A delicate beauty takes a place in a marriage, while a cold, rough man seduces her every night.

Chen Xiuying hurriedly raised her hand to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead, deliberately feigning a troubled tone as she looked at Chen Liang:

"Why are you asking me for money? I don't have any money to lend you. You know that Qingyan and Xiaomeng got married one after another, and the family has already spent all their savings on the wedding banquets and dowries. I really don't have any spare money to lend you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Liang immediately became anxious: "Sister, that's not what you said last time! You clearly told me that after Qingyan and Xiaomeng got married and received a lot of dowry, you would give it all to me!"

Chen Xiuying was both angry and scared as she watched her younger brother speak without restraint, and her palms were sweating profusely.

What a clueless idiot! We shouldn't have indulged and supported him!

She glanced at Qiao Nianshan out of the corner of her eye and saw that his brows were tightly furrowed and his face was frighteningly gloomy.

"You actually took my casual remark seriously?" Chen Xiuying said sternly. "Go, go home. We have important business to attend to at home; we don't have time for idle chatter!"

Qiao Qingyan sat on the chair with her arms crossed, looking like she was watching a farce with amusement.

Chen Xiaomeng knew very well that her mother had been secretly using things from the Qiao family to help her uncle, and this must never be known to her stepfather, Qiao Nianshan.

"Uncle, we're busy today. Please come another day if you have something else to do."

Chen Liang, who already had little patience, immediately glared at him and said, "When adults are talking, children shouldn't interrupt!"

He then turned to Chen Xiuying and clung to her, saying, "Sister, I don't care, I'm not leaving until you give me the money today!"

As he spoke, he moved a stool over and squeezed himself to sit down at the table.

Seeing this, Chen Xiuying had no choice but to grab a pair of chopsticks and stuff them into his hand.

"Liangzi, since you're here, sit down and have something to eat. Let's not talk about anything else for now. Today is the big day for our daughters to return home, so don't upset your brother-in-law."

The words had been so suggestive that Chen Liang should be able to understand the meaning.

Chen Liang picked up a peanut with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth: "Sis, I understand what you mean."

Chen Xiuying breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Chen Liang glanced at the gifts in the net bag in the corner and muttered:

"Your two daughters came back to their parents' home today and brought back so many good things. You just want to keep them all for yourself and don't want to give them to me."

Sister, you've changed. Before, you never hid your good things from me; you always shared your rice, flour, and cooking oil with me.

Look at how stingy you are now! Am I still your real brother?

Upon hearing this, Qiao Nianshan's face darkened even further, becoming as black as the bottom of a pot.

That's like admitting guilt without being asked!

No wonder he always felt that his family was using up their food coupons, cloth coupons, and cooking oil faster than other families.

It turns out that I worked hard as a carpenter from dawn till dusk, not only supporting my own family, but also my brother-in-law's family!

Chen Xiuying's mind raced, and she quickly replied:

"Liangzi, you're becoming more and more tactless. I used to help you out because I saw you were having a hard time. Your brother-in-law specifically asked me to give you some food to help you out."

Even though it only happened once or twice, instead of being grateful and remembering your brother-in-law's kindness, why are you becoming more and more demanding?

Turning to Qiao Nianshan, she said, "Nianshan, you know about this. That year there was a drought, the harvest was bad, and we had nothing to eat. You asked me to take some grain to my parents' house."

Qiao Nianshan's expression softened slightly. He did know about this matter, and it was something he had agreed to.

Qiao Qingyan was a little unhappy when she saw that the matter had been glossed over, and her disappointment was obvious.

Xiao Jingye had already guessed most of the situation.

To help his wife vent her anger, he didn't mind stirring things up and making the situation even more chaotic.

Then he slowly opened his mouth, a half-smile on his face, and said:

Chen Liang, where have you been keeping busy lately? I saw you riding your new bicycle with your wife on the village dam the other day, looking quite dashing. Why didn't you ride over today?

The bicycle was secretly bought for Chen Liang by Chen Xiuying. She repeatedly told him not to ride it to the Qiao family, so Chen Liang did not ride it today.

