As for the demolition, there was no way Hu Yan could tell them she had been reborn.
She could only pin the information on Zhang Qiulian.
Chen Guangze was already half-asleep from his wife’s massage.
He asked drowsily,
“What did you hear?”
Hu Yan leaned close to his ear and whispered,
“I heard the village is going to be demolished, and that man knows some inside information.”
The news instantly drove away Chen Guangze’s sleepiness.
His eyes lit up, and he suddenly became wide awake, his voice rising with excitement.
“Really? Oh my…”
Before he could finish, Hu Yan covered his mouth with both hands.
She lowered her voice and warned him,
“Can you keep your voice down? What if the news gets out and the demolition falls through?”
He had been moving goods around in Shenzhen all this time. How could he not know what demolition meant?
There were people all over those major cities who had become rich overnight because of demolition compensation.
Could this enormous stroke of fortune finally have fallen into his lap?
Besides, their village was indeed very close to the city.
Chen Guangze sprang up from Hu Yan’s lap and asked uncertainly,
“Is this information reliable?”
Hu Yan opened the bags of food one by one and answered lazily,
“Mm. Your sister-in-law is about to remarry. Now that you’ve all been called back, Mom and Dad will probably bring up dividing the family property.
“Our house may only be an earthen house, but don’t you dare blurt out that you don’t want it!”
She needed to warn him in advance.
Chen Guangze shook his head.
He wasn’t stupid.
Now that his wife had told him about the demolition, he would definitely hold on to the house tightly.
Hu Yan looked at the assortment of food spread across the bed.
There were raisin biscuits, canned meat, hawthorn fruit leather, chocolate, White Rabbit milk candies, and all kinds of Hong Kong-style pastries.
Some came in bags, some in plastic containers, and others in metal tins.
As she organized everything, Hu Yan didn’t forget to remind Chen Guangze,
“Your sister-in-law knows about the demolition now.
“She’s running around trying to gather money, and the first people she thought of exploiting were the family members.
“Stay away from her.”
Chen Guangze helped Hu Yan move the food beside the cabinet.
“Wife, I’ll listen to you. I still have some money in my hands.
“I’ll leave it all with you. If you find a suitable house, buy it.
“Most of my money is tied up in merchandise. If I’d known this earlier, I wouldn’t have bought this batch of goods.”
Hu Yan put the snacks into the cabinet, then took a tank top and a pair of shorts from the wardrobe and handed them to him.
“There aren’t many houses in the village that are expensive. The problem is that no one wants to sell.
“Even having money won’t help.”
“Mm. Wait here. I’ll get you some bath water.”
Their newlywed home consisted of two earthen rooms.
The room next door had been converted into a bathroom and washing area.
Hu Yan changed into her nightdress and tied her hair up high.
The bathwater was already ready in the wooden tub.
She had barely settled into the water when she heard Chen Guangze outside, pouring water over himself beside the well.
Hu Yan had planned to soak for a little longer.
But before she could react, the rascal had already scooped her up and carried her to the bed.
His kisses slowly traveled downward, falling all over her body as he gently kissed away the droplets of water.
Hu Yan closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck.
The fifteen-watt bulb hanging from the ceiling swayed gently in the breeze.
Its light cast the intertwined shadows of the two people across the bed.
The room was filled only with their soft, rapid breathing.
The heat of their long-awaited reunion lingered in the air.
The next day, when Hu Yan finally got up, holding her aching waist, it was already noon.
She looked down at her body.
Her fair, jade-like skin was covered with countless red marks.
She gritted her teeth in anger.
Was this man a dog or something?
If she hadn’t been sure that her daughter was conceived that night in her previous life, she would have kicked him straight out of bed.
She tremblingly put on her clothes when the shrill cries of the triplets suddenly rang out.
What was going on?
They hadn’t cried yesterday.
What were they doing today?
Could Zhang Qiulian be causing trouble again?
When Hu Yan stepped outside, she saw the triplets clinging to Zhang Qiulian’s trouser legs and crying.
