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

Song Xianglan spat and cursed, "You old bastard, you lie through your teeth without even blinking."

The ugly woman rolled her eyes in surprise.

"You married a heartless blockhead yourself, and you think Lin Yan's marriage to the Liu family is alright? Why don't you compare Lin Yan to that Huang family boy's wife?"

The ugly woman's face froze.

"Look at Huang San's current wife, isn't she the same age as Lin Yan?"

The ugly girl shrank her shoulders uncomfortably. "Same age."

"Doesn't she look younger than Lin Yan?"

These words struck a nerve with those who wanted to keep the ugly woman.

Her eyes flickered for a moment before she spoke:

"It's strange, Huang San's family is almost forty years old, how come they don't look tired at all."

"What's so strange about it?"

Song Xianglan's voice turned serious. "Can you live the same way with any kind of person? There are differences between men."

One man's only purpose in life is to continue the family line, and his wife is merely a tool for bearing children and doing housework.

Another person who thinks of you in everything you do, feels sorry for your hard work, and is grateful for your contributions.

She'll help you with housework and offer emotional support. Even in bed, she'll consider your feelings. Which woman in that situation ages faster?

The ugly woman's mouth was shut.

The wrinkles that had appeared on her face from laughing returned, crowding her forehead, the corners of her eyes, and the sides of her mouth.

The only sound in the house was the bubbling of the pig's trotters stewing in the clay pot.

The ugly woman stared at the ground for a long time.

Her voice was terribly dry. "My life with Old Lin was like being soaked in bitter water. How come I feel like I, Xiao Yan, married the right person?"

"How can life be the same no matter who you live with?"

Her voice lowered.

"Xiao Yan is the same age as Huang San's wife. She looks more than ten years older than her. Her skin is fair and clean, but Xiao Yan's hands are as rough as tree bark."

My two daughters' marriages were ruined. One married a domestic abuser, and the other was forced into marriage by us to a cold, unfeeling man. Both were ruined by me and Old Lin.

Speaking of it.

The ugly woman's nose turned red.

She started cursing:

"It's all that bastard Lin's fault. He was the one who made the decision to marry her off to the Liu family. I told him to wait a little longer, but he insisted that good families don't wait for anyone."

He sold my daughter for two yuan for twenty pounds of sweet potatoes. How could I have been so afraid of him back then? My legs would tremble just seeing his glaring eyes.

After cursing Old Lin, he then cursed Lin Gang and Lin Mu.

"Two good-for-nothings. Lin Gang is so old, yet he still acts like a baby who hasn't been weaned, relying on his parents."

Lin Mu, needless to say, has always been cunning and calculating, focusing all his wits on his own family. He's too small to scheme against outsiders.

After scolding his son, he then cursed the Lin family ancestors.

"The feng shui of the Lin family's ancestral graves is bad. They haven't accumulated any virtue for their descendants. Going back three generations from his grandfather, not a single one of them has amounted to anything."

He grumbled and walked out carrying the empty basket.

Shen Huijun watched her walk out of the courtyard gate.

Before I could say anything, the neighboring yard erupted in chaos.

The ugly woman's voice came through the wall.

"Lin Laifu, that donkey does nothing all day but kick your head."

Old Lin's muffled voice came from inside the house:

"What's wrong now?"

"How dare you ask? You've ruined two daughters' lives."

"What old grievance are you bringing up now?"

With a "thud," it sounded like something had been slammed onto the table.

"I'll settle old scores today. I'll not only settle old scores, I'll settle new ones too. Look at you, you look like a pickled fish, sour and useless."

Old Lin's voice rose by half an octave.

"What's gotten into you in your old age? You were the one who agreed to Xiao Yan's marriage back then."

"Bullshit! Do I have the right to say no? You said the Liu family would give twenty catties of sweet potatoes for two yuan, but the Huang family can't afford it."

"Then why didn't you stop her back then?"

The ugly woman yelled from next door, "Do you think I can beat you? You have this big, smug face and you're always carrying around a broken brick. You have less hair than your teeth, you're bald from cerebral thrombosis, and your face is full of wrinkles and spots. Stay away from me."

Then came Lin Gang's voice.

Filled with resentment.

"Dad, what did you do to upset Mom again? Can't you change your bad temper?"

Lin Mu also chimed in from the side:

"Dad, what more could you want? Mom cooks porridge and does your laundry every day, and you always have to pick on her sore spots. When she's unhappy, the whole family suffers, don't you know that?"

Old Lin was completely enraged.

"You two ungrateful wretches, what did you say to your mother a few years ago? Tell her to stop nagging, tell her to mind her own business, tell her to behave herself."

Now it's all reversed? The boomerang has hit your father on the head? Don't you know your own worth? You're trying to find superiority over me.

Lin Gang's voice was self-righteous:

"Now Mom is right. You do have a bad temper."

