To put it more bluntly, Zhao Huan was not her husband’s lackey but her mother-in-law’s lackey, the kind of daughter-in-law who would never resist whatever her mother-in-law said.

Ning Qin and Zhang Xian got married last October, so it’s been five months now.

During these five months, Ning Qin hasn’t been able to conceive, which has worried her a lot.

She’s afraid her health has deteriorated during the years she spent in the countryside.

Fortunately, she’s finally pregnant now.

However, due to her poor health, the doctor advised her to take care of herself, which means she can’t continue her job as a primary school teacher.

Actually, Ning Qin doesn’t like working, especially as a primary school teacher. Dealing with noisy children every day gives her a headache.

But to maintain a good image in front of Zhang Xian, she has to endure the hard work every day.

Fortunately, she’s finally pregnant and doesn’t have to go to work anymore.

“Wife, the food is ready. There’s meat today, as if to celebrate your pregnancy. This child is lucky.” Zhang Xian walked in with a lunchbox, accompanied by his daughter, Zhang Qian.

Ning Qin was lying on the bed.

When she heard her husband’s voice, she got up. She showed a gentle smile and said, “Thank you, Xian, you’ve worked hard.”

Zhang Qian couldn’t wait and asked, “Mom, is the baby in your belly a brother or a sister?”

Ning Qin’s heart skipped a beat when she heard this, but then she smiled and asked, “Little Qian, do you like a brother or a sister?”

Zhang Qian innocently said, “I like a brother.”

Ning Qin liked hearing this.

Who doesn’t like a son?

Zhang Xian teased his daughter, “Then you don’t like a little sister?”

“I like both, but I want a little brother.” Zhang Qian’s eyes were determined.

“Why?” Zhang Xian opened the lunchbox as he asked.

Their family didn’t favor boys over girls, so whether it was him, Zhang Qian’s birth mother, or his parents, they all treated their daughter well.

Why would she want a brother so much?

Zhang Qian said, “Because boys are good at fighting. If it’s a sister, I have to protect her when we fight. But if it’s a brother, he can fight with me.”

After hearing his daughter’s words, Zhang Xian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

So, she wanted a brother to fight with. “You have to discuss this with your mom. Dad can’t promise you that.”

As an experienced father, Zhang Xian felt a lot of pressure.

Zhang Qian continued, “I bet with Yang Baozhu today. I said my mom will definitely have a little brother, but she said it must be a little sister. So, mom, you must have a little brother.”

Yang Baozhu mentioned by Zhang Qian is Yang Pozi’s granddaughter.

Yang Pozi has three granddaughters: the eldest, Yang Jinzhu, is 14 years old and in fourth grade; the second, Yang Mingzhu, is 10 years old and in first grade; and the youngest, Yang Baozhu, is 7 years old and in kindergarten.

Zhang Qian is also 7 years old and in kindergarten, and they are in the same class.

Because Yang Pozi and Ning Qin are at odds, Zhang Qian and Yang Baozhu are also at odds.

Speaking of which, although Yang Pozi favors boys over girls, she didn’t choose her granddaughters’ names lightly.

Upon hearing her daughter’s words, Zhang Xian asked, “What did you bet on?”

Zhang Qian replied, “We bet on cleaning. If I win, Yang Baozhu has to clean for me for a week, and if she wins, I have to clean for her for a week. So, mom, you must have a little brother.”

Ning Qin smiled, “Then I’ll do my best.”

Actually, Ning Qin used to dislike girls.

She and Ning Qi were the first pair of twins in the Ning family.

Although she wasn’t as favored by her parents as Ning Qi, she was still pampered.

Because of this, she was a bit willful.

In her heart, she was actually quite unhappy that her parents favored Ning Qi more than her.

However, she was very smart and knew how to disguise her feelings.

In Ning Qin’s life, her only rival was Ning Shu.

Ning Qin didn’t understand why, no matter how she pretended, Ning Shu could always see through her.

When she was a child, she successfully pretended to be pitiful and innocent to gain sympathy from her parents and Ning Qi.

However, she never succeeded with Ning Shu.

Later, the first pair of twins was born in the Ning family, but Ning Qin’s position in the family was still behind Ning Qi.

Even Ning Hua, the younger twin, couldn’t compare to her.

So, her character wasn’t good.

After marrying Zhang Xian, she knew he had a daughter, so she was prepared to only bring a few dozen yuan as dowry for marrying someone with just a daughter.

However, after meeting Zhang Qian, she didn’t know why, but she suddenly liked her.

However, now that she’s pregnant, she started to consider.

She hopes her child will surpass Zhang Qian in Zhang Xian’s heart.

Ning Qin naturally didn’t know why, because it was the power of the plot.

Although when Ning Qin met Zhang Xian, it was after Ning Shu was hit by a bicycle, and the rules of the plot and the food APP had already finished their battle, the food APP was dormant, and the rules of the plot dissipated.

However, this world was ultimately created by people, and some people’s characters were no longer controlled by the plot.

But recovering one’s character also takes time.

