“Your family is also building a toilet?”  

Zhou Qiqi’s face was full of surprise.  

Zhu Yingying nervously twisted the hem of her clothes, nodding as she replied,  

“Yes, the cost of the pipes, the lift pump, and the check valve will be split evenly between our two families.”  

Zhou Qiqi was overjoyed. The pipes were the most expensive part, and if the cost was shared, the overall expense would be even lower!  

It would practically be the same as not having to detour at all!  

Excited, she grabbed Zhu Yingying’s shoulders and said, “That’s fantastic! Why didn’t you mention it yesterday?”  

“I didn’t plan on building one yesterday.”  

Zhu Yingying explained softly.  

In truth, the idea of building a toilet had crossed her mind before.  

But she was naturally timid and hesitant, never daring to bring it up. Moreover, the thought of the high cost made her heart ache—she simply couldn’t bear to spend so much money.  

It wasn’t until last night that her husband, Old Wang, brought it up first. After his persuasion, she finally made up her mind.  

Zhou Qiqi looked at Zhu Yingying’s flushed cheeks and couldn’t resist teasing her.  

“Not bad, Yingying. Who would’ve thought your Old Wang, rough and tough as he looks, would be so considerate and dote on his wife like this?”  

Zhu Yingying bit her lower lip. This time, unlike her usual shy and evasive self, she openly admitted,  

“He really is good to me. Before I met him, no one had ever cared for me so wholeheartedly.”  

As she spoke, her eyes grew moist with tears.  

Zhou Qiqi quickly lightened the mood, wrapping an arm around Zhu Yingying’s shoulder affectionately.  

She playfully blew on a suspicious red mark on Zhu Yingying’s neck and teased in a suggestive tone,  

“How exactly does he dote on you? Tell me in detail. Like this?”  

“Ah, you’re being shameless too!”  

Zhu Yingying’s tears instantly vanished as she pretended to scold Zhou Qiqi, raising her hand as if to hit her.  

Zhou Qiqi feigned surrender while deftly dodging, even tickling Zhu Yingying’s sides mischievously.  

The two women quickly dissolved into laughter, their cheerful giggles rising and falling like silver bells, the sound drifting all the way to the neighboring yard.  

“Laugh all you want. Let’s see if you’ll still be laughing later!”  

Qiu Chunfang stood in front of the mirror, meticulously arranging her hair while muttering viciously under her breath.  

The outfit she wore was made from high-quality fabric she had bought specifically for her wedding. Over the years, she had only worn it once—until today, when she dug it out to “show off” in front of Zhou Qiqi.  

Last night, Qiu Chunfang had deliberately wandered near the Logistics Director Lin’s house, striking up a seemingly casual conversation with him and casually asking about Zhou Qiqi’s toilet construction plans.  

Director Lin, who was friendly with everyone, straightforwardly mentioned that if Zhou Qiqi’s family wanted to build a toilet, the pipes would have to pass through Qiu Chunfang’s backyard according to the normal layout. Detouring would cost an extra three hundred yuan.  

Three hundred yuan!  

That was no small sum. In Qiu Chunfang’s eyes, Zhou Qiqi would never be willing to waste that much money and would eventually have to come begging to her!  

The thought of Zhou Qiqi’s sharp tongue, which had humiliated her in front of the other military wives, made Qiu Chunfang’s blood boil. Fewer wives had come to chat with her lately, and she was fuming.  

This time, she was determined to crush Zhou Qiqi’s arrogance, make the girl apologize properly, and then magnanimously agree to help.  

That’s right—Qiu Chunfang never actually planned to refuse Zhou Qiqi. In fact, she had already calculated that allowing the pipes to pass through her yard was fine, but Zhou Qiqi would have to pay.  

Of course, it wouldn’t be two hundred yuan. She’d said that just to vent her anger.  

At the very least, Zhou Qiqi would have to fork over a hundred. Fifty would do in a pinch.