"Even a few pennies that slip through Mom's fingers are enough for you to drink cheap liquor for two months. What more could you want?"

Old Lin was so angry he was panting heavily.

"It's all because of you two unfilial sons that we can't live a good life in our old age. You think you're so great just because you have a little money."

"Dad, jealousy has made you unrecognizable."

When Liu Chounv heard this, she thought it made sense.

Her son is indeed a handful.

So they turned their guns on each other and joined forces with Old Lin.

"Lin Gang, in other families, the older brother is the leader, but you are the black sheep."

"Lin Mu, have you paid back the fifty yuan you borrowed last time?"

The two elders began to jointly bomb the two younger ones.

Later on, they all got together and started messing with the old man's leg, chasing after Lin Gang and Lin Mu to beat him up.

Lin Gang's wife was washing dishes in the kitchen, making a loud splashing sound.

Lin Mu's wife was inside eating melon seeds and watching the commotion. As long as she wasn't directly insulted, she didn't care if the sky fell down.

Shen Huijun leaned against the wall with one hand.

He covered his stomach with his other hand and laughed so hard he bent over.

"Mom, this is a million times more exciting than our family compound."

Song Xianglan chuckled, "You're really getting hooked on this. Hurry up and come over and flip the pot."

Shen Huijun ran back to the kitchen.

"Mom, it's so much more interesting to live in the village. The people in our compound are all so aloof. They always shut themselves in and argue, and you can't hear a thing when you pass by outside."

"That's called good manners."

"It's still just as chaotic behind the door, what's the difference? It's better to stay at Auntie's house, where you can yell at her to her face and then eat and drink as you please."

Song Xianglan poured sesame oil into the iron pot, then added ginger slices and sautéed them until the edges curled slightly.

Stir-fry the pork kidneys over high heat, flipping them quickly with a spatula.

The pork kidneys sizzled in the pot, releasing the aroma of sesame oil mixed with the scent of ginger.

Add a spoonful of rice wine before taking it off the heat.

With a hiss, white steam rose up.

There was a knock on the courtyard gate three times.

Song Xianglan was washing her hands when Shen Huijun ran out to open the door.

A bunch of people were standing at the entrance.

The one leading the group was Liu Dahua, carrying a wooden bucket.

Scallops, razor clams, oysters, whelks, bitter snails, and mantis shrimps.

"Auntie." Shen Huijun quickly took it.

"Your Uncle Liu brought this back from the beach today, so you can have a taste of its freshness."

Liu Dahua was followed by Yang Xiaozhi and Yang Xiaoye.

The two children each carried a snakeskin bag.

"What is it?" Song Xianglan asked as she came out, wiping her hands.

Yang Xiaoye opened the snakeskin bag to show her. Inside were wild mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots.

"We've gone up the mountain," Yang Xiaozhi grinned, revealing his two tiger teeth. "Big Eyes and Dumb Brother went too."

The Big Eyes brothers didn't come.

But they asked two younger children to bring the things over.

Song Xianglan accepted the mushrooms and bamboo shoots, and then grabbed a handful of milk candy and gave it to Yang Xiaozhi and Yang Xiaoye.

The two tried to push it twice but failed, and then ran off happily.

Liu Dahua hadn't left yet; she held Shen Huijun's hand and talked for a while.

Ask when Xiangdong will be back. Is the child settling in well? How's things in the new town?

Shen Huijun answered them one by one. Liu Dahua then urged everyone to come to her house for the New Year, saying she would kill a chicken and prepare some expensive seafood to treat everyone to a meal.

After seeing Liu Dahua off.

The courtyard gate was pushed open again.

Liu Chunhua's eldest daughter brought over a clay jar.

The jar contained pickled cabbage, and a fragrant aroma wafted out when the lid was lifted.

"My mom said this is pickled mustard greens made by my older sister's family. The pickled mustard greens made in my brother-in-law's town are better than the usual ones."

Shen Huijun took the jar and smelled it. "This is good stuff."

"That's what my mom said too."

The young girl put down her things and ran away.

The third time the gate rang, it was Lin Fang coming over.

She brought in a large aluminum pot, with a clean blue cloth placed on the lid.

There was also an insulated bucket next to him.

"Auntie, I knew Huijun was coming back, so I brought her some food." Lin Fang placed the aluminum pot on the table in the main room and lifted the lid.

A pot of salty rice.

The rice was mixed with diced shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp, taro, diced pork belly, chopped celery, and peanuts. It was glossy and every grain of rice was coated with the aroma of the ingredients.

When the insulated container is opened, plump fish balls float on the clear soup, along with small intestines and lotus seeds.

"I made savory rice and fish balls in a soup."

Shen Huijun leaned over for a look and was immediately captivated. "Your cooking is amazing! It's even better than the old-established restaurants in Xincheng."