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

Pushing open the courtyard gate, a strong, fishy smell hit me.

Squatting next to the well was Liu Yidao, covered in sweat, washing pig intestines.

"Liu Yidao, have you moved your slaughterhouse to my house?" Song Xianglan handed the Achyranthes bidentata in her hand to Song Tingting, who came to greet her. "Tingting, wash this herb. We'll make a bone broth later."

Liu Yidao wiped the sweat from his forehead and chuckled:

"I thought there were a lot of you, so I brought some large intestines to try. There are also two big bones in the bucket, and I brought a few pounds of pork as well."

Song Tingting took the herbs and quickly went to the well to fetch water.

Song Xianglan asked:

"Did you have a happy occasion and meet a lesbian?"

Liu Yidao tossed the whitish large intestines into the basin and sighed.

"What good news could a bachelor like me have? Well... I just recently adopted a godson."

"Godson?"

Song Xianglan moved a small stool to sit down and then handed a small stool to Liu Dahua.

As she emptied the chives from the basket and began to sort them, she remarked, "Why are you acting so impulsively? Suddenly recognizing a godson."

Liu Yidao explained while administering water to the large intestine:

"That child's father and I were good friends when we were kids. A few years ago, he broke his leg in a quarry and died after a few years of hard work."

I found that the child to be diligent and sweet-talking, and we clicked. Everyone said we should become godparents, and since I have no descendants anyway, I figured I might as well do it.

"I'm hosting a dinner party at my house the day after tomorrow. Old Song, you'd better bring your whole family to support me."

Song Xianglan nodded:

"Okay, that's good. Da Hua, you go too."

Liu Dahua took a large wooden basin and poured the fish and shrimp from the basket into it. She readily agreed.

"Go ahead. I'll bring some more plump swimming crabs and mantis shrimp the day after tomorrow to add to the feast."

Liu Yidao panicked upon hearing this:

"No way, I'll pay for it."

"It's not worth much, it's a gift for you." Liu Dahua rolled her eyes at him.

"I have money. You shouldn't refuse it."

Looking at Liu Yidao's unshaven appearance, Song Xianglan couldn't help but tease him:

"It's a good thing to have a godson, but you're not bad off either. It would be great to find a wife who cares about you and understands your needs."

Liu Yidao paused, a self-deprecating smile playing on his lips.

"Forget it. When you're young and haven't won over the girl you like, who would want to live with a butcher, covered in filth?"

Liu Dahua glanced at him.

Then I remembered that I was also covered in the smell of the sea.

Song Xianglan tossed the picked chives into the basket. "Do you understand love after marriage? First, bring the person into the house, and life will get better as you go along."

The group chatted and laughed.

The courtyard was bustling with activity.

Song Xianglan didn't let Liu Yidao and Liu Dahua leave, saying that since they were here, they should all stay for dinner.

She asked Song Tingting to call Liu Chounu and Liu Chunhua, and also called Widow Wang and Zhou Fang's family over.

It didn't take long.

The courtyard was packed with people.

Liu Chounu and Liu Dahua went into the kitchen to get busy.

The fire in the stove was burning brightly, and the aroma was rising straight out of the chimney.

Zhou Fang rolled up his sleeves and helped Song Xianglan move the table.

He took the opportunity to whisper, "Godmother, I want to go to the north with the convoy tomorrow afternoon."

Song Xianglan: "Have you thought it through?"

"Yes." Zhou Fang nodded. "I've been making a lot of trips before the New Year because I wanted to help my godmother get some more in-demand medicines. It just so happens that Liu Yukun and Huang Ronghua are going too."

"Okay, be careful on the road. It's getting late and things aren't going well."

Song Xianglan thought for a moment, "I'll leave Da Bao and Er Bao here. Tingting's on vacation, so I can watch over their studies."

Upon hearing that they needed to study...

Erbao, who was squatting in the corner playing with mud, suddenly looked miserable.

"Mingbao, are you going to read again?"

Erbao threw down the little shovel in his hand, rested his chin on his hands, and looked utterly dejected.

"When I looked at the words in that book, they looked like ants crawling around. I felt dizzy, my eyelids were twitching, and I felt like I was moving house."

Da Bao, standing to the side, added insult to injury with a grin:

"That's because you're stupid! All you think about is eating and playing. Look at me, I've even skipped grades."

"You're the stupid one!"

Erbao got so angry that he tried to push Dabao, and the two started chasing and fighting in the yard.

Zhou Fang shook his head as he watched, and said to Song Tingting:

"Tingting, if this kid is being naughty, just go ahead and give him a good beating. Don't hold back. You have to get rid of his laziness."

Song Tingting smiled and agreed:

"Don't worry, Brother Zhou, I guarantee he'll be completely subdued."

