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

The cold sweat on Tang Xiuhe's body had finally stopped.

She sat on the threshold of the Song family's house, her eyes drifting into the courtyard, but she didn't want to move.

Song Xianglan saw her expression and understood perfectly.

This young wife was bullied badly by her husband's family and wanted to stay here to get help. She either wanted the Song family to send her back to intimidate her mother-in-law, or she wanted to stay at the Song family's house a little longer.

But the Song family home is not a shelter.

It is not a yamen (government office) that adjudicates cases.

Song Xianglan said calmly, "It's getting late, you should go back. We still need to eat, so we won't keep you."

Tang Xiuhe was stunned for a moment, not expecting Song Xianglan to dismiss people so decisively.

She stood up, leaning against the wall, her eyes reddening, and sobbed as she said:

"Auntie, I'm afraid... I'll get scolded by my mother-in-law when I go back. You know how biased she is..."

"Then go find your man." Song Xianglan didn't respond. "It's her turn to stand up."

"I want to go back to my parents' home."

"Go find your man. Your family hasn't sent you holiday gifts yet, has they?"

These words have blocked the way out.

Tang Xiuhe bit her lip and glanced at the bright main room of the Song family a few more times before slowly moving towards the roadside, looking back every few steps.

Shen Huijun slammed the door shut, her brows furrowed tightly.

"This young woman is too scheming. She clearly wants us to send her back so she can use our influence to put pressure on the old woman."

Song Tingting finally realized what was going on.

He stomped his feet in anger.

"Damn it. The Yu family are all the same. I even felt sorry for her, but it turns out she was also plotting against us. When we were kids, Yu Xiujuan always made me take the blame for her bad deeds. There's no good in this family."

Song Xianglan waved her hand: "There are plenty of pitiful people in the world. We can help them in times of emergency, but not in times of poverty, and we certainly can't help those with crooked minds."

……

Tang Xiuhe didn't dare go straight back to the Yu family's den of wolves.

She huddled under the banyan tree at the crossroads.

Then he ate the remaining two meat buns.

Finally, that familiar figure swayed and walked over.

Tang Xiuhe burst into tears and rushed over to grab the man's sleeve.

"Pengzhi, you're finally back."

Yu Pengzhi smiled when he recognized his wife:

"Why are you crying here?"

Tang Xiuhe cried as she complained:

"Your dear sister ate all the pig's trotters you bought for me. And your mother called me a pig and kicked me out... I'm carrying your child, and I didn't even get to eat a single pig's trotter."

After listening, Yu Pengzhi reached out and scratched Tang Xiuhe's nose, which was red from the cold.

He looked completely unconcerned.

"Hey, it's no big deal. You know my mom's temper, she's all bark and no bite."

Xiujuan is spoiled rotten; the whole family pampers her. You're the sister-in-law, and a literate woman at that. Why are you arguing with a younger sister?

Tang Xiuhe was so aggrieved that her voice cracked:

"She was the one who bullied me. And how is she younger? She's a year older than me."

Yu Pengzhi frowned.

"Don't be stubborn. It's the New Year, and people will laugh at you. I'll buy you fish when we get back, okay?"

"I don't eat fish, I only want to eat meat."

Tang Xiuhe was really determined, clinging to him and refusing to let go. "I need to eat meat to nourish myself. My legs are cramping so badly tonight that I can't sleep."

Yu Pengzhi, having been pestered relentlessly, had no choice but to nod:

"Okay, okay, I'll buy it tomorrow. I'll go to the commune to buy pork belly first thing tomorrow morning, alright?"

Just as Tang Xiuhe was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she heard the man mutter something else:

"We haven't touched the money for the New Year's gifts you gave to your parents. Since you want to eat meat, let's use that money to buy it first. Anyway, we give gifts every year, so it's okay to give less every year. Let's eat the meat first."

These words were like a bucket of ice water, poured over my head and toes.

Tang Xiuhe loosened her grip, and froze on the spot.

Using the New Year's gift money to buy meat for yourself?

Looking at the man in front of her who only knew how to smooth things over and scheme against his wife's family, her heart turned completely cold.

The road is too far, except to follow him back to that icy, cave-like home.

She had nowhere to go.

Back at the Yu family home.

Yu Xiujuan's sharp voice drifted out from inside the room: "Oh, so you're finally willing to come back? You really think you're some rich young lady, that Third Brother has to go and invite you."

Tang Xiuhe kept her head down and didn't say a word.

He quietly returned to his room.

……

Early the next morning.

Song Xianglan's house was bustling with activity.

Song Xiangmei arrived with Erhua, both carrying large and small bags, their faces beaming with joy.

"Third Sister. Erhua insisted on coming to see you since the New Year is almost here." Song Xiangmei put the things on the table. "Erhua and Shugen specially bought these."

"Shugen is really busy. He's working with his master and won't get a break until New Year's Eve, so he let us come first."

Song Xianglan quickly invited them to sit down.

Arrange peanut brittle, melon seeds, and peanuts on the table.

Nie Erhua sat on the bench, still somewhat reserved, but the dullness between her brows had dissipated considerably, and her eyes were clearer.

She was wearing a new cotton-padded jacket, and her hair was neatly combed.

"Third Aunt, the shop is doing very well." Nie Erhua spoke slowly but clearly.

