Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

Song Xiangdong held the freshly cooked spiced roll in his hand, hissing from the heat, but reluctant to spit it out.

The outer layer is crispy.

The minced meat inside, mixed with the sweet taste of water chestnuts, is delicious with every bite.

His mouth was dripping with oil.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you." Seeing her son's greedy look, Song Xianglan felt a little less bitter and turned to suppress the fire in the stove.

Song Xiangdong ate three spice rolls in one go and grabbed a few pieces of vinegar-braised pork before he could recover.

He wiped the grease from his mouth and turned to rummage through the huge pack.

"Mom, what I miss most is the food you make."

"Mom, Tingting, these are all for you."

Large and small bags were piled on the table. There was polyester fabric, milk candy and chocolate, and even two bottles of face cream.

Song Tingting was holding the piece of fabric with floral patterns.

He held it up to his body with obvious delight.

"I'll make a dress for my mom, my sister-in-law, and me."

Shen Huijun ate her fried taro slowly and happily agreed that it would look good to go out.

The flames in the stove licked the bottom of the pot, making a crackling sound.

After finishing her meal, Shen Huijun sat in front of the stove adding firewood, the firelight making her face look rosy.

She glanced at the delighted Song Tingting, then turned to Song Xianglan, her voice lowering slightly:

"Mom, do you remember Xiaxia and her mother whom we met on the train?"

Song Xianglan scooped the taro out and put it in a basin.

"I remember. Xiaxia's mom was bullied at home, so she took her child to an island to find a man. You ran into her too?"

Shen Huijun tightened her grip on the fire tongs, broke off a piece of dry firewood, and stuffed it into the fire.

"Yes, I ran into her. I took her back and cared for her for more than ten days a month ago, and now she's living in a house that Sister-in-law Quan rented for her in the village."

Song Xianglan frowned.

I had a bad feeling.

"Wasn't she looking for a man to settle down with?"

"What kind of life are you living? You're going through a tribulation."

Shen Huijun's eyes were filled with anger.

Speaking at an extremely fast pace:

"She had only enjoyed a good two months on the island when the man's mother followed her there with her twelve or thirteen-year-old nephew. That old woman was simply inhuman."

Shen Huijun took a deep breath.

It was as if he wanted to vent his pent-up frustration:

"That old woman kept clutching her chest and complaining of heart pain, saying that she was suffering from acclimatization issues because Xiaxia's mother was bringing her bad luck."

Whenever that man wasn't home, she would make veiled accusations, saying that Xiaxia's mother hadn't conceived for years, but now she was pregnant as soon as she visited, and that it wasn't certain whose child it was.

Song Xianglan was startled.

"She's pregnant?"

"I'm pregnant, over four months along, and it's a boy."

Shen Huijun's voice turned cold. "That day, Xiaxia was beaten by that cousin over a trivial matter, and Xiaxia's mother rushed over to protect her child."

The old woman threw a tantrum, beating Xiaxia and her daughter, while her twelve or thirteen-year-old nephew, like a little calf, ran wild.

He rushed over and kicked Xiaxia's mother in the stomach, then straddled her and continued hitting her.

Song Xianglan's eyes were practically spitting fire.

"brute!"

Shen Huijun's eyes were a little red.

Xiaxia called the neighbors, but the old woman insisted that Xiaxia's mother had fallen herself. When she was taken to the hospital, her pants were soaked with blood.

The doctor said it was a miscarriage caused by a severe external impact; the uterus was so badly damaged that they had to remove it to save the patient's life.

The kitchen fell silent instantly.

There was only the occasional soft popping sound from the oil pan.

Song Tingting stood to the side.

She didn't even notice the floral fabric in her hand fall to the ground, and tears streamed down her face.

"And then what happened? Didn't that man care?"

Shen Huijun sneered, "On one side is her own mother, and on the other is her daughter-in-law. Xiaxia's mother is also a fiery-tempered person; she called the police as soon as she woke up."

The old woman and the little brat have both been arrested. The young one has been sent to a deserted island for labor reform, and the old one has been sent to the Northwest to eat sand.

Xiaxia's mother forced the man to divorce her, demanded 600 yuan in compensation, and left that awful man with Xiaxia.

"Good riddance! What's hateful is that he's half-dead."

Song Xianglan said fiercely:

"A good-for-nothing man like that is bad luck even if he's around for the New Year. Since he can't protect his wife and children, he should be childless."

"Xiaxia's father was originally adamant about not getting a divorce, but Xiaxia's mother said that there was a human life and an old man and a child in a labor camp between them, and that they would be enemies if they looked at each other from now on."

The man finally had no choice but to agree to send half of his monthly salary to the mother and daughter.

Shen Huijun sighed:

"It's only because Xiaxia's mother had the medical report that she was able to convincingly pretend that the old woman was genuine. Many people in the family compound on the island were fooled by her and thought that Xiaxia's mother was an unfilial shrew."

Song Xianglan thought about the future.

"You can't stay in that kind of place. If a man can't control his lower body, he'll definitely have to find someone to have a child with in a couple of years."

"I can't go back to Xiaxia's hometown. The patriarchal mindset there is even stronger than in Qingyang. Going back would be like jumping into a fire pit."

When conflicts arise between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the man perfectly disappears.

"They're both renting houses. He knows perfectly well why his wife and kids went to him, yet he still thinks he can balance the relationship between the two."

"By letting them live together, this man can still gain a good reputation after the incident because he paid half his salary."

Song Tingting: "..."

Shen Huijun: "..."

That's outrageous.

"Sister-in-law, my mother and I will never argue with you again," Song Tingting wiped away her tears, walked over and hugged Shen Huijun's arm, "We are family."

Shen Huijun patted her sister-in-law's hand.

My heart feels warm.

Her fondness for Song Xianglan must be a blessing accumulated in her past life.

Song Xiangdong changed into casual clothes and carried a net bag containing White Rabbit milk candies and several packs of cigarettes.

"Mom, I'm going to the brigade leader's and the brigade party secretary's houses. I'll also go talk to Zhou Fang, Wang Zhi, and a few others."

"Go ahead, invite Zhou Fang and the others over for dinner tonight."

Song Xianglan added, "Zhou Fang has been suffering these past few days."

Song Xiangdong responded.

He strode out the door.

Song Xiangdong first went to the homes of the brigade leader and several elders to make a formality, and then went straight to Zhou Fang's house.

Zhou Fang was squatting by the door chopping wood when he heard footsteps and looked up.

Those somewhat gloomy eyes lit up the moment they saw Song Xiangdong.

"east!"

Song Xiangdong walked over and punched Zhou Fang in the chest without saying a word. Zhou Fang didn't hesitate and punched him back.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

The tacit understanding they developed from growing up together is all contained in this one punch.

Song Xiangdong tossed a pack of "Longevity Cigarettes" into Zhou Fang's arms, then took out a small box from his pocket and handed it to him.

"These are for you. What about my two godson sons?"

"I went to play."

Zhou Fang took the box and opened it. Inside was a brand new men's watch with a shiny dial.

He wiped his hands on his clothes.

He touched it carefully, but his eyes showed some hesitation.

"Xiangdong, this watch... could I take it to the county to exchange it for a women's version?"

Zhou Fang closed the box. "I wanted to give this to west Yang. It'll be inconvenient for her to go to university without a watch."

Song Xiangdong was taken aback. "You little rascal, before we got married you said your wife would have to listen to you, but after we got married you've turned into a henpecked husband."

Zhou Fang lowered his head, his voice muffled, "She's just a city girl, suffering because of me."

"Alright, stop playing the Casanova in front of me."

Song Xiangdong shoved the watch back into his pocket. "Keep this one. You're going to do business, how can you do it without a watch? I'll have my mom get you one later, they're really pulling strings these days."

Song Xiangdong pulled Zhou Fang to squat down against the wall, which was sheltered from the wind.

I lit a cigarette.

"I heard your mother gave your wife a really harsh scolding because of her college entrance exams?"

Zhou Fang took a deep drag of his cigarette and said with a wry smile:

"They called her an ingrate, saying she'd run off with someone after getting into university. She turned our room upside down, trying to tear up her acceptance letter."

Song Xiangdong said happily:

"I have something to tell you. My daughter Huijun is also taking the college entrance exam this time, and my mom is fully supportive."

Zhou Fang was stunned: "Your aunt supports it?"

"Not only did they support it, they also forced me not to let Huijun get pregnant."

Song Xiangdong flicked his cigarette ash, looking completely at ease.

"I always have to wear a small umbrella when I'm doing that. My mom says that going to university is a life-changing event."

Why can't you have a baby at any time? Why do you have to add to the chaos at this crucial moment?

Having a college graduate as a wife is an incredibly auspicious thing, like the smoke rising from one's ancestors' graves.

Zhou Fang's hand holding the cigarette was trembling. He looked at Song Xiangdong as if he had heard something unbelievable.

In the villagers' minds, a wife's role is to give birth and do housework; going to university is out of the question.

That's because your heart is wild.

"Xiangdong, your aunt... she's such a wise woman." Zhou Fang's eyes were a little red, and his voice was hoarse. "Why didn't I have a mother like that?"

"So you have to save yourself."

Song Xiangdong patted him on the shoulder, "Let's split up the family tonight. Let's take advantage of this momentum and split up completely."

"I want to break up too. But I have nowhere to live."

Looking at his family's dilapidated houses, Zhou Fang said, "If I bring up the idea of ​​dividing the family property, my mother will definitely make me leave with nothing, not even a single tile."

"I have a place to stay."

Song Xiangdong pointed to the lonely house near the sea, "It's the old house my grandma left behind, and it's always been empty. It's a bit dilapidated, but habitable. Everyone in the village says it's haunted, and nobody dares to go there. Are you scared?"

Zhou Fang threw the cigarette butt on the ground.

"These days, people are much scarier than ghosts."

"As long as I can get Xiyang and the child out, I'd be willing to live next door to the King of Hell, let alone a ghost town."

"Then it's settled."

Song Xiangdong stood up and wrapped his coat tighter around himself. "Come to my house for dinner tonight. Invite Wang Zhi and the others. Bring your wife and my godson too."

Zhou Fang stood up, looking at Song Xiangdong's tall and straight back. The gloom in his eyes dissipated, replaced by a burning fire.

"Okay, I'll go back and divide the family property right now!"