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

Song Xianglan sat there without saying a word.

Her life was tough, but she got her revenge.

Yang Dashan's grave is often covered in excrement and urine, and no one dares to go to the grave to burn paper money.

Liu Chunhua then changed the subject: "What's the use of having a son?"

The ugly woman's voice rose even higher:

"It's better to have a blockhead than a son."

She had barely finished speaking.

He sighed again.

"If you don't give birth to a son, you won't even have the strength to survive in your husband's family. If you don't give birth to a son, your husband's family will treat you like livestock, and others will look at you like you're trash. Do you think you can refuse to have a son? Do you dare not have one?"

The courtyard fell silent for a moment.

None of the women spoke.

Widow Wang raised her eyes.

"You say finding a man is no good, that life is like being a widow. You try being a widow and see for yourselves."

The laughter on the table completely stopped.

"The year my husband died, my eldest child was only seven years old, my second child was five years old, and my third child was still in my belly."

I had to get out of bed and work on the third day after my postpartum period ended.

"It wasn't so bad back then; I could handle the tiredness and hardship. What I couldn't stand was the nighttime."

Her voice was flat.

"Every night someone comes to knock on the window. Bachelors, hooligans, and some are even married bastards."

If you lock the gate in the middle of the night, he'll climb over the wall; if you nail the windows shut, he'll knock on the door or windows.

They hurled filth at your window, and you've replaced so many panes of glass.

I'm startled awake every night, and I can't sleep soundly. Every morning I wake up to find those bastards' smears on the walls.

Liu Chunhua's expression changed.

"The whole village is talking about you behind your back. Even though it was someone else who harassed you, people are saying that Widow Wang is unfaithful, promiscuous, and that she killed one man and still seduces another."

A faint smile played on Widow Wang's lips.

But that smile was uglier than a cry.

Song Xianglan scolded:

"What's so great about those bachelors? They deserve to die alone if they can't find a wife, yet they have the nerve to harass others."

Liu Chunhua then slammed her hand on the table.

"Even castrating someone like that would be too lenient on him!"

The ugly woman cursed.

Ronghua's wife was so angry that her hands were shaking.

Widow Wang waved her hand, "Now that I'm working and earning money with Old Song, and I'm neighbors with Da Hua, those people don't dare to come anymore."

Several women were sitting in the courtyard.

She started cursing her own husband, even after she had been scolding a rat.

She started cursing her own husband and then turned her insults on everyone in the village.

You say one thing, I say another.

The more they cursed, the more enthusiastic they became.

Old Lin, sitting in his yard next door, couldn't even drink anymore.

The ugly woman's voice came through the wall, each word clear.

According to her, the stupid things Old Lin had done in his life started from their wedding day and continued until this morning when he poured soy sauce into the dish instead of vinegar.

The night grew deeper.

The sounds from the neighboring yard changed from cursing to laughter, and from laughter to singing.

Several women, one of them, started it.

He hummed a song from across the strait that he had occasionally heard on the radio.

"Indeed, she has a fair complexion and white skin."

Whose family are they?

I want to ask her about her terrible situation.

Playing the pipa in my heart...

I buy the flowers myself and wear them myself.

Love is so much freedom…

They were all way off-key, but each one sang with more enthusiasm than the last.

In the end, people from each family came and took the women, who were quite drunk, away.

Liu Yidao helped Liu Dahua walk back, one leg deep and the other shallow.

Liu Dahua leaned on his shoulder.

He was still muttering to himself:

"That grouper was delicious... I'll catch another one next time..."

Ronghua's daughter-in-law was picked up by her son and daughter.

She muttered, "Your dad's a good man. And my seed's not bad either."

Widow Wang's eldest son rushed over and helped her away.

Widow Wang continued to curse the bachelors all the way.

Liu Chunhua was the last to leave.

The brigade leader stood at the gate for a long time, peeking in cautiously but not daring to come in.

In the end, Song Xianglan pushed Liu Chunhua away, and the brigade leader quickly caught her and dragged her away, supporting her as he went.

The courtyard was finally quiet.

The stone table was a mess.

Song Xianglan glanced at the battlefield-like desktop and yawned.

She turned and went inside, without even washing her face.

He kicked off his shoes and collapsed onto the bed.

I pulled the blanket over my head and went to sleep.

the next morning.

Sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the window.

Song Xianglan opened her eyes; her head ached a little.

She sat up, rubbed her temples, put on her shoes, and got out of bed.

When I opened the door, the yard was spotless.

All the bowls, plates, and dishes on the stone table were removed, and the tabletop was polished to a shine.

The trash on the ground was swept clean, and even the crab shell fragments in the corners were not left behind.

There was noise coming from the kitchen.

Song Xianglan walked over and saw Lin Mu's wife squatting in front of the stove, tending the fire.

The pot was bubbling away, and the aroma of sour bamboo shoot soup filled the room.

"Auntie's awake?" Lin Mu's wife stood up, wiped her hands with a towel, and said, "I came over early this morning to clean up. I washed all the pots and pans and made some sour soup for you to sober up."

Thank you.

Lin Mu's wife ladled a large bowl of sour bamboo shoot soup from the pot and brought it over.

The soup was clear and bright, with finely shredded bamboo shoots and a few bright green scallions floating on top.

Song Xianglan took the bowl, blew on it, and took a sip.

The sour soup enters the mouth.

My stomach felt much better immediately.

"The craftsmanship is quite good."

