He forced me to sever ties with my family and sleep on a dilapidated boat, then turned around and be

Zhang Xiuli said, "You silly girl, I sent you to Dongwangjiao to collect clams, and you didn't come back all day. Why are you riding such a pretty bicycle? Where did you go?"

He Zhenzhen jumped out of the car happily.

"Mom, let me tell you, Bayi and I were amazing! We went to Dongwangjiao to collect ark clams, and we found ones that weighed four or five ounces or more, and even a king clam that weighed a pound!"

"After I finished picking them up, I ran to town to sell them and made over a hundred yuan."

"Then, I went to buy lottery tickets and won a bicycle and a whole bunch of other things. Then I ran into a few despicable people and slapped them in the face, having a great time."

"Wow, today was so much fun!"

She giggled, her body trembling with laughter.

This piqued the family's curiosity, and they all asked what had happened.

Niu Bayi parked his bicycle, then took the large and small bags off the handlebars and handed them to his future father-in-law.

Future mother-in-law.

And there's also my future brother-in-law.

"The gifts I bought for you are for everyone."

When they opened the bag, all three of them were overjoyed.

Zhang Xiuli complained again, "You brat, you spend money like this, buying so much stuff that you don't need at all."

Niu Bayi said, "It'll be useful, absolutely useful. Money is meant to be spent. There's a saying that goes, 'The money you earn isn't yours, but the money you spend is.' Keep it all."

He Zhenzhen was jumping around.

"Bayi said it so well. He even bought me several outfits, all of them are very beautiful. I haven't bought new clothes in a long time, almost three years. Bayi has completely made up for it this time."

She shouted joyfully.

If it weren't for so many people in front of him, he probably would have grabbed Niu Bayi by the neck and slapped him a few times.

Zhang Xiuli said with a smile, "Alright, alright, I've prepared the food. Let's see if you can come back and eat together. Come into the kitchen, we can talk while we eat."

The gifts He Rong received were fine cigarettes and alcohol.

It's Wuliangye, a high-end baijiu I've never tasted before!

He beamed with joy.

"Okay, tonight we'll drink the Wuliangye that Bayi bought for me!"

"Your mother-in-law also made braised beef, salt-baked chicken, and braised ribbonfish, just to celebrate that your brother-in-law and I caught so many fish on our first day sailing our new boat."

"We absolutely have to have a good drink tonight!"

He Laifu nodded excitedly.

"That's right, I'm going to have a few more drinks too. Anyway, I'm off tonight, so I won't go fishing. I'll drink to my heart's content and sleep soundly until dawn. Awesome!"

The group then went into the kitchen.

Sure enough, the table was laden with dishes, emitting a wonderful aroma.

It makes your mouth water just by smelling it.

Everyone sat down and ate meat and drank alcohol heartily.

Niu Bayi and He Zhenzhen took turns recounting what had happened that day.

This made He Rong and his companions laugh one moment and feel a bit of trepidation the next.

By the end, everyone was laughing so hard they were doubled over.

He Laifu slapped his thigh!

"Niu Dazhuang and his gang are really pathetic. They came up with this trick to incite the masses against Bayi, but unexpectedly, Bayi used so many of their people and gave them a thorough dressing-down!"

"I reckon this bunch will never amount to anything, they'll never be able to hold their heads up again."

Zhang Xiuli said fiercely, "They deserved it! They absolutely deserved it! Forging a medical report, forcing Bayi to take money back, and then wanting to release Chen Dagui—they really dared to do that! This is what they call 'the wicked will get their comeuppance'!"

He Rong raised a full glass of wine.

"Bayi, you're getting more and more amazing. I never dreamed that Niu Bayi, whom I used to look down on and who wished my daughter would never have anything to do with again—"

"Now that he's become so amazing, he's both capable and intelligent."

"I raise a glass to you, wishing you all the best, and to my daughter and me, that we live happier and happier lives."

The whole family clinked glasses.

Even He Zhenzhen, who never drinks, joined in the fun and had a small glass.

She poured the liquor into her mouth, and it burned her teeth and made her grimace.

As they were eating and drinking, a cheerful voice suddenly came from outside.

"Wow, this is quite a lively place! So many delicious dishes, and they're even drinking Wuliangye?"

"Now that your family is successful, it's not fair that you don't invite me to have a couple of drinks."

Everyone turned around and saw a person walking in with their hands behind their back, swaying unsteadily.

Even Niu Bayi stood up.

He Rong greeted him warmly, "Old Niu's here! Let's have a drink!"

The person who came was Niu Aiguo.

Zhang Xiuli quickly went to get a clean set of bowls and chopsticks.

He Laifu then brought over a stool.

Niu Aiguo didn't stand on ceremony and sat down with an air of authority.

I picked up a piece of salt-baked chicken first to taste its saltiness.

He nodded repeatedly as he chewed.

"Good, good, Xiuli, your salt-baked chicken is great, you could even sell it in town."

Zhang Xiuli blushed a little from the praise.

"Secretary, don't tease me. My cooking skills are only good for home cooking. If I were to sell them, no one would want them even if the chickens went rotten."

"How can you say that!"

Niu Aiguo glared at him.

"If you're free these next couple of days, make me two salt-baked chickens. I'll buy them and then invite Bayi over for drinks. I need to give him a proper celebration."

As soon as Niu Bayi heard this, he knew there was hope.

"Uncle Patriot, what are you celebrating for me?"

Niu Aiguo said, "I went to my classmate at the town government, and he agreed to help. It's not a big problem; he can get you a house and a plot of land. Don't you think this is something to celebrate?"

Before Niu Bayi could even respond, He Zhenzhen immediately jumped up.

"Celebrate! We must celebrate! We got the land on August 1st, we can build houses now, I... I want to..."

Her face suddenly flushed, and she immediately sat down, instantly becoming very proper.

She's like a gentle, quiet young woman, not at all restless anymore.

Immediately, everyone around burst into laughter.

Niu Bayi said, "Yes, once the house is built, you can marry me, sleep in the same room, lie in the same bed, and share the same blanket!"

"My god, that's amazing!"

He Zhenzhen immediately glared at him, raised her little fist, and punched him in the chest.

"Why are you so annoying, you rascal!"

This immediately made everyone laugh until their stomachs hurt.

I'm done laughing.

Niu Aiguo continued, "But you have to prepare the money. The land fee is 2000 yuan for 200 square meters, and there's also a 1000 yuan deposit."

"Like I said last time, once the house is built, your deposit will be returned."

"in addition……"

At this point, he scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"It might cost around 200 yuan more."

He Rong's face immediately darkened.

"Secretary, the land acquisition fee and deposit are so expensive, 200 yuan? What's going on? The house hasn't even been built yet, and three or four thousand yuan is already gone."

Niu Bayi quickly said, "Dad, Uncle Aiguo told me before that there's no way around it. My household registration is still with Niu Dazhuang. If I want to get another piece of land to build a house, I have to pay this land development fee."

"Moreover, although this policy exists, not everyone can get it; you still need to pull strings and have connections."

"It must have been tough for Uncle Aiguo to run around like this."

He looked at Niu Aiguo and asked, "Uncle Aiguo, this 200 yuan must have been for 'smoothing things over,' right?"