When they came out of the hospital, Jiang Qiuyue just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

The good news was—she wasn’t pregnant. No more worrying about that for now.

The bad news—Wu Shuangshuang now knew everything. She had already teased Jiang Qiuyue and Lin Zhengrong for being “passionate,” and now she had confirmation they were even more so.

They had walked a good distance from the hospital when Wu Shuangshuang finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.

“Deputy Regiment Commander Lin really is in great shape! And you too—did you hear what Dr. Liao said? In the entire family compound, you’re the one who picks up contraceptives the most.”

“Go ahead and laugh, laugh as much as you want,” Jiang Qiuyue sighed, having completely given up resisting. “Luckily I’m not pregnant, so I’m in a better mood. You can laugh all you want.”

If she could do it over again, she definitely wouldn’t have brought Wu Shuangshuang along. And seriously—what was with Dr. Liao saying she came the most often? What if that wasn’t even true?

When they returned home, Lin Zhengrong had just finished working in the vegetable garden and was chopping wood in the yard. It was hot from the work, and he was only wearing a sleeveless vest—his muscles were pumped and practically bursting.

Wu Shuangshuang clicked her tongue in envy.

“My husband Lin Rong used to look pretty good a few years ago, too… Sigh, comparing people will really make you mad.”

Jiang Qiuyue dragged her into the house to change the subject.

“You still haven’t told me why you came to see me today.”

“Aiya, I almost forgot!” Wu Shuangshuang’s smile vanished, replaced with frustration. “Didn’t I tell you before? My in-laws are bringing a bunch of relatives over at the end of the year.”

Jiang Qiuyue: “They’re really coming?”

“Yeah, next month.” Wu Shuangshuang looked visibly annoyed. “Just thinking about it gives me a headache.”

Her in-laws didn’t live as far away as Jiang Qiuyue’s relatives; a day’s train ride and they’d arrive. “My in-laws just love showing off that they have a son in the military. The second they hear the relatives praising him, their smiles stretch to the heavens.”

“It’s coming up fast—just next month.” Wu Shuangshuang sighed again. “If it were just the two of them, it’d be fine. But I hate dealing with the rest of the relatives. Every single one of them will ask me: ‘When are you having a son? When, when, when?’ How should I know when I’ll have one?”

She vented at Jiang Qiuyue’s place for the better part of the afternoon and only left when it started getting dark.

Jiang Qiuyue thought to herself—thank goodness she and Wang Chunhua had cut ties, and that Lin Zhengrong didn’t have any parents around. Otherwise, having in-laws like that would make life way more exhausting.

That said, she had overheard Lin Zhengrong once, talking with Chen Guowei over drinks. Apparently, he’d asked someone to help look into his birth parents. Maybe it was a kind of obsession—wanting to know why they abandoned him.

Wu Shuangshuang said the relatives would be here soon, and sure enough, a month passed in the blink of an eye.

When Jiang Qiuyue saw the huge, noisy crowd arriving, she finally understood why Wu Shuangshuang had ranted for so long.

“Qiuyue, this is my father-in-law and mother-in-law, my second aunt, third uncle on my dad’s side, and my fifth uncle’s two kids.”

Shuangshuang introduced everyone in one breath, but Jiang Qiuyue could only remember who her in-laws were. The rest of the names went in one ear and out the other.

Watching all the Lin family relatives file into the courtyard, Jiang Qiuyue pulled Wu Shuangshuang aside at the doorway.

“This time there are over ten people! How on earth is your house going to fit them all?”

Their two houses were the same size, but even if the beds were packed full, they still couldn’t fit so many people to sleep.

“Didn’t you see? Everyone brought their own bedding,” Wu Shuangshuang said with a pout. “The first year they came, they didn’t bring any bedding, and my mother-in-law nagged me for a long time. I just told her to tough it out—they won’t be staying long anyway. Besides, they know my temper, so they don’t dare complain too much.”

Wu Shuangshuang had a hot temper and wasn’t afraid to offend people. One year, she got so mad she just stopped cooking and took her daughter to eat at the cafeteria. Her in-laws lost face but didn’t want to say anything in public, so they took the relatives to eat there too. Everyone ate like starving ghosts, which made her in-laws worry for a long time. Since then, whenever any relative said something too much, her in-laws were the first to stop them.

“Every family has its own troubles,” Jiang Qiuyue sighed.

“Yeah, after all, they’re Lin Rong’s parents, I have to give them face. Luckily, the relatives only stay a few days—otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to keep up appearances,” Wu Shuangshuang said just as someone called her.

“I gotta go, I’ll vent to you more after they leave,” she said, turning with a smile.

“Mom, you called me? What’s up?” she put on a different expression.

“That neighbor just now, she looks really pretty. Lin Rong said you two are best friends. These are some herbs I picked from the mountain—some for headaches, some for colds. Give her some,” Shu Sanmei said, then quietly added, “I’ve prepared some for you too.”

She often looked for folk remedies, hoping to have a grandson someday. The daughter-in-law was capable; aside from no grandson and a fiery temper, everything else was fine.

Hearing that her mother-in-law prepared more herbs, Wu Shuangshuang immediately put on a sour face but still took the herbs and gave them to Jiang Qiuyue.

The next few days, Wu Shuangshuang’s house was indeed lively. Jiang Qiuyue ran into them every day, but Wu Shuangshuang warned her not to be too friendly, to avoid too much nagging.

Five days later, the relatives led by Wu Shuangshuang’s second aunt left with the things Wu Shuangshuang had prepared. But Wu Shuangshuang’s in-laws stayed to celebrate the New Year.

Also staying were Lin Rong’s fifth uncle’s son and daughter.

Jiang Qiuyue had planned to send some food after Wu Shuangshuang’s relatives left. Since she had received herbs from Wu Shuangshuang’s mother-in-law and no one else was around now, she made some buns to bring over.

With so many people before, she couldn’t afford it—one bun per person would have used up two jin of flour.

But before Jiang Qiu Yue could knock on the door, she heard Wu Shuangshuang and Lin Rong arguing.  

“If I could help, I wouldn’t stop you, but Lin Wu and Lin Tao from Fifth Uncle’s family don’t even meet the qualifications for joining the army. The military isn’t yours to command—do you think you can just stuff anyone in there?” Wu Shuangshuang’s voice was loud. She had known that keeping those two kids around would lead to trouble.  

At this point, she didn’t care about awkwardness and openly confronted Lin Rong in front of them.  

Lin Rong tried to take Wu Shuangshuang’s hand, but she shook him off. “Don’t shout so loudly. Can’t we go inside and talk?”  

“No!” Wu Shuangshuang refused immediately. “If they had the ability to join the army, that’d be their own merit. If they can’t, I can’t help them. Don’t even expect me to give money to buy them jobs. The money I’ve worked so hard to save, no one is touching a cent of it!”