A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

After confirming that her son was alright, and that the meal was ready, Xiao An had consumed a lot of energy and ate five times his usual amount. Luckily, Nuan Nuan reminded him, otherwise there wouldn't have been enough to eat.

After finishing her meal, Su Xiulan prepared to go to the brigade office.

Today is the final step in completing the severance of kinship procedures. They need to go to the commune to get the official seal, and then their family will be completely free.

Xiao An walked ahead, her small body still thin, but her steps were very steady, each step firm and solid, no longer like before when she would fall over with a gust of wind.

Gu Jianguo watched his son's retreating figure, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

When they arrived at the brigade headquarters, Grandma Gu and Zhang Aidi were already blocking the entrance like door gods, as if they were afraid that they would run away.

The brigade leader was sitting behind his desk smoking a pipe, the room filled with smoke. He saw Gu Jianguo's family, sighed, and picked up the three letters severing ties with his family.

"Let's go to the commune!"

Grandma Gu and Zhang Aidi's eyes darted around, clearly they were up to no good.

However, the two did not object, and the group boarded the oxcart.

When they arrived at the commune office, the brigade leader explained the situation and asked again.

"I've thought it all through. I'll ask one last time. Once this stamp is on, there's no going back."

"We've made up our minds!" Su Xiulan and her two children said in unison.

Gu Jianguo is unwell and is waiting at home.

The captain said no more, picked up the heavy official seal, and was about to stamp it on the paper.

"etc!"

Grandma Gu slammed her hand on the table, making the teacup on the table jump.

"Want a stamp? Sure! First, give me your ten yuan retirement fund for this year! Not a penny less! Otherwise, nobody's getting anything done today!"

She knew Gu Jianguo couldn't come up with the money, and wanted to use this to manipulate them again.

Su Xiulan remained calm and took out a piece of paper from her pocket.

"Grandma, we left after severing ties with you without receiving a single penny, and you didn't give us the house or anything else. I won't hold those against you, but regarding your retirement, the money we owed last time hasn't been paid back yet. Shouldn't we deduct it from that?"

"Last time, it was delivered by the child's father's colleague—meat, malted milk powder, and grain; it must have cost at least thirty or forty yuan. Enough for three years, isn't that reasonable?"

She slammed the note on the table.

Grandma Gu was so angry that her face turned ashen. Of course she wanted cash, but the brigade headquarters approved of Su Xiulan's method, and if she continued to make a fuss, she would be being unreasonable.

The captain tapped his pipe on the corner of the table, his face grim.

"Aunt Gu, put your fingerprints on. If you keep causing trouble, I'll deduct your family's work points."

Grandma Gu choked on her words, "Those things are all gone, and they weren't in my possession. Maybe you stole them back."

Is he trying to back out?

Su Xiulan wasn't angry. She looked at the brigade leader and the commune leaders, "Leaders, she said that the things she stole from my house last time were stolen back by my family, but we never saw them. Should we report this to the police and have them investigate?"

"you?"

Grandma Gu was so angry she almost fainted. It was true that the second son's family had taken the things from the third son's family, and many people knew this.

But it's hard to say whether the third son's family would actually steal. If they were to investigate, the second son's family might also be implicated.

"Alright! We'll hold out for three years!"

The captain made the final decision; with a bang, the official seal fell, the red imprint clearly visible, signifying that the two families would no longer be related.

Seeing the bright red seal, Su Xiulan finally felt a huge weight lifted from her heart, and the sky outside seemed a bit brighter.

The old lady was still fuming. "I'll let you off easy this time!"

I'm not satisfied! I thought I could get 10 yuan, but...

"You, surnamed Su! You're really dishonest, taking everything out of the house!"

Su Xiulan sneered, "What were you all doing with your eyes when you left? Were they just there to eat? Didn't you know what we were taking?"

Grandma Gu choked. Even now, she still doesn't understand when those things were lost!

It must be this woman's doing. She's young, but she's got a lot of tricks up her sleeve.

Su Xiulan ignored them and left with Nuannuan and the two children.

But as soon as he stepped out of the commune's courtyard, he bumped into someone.

The woman was obese with a fleshy face. When she walked, the ground swayed. Anyone who didn't know better would think that someone's old sow had escaped.

Nuannuan was still a little scared after seeing it. The little girl shrank back, a fear that came from instinct.

Su Xiulan recognized the person as Nuannuan's aunt, her own sister!

The last time we met, he immediately pulled out his belt and slapped someone. Judging from the movement, he was definitely very familiar with the situation.

Wang Guixiang, who had been looking around suspiciously, suddenly brightened up when she saw Su Xiulan and the others come out. She rushed over and yelled, "You brat! Where have you been?"

"Hurry up and come back with me!"

I met her at the scrap yard last time, but she didn't get anything out of it. When I got home, my mother-in-law kept nagging me, so I just casually mentioned it, and she got a severe beating from her.

To this day, Wang Guixiang still doesn't understand. She was clearly a burden, and everyone disliked her when she was at home. How did she become a lucky star after she was lost?

What does it have to do with getting rid of this burden if the men in the family break their legs?

But my mother-in-law believed it.

Nuannuan pretended not to hear, but Wang Guixiang reached out and grabbed her. "You little brat, didn't you hear me? I'm your aunt, come with me right now!"

When Wang Guixiang spoke, she spat out saliva, which smelled terrible and made people dizzy.

"Who are you? Get out of my way!"

Su Xiulan shielded Nuannuan behind her and scolded her sternly.

"Get out of here? I'm taking her with me today!"

Wang Guixiang sneered and, relying on her weight, shoved forward. Su Xiulan was knocked backward by the force of the impact and fell on her bottom in the snow, unable to get up for a long time.

The onlookers were startled.

Wang Guixiang was a notorious shrew in the surrounding villages. She was stronger than most able-bodied men, and no one dared to mess with her.

Grandma Gu and Zhang Aidi, who came out later, stood on the steps instead of helping, and instead crossed their arms to watch the commotion.

"Oh, karma's finally coming your way, isn't it? You just broke off the engagement and someone's already causing trouble."

Zhang Aidi spoke in a sarcastic tone, her voice loud enough for everyone around to hear.

Wang Guixiang's dirty hand, covered in black mud, was about to grab Nuannuan's hair.

Nuannuan didn't cry or make a fuss; she quickly slipped behind her second brother, Gu Xiaoan.

Her little hands clutched Xiao An's tattered cotton-padded jacket, her voice trembling with tears:

"Second brother! The wild boar has become a spirit! It's going to eat children! Nuannuan is so scared!"

Everyone looked at Xiao An.

The second son of the Gu family was extremely thin, with a sallow complexion, and looked frail in front of Wang Guixiang.

The villagers wanted to go forward, but when they saw Wang Guixiang's fierce appearance, they all hesitated.

"Get out of my way, you sickly brat!"