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

Half an hour later, He Xiuxiu knocked on the door.

Li Guobin opened the door and let her in.

She knelt down as soon as she entered the door.

The slap mark on her face hadn't faded yet; it was still purplish-red, and her eyes were so swollen they were squeezed into slits.

She didn't cry, but knelt straight on the cement floor and kowtowed to the elderly Li couple sitting on the sofa.

"Dad, Mom, Guobin, I was wrong."

He Xiuxiu's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping against a wall. "I've been thinking a lot just now. I was being unreasonable and shouldn't have taken my anger out on my family. The fortune teller was right; that child has bad luck and isn't meant to be with me."

Li's mother drooped her eyelids. "Now you know you were wrong? You've caused chaos in the whole compound, and you've made me lose all face."

Mr. Li didn't say anything, but his face showed his displeasure.

Li Guobin lay half-reclined on the rattan chair, his legs spread apart.

Looking at He Xiuxiu's pig-like face, he recalled the excruciating pain of that kick, and felt both hatred and fear in his heart.

But more than anything, it was a man's desire for control that was satisfied.

"Alright, Mom, it's good that Xiuxiu knows she was wrong."

Li Guobin grinned and changed his posture, trying not to talk nonsense. "Dad just said that the snack shop in the new city can hire a temporary worker. You can work there for two years, and if you perform well, you can become a permanent employee."

This is a secure job; without my dad's connections, you wouldn't even be able to dream of it as a street laborer.

He Xiuxiu kept her head down.

Those swollen, red eyes stared at the ground as they whispered:

"Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Mom."

Li Guobin: "Once you've recovered, we'll strike while the iron is hot and have another one."

This time, we must have a boy.

That little brat over there came to collect a debt. Let her go where she needs to go, and don't keep thinking about her.

He Xiuxiu tightened her grip on her knees.

Her fingernails dug into the fabric, and she nodded obediently, "I will go and pray to the Goddess of Fertility for a son."

Li's mother curled her lip, "We'll see how you behave. So petty."

He Xiuxiu silently got up and went into the bedroom.

Early the next morning.

He Xiuxiu was like a wound-up machine, cleaning the house inside and out.

I cooked sweet potato porridge this morning and also made pan-fried buns.

The windows were wiped sparkling clean, and even Li's mother's yellowed pillowcases and Li Guobin's smelly socks were washed spotless.

As the sun rose, she went to the market wearing a tattered straw hat.

When I came back, I was carrying two pounds of pork belly.

"It's to help my parents and Guobin recover." That's how she answered when a neighbor asked.

Everyone in the building was stunned.

Aunt Hu tugged at Song Xianglan's sleeve, looking on incredulously.

"Yesterday they were going to kill his whole family, and today they're serving them meat. Has He Xiuxiu been beaten senseless?"

Song Xianglan watched He Xiuxiu vigorously scrubbing the bed sheets by the pool, mechanically repeating the same actions.

"The bed sheets have faded from washing," Song Xianglan said casually.

"What?"

"It's nothing," Song Xianglan said, withdrawing her gaze.

Sister Wu at home sighed:

"Life goes on. People can't come back to life after they die. We can't ruin the lives of the living for the sake of a dead person."

She still has her parents; if things really fall out, how will those two old folks face? I think she's thought it through.

Mother Shen nodded in agreement:

"Yeah, you can't fight city hall. What can you do if you have no power or influence? Just put up with it."

The Li family's side.

The atmosphere was quite harmonious.

The aroma of braised pork at lunchtime filled the corridor.

Li's mother stood at the door with a bowl in her hand, loudly showing off to her old friends.

"I always said that a daughter-in-law still needs to be disciplined. I'm not a wicked mother-in-law; as long as she's willing to give birth to a grandson, I can treat her well."

inside the house.

He Xiuxiu sat at the corner of the table, her bowl containing only white rice and zucchini.

As she watched Li Guobin eat with grease dripping from his mouth, and saw the satisfied, oily look on her in-laws' faces, a dark vortex slowly rose in the stagnant pool of her eyes.

"Guobin, eat more."

He Xiuxiu picked up the biggest piece of meat and put it into Li Guobin's bowl, saying, "You need to eat your fill to have the energy."

Li Guobin was very pleased, "We'll have a baby in two months, and hopefully have a big, healthy boy next year."

He Xiuxiu smiled, but the corners of her mouth formed a stiff arc.

"Okay, let's have a son."

