Dare to shirk responsibility? This adorable little one will tear down your military district!

The village chief Zhao Dezhu's voice silenced all the noise in the courtyard.

He took the wolf-hair brush from his third great-uncle, dipped it in ink, and didn't even glance at the clan elder who was paralyzed on the ground.

"Since this involves severing ties with a family, there must be a proper procedure." Zhao Dezhu spread a new sheet of straw paper on the octagonal table. "Since this involves the family of a martyr, as the village chief, I must be present."

This is for everyone to hear.

The third great-grandfather opened his mouth, his old face turning a deep purplish-red, but he couldn't utter a single word. He knew that Zhao Dezhu was ending things, and also warning him.

If this continues and alarms the commune, and they discover the embezzlement of the pension funds, then this clan elder will also be finished.

Seeing that Zhao Dezhu was really going to write the document, Wang Guifen frantically got up from the ground and rushed to the table.

"Don't write! Don't stop!"

Her thin, bony fingers gripped the edge of the table, her nails scraping against it with a harsh sound.

"Lin Wanrou is a daughter-in-law of the Meng family, and even in death, she'll be a ghost of the Meng family! And that money! The 1,200 yuan for the ginseng—that's our Meng family's!"

Zhao Dezhu paused, his brow furrowing.

Lin Wanrou, who had been silent all along, suddenly stepped forward.

She didn't look at Wang Guifen, but stared straight at Zhao Dezhu, her voice hoarse but clear: "Village chief, we don't want the money. We don't want any of the money and receipts that Changhe has sent back over the years, including the pensions."

"Mom!" Meng Yaya tugged at her clothes.

Lin Wanrou lowered her head and patted her daughter's head, her hand steady. "Consider it as buying a way for us, mother and daughter, to survive."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Wang Guifen again. Her eyes, which were usually lowered, were now stagnant. "This money, in exchange for us severing all ties with your Meng family from now on. Do you agree?"

Wang Guifen was stunned.

She schemed and plotted her whole life, never expecting it to end like this.

Money or people, you can only choose one.

Of course she would choose money.

A gurgling sound came from Wang Guifen's throat, like a chicken being strangled. She stared intently at Lin Wanrou, finally squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth: "Fine! Get out! Take your little bastard and get as far away as possible!"

Zhao Dezhu no longer hesitated, and his pen moved quickly across the paper.

Sun Shouzheng dictated from the side, his voice low but each word clear.

"This is a formal letter of severance. Lin Wanrou, wife of Meng Changhe, and her daughter Yaya, sever all ties with the Meng family of Xiahe Village from this day forward. All past grievances are hereby written. Lin and her daughter voluntarily relinquish all allowances, pensions, and property belonging to Meng Changhe. From this day forward, they shall have no further connection in marriage, health, or death. This letter serves as proof."

For every sentence Sun Shouzhen said, Zhao Dezhu wrote it down.

After finishing writing, Zhao Dezhu blew on the document and pushed it to the center of the courtyard. "Lin Wanrou, Wang Guifen, come and sign it."

Lin Wanrou was the first to step forward.

She picked up the inkpad box on the table, opened it, and pressed her right thumb firmly into it.

The red inkpad covered her fingertips.

She raised her hand and pressed it down hard on the spot where her name was on the document.

That one moment seemed to have used up all the strength she had accumulated in the first half of her life.

When she raised her hand, a clear, resolute red fingerprint was left on the paper.

Lin Wanrou swayed, but she stood still.

Meng Yaya also went over and, imitating her mother, dipped her little finger into the inkpad.

Then, she placed a small, red mark next to Lin Wanrou's fingerprint on the document.

Wang Guifen was supported and walked over, trembling. She looked at the document, then at her son groaning on the floor, and finally picked up a pen and drew a crooked cross after her name.

Zhao Dezhu picked up the document, handed one copy to the militiaman beside him, and kept one for himself.

"Alright," he announced, "from this day forward, you are no longer family."

Lin Wanrou took Meng Yaya's hand and turned to leave.

She didn't go back to the east room to pack anything, nor did she even glance at the dilapidated courtyard where she had lived for years.

Sun Shouzhen carried the half-empty basket on his back and followed behind the mother and daughter.

"Stop!" Wang Guifen suddenly screamed, "Those cotton-padded coats you're wearing! They were bought with the Meng family's money! Take them off!"

Meng Jianjun chimed in from the ground, "Yes! Take them off! And take the things out of that old man's basket!"

Lin Wanrou stopped in her tracks. She instinctively clutched her new clothes tighter.

Meng Yaya let go of her mother's hand and turned around.

She walked to the center of the yard, bent down, and picked up the largest piece of broken stone from the threshold.

She didn't say anything, but with her two small hands, in front of everyone, she slowly and bit by bit crushed the hard bluestone slab into powder.

White stone dust fell softly from between her fingers.

Even the groans of the Meng brothers in the courtyard had stopped.

Meng Yaya patted the dust off her hands and walked up to Wang Guifen.

She tilted her head up, her voice soft and sweet: "What did you just say?"

Looking into those clear, black and white eyes, Wang Guifen's legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground, a warm flow escaping from her crotch.

Meng Yaya ignored her and took Lin Wanrou's hand again.

This time, no one dared to speak up and stop them.

The mother and daughter, along with a gaunt old man, walked out of the Meng family's gate step by step, under the watchful eyes of the entire village.

The villagers automatically made way for them.

The sunlight fell on their brand-new floral blue cotton-padded jackets, somewhat dazzling.

Their backs, one tall and one short, walked slowly, but without the slightest trace of lingering affection.

As their figures disappeared under the old locust tree at the village entrance, Wang Guifen's heart-wrenching cries finally erupted in the Meng family courtyard.

The cries contained resentment and bitterness, but not a trace of regret.

As you leave Xiahe Village, the wind on the official road blows against your face, carrying the scent of earth and grass.

Lin Wanrou's tense body finally relaxed. She glanced back at the village that had given her birth, raised her, and imprisoned her for so many years; it had become a tiny black dot.

"Mom, we're free." Meng Yaya shook her hand.

Lin Wanrou lowered her head, looked at her daughter, her eyes reddened, but a genuine smile appeared on her face.

Yes, we are free.

Sun Shouzhen walked beside him, looking at the blue sky and white clouds, and also let out a long sigh of relief.

After walking for about a mile, a fork in the road appeared ahead. One path led to the county town, and the other led in a more distant direction.

Sun Shouzhen stopped in his tracks.