"Host, are you going to steal again?"

"What do you mean ’steal’? That’s so rude. This is called debt repayment. The original owner lent a lot of money and resources to the Shen family over the years; it’s time they give some back."

"But, Host, most of those resources were sent by Mrs. Shen to her parents’ house."

"Oh, then let my grandparents pay it back."

Thinking about the Shen family’s assets, which had been mostly squandered by Mrs. Shen, Yuan Chun decided that it’s her grandparents who should be responsible for this debt.

After all, her grandparents are both retirees with a pension.

Moreover, all three uncles have jobs, and two out of three aunts also work. Even quite a few cousins and their wives have jobs.

There’s just one aunt whose job was forcibly taken by her own mother when she got married, so she didn’t bring it to her husband’s house.

Thinking deeply about this, Yuan Chun suddenly realized that her grandparents are quite extraordinary, having married off sons to daughters-in-law and grandsons to granddaughters-in-law who all have jobs.

Aside from a few cousins still in school and the second aunt, everyone in her grandparents’ family receives a salary. With such a family, how can they be considered poor?

Is Mrs. Shen out of her mind? 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Her family is doing so well, yet she claims they are poor?

After lunch, Yuan Chun went for a stroll and returned home to find a noisy commotion at her grandparents’ house, a scene which even brought in people from the local neighborhood committee to mediate.

Her grandparents insisted that the money was given by their daughter as filial respect and refused to hand it over.

Eldest Sister-in-law Shen and Second Madam Shen insisted the money was theirs, kept with their mother-in-law, and argued that their mother-in-law had no right to use it for filial respect for the elderly.

Granny simply pointed at them and scolded them for being unfilial.

The two sisters-in-law retorted that they only offer filial respect to their own parents and their parents-in-law, and saw no reason to respect their husbands’ grandparents.

In short, each side argued they were right.

As nightfall approached, the matter still remained unresolved.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Granny wanted some change to give her nephews and nieces from her parents’ family, but she found her money missing.

Granny’s money was lost.

Grandparents immediately suspected Eldest Sister-in-law Shen and Second Madam Shen.

This matter escalated to the police station, but both Eldest Sister-in-law Shen and Second Madam Shen were at home that night, with family members vouching for them.

Even their family members had witnesses; no one took Granny’s money.

So, Granny’s money vanished mysteriously without a trace.

On the scene, the thief left not a single clue, and after several days of investigation, the police found no leads, leaving the case an unsolved mystery.

After the Lantern Festival, Guo Jingling was finally discharged from the hospital.

Once back home recovering, with Mrs. Guo who had long removed her cast, she managed to hobble her way to work, leaving all the household chores to Guo Jingling’s newlywed wife, Zhang Zhaodi.

Initially, Guo Xiaotao didn’t dare to act up or curse the new stepmother who cooked for him, fearing she might be as fierce as the previous stepmother who would beat him up badly at the slightest provocation.

However, after observing for two or three days, Guo Xiaotao realized that this new stepmother was quite gentle; although strong, she was timid. Sometimes, when he purposely made a threatening gesture, the new stepmother backed away in fright.