"I won't pay the tutoring fee monthly; I'll give you a big red envelope for Chinese New Year."

"Forget about the red envelope," Song Tingting said with a smile. "When you go to Shanghai this time, just see what good books the bookstores have and bring a few back with you."

Zhou Fang readily agreed.

It was getting dark.

The food is served.

The skills of Liu Chounu and Liu Dahua are unparalleled.

Taro stewed with pork is tender, savory, and fragrant; seaweed stir-fried with sweet potato leaves is bright green and refreshing; boiled mantis shrimp are plump and delicious; and steamed blue crabs are full of roe and oil.

Stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork intestines are sour and spicy, and the soup made with ox knee and pork bones is warming to the stomach with every sip.

There was also pan-fried ribbonfish and clam soup with mustard greens and tofu, a whole table full of food.

Everyone sat together, eating with their mouths full of oil.

After the meal.

Song Xianglan took a large bowl and filled it with the remaining meat and vegetables.

He handed it to Widow Wang.

"Take some back home for the kids to try."

Widow Wang held the still-warm bowl, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

Her husband died young, and she rarely saw meat throughout the year.

"Sister Song...this..." Widow Wang choked up, unable to speak, regarding Song Xianglan as a living Bodhisattva in her heart. Looking at Song Tingting and Shen Huijun beside her, they spoke softly and gently, as if celestial beings had descended to earth.

……

There was laughter and cheerful chatter on the other end.

On the Wang family's side, chaos reigned.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Without alerting anyone, Wang Zhihe took his household registration booklet, went to the brigade headquarters to get a certificate, and headed straight for the Qiao family.

In the Wang family courtyard.

The Queen Mother had two large dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was as messy as a chicken coop.

Last night was awful. Baogen was separated from his mother and cried until his voice was hoarse. Nothing we did could soothe him.

If you stop even for a second, this kid starts rolling around on the ground in a rage.

"I want my mommy, I want my mommy. Ahhh..."

"...Waaaaah, Grandma's a bad girl."

Baogen sat on the floor of the main room, holding a piece of wood in his hand and throwing it to the side.

Daya was holding a bowl of rice porridge, intending to feed him, when the piece of wood hit her right on the forehead with a "thud," immediately raising a large bump.

Daya was in so much pain that tears welled up in her eyes, but she dared not cry out loud. She just covered her forehead and whispered comforting words:

"Be a good boy, little brother, eat something..."

"I don't want to eat, I want my mom. Get out!" Baogen jumped up and punched Daya several times, each punch landing hard.

"Wow……"

The little girl in the cradle next to them was startled awake and started crying loudly.

The noise made the Queen Mother's head buzz, and her anger rose rapidly.

"Cry, cry, cry. All you do is cry. That's your own sister, why did you hit her so hard?" Wang Mu grabbed Bao Gen and slapped him twice on the buttocks.

This beating had a significant effect; Baogen howled even louder.

It was like slaughtering a pig.

While wiping away her tears, Daya rocked the cradle to comfort Xiaoya, and also had to take care of her younger brother who had been beaten by his grandmother. Her small body was busy running around.

Looking at the mess in the room, the Queen Mother was so angry that she slapped her thigh.

"What a mess! They've already separated the family, why don't they go live in Zhou Fang's house? Why do they have to stay in the old house and make me serve these ancestors!"

Sister-in-law Wang came out of the house carrying a washbasin.

Hearing this, he frowned.

"Mom, have you seen Zhihe? The sun is so high in the sky, and I haven't seen a soul in sight."

The Queen Mother was taken aback before she realized what was happening.

I haven't heard any movement from Wang Zhihe's room since this morning.

Wang Ersao, who was brushing her teeth, spat out some foam and leaned over to say:

"I saw the second son pushing his stroller out this morning, and he was holding something that looked like an envelope in his hand."

The Queen Mother's heart skipped a beat.

"What is that?"

Wang Ersao added, "It looks like a marriage certificate."

"broken!"

The Queen Mother's vision went black, and she almost fell to the ground.

The marriage certificate has been taken away.

Where else can one go so early in the morning?

"This is a real divorce!" Wang's mother ignored Baogen, who was still rolling on the ground, and ran towards the brigade headquarters. "No, I have to stop him. They can't divorce. If they really divorce, this family is finished."

As she ran, she cursed Wang Zhihe in her heart, calling him a stubborn fool.

Why doesn't this man understand? He's divorced with three kids in tow; how is he going to find someone else in the future?

Even if Qiao Zhaodi, that lazy old woman, is no good, she's still her own mother. How could she really not care about her child?

That's good now.

If we really break the marriage certificate.

The Queen Mother ran so fast her shoes almost fell off, and she was filled with regret, thinking she should never have separated the family.

But in this world, there's no medicine for regret.