It’s quite unfortunate, but what’s it got to do with him?

Hu Yongcai was completely bewildered by his wife’s words.

“What do you mean? Isn’t everyone living the same kind of life? If you call her situation unfortunate, how should others live?”

Hu Yongcai wasn’t being heartless. All those things about marrying an older man, having a difficult mother-in-law, and having to raise a nephew… these were matters only women seemed to care about. Everyone lived similar lives, and raising nephews wasn’t uncommon – Hu Yongcai had seen families supporting entire households.

If life was truly difficult, Young Fan wouldn’t have such rosy cheeks and look so well-nourished.

Couldn’t Hu Yongcai tell the difference between a healthy complexion and a sickly one?

Even the clothes Young Fan wore, while not particularly fashionable, were made of good material with no patches or repairs. Hu Yongcai couldn’t see what was pitiful about her situation.

Hu Yongcai’s straightforward male logic left his wife speechless.

His wife glared at him fiercely:

“Anyway, I’ve already accepted Young Fan’s things. Now what do you suggest? I just think Young Fan is pitiful. She’s not ugly – what’s wrong with helping her find a job at the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse?”

Hu Yongcai nearly choked on his saliva.

“Find a job at the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse? Good heavens, every position there is filled! Do you know how many people watch for job openings? Do you think I’m in charge of the guesthouse? No, no, I can’t help with this!”

When Hu Yongcai refused, his wife felt embarrassed and puzzled:

“I remember you were very enthusiastic about helping Young Xia back then, running around to help. You can help Young Xia but not Young Fan?”

Hu Yongcai smiled bitterly:

“How can you compare the two?”

His wife stared at him, wanting him to explain the difference.

Hu Yongcai didn’t know how to explain it.

Young Xia was much more perceptive.

Finding a job was a big deal, but Young Xia never made such direct requests.

Young Xia only asked for things within Hu Yongcai’s capabilities… and she was tactful and capable, handling everything efficiently. How pleasant was it to deal with Young Xia? She never played the pity card but relied on her abilities – fundamentally different from the hesitant Young Fan.

Now Hu Yongcai wasn’t just the kitchen purchaser for the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse; he was considered one of its cadres, big or small.

No wonder his wife was so confident that he could arrange a job at the guesthouse.

But how did this promotion come about? It had a lot to do with Xia Xiaolan. After Fan Zhenchuan was caught in the trap at the guesthouse, Hu Yongcai somehow made it onto the cadre evaluation list and was promoted a few months later. While others went to Grandmother Yu’s house for the celebratory feast, only Hu Yongcai felt too embarrassed to go – he was afraid it would be awkward to see Xia Xiaolan.

When he first met Xia Xiaolan, he hadn’t thought much of it. It was really Xia Xiaolan’s capable nature that made her impossible not to like.

But he had taken money from others to lead Xia Xiaolan to rent at Grandmother Yu’s house. Now that this had come to light, Hu Yongcai felt quite uncomfortable about it.

His actions weren’t malicious; they were just not entirely sincere, somewhat betraying Xia Xiaolan’s trust in him!

While Hu Yongcai’s wife continued complaining about how pitiful Young Fan was, his thoughts had already drifted far away.

Meanwhile, the supposedly pitiful Young Fan that Hu Yongcai’s wife spoke of had already shed her pitiful appearance after leaving their home. She rode her bicycle through winding streets back home, to a house much more spacious than Hu Yongcai’s. Two ropes stretched across the courtyard, filled with children’s diapers… Under the eaves sat a cradle, where a crooked-faced old woman with chicken-claw-thin hands gently rocked it.

Seeing her daughter-in-law’s tight-fitting clothes across her chest, anger flashed in the old woman’s eyes.

What a slut!

The child was still so young, yet she was running around being flirtatious. In the past, she would have been drowned in a pig cage!

Of course, these were modern times, and even in the countryside, the cruel practice of drowning women in pig cages had ended… Grandmother Xia particularly disliked these modern times. Although she now lived in the city, she couldn’t exercise her authority as a mother-in-law.

This made Grandmother Xia particularly miss her previous three daughters-in-law.

Unfortunately, none of her three daughters-in-law were by her side now.

Zhang Cuihui knew how to say pleasant things, but now she was in prison, with no known release date.

Wang Jingui had stayed in Pengcheng with Xia Hongbing. After much consideration, the couple decided not to return to Shangdu. Though Wang Jingui was lazy and gluttonous, she never dared to talk back to Grandmother Xia.

Even Liu Fen… had been a target of Grandmother Xia’s bullying.

People needed comparison. Grandmother Xia had complained about Wang Jingui’s stupidity, fought with Zhang Cuihui over the snack shop, and called Liu Fen a hen that wouldn’t lay eggs. Liu Fen’s self-initiated divorce had brought shame to the Xia family.

But all of these paled in comparison to Fan Yu.

Fan Yu’s outrageousness tortured Grandmother Xia beyond endurance.

She wanted to complain to her son Xia Dajun, but he seemed bewitched by Fan Yu. Now whatever Fan Yu said went, and he no longer listened to Grandmother Xia.

Xia Dajun had even suggested that if Grandmother Xia couldn’t get along with Fan Yu, she should live with his brother Xia Hongbing, and he would provide some monthly allowance – Grandmother Xia didn’t believe this. Once she lived with Hongbing, that little wretch Fan Yu would surely cause trouble and wouldn’t give a penny.

That would only burden her younger son Xia Hongbing, and the biased Grandmother Xia refused to do that at all costs.

So despite the unpleasantness of living together, Grandmother Xia endured it.

Fan Yu ignored the disgust in Grandmother Xia’s eyes. She parked her bicycle, washed her hands, and went to play with her son in the cradle.

This was Fan Yu’s winning trump card in front of Xia Dajun.

There was no need for any love potion – this son, from the moment he was born, was the best love potion. When Xia Dajun’s career hit obstacles in Pengcheng, he returned to Shangdu under Fan Yu’s encouragement. Soon after, Fan Yu gave birth to a son. Xia Dajun, having a son in middle age, fulfilled his lifelong wish and was rejuvenated – for his son, he ignored his back injury and found work as a driver in Shangdu, once again becoming a hard worker.

Meeting Du Zhaohui had truly been lucky.

Although he later fell out of favor with Du Zhaohui, he had at least learned a valuable skill.

In 1986, with few cars and fewer drivers, being a driver was still a very prestigious occupation. Although Xia Dajun couldn’t enter a regular institution, he could do long-distance driving for others, earning good money. The only downside was that he could only return home every few days.

When he did come home, he was so exhausted he would fall straight into bed. He left all household matters to Fan Yu.

He couldn’t manage them even if he wanted to. At his age, with his back injury, and doing long-distance driving, it was already impressive that he could keep going. How could he have any energy left to handle household affairs?

So Grandmother Xia, and their nephew Xia Junbao who lived with them, had to live according to Fan Yu’s whims.

Fan Yu only took care of coddling her son.

All the diapers in the courtyard were washed by thirteen-year-old Xia Junbao.

Cooking and housework were entirely Grandmother Xia’s responsibility.

Why not hire a nanny?

In Fan Yu’s words, they needed to save money to raise Xia Dajun’s son!