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

After dinner, Chen Tianrun started making a fuss again.

"I want to change my surname too! I want to be surnamed Wang!" Chen Tianrun clung to the doorframe, wailing heart-wrenchingly. "My eldest brother's surname is Wang, and my second sister married into the Wang family too. I want to be a member of the Wang family too, and I want to go back to the new house!"

Chen Yuxiang hurriedly covered his mouth, saying, "Keep your voice down! Aren't you embarrassed enough already?"

"What's shameful? It's shameful not to have enough to eat!" Chen Tianrun broke free like an eel, pointing to the kitchen, "Mom, look at the pot, there's not even any porridge left! Grandma and Second Aunt scraped the rice jar clean!"

Old Chen squatted on the threshold of the main room, watching his grandson make a ruckus with a smile.

This kid's got a brain. What's the big deal about changing his surname? As long as he has a big brick house to live in and braised pork to eat, what difference does it make whether he's surnamed Wang or Li?

If he weren't so old, he would have changed his ways too. The main problem is he doesn't have many years left to live, and he's afraid his ancestors in the underworld won't let him off the hook.

"Have you made enough of a scene?!"

A roar exploded from the ground. Chen Shi strode out of the kitchen, his face ashen, raised his large palm, and with a "smack," struck Chen Tianrun squarely on the buttocks.

Chen Tianrun was jolted awake by the blow and covered his buttocks, too afraid to utter a sound.

"Anyone who dares to mention changing their surname again, I'll break their legs!" Chen Shi's chest heaved violently, his eyes red-rimmed. Although he was honest, he still had the last bit of a farmer's stubbornness in his bones. He couldn't control his eldest son marrying into the family, but what kind of nonsense was it for his youngest son to take his sister-in-law's surname?

Chen Tianrun pouted and squatted in the corner, looking aggrieved, drawing circles.

The next day happened to be the day off for Chen Tianrun Academy.

As dawn broke, Wang Jinzhu yawned, pushed open the back door of her new house, and prepared to go check on the workshop.

The door had barely opened a crack when a dark figure darted out, squatted on the threshold, and looked up at her with a dirty little face.

Wang Jinzhu was startled. Upon closer inspection, she saw it was Chen Tianrun.

"What are you doing squatting here?" Wang Jinzhu raised an eyebrow.

Chen Tianrun stood up, dusted himself off, straightened his back, and said in a serious tone, "Sister-in-law Jinzhu, I am not a member of the Chen family."

"Oh?" Wang Jinzhu crossed her arms and looked at him with interest. "Then who are you?"

"I'm Wang Tianfang and Chen Tianwei's younger brother." Chen Tianrun grinned, revealing two small tiger teeth. "My brother and sister are at your house, so I'm staying with them for a couple of days. I promise I won't freeload; I'll sweep your yard and even help you with your accounts!"

Wang Jinzhu was amused by his precocious demeanor. This kid is pretty good at twisting the facts.

"Alright, come in. Go to the kitchen and find your sister; there are some hot meat buns in the pot."

"Alright! Thank you, sister-in-law!" Chen Tianrun cheered and dashed into the yard.

As luck would have it, this scene was witnessed by Old Man Chen, who was hiding behind a haystack not far away.

Old Chen slapped his thigh, his eyes shining. "Good lad, that pitiful act really works!"

The next morning.

As soon as Wang Jinzhu opened the back door, she saw Old Man Chen leaning against the door frame with his cane, groaning and complaining.

"Jinzhu..." Old Chen's voice was weak, and he tremblingly stretched out a hand, "This old man... I'm about to die."

Wang Jinzhu's lips twitched as she looked at his ruddy face: "Grandpa, you look even better than me."

"That was just a final burst of energy before death!" Old Chen said without batting an eye, clutching his stomach. "The rice jar in the old house is emptier than my face. Your grandma and your second aunt are ruthless; they'd eat you alive. I'm afraid my old bones won't make it through this winter..."

As he spoke, Old Chen forced out two tears, wiped them away with his sleeve, and said, "I don't ask for anything else, I just want to have one more bite of your braised pork before I leave. I'll leave after I finish eating, and I won't cause you any trouble."

Wang Jinzhu suppressed a laugh. The people in this old Chen family house are all truly eccentric.

"Alright, stop pretending." Wang Jinzhu stepped aside. "Come in. But let me make this clear: once you're inside, you have to follow my rules. No pointing fingers in the front workshop."

"Hey! Hey! I understand! I understand everything!" Old Chen's back and legs stopped hurting instantly. He threw away his cane, took three steps at a time, strode into the yard, and headed straight for the kitchen.

When the news reached the old house, Chen Yuxiang could no longer sit still.

The eldest son married into the family, the youngest daughter changed her address to someone else, the youngest son moved away to live with her family, and now even the father-in-law is going to live off a woman!

In the entire main house, only she and Chen Shi remained, starving in this dilapidated house.

"Chen Shi!" Chen Yuxiang rushed into the main room and grabbed Chen Shi, who was weaving a bamboo basket. "What are you standing there for? Everyone's gone! You should hurry up and think of a solution. Bow down to Jinzhu, and we'll move back too!"

Chen Shi didn't even look up, his hands deftly twirling the bamboo strips: "I'm not going."