Several adults were frantically trying to comfort them, especially her father-in-law, Old Man Chen.
He looked heartbroken.
“Oh, my poor grandsons. Don’t cry, don’t cry.”
“Waaah… Mommy doesn’t want me anymore! I want Mommy!”
Second son and his wife stood beside Chen Lei, completely at a loss.
Chen Sen was crying so hard that he was hiccupping.
“Hic… Mommy…”
Everyone in the family had gathered around the three children.
Even Tang Lijuan, who had always disliked Zhang Qiulian, was quietly wiping away tears.
The children’s cries were simply heartbreaking.
Hu Yan, however, was puzzled.
Chen Lei and Chen Sen had delayed intellectual development.
If no one had encouraged them to make a fuss, they probably wouldn’t have even understood what being adopted meant.
Zhang Qiulian was also standing nearby, coaxing them.
“Mommy is only going to the city for a little while. I won’t abandon you.”
The three children had only heard that their mother was leaving.
They probably hadn’t understood anything else.
Immediately, they burst into tears again.
Teacher Bai was getting a headache from all the noise.
She said impatiently,
“All right, all right. Second and Third, take the children away.”
Chen Guangming and Chen Guanghui did as instructed and stepped forward to pick up the children.
The children screamed even louder.
They clung tightly to their mother’s legs and refused to let go.
Chen Hao reached out and forcefully shoved his second and third uncles, trying to stop them from taking his brothers away.
“Go away! They’re my brothers! I’m not giving them to you! Go away!”
Chen Hao’s little face was filled with stubborn determination.
The uncles and aunts trying to separate them were forced back as he struggled.
Hu Yan stood at the doorway and watched everything clearly.
She noticed Chen Hao’s eyes sweep across everyone.
Eventually, his gaze stopped on Tang Lijuan.
Then Chen Hao suddenly charged at her like a little cannonball, throwing his entire body toward Tang Lijuan, who was nearly eight months pregnant.
No one had time to react.
They couldn’t stop him.
The impact sent Tang Lijuan stumbling backward.
She was about to fall.
Hu Yan ran anxiously toward her and shouted,
“Fourth sister-in-law, watch out!”
Hearing Hu Yan’s warning, Chen Guangyao and Chen Guangze reacted incredibly quickly.
The two men rushed toward Tang Lijuan and threw themselves onto the ground where she was about to fall.
They both had the same idea—to use their own bodies as cushions and reduce the impact.
Hu Yan had the same thought.
The result was that the three of them ended up piled on top of one another.
Tang Lijuan, who had been about to fall, landed squarely on Hu Yan’s soft stomach.
The entire accident happened in the blink of an eye.
By the time everyone realized what had happened, the only sound they heard was the muffled groans of Chen Guangyao and Chen Guangze, who were trapped underneath.
Tang Lijuan’s face had gone deathly pale with fright.
She hurriedly got up to check on the three human cushions.
Hu Yan immediately got up and checked on Tang Lijuan.
“How are you? Did you fall?
“Is the baby okay?”
Tang Lijuan held her belly.
“I’m fine. I was just scared.”
“What about you three? Are you okay?”
Chen Guangze and Chen Guangyao slowly got up, holding their aching backs.
Chen Guangyao’s eyes were red as he went to support his wife.
“Lijuan, I… I…”
Then Chen Guangyao turned toward Chen Hao, his face livid with anger.
“How could you be so reckless?”
Chen Hao was frightened into loud sobs.
Zhang Qiulian hurriedly apologized.
“Fourth brother, he’s still young and doesn’t know any better. Please calm down.”
But Hu Yan didn’t believe that for a second.
Zhang Qiulian had definitely been using Chen Hao.
She wanted Tang Lijuan to miscarry.
If the fourth branch lost its baby, they would have no reason to refuse adopting Chen Hao.
And she could also get rid of the troublesome “male heir” who stood in her way.
It would kill two birds with one stone.