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

Liu Yidao couldn't hold back and started beating up Yang Zhixin alone.

The elderly couple and Chen Yuhuan were beaten until they cried and screamed for their parents. The old lady was about to retaliate when Liu Dahua stopped her.

Liu Yidao asked again and again, "Have you severed ties with your family?"

"It's broken."

"I'll beat you to death, you piece of shit. You're like a curtain hanging on a door—you can't just find a door if you want to. You don't know how to improve yourself; you only want to take shortcuts."

In the end, it was the people at the slaughterhouse who, fearing someone might die, stopped Liu Yidao.

Chen Yuhuan hated them to death.

She cried until she was hoarse, not even bothering to speak in a strained voice. Supporting Yang Zhixin towards the door, she turned back and glared at Liu Yidao with dead eyes, saying, "You're too cruel. You'll get your comeuppance."

"If your family hasn't faced any retribution, what do I have to fear?"

Seeing that Liu Yidao was about to make another move, Chen Yuhuan and the others scrambled out of the room.

Until you turn two alleyways.

Only after making sure the pig butchers couldn't hear him did he dare to stop.

Chen Yuhuan wiped the oil stains off her new clothes with a pained expression, all the while grumbling and cursing:

"That filthy old man, he's forgotten his godson now that he's found a new love. He said all sorts of nice things when he recognized us as godsons, but now he's turned his back on us."

Old Chen spat a mouthful of phlegm on the ground and reached into his pocket to feel the bulging wad of cash.

His old face stretched into a wide, chrysanthemum-like expression.

"Alright, we got beaten up for nothing today. Luckily, we got ten yuan from Zhu Zi to help him ruin Liu Yidao's reputation. With this commotion, Liu Yidao won't have a good reputation with that old woman anymore."

Yang Zhixin's eyes were filled with resentment and malice.

He glanced back in the direction of Liu Yidao's house; the big house he had dreamed of was gone.

It will be difficult to find a spouse in the future.

Liu Yidao, that old geezer, wouldn't even give him a house; he couldn't swallow this humiliation.

"What's the use of just ruining his reputation? That old man has money."

Today their table is full of fancy dishes; the cost of food and drinks for several tables must be at least a hundred or two hundred yuan. No way, I can't swallow this insult.

"What do you want to do?" Chen Yuhuan perked up.

She's a woman too, is Liu Yidao blind?

"Zhu Zi is a brainless idiot, perfect for being used as a pawn."

Yang Zhixin said in a cold tone, "I'll go and encourage Zhu Zi to go and cause trouble at Liu Yidao's house whenever he has nothing to do."

They made a scene every day and every month, driving that shrew Liu Dahua to the brink of chaos.

I don't believe that old couple can make it this far.

"Once that old man is bedridden and can't move, he'll be begging us to come back and take care of his bodily needs. At that point, won't the house and all the money be ours?"

The family members exchanged glances.

He chuckled coldly.

The wind died down, the rain stopped, and they felt they were back to normal.

In the Liu family's courtyard.

Finally, it's quiet.

Zhang Haiyan was quick and efficient, and she and Liu Yidao's apprentices cleaned the courtyard spotless.

Liu Dahua sat in the chair, lost in thought, her eyes still a little red.

Zhang Haiyan walked over and took her hand.

"Mom, don't get angry with those bastards, it's not worth it." Zhang Haiyan felt an urge to divorce him when she thought about what Zhuzi had done. "The children and I are on your side."

"As long as you and Uncle Liu are doing well, that's the biggest slap in the face to those people."

Liu Dahua felt a warmth in her heart.

He patted his daughter-in-law's hand.

"Mom is fine, she just feels like she's lived a joke for half her life. She raised an ungrateful child who is not as considerate as this daughter-in-law she married halfway through her life."

"We're family. You're good to me too."

Zhang Haiyan said a few more words to the child, then tactfully withdrew.

Leave the space to the elderly couple.

Only Liu Yidao and Liu Dahua remained in the room.

Liu Yidao locked the door.

He turned around and walked to the cabinet. After rummaging around for a while, he took out a small square wrapped in three layers of red cloth.

He sat down next to Liu Dahua and began to peel back the layers of red cloth.

Inside was a savings book and an envelope.

"Dahua, take this." Liu Yidao shoved the item into Liu Dahua's hand.

Liu Dahua was taken aback.

"What are you doing? It's not like I don't have money, I'm just angry at that bastard Zhuzi."

