Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

Only after Grandpa Niu moved away did Yi Zhonghai finally secure his position as the eldest grandpa. But when he faced Niu Dazhuang, he still felt somewhat insecure.

But at this critical moment, Yi Zhonghai stepped forward.

"Well... Dazhuang, this is, after all, a matter for the Jia family. Although from Huairu's perspective, you two used to be relatives. When my silly apprentice and Huairu divorced, it was a peaceful separation!"

Now Banggeng is the only heir in the Jia family, and also the only source of emotional support for his sister-in-law to keep living. You must…”

Niu Dazhuang knew this was going to get to the moral high ground. He couldn't be bothered to listen and directly interrupted Yi Zhonghai's rambling.

"Grandpa, you don't even know why I'm here, yet you're giving me a lecture. Isn't that a bit too arbitrary?"

"Weren't you standing up for Qin Huairu?"

"That's true and that's not true. Ladies, I have something I'd like to discuss with Aunt Jia privately, would you mind..."

"Understood. You two chat then." Yi Zhonghai wanted to stay, but an older woman pulled him away.

Now, Jia Zhangshi stopped calling for the spirit and instead looked at Niu Dazhuang warily, asking tremblingly, "What do you want to do?"

"I'll show you the way!"

"You're being so kind? Don't think I don't know about your filthy affair with that vixen Qin Huairu."

"That's not very interesting. If you don't want to listen, then leave!" Niu Dazhuang said, pretending to turn around and leave.

"You really weren't standing up for Qin Huairu?"

"Let me explain first, and you can listen to what I say. If you think what I say is right, then you can do it. If you think it's wrong, I won't force you."

"Then you tell me!"

"Did the steel mill pay out compensation?"

"Oh, so that's why you're being so kind. You've got your eye on Dongxu's life money. My God..." She slapped her thighs, about to start the soul-summoning mode again.

Niu Dazhuang suddenly shouted, "Stop! Why don't you let me finish what I'm saying!"

The noise was so loud that it startled Jia Zhangshi! She immediately stopped making a sound.

"Please let me finish what I have to say. Now that everyone in the countryside has joined the cooperative, your household registration is still in your old rural hometown, right? Take the money Dongxu gave you to save your life, take your grandson, and go back to your mother's house."

Now that you have the ability to raise your grandson, Qin Huairu can't say anything. She's afraid that Xiaobangeng will suffer with a grandmother who can't earn money.

"Why can't I make money? I raised Dongxu all by myself back then, and it wasn't any harder than it is now!"

"You said it yourself, that was back then. Now you're almost fifty, right? Do your old flames still care about you?"

"How...how did you know?"

"Anyone who's not stupid can figure it out. You're a young widow with no way to earn money. Besides that kind of work, what else can you do? Take my advice, go back to the countryside. Back there, everyone eats from the same pot."

There will always be food for you two. Now that you're far away, Huai Ru won't see you as often, and she won't have as much of a thought for you. After a few years of separation, the bond between them will fade.

"I'll think about it!"

"The sooner the better. Although Huai Ru and Dong Xu are divorced, she is still Bang Geng'er's biological mother. If we go through legal procedures, she will be the primary guardian."

"What legal procedures? Guardian? No matter how high you rank, Banggen'er's surname is still Jia!"

Having no other option, Niu Dazhuang changed his approach: "Let me put it this way, Huai Ru can sue you in court, and the court will award custody of the child to Huai Ru."

After all, Huai Ru is Bang Geng's biological mother. Even though she's divorced from Jia Dongxu, she's still Bang Geng's biological mother. Do you understand now?

If you hesitate for a few more days and don't leave, I'll have Huai Ru sue you in court. That's all I'm saying!

No sooner had Niu Dazhuang left than Yi Zhonghai arrived, eagerly asking, "What did Niu Dazhuang say to you?"

Madam Jia looked at Yi Zhonghai, whose temples were already streaked with gray, and sighed, saying, "Niu Dazhuang pointed me in the right direction..."

Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment and said seriously, "That is a solution, but you haven't been back to your hometown for many years. I don't know if the people there still recognize you."

"So what if they don't recognize me? My household registration is in my hometown. My relatives may not recognize me, but the commune can't refuse to recognize me, can it?"

"That's fine, the sooner the better, things might change if we're too slow."

"Then I'll pack up and leave tomorrow morning. Could you please give us a ride? Just take us to the long-distance bus station."

"Of course, leave the door open for me tonight."

"I'm not in the mood for that right now."

I'll send you some travel money tonight.

"Oh well!"

Then Niu Dazhuang went to a small, secluded courtyard next to Yuan'en Temple. Before they could speak, Niu Dazhuang said...

"I gave Aunt Jia three days to think it over. If she still doesn't agree after three days, Huai Ru, you can sue her in court. The court will definitely award custody of Bang Gen to you."

"It's not a good idea to do this." In this day and age, nobody wants to deal with officials, especially the courts and police officers.

"If we don't sue her in court, what can we do? We can't just take it by force, can we? Even if we do, the little stick will have grown legs! Let's wait and see how things go in three days, and then we'll decide what to do."

I only asked for an hour off, and I'm leaving now. Oh, by the way, I won't be going back tonight, so you don't need to leave the door open for me.

Qin Huairu was upset, and when she came back in the evening, influenced by her, Ningru and the others felt embarrassed to cause any trouble, so they simply didn't come back.

I've been having affairs with women in China for the past six months or so. Occasionally, I try something different, and it feels quite refreshing.

Three days later, when Niu Dazhuang brought Qin Huairu to the courtyard house, Qin Huairu was dumbfounded.

Rats can now run rampant in the west wing of the central courtyard.

Qin Huairu quickly went to ask the older woman across the hall. The older woman even offered some advice.

"Huai Ru, although you are Bang Geng'er's biological mother, you and Jia Dongxu are divorced after all..."

After patiently listening to the older woman's well-intentioned advice, Qin Huairu finally asked, "Where are they?"

"I heard he went back to his hometown, but I really don't know where exactly. Huai Ru, don't worry, Bang Geng'er is her own grandson, she definitely won't mistreat him."

Qin Huairu cast a pleading look at Niu Dazhuang behind her.

"Let's go back first, I'll ask around for you later."

That was the end of it; life goes on.

On the night of the Lantern Festival, while everyone was watching the lanterns, Niu Dazhuang lit up a cigarette again outside the delivery room.

"Give me one too." Ye Chunlan actually offered to smoke.

"Do you smoke?" Niu Dazhuang, who smoked himself, didn't object to his woman smoking, so he handed her the cigarette pack and even lit one for her.

"Cough cough... It's been a long time since I smoked. I learned it when I was staying at his house. Later, after we got together, I was afraid you wouldn't like it, so I quit!"

"You're pretty impressive, quitting so easily. It's good you're not smoking anymore!"

"Yeah, when you have something to look forward to, the days seem to pass faster, and you don't have to rely on smoking to kill time anymore. My sister and I have come up with a few names, which one do you think is good? If it's a boy, we'll name him Ye Lin, and if we have another boy, we'll name him Ye Sen."