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

After sitting down, Niu Dazhuang took out a pack of 555 cigarettes from his pocket. He had bought them specially, as he usually smoked Daqianmen cigarettes with filters.

He hunched over and offered Zhu's father a cigarette.

Although the scene was still quiet, Mr. Zhu was a man of principle, and he half-stood up to accept the cigarettes.

Whether the matter succeeds or not can be put aside for now, but the proper etiquette must be observed.

The two old men started smoking first. Linlin's mother was so angry that her cheeks puffed out. She cursed inwardly, "You old bastard, can't you get to the point? You always do this. You always make me speak first."

"Ahem... Your Niu family's tricks are pretty clever. We disagreed, so your son chased us to the filming location and stayed there for over half a year. Now even Linlin's workplace knows about it!"

"As you can see, the two children genuinely love each other. My personal reputation isn't good, but my eldest son is quite different from me; he's very devoted. If you're worried that our family might have a negative impact on the children, they can move out after they get married."

Even Niu Dazhuang felt ashamed as he said this. What could he do? It was all earned by his eldest son.

Another thing Niu Dazhuang values ​​even more is Linlin. She is his eldest daughter-in-law and will play the role of Qin Xueru in the future. If she is not an understanding daughter-in-law, this family will be ruined.

"Comrade Dazhuang, we know your family has the means. My wife and I originally planned for our daughter to marry an ordinary man and live a peaceful life. We didn't want Linlin to marry into a complicated family like yours. My ancestors were a prominent family, and I know some of the dirty tricks that happen in such families..."

Thinking about it, it makes sense. Linlin's parents are both educated people, much stronger than Niu Dazhuang. At their age, not many people can read and write, let alone be educated. Their ancestors must have been wealthy, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to afford to send their children to school.

As long as we can talk, I'll ignore all your criticisms.

Niu Dazhuang nodded in agreement but didn't say anything else.

The elderly couple lectured Niu Dazhuang and his son for over twenty minutes. Their throats were parched, so Niu Chengqun quickly poured them some water: "Have some water first, catch your breath, and then you can continue."

Linlin's mother no longer harbors much resentment towards her future son-in-law; instead, she directs all her anger at Niu Dazhuang.

"To be honest, the only good thing about us is that we're a group of young men. If it weren't for that, even if you gave us a mountain of gold, it wouldn't be enough."

We would never agree to marry our daughter into your family. To be arrogant, although our ancestors never expanded their wealth, I've never heard of anyone finding a woman like you after getting rich…”

Upon hearing this, Niu Dazhuang realized that the opportunity had been granted and quickly seized it.

"Mother-in-law, it's all my fault, it has nothing to do with the children. Linlin is a good girl. To be honest, I only value her so much because she's my eldest daughter-in-law."

Although it's the new China now, and those old ways of thinking don't apply anymore, the status of the eldest son's wife is definitely different. That was enough to get the point across.

"That's true, but it also depends on how the children behave in the future. If they're hopeless, even if you give them all the resources, they'll squander them all."

"You shameless old man, how did my daughter and woman become spendthrifts?" Well, now he's protecting her.

"Father-in-laws, what do you think is a good time to hold the children's wedding? Should it be a grand affair or...?"

"Young people are so unreliable. You know, the two of them are already... sigh, let's hurry up and get it done, or it'll be embarrassing for everyone if things go wrong later." Having vented their anger, Linlin's parents were now anxious.

"Okay, let's hold it on National Day then, what do you think!"

Linlin's mother flipped through the calendar and calculated the time: "The time is tight enough. Let's do things anew. Have the matchmaker come to propose marriage tomorrow. We still need to go through this procedure. Our daughter isn't going to be unable to get married."

"Okay, what about the bride price?"

"Let's just follow the trend with the bride price, and we can't give much in dowry either, so let's just follow the trend... Linlin, don't go there anymore during this time. Just stay home and wait to get married."

Getting married is that simple now. After everything was discussed and agreed upon, the Niu father and son left.

Linlin's mother held her hand and said reluctantly, "Sigh, my daughter will eventually get married. I don't know if you're lucky or unlucky, how did you end up marrying into this kind of family?"

"Shuzhen, how well the young couple lives depends entirely on how they manage their marriage. Linlin, if you have any grievances after marriage, go home and tell your mother. Your mother was very good at managing a household back in the day."

"I'm quite skilled at managing households, but I can't handle the Niu family's situation. There are seven or eight mothers-in-law living together, and they're all sisters. Then there are more than ten younger brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law... The younger brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law are easy to manage, but these seven or eight mothers-in-law are just asking for trouble!"

Linlin whispered, "It's not seven or eight, it's more than twenty!"

"Those kept outside don't count; they're just mistresses, not really related to you. It's just Dazhuang's six aunts/stepmothers; the youngest isn't much older than you, right?"

"Judging from their appearance, they shouldn't be much older than me, but I didn't ask for specifics. They seemed quite nice to me; they're not that difficult to get along with!"

"That's now. When it comes to interests, it'll be different. You just hope your mother-in-law lives a few more years. With her protecting you, you won't feel any pressure."

"Old woman, aren't you overthinking things? Such a large family business, how could it all be given to the eldest son? My in-laws are still very young, and they seem to be in good health. Who knows what the future holds?"

"You're a man, you don't understand the affairs of the inner quarters. Linlin, don't listen to your father. A daughter-in-law will eventually become a mother-in-law. You've just married into the family, so it's not your place to take the lead yet. Observe how your mother-in-law manages the household first, and learn slowly from her."

Don't underestimate your mother-in-law, this rural woman. She's managed to support such a large family, and they seem very harmonious. That's quite remarkable.

"I really didn't think of it that way. At first, I didn't expect their family to be so rich! That huge oil refinery in western Beijing was all donated by his father!"

"Mom and Dad, do you know what? When we came back from out of town, his stepmothers and aunts had just returned from a shopping spree in Hong Kong. They didn't even fly there; they chartered a plane... How much did that trip cost! Chengqun even told me that their family's businesses are mainly in Hong Kong!"

Linlin's father nodded: "If you put it that way, it all makes sense. Our country has only been reforming and opening up for a few years, how could someone make so much money in just a few years? Making a fortune in Hong Kong is the way to go."

I also asked around. Don't be fooled by how humble Niu Dazhuang was when he came to our house; he's actually a top-tier figure, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference...