A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

Village chief Chen Defu squatted on his doorstep, holding a large, rough porcelain bowl, and drank porridge.

The villagers passing by whispered among themselves and pointed in the direction of the Chen family's old house.

Listening to the discussions, Chen Defu couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had run away quickly yesterday afternoon and passed the conversation to Chen Yuxiang.

If he had used his position as village chief to put pressure on Wang Jinzhu, his son and daughter-in-law would be out of work today.

That girl Wang Jinzhu is really not someone to mess with; she even drove her own man away.

After finishing his porridge in two gulps, Chen Defu hurriedly went to warn the women from yesterday not to provoke Wang Jinzhu again, or they would really be going to the authorities.

He walked with his hands behind his back to the east end of the village and called the four women who had caused trouble the day before to the crooked tree at the village entrance.

When Wang saw Chen Defu, her eyes lit up, and she leaned forward to ask, "Village Chief, is that matter settled? Did Wang Jinzhu agree to let us go back to the workshop?"

Chen Defu sneered and tapped the pipe in his hand.

"Finished? You still expect to finish it?" Chen Defu pointed at Wang's nose. "Let me tell you, give up that idea as soon as possible! Go back to the fields and toil for yourselves!"

"Why should we?" another woman protested.

"Wang Jinzhu sent her in-laws and Chen Tianfang back to their old house last night! If you think you're shameless, go make a scene yourselves, but don't come looking for me if something happens!" Chen Defu didn't want to get involved in this matter anyway, and left after saying that.

The four women immediately shut their mouths. Even their own husbands were being kicked out? Wouldn't they get beaten if they went?

A moment later, Wang spoke through gritted teeth: "It's all that vile woman Li Ersao's fault! If it weren't for her instigation, would we have lost this golden opportunity?"

"Yes! Let's settle the score with her! She didn't hit her hard enough yesterday!"

The four women turned their guns around and marched menacingly toward Chen Ergen's house.

The Chen family's old house, uninhabited for several months, looked even more dilapidated.

Chen Yuxiang lay on the hard wooden bed, tossing and turning. A few tiles were missing from the roof, and the night wind blew straight in, leaving her with a sore back and aching muscles after a night's sleep.

It was bright.

Chen Yuxiang, sporting dark circles under her eyes, pushed open the door.

Chen Yuxiang pushed open the kitchen door. The stove was covered with a thick layer of dust, and there were traces of rats crawling on the cutting board. Despite her aching back, she fetched water, started a fire, and kneaded the dough.

"Oh, sister-in-law, you're living quite a strange life. You've given up your nice brick house and come back to this dilapidated place to reminisce about the past?"

Chen Xiufen's sharp, mocking voice came from the courtyard.

Chen Yuxiang paused, her face flushed, and before she could turn around, Chen Xiufen, supporting the old lady, had already reached the kitchen door.

"Mother," Chen Yuxiang called out dryly.

Old Mrs. Chen leaned against the doorframe, glancing listlessly at the pan: "Making pancakes? Put in plenty of oil. Your sister-in-law and I haven't had breakfast yet, we'll take them to the main room later."

Chen Yuxiang looked at the small amount of flour in the pot, her heart aching. This was just a small bag of flour she'd brought back from her new home yesterday; every meal she ate would be one less. She had only planned to make a few pancakes for the family to eat with some pickled vegetables.

"Mother, this is all the noodles we have left. Tianrun is growing up..." Chen Yuxiang still wanted to struggle a bit more.

Chen Xiufen chuckled and said sarcastically, "Sister-in-law, Tianrun has been living in your big house and eating and drinking well for so long. What's wrong with him going hungry for a meal or two? Our mother hasn't had a white flour pancake in ages."

Old Mrs. Chen glared at her with her triangular eyes and tapped her cane twice on the ground: "Enough nonsense! Just do what I say! Have you grown too big for your britches? You don't even listen to your old mother anymore? Let me tell you, Chen Yuxiang, don't think you're some kind of city lady just because you've lived in a nice house for a few days! You've come back with your tail between your legs, haven't you? I'm not dead yet, and this family isn't your place to be in charge!"

The words of abuse made Chen Yuxiang's face turn pale and then red. She looked at her husband, Chen Shi, for help.

Chen Shi was squatting in front of the stove, tending the fire. When he heard the commotion, he lowered his head even further, poking the fire in the stove with the fire poker, making a crackling sound, but he didn't look up or say a word.

He was extremely agitated. He was annoyed by Chen Yuxiang's self-serving actions, and also annoyed by his mother and sister-in-law's meanness. But what could he do? On one side was his wife, and on the other was his mother. He had been suppressed by his mother since childhood, and dared not resist. He could only pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Seeing that she couldn't rely on the man, Chen Yuxiang's last bit of anger dissipated. She sighed resignedly, scooped out two more ladles of flour from the flour bag, added water, and kneaded the dough.

Seeing this, Chen Xiufen raised her eyebrows smugly and pulled Old Lady Chen to sit down at the broken table in the main room, which was missing a leg and propped up with bricks. "Mother, just you wait and see. Some people just need to be taught a lesson. You have to scold them a few times before they'll behave."

Grandma Chen nodded in satisfaction, but her eyes looked around the room and finally landed on the half-new, half-old bundle in the corner, which Chen Tianfang had brought back yesterday.

"Eldest daughter, when you came back yesterday, didn't Jinzhu bring you anything? She must have given you some money, right? She runs such a big workshop, making a fortune every day; she couldn't have let you come back empty-handed, could she?"

Chen Yuxiang paused in kneading the dough, feeling as if she had been pricked by a needle in her heart.

"No, they didn't give me anything," Chen Yuxiang replied sullenly.

"Bullshit!" Old Mrs. Chen slammed her hand on the table. "That brat earns so much money, she couldn't possibly not give me a single penny. Eldest son, go open that bundle of yours and let me see!"

Chen Shi stopped tending the fire and finally looked up, his face full of embarrassment: "Mother, those are just a few changes of clothes from Tianfang, nothing else."

"I told you to open it!" Old Mrs. Chen didn't believe her at all and went to rummage through the contents herself.

Having no other choice, Chen Shi stood up, walked over, untied the gray cloth bundle, and emptied its contents.

A few coarse cloth clothes, a pair of old shoes, and nothing else.

Chen Xiufen leaned over for a look, then curled her lip and said, "Oh, he really is a penniless wretch. Chen Tianfang is a good-for-nothing too. He married a rich woman, but he can't even afford a new dress. She even threw him out with his belongings. It's hilarious."

Old Mrs. Chen, embarrassed at not finding the money, sat back down in her chair, grumbling, "Useless things! Your whole family is good for nothing!"

Hearing these hurtful words, Chen Yuxiang's eyes reddened, and she almost burst into tears. She lowered her head and quickened her movements as she made the pancakes. The firelight from the stove reflected on her flushed face; it was hard to tell whether it was from the heat or from embarrassment.

She was filled with regret, so much so that she felt like her guts were turning green. Why didn't she just enjoy her life instead of trying to act important and show off?

Now look what happened. He failed to show off and instead became the laughingstock of the whole village, and now he has to put up with his mother-in-law and sister-in-law's bad temper.

She didn't want to live another day in this dilapidated house, on this hard bed, where she was always hungry and cold!