The lively scene at the Zhu family’s house did not go unnoticed. Not far away, Gan Juhua watched with a darkening expression. Seeing the Zhu Shun Yao family thriving and prospering more and more, she felt deeply uncomfortable. In her mind, such a flourishing life belonged to her family, not theirs. Irritated, she stopped her work, walked into the house, and sat down, her face clouded with displeasure.
Zhu Guifu noticed her mood. she frowned slightly and tapped her smoking pipe a few times. "What’s wrong? Who offended you this time?"
"It’s the Shun Yao family," Gan Juhua muttered. "Tell me, why do they live so well? Look at us. Our daughter-in-law is hiding in the mountains, afraid to come out. Our son is busy all day. The house feels dead and silent."
What she didn’t say was that ever since Zhu Shun Yao’s family left the fourth branch, the atmosphere there had grown increasingly cold and lonely.
Zhu Guifu glanced at her. "Isn’t there Nan Hong? If you feel lonely, you could bring her back from her grandmother’s house. It would be livelier. If that’s not enough, you could invite Jin Gui’s and Yin Gui’s families over too. It would be bustling."
"Bustling? If everyone comes, won’t it cost money?" Gan Juhua glared at her. Although she missed her grandchildren, she knew that feeding them all would be a heavy financial burden. No matter how much she missed them, she wouldn’t let them come now.
Hearing this, Zhu Guifu narrowed his eyes and took a few drags from his pipe. "You complain about the silence, yet you complain about the noise. It’s hard to please you."
"I’m just complaining," Gan Juhua said, brushing it off. "But once Qiao Lian gives birth, our house will be lively again."
Zhu Guifu hummed softly and took another puff. "Is the money for the fine ready?"
Gan Juhua nodded. "Almost. The Old Yang family in the neighboring Niou Ou Village had an extra child recently. They pulled strings and asked for favors, and were only fined three thousand. I was thinking, maybe we should try pulling strings too."
Zhu Guifu shook his head slightly. "It’s a strict enforcement period now. The Old Yangs could pull strings because they are just farmers with no Party members in the family. Xiang Yao is a Party member and works for the state. It will be very difficult to pull strings for us."
"It’s all because of that ungrateful wolf," Gan Juhua grumbled. "If she had agreed to help, we wouldn’t have this trouble." People like her always believed they were right and others were wrong, holding the mindset that it was better for them to betray the world than for the world to betray them.
Zhu Guifu pondered for a moment. "Qiao Lian is still far from giving birth. In a few days, when things have settled down a bit, I’ll talk to Shun Yao. He should help us, after all."
"Right," Gan Juhua agreed. Although she disliked the Zhu Shun Yao family, she knew that if they were willing to help, their difficulties would be much easier to overcome. "If they refuse to help, we’ll just grab her son and see if she still cares about her," she suddenly added.
Zhu Guifu looked at her sharply. "Don’t say things like that casually. No matter what, we are relatives. I am her biological uncle. How could I not help?"
Gan Juhua nodded, agreeing with him. They were proper relatives, after all. Moreover, Zhu Shun Yao had been raised by them. If he refused to help now, he would be too ungrateful.
Zhu Shun Yao, however, had no idea that Zhu Guifu and his wife were plotting against him. Even if he did know, he wouldn’t have cared.