"This is my savings that I'm entrusting to you for safekeeping." Liu Yidao chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "This past year has been thanks to Lao Song's constant nagging about me starting a side business."

I figured I was getting annoyed by her constant nagging, so I started selling some goods with her, and I actually made a little money.

Liu Dahua casually flipped through the savings book.

She worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk transporting goods by boat, and had saved up several hundred yuan, considering herself one of the wealthiest women in the area.

But when she saw the string of numbers on the passbook, her mouth gaped open so wide it could fit an egg, and she couldn't close it for a long time.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands...

"This...this is three thousand yuan?!"

Liu Dahua's hand trembled, thinking that his family's wealth far exceeded that of Liu Yidao, a bachelor whose assets were barely worth a hair's breadth.

"You sold so much stock?" Liu Dahua's eyes widened, her face full of disbelief.

Liu Yidao blushed with embarrassment.

"I spent almost all of my money from selling goods and my salary. During the Republic of China era, an elder in my family went to Manila and made a fortune doing business there."

I send money home every year. These are the remittance slips they sent back, and the money in this bankbook is mostly from them.

Liu Dahua swallowed.

I suddenly feel a little dizzy.

So all that hard work and toil is less valuable than having a good relative.

Liu Dahua stuffed the bankbook into her bosom, glared at him irritably, and said, "Is this the difference between a poor person and a freeloader? Comparison is the thief of joy."

Looking at her greedy yet coquettish appearance, Liu Yidao felt a tickle in his heart.

He reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, then leaned in and nuzzled her face against his.

"Who cares where it came from, it's our family's money anyway. From now on, you can eat whatever you want, wear whatever you want, and you don't have to be stingy anymore. They know I'm getting married, so they might even send me a little more money."

Liu Yidao didn't mention that his elder had returned to build the "foreign-style building" during the Republic of China era.

The largest Western-style building in their village was built by his great-uncle.

The three-story "foreign-style building," covering an area of ​​over 1,000 square meters, now belongs to the village.

Liu Dahua blushed and tried to push him away, but he wouldn't budge.

She leaned against him, muttering something under her breath:

"But we can't spend it recklessly; we'll need it for our retirement..."

Smelling the alcohol on Liu Yidao, Liu Dahua's heart pounded even harder.

I don't know how I got through so many nights. I don't know how many times that waiting-for-husband rock on the beach was touched, or how many tears were shed.

She closed her eyes, concealing the bitterness and grievances in her heart.

……

On the other side, on the way back to the village.

Song Xianglan felt unwell in her stomach, so she asked Shen Huijun to lead Song Xiangdong forward while she went into the grove of trees by the roadside to take care of her business.

This forest is dense.

The weeds are as tall as a person; if you squat down inside, no one can see you.

Song Xianglan's legs went numb from squatting.

Just as I was about to get up, I suddenly heard footsteps not far away, followed by the voices of two men.

"Hey, Brother Zhu, you're really useless, aren't you? That's your own mother, and all the money is in that woman's hands. Are you just going to stand by and watch?" A strange male voice rang out, his voice sinister.

"Pah, don't even mention it!" That was Zhu Zi's voice, filled with exasperation. "My mom is acting like she's possessed; she doesn't even respect my grandma anymore."

I only listen to that Song Xianglan. I went and made a scene today, and ended up getting thrown out by some idiot.

"Song Xianglan?"

The stranger paused. "You mean Song the butcher, the one whose brother-in-law was killed by his son with a hoe?"

"Yes, it's her."

Zhu Zi spat on the ground. "That woman is wicked. She used to be dirt poor, and now, in such a short time, she's building a house and eating fish and meat every day."

"Where did she get the money? Why are you asking me? You don't know either."

"Others might not know, but how could I not? That money she got was from extortion. It's just that my mom is stupid enough to associate with her."

"Extortion?"

The stranger's tone became more inquisitive, "Who could she possibly blackmail? I heard it's the money of Yan Ergou, the second son-in-law of the Nie family, that fell into her hands."

Song Xianglan, crouching in the grass, felt a tightness in her chest and held her breath.

It's been a while since I've heard the name Yan Ergou.

Those people still haven't given up.

Zhu Zi scoffed, his tone full of disdain, "What is Yan Ergou? Song Xianglan's money is ill-gotten gains from extorting Zhang Yujuan's family by targeting Yang Dashan."