Lin Mu's wife smiled and said, "My mother taught me that. She said that if you drink too much alcohol, you should drink sour soup the next day; it's more effective than any medicine."

Song Xianglan sat on the stone bench in the courtyard, holding a bowl, and drank the sour soup sip by sip.

They even picked out and ate all the bamboo shoots at the bottom of the bowl.

She got up and went to the brigade headquarters to make a phone call.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

"Hello, Professor Chen? This is Song Xianglan. Regarding the matter we arranged last time, when would be a convenient time for you to come to Qingyang and give us guidance?"

After a few words were exchanged on the other end of the phone, Song Xianglan nodded.

"Okay, the day after tomorrow. I'll arrange for someone to pick you up in the county town. ...Okay, Professor Chen, don't worry, I'll cover all your food and lodging."

After hanging up, she dialed another number.

I confirmed with Xiao Chuan that he would pick up Professor Chen.

Fishing boats were packed together at the dock of the typhoon shelter, their masts standing tall.

Fishermen who had gone out to sea returned one after another.

The dock was bustling with activity.

Song Xianglan parked her bicycle under the big banyan tree by the dock and walked a few steps toward the sea.

Liu Dahua and Liu Yidao's boat had just docked.

Before the boat had even come to a complete stop, Liu Dahua had already jumped onto the dock.

She was carrying two large buckets in both hands.

Liu Yidao followed behind, also carrying two buckets.

"You guys drank so much last night, how come you were still able to get up and go swimming?"

Liu Dahua placed the bucket in front of Song Xianglan, grinned, and said, "The sea breeze will sober you up."

Song Xianglan looked down at the contents of the bucket.

The bucket was full of lively little creatures.

The grayish-brown fish bodies were stacked one on top of the other.

A stonefish was lying at the bottom of the bucket.

The other bucket contained three-eyed crabs and mantis shrimps. The crab claws were scraping against the bucket wall with a loud cracking sound, and the mantis shrimps bounced around, splashing water all over her hand.

"I'll take them all."

Song Xianglan squatted down and weighed the ingredients in her hands. "This is enough. Stonefish soup is absolutely delicious."

Liu Dahua wiped the seawater off her face.

Song Xianglan stood up, patted the water off her hands, and said, "Dahua, I'm telling you, don't push yourself so hard. You're not short of money at your age."

Liu Yidao unloaded the last bucket of goods from the ship.

He walked over and added:

"I tried to persuade her, but she wouldn't listen. She couldn't stay at home, so she kicked me out of bed before dawn and took me to the sea."

He placed the bucket on the ground.

He straightened up and pounded his back twice.

"My relative in Southeast Asia sends me money every two months, saying she'll support me for life. Even with my pension, she still insists on going into business."

They sent another sum last month. I told them not to send any more, but they wouldn't listen.

Song Xianglan pressed her hand to her chest.

"Give me a dozen relatives like that."

Liu Yidao was amused.

Song Xianglan reached into her pocket to take out money.

Liu Dahua pressed down on her wrist with one hand.

"Stop taking it out."

"No, I have to pay."

"I'll get angry if you give me any more money."

Liu Dahua glared at her. "How much have you helped me? You even arranged a job for Haiyan. I treat you like a sister, why are you holding a grudge against me?"

Song Xianglan looked at her and grinned.

"Okay. I'll do as you say."

Liu Dahua snorted and turned back to the boat to tidy up the fishing nets.

Song Xianglan carried two buckets of seafood back home.

We rode halfway there.

I ran into Zhang Haiyan.

Zhang Haiyan was riding an old bicycle with a cloth bag hanging on the handlebars.

She now works in the workshop, and the family's farmland is all managed by Zhu Zi.

She was neatly dressed, with her hair in a ponytail, and wearing a blue floral-patterned jacket.

Upon seeing Song Xianglan, she gripped the brakes and stopped the car.

"Aunt Song, have you seen my mom?"

"In the harbor. She just finished loading the boat; at her age, she doesn't seem to know how to rest."

Zhang Haiyan smiled. "Mom said you haven't rested at all, and she wants to keep up with you. I'm going to work now, Aunt Song."

Song Xianglan: ...

Song Xianglan put the seafood down when she got home.

After changing his clothes, he rode his bike back to Songjiazhuang.

When we arrived at Brother Song's house.

The courtyard was already bustling with activity.

Brother Song the Second, Brother Song the Third, and Brother Song the Fourth were all present.

Song Fei's wife came over early in the morning, and we couldn't get rid of her no matter what we did.

Song Xianglan unloaded the seafood from the car and gestured with her chin to her second brother, Song. "Second brother, take these seafood and prepare them. We'll make some hearty dishes for lunch."

Song Erge took it, picked up the bucket, and walked towards the well.

"Your second sister-in-law didn't go home last night; she spent the night here."

Song Xianglan blinked: "Isn't that a good thing? It'll help the sisters-in-law get closer."

Song Erge stopped and turned around.

He glared at Song Xianglan.

"They're all troublemakers."

The other one he was referring to was, of course, Song Xianglan.

Another one is Chunxia.

Song Xianglan immediately glared back, her voice rising: "If it weren't for us troublemakers, Mom and Dad would be turning in their graves."

Song Erge choked for a moment.

Song Xianglan: "My parents complained that they gave birth to such cowardly brats. They're all talk and no action. They live such miserable lives, and even our ancestors suffer because of them."