"Are you crazy?!" Chen Yuxiang's voice rose eight octaves. "Didn't you see the looks on Mother's and Second Brother's wife's faces? If we stay any longer, we won't even get a bowl of porridge! Do you really want to live in this dilapidated house for the rest of your life?"

Chen Shi stopped what he was doing and put down the bamboo basket in his hand. He stood up, looked at Chen Yuxiang, and his eyes were calmer than ever before.

"Yuxiang, let's not go back."

Chen Yuxiang was stunned: "You... what did you say?"

"I said, we're not going back." Chen Shi pointed outside the courtyard. "When we divided the family property, we got four mu of land. These past few days, I've cleared all the weeds from the land. In a few days, we'll plant winter wheat, and the harvest will be enough for the two of us."

"You want me to farm with you?" Chen Yuxiang exclaimed angrily. "You have a big brick house to live in, and meat to eat, and you want me to dig in the dirt with you?"

"That's Jinzhu's tiled house, that's Jinzhu's flesh!" Chen Shi raised his voice, veins bulging on his forehead. "Haven't you figured it out yet? We're Chen family's offspring, why should they support us? You insisted on acting like a mother-in-law, and what happened? You were kicked out, you've lost all face!"

Chen Yuxiang was so shocked by the shout that she took a step back, her eyes instantly turning red.

Chen Shi sighed, his tone softening: "Yuxiang, we're just farmers. Before Jinzhu came along, didn't we live like this? Back then, life was tough, but we had peace of mind. And now? You're scheming every day about how to take advantage of your daughter-in-law. Is this how you live as a human being?"

He walked to the corner of the wall, picked up a hoe, and said, "I won't beg anyone. I have hands and feet; I can support you. If you're willing, stay and farm with me. If you're not, go back to the new house now and beg Jinzhu to take you in. I won't stop you."

After saying that, Chen Shi picked up his hoe and strode out of the courtyard gate.

Chen Yuxiang stood there, watching her husband's broad back, tears welling up in her eyes. She gritted her teeth, turned around and went into the kitchen, picked up the cleaver on the cutting board, and began to chop the wild vegetables she had dug up the day before.

She wouldn't ask anyone for help. She would stick with Chen Shi for the rest of her life.

The new house, the backyard.

After listening to Wang Jinzhu's account, Wang Tianfang remained silent for a long time.

"It's good that Dad has come to his senses." Wang Tianfang picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "He's been suppressed by my grandma his whole life. Now that he can stand up for himself, it's a blessing in disguise."

Wang Jinzhu nodded: "As long as your parents behave themselves, I won't mistreat them. During festivals, I will give them every penny of the rice, flour, meat, and other necessities they are entitled to."

"Hmm. But we still need to give the old house a talking-to." Wang Tianfang put down his teacup, his eyes turning cold. "My parents are just the two of them now. With the personalities of my grandmother and my second aunt, they'll definitely bully them even more. I can't just watch them get devoured alive."

"I'll go with you," Old Chen, who was sitting next to me gnawing on a chicken leg, suddenly interjected, saying indistinctly, "Old woman, you're not good at talking, so I'll do it. I'm eating your food now, so I have to do things for you."

Wang Tianfang's lips twitched as he looked at Old Man Chen's greasy mouth.

Evening, at the Chen family's old house.

Old Mrs. Chen was sitting in the yard, pointing her finger at Chen Yuxiang and cursing, "You jinx! I told you to wash some clothes and you dawdled like that! Let me tell you, from now on, all the housework will be yours! Your son doesn't care about you anymore, so what makes you so arrogant!"

Chen Xiufen, munching on sunflower seeds, chimed in sarcastically, "That's right, sister-in-law, you're not some rich woman's mother-in-law anymore. If you work honestly, maybe your mother will still give you a meal."

Chen Yuxiang squatted by the basin, washing clothes silently. Chen Shi had just entered the yard carrying a hoe when he saw this scene, and the veins on the back of his hand holding the hoe bulged.

Wang Tianfang stepped into the courtyard expressionlessly, followed by Old Man Chen picking his teeth.

"Tianfang?" Chen Shi was stunned.

Old Mrs. Chen was startled. Upon recognizing the person, her triangular eyes narrowed, and she slammed her cane heavily on the ground: "You unfilial son! You dare come back? You've already married into the family, get out of Chen Family Village!"

Wang Tianfang didn't even glance at her, and walked straight up to Chen Xiufen.

Startled by his cold gaze, Chen Xiufen took a step back, scattering the sunflower seeds in her hand all over the ground: "You... what are you going to do? I'm your second aunt!"

Wang Tianfang kicked over the stool in front of her, and with a "crack," the wooden stool shattered into pieces.

"Ah!" Chen Xiufen screamed and hid behind Old Mrs. Chen.

"Second Aunt, if you dare to bully my mother again, just think about whether your body is as strong as this stool."

"How dare you!" Old Mrs. Chen roared, her voice stern but her heart filled with fear.

Old Man Chen jumped out at the opportune moment, pointing his finger at Old Woman Chen's nose, "Old woman, you better behave yourself! From now on, Shizi and his wife will live separately, and neither of you are allowed to meddle with them! If you dare to cause trouble again, I'll divorce you!"

Old Mrs. Chen trembled with rage at her old man's betrayal, but she couldn't utter a single word. She knew that with the support of the eldest son's family, Old Man Chen was truly capable of such a thing.