugged. He's been following closely, hoping to learn from the technicians who came from Hong Kong."

Li Juan knew her mother-in-law cared about her husband and immediately said,

"The opportunity is indeed rare. You and your in-laws have to work hard these days. If you can't take care of it, I'll come lend a hand."

Ripple spoke with understanding.

"Mom, it's fine. Beibei is well-behaved and obedient. After eating, she plays by herself. When she gets tired, she goes to sleep by herself."

Now she can talk, and she can tell us when she's hungry or needs to use the potty. It's not as tiring as it used to be, but now she's just wobbly learning to walk, so we have to keep an eye on her.

Li Juan immediately smiled and refused, it wasn't really tiring, there was no need to trouble her mother-in-law back and forth. Besides, her mother-in-law had enough to worry about taking care of the eldest son and her younger brother-in-law. She had her own mother looking after her here, so she wouldn't add to the chaos.

"Alright, just make sure you can manage. If your in-laws want to stay for a couple of days, just send the children over to my place."

Upon hearing the ripples' words, Aunt Li's face visibly darkened, and Li Juan's smile became strained.

"Girl, you wouldn't believe this. Those three heartless people sent me here to Juanzi's place and then never came back to see me. I bet they don't even know that I moved into an apartment."

The old woman wasn't afraid of ripples of laughter, and directly stated her point.

"Isn't this because you're too busy with work"

Ripples said, "It's fine for one to say their own child isn't good, but it's not acceptable when others say so. That's why she wouldn't embarrass herself by criticizing other people's sons."

"Hmph! All they have is Cao Zimao as an excuse."

The mother-in-law shook her head.

"Mother-in-law, if they don't come see you, why don't you go to their place You can collect your retirement money while you're there. Your daughter has asked you to help look after the granddaughter and will even pay you for food and lodging!"

Ripple immediately came up with an idea.

Upon hearing this, the mother-in-law immediately understood what Lian Yi meant and chuckled in response:

"The girl is right, please bring Beibei for half a day next Wednesday morning, I'll be out running errands."

"Okay, I just dropped Dabao off at school and came straight here."

The ripples happily agreed.

Juan, standing on the side, secretly gave Lianyi a thumbs up.

This is something that she, as a daughter, wouldn't be comfortable saying, but Lian Yi could say it, after all, she's married and lives in her husband's house.

Just as my mother-in-law said, her mother helps take care of the children. They pay five dollars a month for food and lodging. It's unreasonable for her son not to contribute a penny. As the saying goes, raising a child prevents aging, her mother is willing to raise him, but she doesn't want to give her three brothers a free ride either.

At this moment, the sound of a door opening rang out. Song Qingchuan had returned.

He immediately greeted his mother when he saw her. After washing his hands, he picked up his daughter and kissed her cheek. He then patted his eldest son's head and took out a bag of candy from his bag, letting his eldest son grab some to keep for later.

Thank you, Second Uncle!

Dabao grinned and said thanks, counting five candies into his small satchel. He didn't take too many.

"Da Bao, take more."

"Uncle, that's enough. Mom said I can only have one candy a day. If I eat too much, I'll get cavities. Five candies will last me until the weekend."

Dabo counted on his fingers and said,

"Alright, listen to your mother. I'll buy you another one after Uncle Two finishes his."

"Qing Chuan, you let Bei Bei play by herself first. Come eat, Mom brought red-braised pork ribs today especially for you."

Li Juan placed the freshly warmed dishes on the table and said to her husband.

"Here I am."

After Song Qingshan finished his meal, he chatted with everyone for a while. Lian Yi then took Dabao and prepared to go home.

Song Qingchuan said a word to his wife and mother-in-law, then hugged his eldest son downstairs and sent his mother home.

Lin asked Song Qingchuan about the new machines at his mechanical factory, and Song Qingchuan told her everything truthfully.

“I heard that the boss from Hong Kong City sent over the new machinery”

"Well, I've seen him once. He looked very cultured and well-dressed, with gold-rimmed glasses and a suit - a white shirt, black trousers, and black leather shoes. He always had two people with him."

"I heard he found a girlfriend in our Qingshan Town and is getting married."

"Huh Is that so I really don't know, Mom. How did you find out"

Song Qingchuan asked in surprise.

"You don't need to worry about that, my mom and I have our own network of contacts."

The ripples pretended to be profound.

Song Qingchuan smiled faintly, without exposing her. But Lian Ri's next sentence left him utterly confused.the door. He saw a white-clad woman standing at the entrance, and was so frightened that he fell to the ground with his buttocks."Miss!""Fairy!""Where are you going"Ripple took a step into the yard. S...