Everyone found it strange that Li Guobin was really capable; he subdued He Xiuxiu with just a few slaps.

Late at night.

The hallway became quiet.

Occasionally, a few barks could be heard from afar.

Song Xianglan was a light sleeper.

He rolled over.

A scream ripped through the night sky.

"what……"

Song Xianglan sat up abruptly, her heart pounding.

Then came the second sound.

It was even more devastating than before.

Something's happened.

Shen's mother pulled the light cord. "It sounds like the Li family. It's Guobin and his mother's voices."

Shen Huijun was also startled awake.

Without saying a word, Song Xianglan put on her shoes and ran outside.

The doors of every house were open, and the beams of flashlights were waving wildly.

"What's wrong?"

"Murder?"

A group of people rushed to the Li family's door.

The door was ajar, and a nauseating stench of excrement mixed with the smell of blood wafted out.

Song Xianglan pushed the door open.

When the flashlight beam shone in, everyone gasped.

In the Li family's living room, Li Guobin, his father, and his mother were tied tightly together with thick hemp rope like rice dumplings and lined up in a row.

Their mouths were stuffed with yellowish-black filth.

The excrement and urine he pulled out from some unknown outhouse filled his cheeks to the brim, and he could only let out muffled "ooh-ooh" groans.

He Xiuxiu stood in front of them.

She was carrying a rusty iron hammer.

"Waaaaah!"

Li's mother's eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets as she desperately twisted her body, her eyes filled with terror.

He Xiuxiu gave an extremely gentle smile, as if she were looking at a baby in a cradle.

"Mom, you said that women should be able to endure hardship."

He Xiuxiu raised the iron hammer high and slammed it down heavily on Li's mother's kneecap.

The sound of bones breaking was so crisp it made your teeth ache.

Li's mother suddenly stiffened, her eyes rolled back, and she was in so much pain that she almost fainted. Dirty things dripped down the corners of her mouth.

"Oh my god!" The timid neighbor at the door screamed and covered his eyes.

He Xiuxiu didn't even look at the person at the door; she turned and walked towards Li's father.

Mr. Li usually loves to put on airs.

He was so scared that he wet himself and his eyes were full of pleading.

"Dad, you said that we must follow the rules when we enter the Li family."

He Xiuxiu smiled and said, "Then I'll teach you what rules are."

Another blow struck Li's father's shinbone.

Finally, there's Li Guobin.

He Xiuxiu walked up to him and gently patted his face with the handle of a hammer.

"Guobin, you said you want to have a son?"

He Xiuxiu tilted her head, her eyes both innocent and cruel, "Is the egg alright?"

Her gaze shifted downwards.

"He Xiuxiu, you've gone mad."

Several bold male neighbors reacted and rushed in to restrain He Xiuxiu.

Before He Xiuxiu's smile faded, she said, "They severed my roots, and I will sever theirs too."

Looking at the room filled with the stench of blood, Song Xianglan felt her stomach churn.

Her mind was working very fast.

This would be classified as intentional injury or attempted murder.

He Xiuxiu's life is over; she might even be shot.

"Quickly dig that thing out." Shen's mother felt nauseous and kept gagging.

Someone used chopsticks to scoop it out.

The three members of the Li family were vomiting and dry heaving; the scene was simply unbearable to watch.

"Call the police and arrest this crazy woman!" Li Guobin roared after spitting out the feces in his mouth.

Song Xianglan raised her voice, "Has He Xiuxiu been traumatized?"

"I don't think this is something a normal person would do. It's strange that she hasn't cried or made a fuss these past few days. She's been holding in all that frustration, and it's messed up her brain. She's having a fit of hysteria; she's mentally deranged."

Just as Li's mother caught her breath, she screamed:

"Bullshit. She committed murder on purpose."

Song Xianglan: "Who in their right mind would put...that kind of thing in their mouth? Who would do a thorough house cleaning before committing murder? She can't distinguish between reality and dreams anymore. She was just calling for her child a moment ago."

He Xiuxiu was pinned to the ground, and her eyes glazed over the moment she heard the word "child".

She was crying and laughing at the same time, and even banged her head on the ground.

"Don't be afraid, baby, Mommy will sing you a song."

"Baby, baby, sleepy, grows an inch every night. Baby, baby, precious, grows a foot every night. We're all the same, how can we have such different feelings... I, too, am dressed like this..."

That crazy look.

The two burly men holding her down felt uneasy and loosened their grip considerably.

Mr. Li was so angry that he couldn't catch his breath, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

"Old Li."