She's got a sharp tongue; it's only because I'm a stubborn person who doesn't fall for her tricks that I'm fooled. Anyone else would have been completely swayed by her.

Zhu Zi became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke.

They denigrated Song Xianglan to the point of worthlessness, labeling her a vicious shrew, an extortionist, a jinx, and throwing all sorts of filth at her.

The stranger interrupted him impatiently, "You think her money has nothing to do with Yan Ergou?"

"It's definitely okay." Zhu Zi said firmly, "Even if Song Xianglan had ten times the courage, she wouldn't dare to touch that money."

Besides, Yan Ergou and Song Xianglan don't get along. Everyone in our village knows that Song got her pig-slaughtering money by stepping on Yang Dashan's bones.

The stranger remained silent for a while.

He seems to be thinking.

Zhu Zi was still cursing: "Brother, let me tell you, never marry a woman like that. She's a jinx; anyone who gets involved with her will be unlucky. I need to get back to playing cards, I can't talk to you anymore."

Done.

The sound of the pillar stepping on the fallen leaves gradually faded into the distance.

Song Xianglan remained squatting in the same spot, her legs feeling numb as if pricked by needles.

The strange man's muttering voice drifted over again:

"I've investigated all of Nie's relatives, and only Song, the butcher from Xiaoquan Brigade, became so rich. If the money wasn't with her, how could Yan Ergou's hidden sum of money have simply vanished?"

"Song the butcher is rich; even if it wasn't her, it had to be her."

Song Xianglan peeked out through the gaps in the grass.

The man was wearing a gray cloth jacket, with a patch of dark skin showing on the back of his neck, and a large mole on his forehead when he turned his head to the side.

"It seems we need to probe further."

The man with the mole muttered something to himself.

He turned and walked in another direction.

Only when the footsteps completely disappeared did Song Xianglan dare to breathe heavily. She slowly stood up, leaning against the tree trunk, her legs so numb she almost knelt on the ground.

so close!

These people are still looking for Yan Ergou's stolen money, and they've set their sights on me.

She rubbed her leg and limped out of the woods.

Shen Huijun looked around anxiously. Song Xiangdong was clinging to her like a koala, nodding his head back and forth.

"Mom, why did it take so long? Xiangdong was almost asleep, and it took a while to calm him down." Shen Huijun quickly nudged Song Xiangdong.

Song Xianglan quickly recounted what she had just heard.

"A mole on your forehead?" Shen Huijun's face paled. "Is he tall, and does he have a slightly hoarse voice?"

Song Xianglan nodded: "Yes, that's the person."

"I've seen him before!" Shen Huijun exclaimed. "We saw him at the village entrance when we came here. He was smoking with a man with a scar on his face. He stared at us for a while, giving us a creepy look."

Song Xiangdong, who had been in a daze, suddenly looked up when he heard the words "Scarface".

A chilling glint flashed in his otherwise somewhat cloudy eyes.

His brows furrowed tightly, forming a deep frown.

"Bad guy..." Song Xiangdong muttered, his voice low but clear, "...beat him to death..."

"Xiang Dong, what did you say?"

Song Xiangdong fell silent again and buried his head in Shen Huijun's shoulder.

He shouted, "Go home! I want to go home!"

"Okay, okay, let's go home." Song Xianglan quickly pulled the two of them home.

Throughout the journey, Song Xiangdong remained unusually silent.

When they arrived at the door, Song Xianglan took out her keys to open the door, while Shen Huijun went to the backyard to use the toilet first.

In the blink of an eye.

After the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law finished their work, they didn't see Song Xiangdong.

When Song Tingting returned, she looked for Song Xiangdong but couldn't find him. "Mom, where's my brother?"

"Eastward," Song Xianglan called out.

Shen Huijun also looked bewildered: "Where's Xiang Dong?"

The three of them were instantly on tenterhooks.

"Eastward, Song Xiangdong!" Shen Huijun ran towards the intersection, her voice trembling with tears.

Where can someone who's not even thinking straight go?

Song Xianglan forced herself to calm down, and the image of Song Xiangdong's reaction when he heard "Scarface" flashed through her mind.

Song Xianglan grabbed Shen Huijun, who was wandering around like a headless fly, and said in a deep voice, "Xiang Dong is recovering well. Even the doctor said he has a good constitution."

Perhaps he went to visit some old friends. I'll boil some water for your bath first; you're all sweaty.