Hearing Xiao Jingye's praise, Chen Liang suddenly became smug and self-satisfied:

"Hey, I've just left it at home, never ridden it. Let me tell you, my bicycle is the latest Phoenix model, it cost almost 200 yuan!"

Xiao Jingye's handsome face broke into a deeper smile, and he took the opportunity to praise him:

"You're really something. It looks like a high-end Phoenix 14 model. I've only seen it once at a car dealership in town. In the entire surrounding area, there aren't many people who would be willing to buy such a nice car."

Qiao Qingyan casually picked at her food and asked, "I overheard the other day that the aunties in the village were chatting and said you got a washing machine? Is that thing really that useful? Does it get clothes clean?"

"Liangzi, stop chatting and start eating!" Chen Xiuying's heart tightened, and she hurriedly interrupted their conversation.

He kept piling meat into Chen Liang's bowl, trying to change the subject.

Jiang Runsheng's gaze kept drifting towards Qiao Qingyan, as if he were looking for an opportunity to strike up a conversation.

Upon hearing the mention of washing machines, he casually added:

"Washing machines are not ordinary items. Even urban workers have difficulty buying them. You need a special ticket to get one. The price of one is equivalent to a year's wages for an ordinary worker."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Xiaomeng frowned and quietly kicked his foot.

Chen Liang loved being flattered, and with several people surrounding him and discussing him, he was practically strutting around with pride.

He stuffed a large piece of fatty meat into his mouth and wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth.

"Absolutely! It's incredibly useful! Runsheng is absolutely right. Many people in the city have money but can't buy it!"

Getting that washing machine took me a lot of trouble. Those washing machine vouchers were extremely hard to come by; they sold for 60 yuan each on the black market.

It cost me two or three hundred yuan to get this washing machine set up.

"Uncle, please stop talking!" Chen Xiaomeng saw her mother's face turn pale and panicked, so she hurriedly spoke up to stop her.

Qiao Nianshan, standing to the side, had his brows furrowed deeply, his heart filled with doubt.

This brother-in-law, Chen Liang, was spoiled and lazy by his family since childhood.

They neither farm properly nor learn a trade to make a living, spending their days idly and doing nothing productive.

Without a proper job and income, where would they get the money to buy big-ticket appliances like bicycles and washing machines that only city dwellers are willing to purchase?

He has worked diligently as a carpenter his whole life, saving every penny, but he has never been able to save any money. Even now, he can't bear to buy a bicycle.

On the contrary, how come his idle brother-in-law lives a more comfortable and prosperous life than him?

"Chen Liang, where did you get all this money? Don't go down the wrong path or do anything illegal. If you don't follow the proper way, you'll suffer the consequences sooner or later. Money earned dishonestly will eventually land you in jail!"

Chen Liang retorted, his neck stiff with arrogance: "Brother-in-law, don't try to scare me with that! This money was given to me by my sister; it came from a perfectly legitimate source, there's no crooked way involved!"

The air fell silent for a moment.

Qiao Nianshan froze, his expression one of astonishment. Then, anger surged in his eyes, and his face gradually turned ashen.

Chen Xiaomeng looked back and forth nervously at her uncle, her mother, and then at her stepfather, whose face was ashen. She was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to do and couldn't sit still.

Chen Xiuying's lips trembled uncontrollably, her eyelids drooping, and she didn't dare to look up at Qiao Nianshan at all.

The air, bathed in warm sunlight, seemed to have been sharply ripped open by this eerie silence, leaving a cold, gaping wound.

Qiao Qingyan put her chopsticks on the table, picked up her cup, and slowly took a sip of water.

"Are you full?" Xiao Jingye turned his head and asked in a low voice.

Qingyan curled her lips into a smile: "I've had my fill of watching the show."

Chen Liang finally realized that something was wrong. Looking at his sister and brother-in-law's pale and ugly faces, he belatedly realized that he seemed to have said the wrong thing.

He quickly stuffed a large piece of meat into his mouth, stood up, and said, "Sis, I'm going back now. I'll come see you again next time."

After saying that, he left the Qiao family in a flustered manner.