As for how much she’d ultimately get, that would depend on how Zhou Qiqi begged her.  

Now, as she faced the mirror, Qiu Chunfang could already picture Zhou Qiqi grinning obsequiously, humbling herself to plead for help. The thought made her chuckle with smug satisfaction.  

She gleefully flung her front door wide open, then set up a small stool by the entrance. Holding a bunch of greens, she pretended to be busy sorting vegetables while her eyes kept darting toward the neighbor’s house, waiting for Zhou Qiqi to come crawling to her.  

But her wait lasted the entire morning.  

The sun climbed higher, the heat grew more intense, yet Zhou Qiqi never appeared. Instead, Zhao Yi returned first.  

Zhao Yi looked like he’d had a terrible day—his face was bruised and swollen, as if he’d been beaten up. The moment he saw Qiu Chunfang, he couldn’t hold back his complaints.  

“I’m exhausted! That Shen Huaichuan is a complete lunatic! I don’t even know what I did to piss him off, but for the past two days, he’s been targeting our regiment for combat drills. He even singled me out for hand-to-hand combat—how the hell am I supposed to match him?”  

As he spoke, he plopped onto a stool and slapped the empty table irritably.  

“What’s for lunch? Hurry up and serve it—I’m starving!”  

Qiu Chunfang subconsciously pinched the hem of her clothes, guiltily admitting, “I… haven’t made it yet.”  

All morning, her mind had been fixated on how to make things difficult for Zhou Qiqi. While sorting vegetables, she’d fantasized about all the ways she could humiliate her, losing track of time completely.  

“What do you mean you haven’t made it? No food?”  

Zhao Yi’s temper flared instantly, his voice booming.  

The front door, which Qiu Chunfang had deliberately left open that morning, was still ajar. His yelling immediately drew curious glances from passersby heading home.  

Qiu Chunfang’s face flushed with embarrassment, then paled with anger. “What are you shouting for?” she snapped back.  

The two of them bickered back and forth, the argument quickly escalating.  

“I’ve been working my ass off all morning, and I come home to no hot meal—I can’t even complain? You keep calling Zhou Qiqi next door a vixen, but you’re just a lazy sow!”  

This time, Zhao Yi was truly furious. As he cursed, he even shoved Qiu Chunfang.  

No longer indulging her, he pushed her again.  

“All you do all day is gossip and stir up trouble! Can’t even handle basic chores!”  

“You dare hit me?!”  

Qiu Chunfang’s eyes bulged like an enraged lioness. She lunged at Zhao Yi, and the two immediately began grappling.  

Fortunately, the fight didn’t last long—their children returned from school, preventing the drama from escalating further. Still, Zhao Yi’s already bruised face now bore several fresh scratches from Qiu Chunfang.  

Fuming with resentment, Qiu Chunfang stewed over the incident, ultimately blaming everything on Zhou Qiqi.  

In her mind, before Zhou Qiqi arrived, Zhao Yi might have argued with her, but he never compared her to other wives—let alone laid hands on her.  

But just three days after Zhou Qiqi moved into the compound, everything had changed.  

Gritting her teeth, Qiu Chunfang vowed to herself that this time, she’d extort a hefty sum from Zhou Qiqi.  

Two hundred yuan wouldn’t cut it anymore—she’d demand two hundred and fifty! She’d make sure Zhou Qiqi paid dearly for this humiliation!  

That afternoon, after sending the kids off to school, Qiu Chunfang once again planted herself by the door with her stool, her eyes glued to the neighbor’s house, waiting for Zhou Qiqi to emerge so she could settle the score.  

But no matter how long she waited, Zhou Qiqi never came out.  

In fact, there wasn’t any movement next door until evening. 

“Tomorrow… Tomorrow, she’ll definitely come begging to me!”  

Qiu Chunfang seethed under the covers, tossing and turning all night.  

Naturally, she overslept the next morning.  

While yawning over breakfast, she suddenly heard the loud roar of a tractor outside.  

She flung the door open to see—