Chapter 1: The Truth in the Recording Pen

Ten years ago, He Tiantian moved to the city to seek medical treatment for her husband's leg. Their hometown was a small mountain village in Huai Province, where the income from the land was meager and there were no other sources of income. Unable to make ends meet, they used all their savings and borrowed some money from friends and relatives to open a braised meat shop in the city. She learned this craft when she helped a rural chef and improved the taste after some modifications.

The shop began to turn a profit within half a year due to its good taste and He Tiantian's diligent work ethic. The shop was always clean and tidy, and He Tiantian was warm and hospitable, so the nearby residents liked to buy braised meat and cold dishes from her shop.

Over the past ten years, He Tiantian used her own hands to create a family business, moving from a shanty town with a monthly rent of one hundred to a clean three-bedroom apartment.

Although they had no children, He Tiantian was content with her understanding husband, her mother-in-law's support, her younger sister-in-law's respect, and her nephew's affection. She felt that all the hardships were worth it.

However, all of this was just an illusion, a happiness built on lies, like the colorful bubbles blown from soapy water, easily burst by a single prick, leaving only scattered foam and stars.

The prick came in the form of a recording pen.

Her nephew, Zhou Zhicheng, was twenty years old and studying at a local second-tier university. Sometimes, in order to skip class and play games, he bought a recording pen and asked someone to record the lectures for him to listen to later.

While cleaning Zhou Zhicheng's room, He Tiantian accidentally dropped the recording pen and the switch turned on by itself.

Suddenly, the voices from inside made He Tiantian freeze.

"Mom, my sister-in-law is really capable. I heard that she can earn two to three hundred thousand yuan in a year, more than what I, as a teacher, can earn. I'll come over to eat here after work from now on," said Qi Fangfang. "You are just someone who likes to take advantage. Did you not eat here before?" The voice was very familiar to He Tiantian; it was her mother-in-law. "Both of you work, and Zhicheng has grown up here since he was a child. Not to mention food and clothing, even his tuition fees were paid by me. You two never give any money, what else do you want?"

Hearing her mother-in-law's words, Qi Fangfang chuckled, "Mom, my brother doesn't have any children, right? My brother will never have his own children in this lifetime, so Zhicheng will take care of you and my brother in the future. It's okay to spoil Zhicheng a little more now!"

Hearing this, He Tiantian felt uncomfortable. She and her husband had been married for so many years without children, and it was her lifelong regret.

Because of her inability to have children, and it was her fault, she had always felt guilty in this family. Even when her husband got drunk and acted crazy, she didn't mind. Her mother-in-law and sister-in-law's words sometimes made her uncomfortable, but she endured it.

"Grandson, doesn't even have the Qi surname!" Qi's mother sighed. "The old Qi family will come to an end."

Hearing her mother-in-law's sigh, He Tiantian felt even more ashamed.

"Mom, although my brother's legs are not good, he is fine in other aspects. If my sister-in-law can't have children, why not spend some money to have a child with someone else? Even if they don't divorce, bring the child back to raise, it's still the bloodline of our Qi family!" Qi Fangfang asked in confusion. She had also had such thoughts before, but seeing her mother and brother's fondness for Zhicheng, she had never said it. Now that her brother and sister-in-law were getting older and had taken so many medicines without having children, she finally spoke out.

Sister-in-law can't have children?

These five words almost made He Tiantian collapse. When she was young, she had taken so many medicines to have a child, but it never happened. As she got older, her mother-in-law and husband also gave up on having children.

Spend money to have a child with someone else?

Even if they don't divorce, bringing the child back to raise, it's still the bloodline of the Qi family?

Her sister-in-law actually had such thoughts!

He Tiantian felt bitter in her heart. Was her genuine affection over the years exchanged for her sister-in-law's thoughts? Was the respect she received from her sister-in-law all fake?

Unable to wait, the recording pen continued to play the rustling voices, and Qi's mother's voice came again, "If it's really as you said, and it's your sister-in-law's fault, I would have driven her away long ago. Why would I keep her until now?"

"Huh?" Qi Fangfang's surprised voice came from the recording pen. "Mom... Mom... It's not my sister-in-law's fault, is it my brother who can't have children?"

He Tiantian was also stunned. When they got married, after three years without children, her mother-in-law took her and her husband to the county to see a doctor, and the examination results showed that it was her problem, with both fallopian tubes blocked and adhered, making it impossible for her to get pregnant. Her husband, Qi Jianguo, had no problems.

Why were her mother-in-law's words different now from what she had said back then?

"It's your brother's problem. When your brother was fourteen, he fell from a tree and shattered his testicles. Although he was taken to the hospital and spent all the family's money, although he seemed fine on the surface and was usually okay, he can't have children," Qi's mother said. "Your brother will never have his own children in this lifetime."

Shattered his testicles?

Could it be understood as shattering his ***?

Even if he had ****, the sperm inside would be dead, and he would never be able to have children in this lifetime!

"Then... then why did you take my sister-in-law to the hospital and the examination said it was her problem?" Qi Fangfang asked in confusion. Could she have remembered it wrong?

He Tiantian was also puzzled and wanted to continue listening.

"Hehe, I asked your cousin to help. He said your sister-in-law can't have children," Mrs. Qi said triumphantly. "If your sister-in-law knew it wasn't her fault, but your brother's fault, she wouldn't still be living with your brother! She wouldn't be so obedient and let me control her in this house!"

"Ah..." came Qi Fangfang's astonished voice again. "I can't believe... I can't believe it's like this... No wonder... I had no idea there was something like this in the family."

Qi Fangfang understood her mother very well. She was very shrewd. There was only one male descendant in the family, her brother. If her sister-in-law couldn't have children, her mother wouldn't treat her sister-in-law so kindly.

Mrs. Qi's words hit He Tiantian like a bolt from the blue, making her unable to stand still. Her legs gave way, unable to support her heavy body, and she fell to the ground.

When she first found out she couldn't have children, she felt guilty. Her mother-in-law comforted her, saying that regardless of whether she could have children or not, she was still the daughter-in-law of the Qi family. Her husband, honest and kind, had always been good to her. Although he didn't sweet-talk her, he was always obedient and considerate, so even when he treated her badly or got angry, she just thought he was in a bad mood due to his leg and didn't get angry with him, always accommodating him.

Because her in-laws treated her well, she wholeheartedly devoted herself to life in the countryside. She helped her younger sister-in-law review and they both got into college. But because her father-in-law was in poor health and her husband had leg problems, she voluntarily gave up the opportunity to go to college, letting her younger sister-in-law go to school while she stayed at home doing chores, taking care of her in-laws, and supporting her husband.

Despite enduring so much hardship and fatigue, she had no regrets. However, today she learned the truth, and it was so cruel!

"You're just a young girl, there's so much you don't know. Your sister-in-law is beautiful, and your brother fell for her at first sight. But how could a beautiful city girl like your sister-in-law fall for your brother! Your father and I put in a lot of effort to get your sister-in-law and your brother together," Mrs. Qi said. Although her son had a hidden illness, she found a well-educated and beautiful city girl for him, which gave her a lot of face.

This city girl was not only beautiful but also hardworking and literate, which was a first in the Qi family's village. She set up a scheme to make her daughter-in-law He Tiantian believe she couldn't have children, and as a result, He Tiantian obediently lived with them in the Qi family.