So, Ning Qin was the same.

Her character was slowly recovering.

As for the Yang family,

Yang Baozhu and Zhang Qian’s bet was known by Yang Jinzhu and Yang Mingzhu.

“If you lose, won’t you have to clean for Zhang Qian for a week?” Yang Jinzhu thought for a moment. “Just bet. If you lose, I and Yi Mei will go clean with you.”

Yang Baozhu nodded, but then she became worried. “Big sister, when do you think our mom will have a little brother? I also want a little brother. Everyone says that with a little brother, we’ll have someone to rely on. Originally, Zhang Qian didn’t have a little brother, just like us. Now her mom is pregnant, what if she has a little brother?”

Yang Jinzhu sighed.

She was a 14-year-old girl who should have been full of vitality, but when she brought up this matter, she seemed to lose her vigor. “I don’t know either.”

Yang Mingzhu’s eyes lit up. “If Zhang Qian’s mom doesn’t have a baby in her belly, she won’t have a little brother.”

Truly a cannon fodder’s granddaughter, this was something a little cannon fodder would say.

Yang Jinzhu was startled and quickly warned her sister, “You must not do such things. Our dad is a soldier, and we are soldiers’ children. We cannot do bad things. Grandma said we must not embarrass our dad. If we do something wrong, dad might be embarrassed and might not be able to continue being a soldier. We might even be sent back to our hometown. So, you must not think like this, or I will tell grandma.”

Yang Mingzhu was frightened by her older sister’s serious tone and quickly said, “I won’t do it. Please don’t tell grandma, big sister.”

She knew how much grandma valued their dad.

If she dared to cause trouble for dad, grandma would definitely send her back home alone.

Thinking of this, Yang Mingzhu shuddered.

She didn’t know why she had thought that way just now.

Now that she had come to her senses, she was startled by her own thoughts.

On the other side, Ning Shu’s family of five finally arrived at the Moon Bay Production Brigade that Yang Pozi had mentioned. Perhaps because this production brigade had a furniture workshop, Ning Shu felt that the whole brigade smelled of wood.

Entering the Moon Bay Production Brigade, they saw children playing on the road, so Ning Shu went over and asked, “Hello, kids. Is the village cadre here?”

Several children looked at them, unfamiliar, and seeing Lin Guodong in military uniform, one of the children, very skillfully, asked, “Are you here to exchange furniture with the village cadre? If so, I’ll take you there.”

Obviously, children like them, strangers, were a common sight to the child.

“Yes, you’re very smart,” Ning Shu praised with a smile.

Perhaps it was the first time the child had been praised like this by a stranger, or perhaps he was rarely praised like this by a stranger.

His little face turned red, and he spoke a little stutteringly, “I…I’ll take you there. You… you follow me.” With that, he ran off, and after running for a while, he turned back to see Ning Shu and the others following.

Seeing them following, he continued to run.

Er Bao pouted and tugged on his mother’s clothes, “Mom, am I smart, or is he smart?”

Ning Shu：“……”

Hearing this jealousy-laden question, Ning Shu realized that Lin Erbao was feeling jealous.

Frankly, Ning Shu thought this friend was smarter than their Erbao, but she didn’t have the heart to dampen Erbao’s spirits.

She could only say selectively, “In my heart, Yibao, Erbao, and Sanbao are the smartest childrn.”

Erbao couldn’t sense the meaning behind his mother’s words, he only heard his mother praise him as the smartest, and immediately smiled brightly.

Erbao had big eyes with double eyelids, and when he smiled, his eyes narrowed, showing how happy he was.

Even though Yibao couldn’t sense the meaning behind his mother’s words, he was also feeling delighted at the moment, being praised by his mother as smart.

The family of five followed the child in front of them to a courtyard.

The child ran in and shouted, “Grandpa, someone is here to exchange furniture, Grandpa…”

The child shouted very loudly, and an old man came out from inside when he heard the noise.

Seeing a man in military uniform, he knew he was an officer stationed nearby. He had received many family members from the base.

“Comrade, hello, I am the brigade commander of the Moon Bay Production Brigade. What do you need?” The brigade commander asked with a smile.

The money from furniture sales in their brigade was managed by the brigade and distributed at the end of the year.

They had dealings with the supply and marketing cooperative, so it wasn’t considered speculation or profiteering.

Ning Shu thought to herself, no wonder the child was so knowledgeable; it turned out he was the brigade commander’s grandson.

“We would like some water buckets, baskets, sieves, and any furniture you don’t have here. We’ll draw up the designs ourselves and have you custom-make them, is that okay?” Ning Shu asked.

The brigade commander was in a good mood when he heard that they wanted to buy a lot of things. “Sure, but for custom-made items, the price may vary depending on the complexity.”

Ning Shu said, “That’s understandable. Let me pick out what we need first, and I’ll give you the drawings for the furniture we want later.” She had brought the drawings with her, not new ones but ones she had kept for five years.

The brigade commander said, “No problem, please come in. Our furniture is all inside.”