A woman in her 70s marries a rough-looking man; her plump wife is too delicate and alluring.

He Zhaoyang was stunned by the slap, her face burning with pain. She pressed her tongue against the side of her cheek that had been hit.

How dare Liu Aiyun? They've already broken off relations, yet she still dares to hit me.

Lu Xiao stood up and pushed Liu Aiyun away.

The Sheng family members' expressions changed drastically, and they were filled with disgust for Liu Aiyun and the others.

Sheng Yuze strode towards He Zhaoyang and pulled her into his arms. He glanced down at her, and after confirming that she was alright, he looked at Liu Aiyun with a cold gaze.

"Liu Aiyun, what do you mean by this? Coming to my house on the first day of the Lunar New Year to beat my wife?"

Liu Aiyun also regretted hitting He Zhaoyang, and she said awkwardly, "I didn't mean to."

Sheng Kaiyuan sneered, "Does not doing it on purpose give you the right to hit someone?"

When He Yaozu heard Sheng Kaiyuan mention Liu Aiyun, he immediately stepped forward and punched Sheng Kaiyuan. Sheng Kaiyuan didn't tolerate him and kicked him far away.

He Yaozu was in so much pain that he rolled on the ground in agony.

Sheng Huaimin glanced at He Weiye without changing his expression. "Did your family come here so early in the morning to cause us trouble?"

Lu Xingguo said casually, "Who comes to cause trouble on the first day of the Lunar New Year? Are you deliberately trying to ruin everyone's holiday?"

He Weiye broke out in a cold sweat. "How could I dare, father-in-law? My wife just couldn't stand seeing the child being wronged."

Qin Meng sneered, "Yes, He Yaozu is your child, but Zhao Yang isn't. Does that mean Zhao Yang deserves to be beaten by you?"

He Weiye stood up. "Mother-in-law, what are you saying? How dare you, an outsider, speak ill of your own child?"

There was a moment of silence in the main room. Sheng Kaiyuan's face darkened, and he took a step forward, but Sheng Huaimin raised his hand to stop him.

Hearing He Weiye's words, Liu Aiyun grew bolder and stepped out from behind: "That's right, so what if I hit my daughter? She's my daughter, I carried her for ten months and gave birth to her. What's wrong with hitting her once? Is this how much your Sheng family protects her?"

She looked at He Zhaoyang and said, "You have no conscience either. It's one thing that you didn't prepare any New Year's goods."

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, you sat at your in-laws' house, watching your own mother being insulted by others, without saying a word. I've raised you for nothing all these years!

He Zhaoyang lifted her head from Sheng Yuze's embrace, her cheeks still flushed. She looked at him quietly for a moment. "Didn't we break off all ties? Have you forgotten? Should I go find the brigade to remind you?"

The smile on He Weiye's face vanished completely.

He stared directly at He Zhaoyang: "Sever ties? You think you can just say that unilaterally? You're a member of the He family, you think you can just cut ties like that?"

"Then go find the brigade to settle this matter," He Zhaoyang said. "Let's see why they severed ties. But are you sure you want to go to the brigade? It won't just be a matter of severing ties then."

He Weiye also knew that if they really went to the brigade to settle the matter, his family wouldn't get the better of them.

He snorted, a sound that seemed like a sneer or a way of saving face for himself, "Fine, now you've climbed the social ladder and don't care about your parents anymore. Don't come crying back to us later."

He Zhaoyang: "Don't worry, it won't happen."

He Weiye bent down and tugged at He Yaozu, who was still rolling on the ground. "Let's go! Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?"

He Yaozu was pulled up by him, muttering a few curses under his breath, and was dragged towards the door by He Weiye.

Liu Aiyun and He Xidi quickly followed.

Lu Xingguo exchanged a few pleasantries with Lu Xiao and then went home.

Qin Meng glanced at He Zhaoyang, "Does your face still hurt?"

He Zhaoyang raised his hand and touched his cheek. It wasn't so hot anymore. "It's okay, it doesn't hurt anymore."

After cleaning up the mess, Sheng Yuze brought He Zhaoyang back to the house. He touched He Zhaoyang's face tenderly and said, "I'll remember this grudge."

That night, He Weiye got drunk and was walking back when he was beaten up with a sack over his head. He suspected it was Sheng Yuze and his gang, but the voice sounded like that of a teenager. He could only accept his bad luck.

Sheng Huaimin left on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

In the third year of junior high school, Sheng Yuze directly handed over the evidence of Shi, the administrator, to the brigade. Shi returned the embezzled amount, was expelled from the Party, dismissed from his post, had his annual public points deducted, and was subjected to criticism and struggle sessions.

The next day, Shi Ping and his family were taken away by the police. Lu Xingguo made a call, and the higher-ups did not continue to put pressure on them. Shi Ping was successfully brought down, but he did not reveal the big shot behind him.

After Liu Hongmei recovered, she came once. She originally wanted to take the child away, but seeing how well Li Xuanxue's family took care of Nuannuan and the Sheng family's conditions, she decided not to take the child back.

A few days later, Lu Xiao arrived.

She was incredibly excited. "Sister-in-law, the wife of Deputy County Magistrate Zhou is having her birthday on the 23rd of the first lunar month. She needs a new dress every year, but they haven't decided who will make it this year yet."

He Zhaoyang: "Deputy County Head Zhou?"

"Yes. His wife's surname is Chen. She retired a couple of years ago due to illness, but she's still alive. She organized this birthday celebration herself." Lu Xiao moved closer.

"Sister-in-law, if you can make her a set of clothes that she'll be satisfied with, that's not just about advertising, that's about putting your signboard up in the whole county."

"Can I go?" He Zhaoyang looked at Sheng Yuze, wondering if Deputy County Chief Zhou had any connection with the Sheng family.

Sheng Yuze nodded, "Okay, Deputy County Chief Zhou is a nice guy."

"Then I'll go!" He Zhaoyang nodded.

"Okay, then I'll give you Mrs. Chen's measurements later. Mrs. Chen will choose the clothes to be made the day before."

Lu Xiao left after saying that.

On the 22nd day of the first lunar month, He Zhaoyang got up very early.

After she finished packing the clothes she had made, Lu Xiao came to pick her up.

"Sister-in-law, get in the car!"

When they arrived at Madam Chen's house, the gate was open and there were already people inside.

When He Zhaoyang entered the courtyard, he heard voices and laughter coming from the west room.

She pushed open the door and went inside. There were already five people standing in the room. Three or four pieces of clothing were spread out on the long table, and several tailors were gathered around the table, some of them showing off their clothes.

When He Zhaoyang entered, a woman in a dark red jacket looked her up and down and said with a smile, "Which tailor shop do you work for? I've never seen you before."

He Zhaoyang: "I don't work at a tailor shop."

The man then asked, "So where did you learn it?"

He Zhaoyang: "I learned it myself."

The room fell silent for a moment. Then someone chuckled.

The woman in the dark red jacket turned to look at the person next to her, as if to make sure she hadn't misheard, "You learned it yourself?"

The person next to him didn't say anything, but a mocking smile appeared on their lips.

Another tailor spoke up, "She's probably from some village; she hasn't had any proper training."

At that moment, the door opened again.

Lu Xiao followed Madam Chen in.

"Xiaoxiao, which tailor did you recommend?"

Lu Xiao walked up to He Zhaoyang. "Mrs. Chen, this is her, He Zhaoyang, the wife of Platoon Leader Sheng. She made my New Year's clothes!"

Mrs. Chen: "Oh? So you're Sheng Yuze's wife?"