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

Song Xianglan picked up her teacup and took a sip. "We still need to recruit new people. You and Chunhua spread the word and pick a few quick-witted ones."

"In our line of work, if you're not quick-witted, your goods might get seized halfway through the journey, and you'll have no one to turn to for help."

The ugly woman grinned and laughed out loud:

"Now, the line of people wanting to join our transport team stretches all the way to the village entrance; the doorstep is practically worn out from all the footsteps. I guarantee I'll pick a few clever ones."

"It doesn't have to be from this village; people from other villages are fine too."

"Great. Sister Xiangmei's cooking is really good, the fried dates taste just right." Liu Chounu ate another one.

Song Xiangmei picked up a plate, "I'll take it home for Gousheng and the others to eat later."

Song Xianglan took another bite of the sweet fried date, the sweet and greasy sesame filling sticking to her throat.

She handed the remaining half to Song Tingting, saying, "It's too sweet, I can't eat it."

Shen Huijun loves sweet fried dates, and she ate three in a row and still couldn't stop. "Mom, I want more, but my stomach is telling me I can't eat anymore."

"You eat first. I'll brew you some tea to aid digestion later."

The sky was ablaze with the glow of sunset.

Song Xianglan started a fire to cook.

She boiled water in a large iron pot and added a dozen or so fish balls. After it boiled again, she threw in shredded white radish and cleaned clams.

With just a pinch of salt, the umami flavor of the clams infused the soup.

Sprinkle some chopped celery on top when it's done cooking.

Everyone only drank the soup; the fried dates they ate in the afternoon hadn't been digested yet.

After dinner.

Song Xianglan strolled over to the processing workshop.

The dim light bulb flickered.

Yang Xiaoye, Da Mu, the mute older brother, and the younger brother Yang Xiaozhi were having dinner around an old square table.

On the table were a plate of stir-fried loofah and a plate of boiled mixed fish.

A few shredded ginger pieces floated on top of the miscellaneous fish, and there wasn't a trace of oil in the water.

Each person had a bowl of sweet potato porridge in front of them, so thin that you could see your reflection in it.

Song Xianglan pulled out a long bench and sat down, looking at the few thin people. "Can you fill your stomachs with this?"

Yang Xiaoye quickly put down her chopsticks. "I'm full. Auntie, this is much better than what we used to eat."

We used to go hungry.

Now that she doesn't go hungry, Yang Xiaoye feels that life has been wonderful since she came to the workshop.

"Don't bring up the past with me."

Song Xianglan stared at the bland soup on the table. "You all work every day and are still growing. You need to eat meat and eggs every two days. If you ruin your health, do you expect me to support you for the rest of your lives?"

Yang Xiaoye was taken aback.

"Auntie, how can I let you support me? If I can't do the work, I won't stay here."

Da Mu took a mouthful of porridge and quickly replied:

"Auntie, I'm going to buy a pound of pork first thing tomorrow morning."

Song Xianglan's gaze swept over the group of teenagers. "The wages I pay you are among the highest in the entire village."

This money is meant to support yourselves and have some left over. If I find out you're using the savings to subsidize outsiders, I'll kick you all out.

Yang Xiaoye shook her head repeatedly.

"Auntie, we absolutely won't spend a single penny."

She knew very well that Song Xianglan was notoriously difficult to deal with in the village, which was why her greedy grandmother and bloodsucking uncle dared not rush into the workshop and rob her of all her wages.

Song Xianglan's "evil" became their greatest shield.

"You keep chickens in the backyard. Go get some eggs and fry them."

Yang Xiaoye dared not disobey.

He ran to the kitchen and took out four eggs.

Song Xianglan went into the kitchen and grabbed four more eggs from the basket, forcing them into Yang Xiaoye's hand.

"Stop being stingy. If you don't eat some nutritious food, your height will be set. Xiaozhi is also growing taller, how can he not eat well?"

Yang Xiaoye took eight eggs and walked to the stove.

Pour oil into the pan, heat it up, and the egg sizzles as it goes in, filling the entire yard with its aroma.

Her stomach started rumbling in protest.

Yang Xiaoye brought a large plate of fried eggs to the table.

Big Eyes and the mute sniffed hard.

Yang Xiaozhi stared at the plate, her eyes wide, "It's delicious."

Song Xianglan was delighted.

"You know it's delicious before you've even tasted it?"

Yang Xiaozhi turned to Song Xianglan and smiled, her eyes sparkling. "The eggs must be delicious. Big Eyes, right?"

The mute man made two "ah ah" sounds and raised two thumbs up.

Da Mu nodded repeatedly, "It'll definitely taste delicious."

He picked up a piece of egg and put it in his mouth, hissing as it burned.

While chewing, he shouted:

"Delicious, so delicious!"

The four people sat around the plate and wolfed down all eight eggs.

After finishing the meal, the four of them couldn't stop smiling.

Song Xianglan couldn't hide her joy. "A few eggs and you're this happy. It's not a bad deal for you to spend a few dollars a month to eat well."

"Xiaoye, how about you take four yuan and we take five yuan? That'll be our monthly food allowance."

"Okay. We can buy some cheaper pork bones to make soup."

Yang Xiaoye agreed.

Song Xianglan went into the warehouse to check the goods.

The shelves against the wall were piled high with dried fish and dried shrimp, all in excellent condition.

The quantity perfectly matches the orders from suppliers in other regions.

She pushed open the door to the mushroom storage room next to her, where sacks were piled up almost to the roof.