Song Xianglan was pleased:

"Great, it's good to be able to work. As long as you have work to do, you'll feel at ease."

The group was chatting animatedly inside the house, unaware that a little girl in a tattered coat was peeking in from outside the courtyard gate.

Her triangular eyes darted around, staring intently at the pile of New Year's goods in the room and Nie Erhua's new clothes.

Nie Erhua drank quite a bit of tea.

He got up and went to the outhouse in the backyard.

Just as Nie Erhua came out of the outhouse and passed by the courtyard wall, Yan Lanlan suddenly jumped out from a corner and grabbed Nie Erhua's clothes.

"mom."

This shout startled Nie Erhua so much that she trembled all over.

Yan Lanlan's tears came instantly. She rushed over and hugged Nie Erhua tightly around the waist, crying so miserably.

"Mom. I've finally found you. I'm so pitiful."

Nie Erhua stood frozen.

He looked down at the dark-skinned and thin girl.

"Those people in the Yan family are awful. They beat and scold me every day, don't give me food, and even interrogate me about where my dad's treasure is hidden!"

Yan Lanlan cried with snot and tears streaming down her face.

She really had a miserable time in the Yan family.

Hearing "Yan Ergou" and "Old Yan's family".

Nie Erhua felt like someone had stepped on her tail; her head suddenly exploded with a "buzz".

Her lips trembled, and her eyes were filled with hatred.

"He deserves to die. He deserves to die!"

"Mom, can I live with you? I don't know where my older brother has run off to, and my older sister, that poor wretch, doesn't care about me at all. I'll stay with you from now on, and we'll live a good life together."

She's very shrewd.

She used to complain that her own mother was incompetent and embarrassed her.

I felt that following my grandma meant I'd have food to eat and could even find treasure.

As it turned out, the treasure was nowhere to be found. Her grandma and uncle treated her like a maid, working herself to the bone every day for nothing more than a bowl of sweet potato porridge.

A few days ago, Yan Lanlan heard that someone had seen Nie Erhua dressed well in the commune, and she began to have designs on her.

She waited at the intersection of Xiaoquan Brigade Road for several days.

Finally, I got my chance.

As long as she clings to her biological mother, all the money her mother earns in the future will be hers.

With her intelligence, fooling a fool would be a piece of cake.

Maybe we can even get the location of Dad's hidden money out of his mentally challenged mother.

Hearing something amiss inside the house, Song Xianglan quickly ran out.

At a glance, Yan Lanlan was seen clinging to Nie Erhua like a leech, her eyes gleaming with greedy green light.

"Erhua," Song Xianglan called out.

Nie Erhua turned around blankly, saw Song Xianglan, and as if she had found her pillar of support, she pouted and called out, "Mom..."

The one who called out "Mom" was Song Xianglan.

Song Xianglan's heart softened, and she rushed over in a few steps. With a cold face, she grabbed Yan Lanlan by the back of her collar and yanked her off Nie Erhua.

"What are you doing?" Song Xianglan stood in front of Erhua.

"Third Aunt." Yan Lanlan was a little afraid of Song Xianglan. Her eyes swept over the magnificent little villa, and she couldn't suppress the jealousy and greed in her heart.

Such magnificent Western-style buildings are rare in Qingyang.

Even if there are any, they are mostly buildings constructed by overseas Chinese who returned from Southeast Asia before the liberation.

"I've come to find my mother," Yan Lanlan said, her neck stiff.

"What did you say to her that scared her like this?" Song Xianglan asked sternly.

Yan Lanlan rolled her eyes, looking disdainful: "What can I say to an idiot? I'll just say I want to spend my life with her."

Song Xianglan raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face.

"You fucking filthy beast. A born wolf in sheep's clothing, just like your father who got shot—rotten to the core. Get out of here!"

Yan Lanlan was stunned by the beating, and screamed while covering her face:

"I'm not leaving! I want to stay with my mom."

Song Xiangmei, Shen Huijun, and Song Tingting also ran out of the house.

She turned and yelled at Nie Erhua, her eyes filled with a viciousness unlike that of a child.

"You gave birth to me but didn't raise me properly, and you're completely blameless? My dad hitting you was his fault, but how come you're so easily beaten?"

"People say that a mother's love makes her strong, but look at you, you're not fit to be a mother! I'm living such a miserable life because of you. You should be supporting me and earning money for my education."

This set of fallacies and heresies completely baffled Song Xiangmei.

Song Xianglan was so angry that she laughed. This ungrateful wretch could actually come up with so many words to manipulate Nie Erhua.

Song Xianglan grabbed a broom from the corner of the wall and slapped it at Yan Lanlan's calf.

"Go to hell with 'a mother's strength'! That's used to praise the hardships of motherhood, not for you, a beast, to morally blackmail your mother. You don't feel sorry for your mother suffering from domestic violence, but instead blame her for being too weak?"

"You're a waste of food when you're alive, and a waste of land when you're dead."

Yan Lanlan screamed and dodged the blows, cursing as she did so:

"I'm going to sue you. Mom, are you just going to stand by and watch outsiders beat me?"

Shen Huijun picked up a bucket of dirty water used for washing mops and splashed it all over her.

The icy dirty water splashed all over Yan Lanlan, freezing her so much that she immediately shut her mouth, screamed, and scrambled out of the courtyard gate.