Da Mu followed behind, pointing to the room full of goods and saying:

"Auntie, this place is too small and not enough. We need to find a way to expand it."

"Let's make do for a few days. Once the land is allocated, we'll build a big one. Has Boss Tang said when he'll come to harvest the mushrooms?"

They said they'd come to load the goods tomorrow.

Song Xianglan locked the warehouse door and went to the brigade leader's house.

The brigade leader had just returned from a meeting and was sitting in the yard smoking a pipe.

"Captain, when will the land allocation be scheduled?" Song Xianglan asked directly.

The squad leader tapped his pipe: "The higher-ups just sent out a notice; the official assignments will begin next Tuesday. Will Zhou Fang be able to make it back?"

"I'll definitely go back." Song Xianglan said, then turned and walked home.

Captain... Why does Old Song seem to be getting more and more oppressive since he retired? He then wondered which old man had taken this monster away, and then thought that the old man was probably afraid of dying and dared not take it away.

Song west and Wan Xiaoju stood at the entrance of the main room.

Song Fei and several other cousins ​​were talking in the courtyard.

Song Yuzhu and Song Yulu also came over and were pulled upstairs by Shen Huijun to look at the room furnishings.

On the stone table next to the well were several ribs, two steaks, and in a wooden basin were two large lobsters and a sizzling geoduck.

"Third Aunt, the lobsters and geoduck clams were just caught by the fishermen from Gengjiazhuang when they went out to sea." Song west handed the ribs and beef to Song Tingting.

Wan Xiaoju stepped forward and greeted her with a smile, "Third Aunt."

Song Xianglan nodded: "Did your brother and the others go back?"

"I'm back. I went back yesterday afternoon." Wan Xiaoju tugged at Song west's sleeve.

Song Tingting poked her head out of the kitchen and stared at Song Fei, asking:

"How exactly did you resolve your second brother and sister-in-law's situation? Are they divorced or not?"

Song Fei's expression changed when this was mentioned.

He grabbed a handful of hair in frustration. "Don't even mention it. My wife interrogated me for two days straight because of this."

They wouldn't stop pressing me about whether I was having affairs, and even said that the men in the Song family were inherently bad, all having a habit of seeking out concubines.

Song Tingting rolled her eyes.

"Your wife is right. Tell me quickly, what exactly happened with Second Brother and the others?"

Song Fei pulled up a bamboo chair and sat down. "After you went home that day, the couple went back and smashed things up again. My second sister-in-law ran back to her parents' house that night. The next day, her family rushed into the house and questioned my second brother about everything."

"And then?" Song Tingting pressed.

"Her family members absolutely refused to agree to the divorce and took turns trying to persuade her sister-in-law."

Song Fei spread his hands, "Actually, my second sister-in-law doesn't want to divorce either. My second brother is good at making money and is usually generous to her family."

The second sister-in-law was given a lot of money, but she couldn't save it and gave it to her family instead.

Her second brother never said a word against her.

She just can't swallow this insult and wants to use our whole family to force my second brother to give up on that vixen. She absolutely refuses to let that bastard child inherit any of the family property.

Upon hearing this, Song Tingting became so angry that she threw the water ladle in her hand into the water vat.

"She lets others play all the villains while she goes back to being Song Qiang's virtuous wife and loving mother. Neither of them is a good person."

Song Xianglan snorted coldly, "I've lived most of my life and I hate being used as a pawn."

If anyone bothers me with their family's mess again, I'll slap them ten times.

If that bastard Song Qiang dares to set foot in my house, I'll break his legs. Don't forget the days when you were so poor you couldn't even afford a wife just because you have a little money.

Song Fei nodded repeatedly.

"Don't worry, Auntie, we held him at the village entrance and prevented him from coming over."

"Get away from me, you stinking thing. Stop standing there, grab your things and go to the kitchen to cook."

Song Fei and the others were used to being bossed around.

He rolled up his sleeves and headed straight to the kitchen.

With a loud "clang".

Nie Xiaochuan walked in carrying a pheasant.

Chen Zui followed behind.

Song Xianglan looked up and almost didn't recognize her.

In just a few days, Chen Zui tanned himself until he was as black as charcoal.

He was wearing a flashy short-sleeved shirt and white beach shorts underneath.

His face was so black it was practically dripping with oil.

Chen Zui grinned at Song Xianglan, showing off his bright white teeth: "Godmother, Xiao Chuan and I caught a pheasant on the mountain."

Song Xianglan pointed to the kitchen: "We've added another dish for lunch, let's make chicken soup."

Upon hearing that there would be chicken soup, Chen Zui rubbed his hands together excitedly.

He turned his head and saw Song Tian standing in the yard. He pointed at him and said, "Go and boil the water. We need to pluck the chicken feathers."

Song Tian rolled his eyes and retorted without any politeness:

"Who are you? What gives you the right to order me around?"

Chen Zui pulled a ten-yuan note from his pocket. "Ten yuan for boiling water."

Song Tian stuffed the money into his pocket, immediately bent over with a big smile, and said, "Alright, young master, please rest. I'll go boil the water right away."

Song Tian scurried into the kitchen.

He skillfully picked up a bundle of firewood and stuffed it into the stove.

As he started the fire, he rolled his eyes and began to calculate.

Where did this landlord's foolish son come from?

They give you ten yuan just for boiling water. I need to figure out a way to trick this silly kid into staying at my house for a few days.

I take him up the mountain to catch birds and down the river to catch fish every day.

If we can keep him happy, he'll have a better chance of starting his own business and attracting investment in the future.