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

Song Tingting, Huang Ronghua, and Liu Yukun didn't return until the day before Lunar New Year's Eve.

Song Tingting carried two large suitcases into the room and greeted Song Xianglan.

As soon as I got to the second floor, I collapsed onto the bed.

He fell asleep as soon as he took off his shoes.

I slept soundly for ages.

The sounds of firecrackers, roosters crowing, and the sounds of several neighboring families slaughtering pigs for the New Year could be heard outside.

None of them could wake her up.

It continued until evening.

Youbao climbed onto the bed on a small stool, clutching a blade of grass in his hand. He pouted and brought it close to Song Tingting's face, teasing her nose repeatedly.

Song Tingting snorted.

He rolled over.

Youbao didn't give up and continued to flirt with her face.

The foxtail grass slid from the tip of my nose to my chin, and then from my chin to my ear.

Song Tingting half-opened her eyes and grabbed that little hand.

Youbao was so scared that he shrank back, but he couldn't get out. Song Tingting stuffed him and the foxtail grass into the quilt.

"You little rascal, watch me scratch you."

Song Tingting scratched Youbao's waist and neck.

Youbao twisted into a worm in the blankets, laughing heartily.

"Auntie, Auntie, no!"

"You dared to flirt with me, you little rascal! Did you do something wrong?"

Youbao laughed so hard he could hardly breathe, drool dripping into the blankets, his little feet kicking the blankets wildly.

"Auntie, Grandma is calling you to get up."

Song Tingting paused for a moment.

Youbao took the opportunity to peek out from under the covers, her face flushed and her hair a mess.

"Auntie." Youbao kissed Song Tingting.

Song Tingting chuckled.

I pinched his cheek.

She rolled out of bed, bent down, opened the box, and pulled out a few things from inside.

A toy gun and a red toy car were shoved into Youbao's hands.

"A gift from your aunt."

Youbao's eyes lit up instantly, and he ran outside with his toy gun in his arms.

They started hitting each other with a "da da da" sound.

"Wait a minute." Song Tingting took out a fluffy panda and a rabbit doll. "These are for Fu Bao. Please give them to Fu Bao for your aunt."

With a pistol in one hand and a panda in the other, Youbao staggered downstairs.

Song Tingting washed her face and changed her clothes before coming out.

I stretched out on the second-floor balcony.

The bones cracked twice.

yard.

Song Xianglan sat on a stone bench shelling peanuts, while Shen Huijun tidied up the dried goods that were drying in the sun.

"Mom, sister-in-law."

Song Xianglan looked up at her. "Hurry up and come down to eat. You must be starving after not eating all day."

Song Tingting ran downstairs.

Liu Yukun and his group also came over, carrying large and small bags inside.

Snacks, mountain produce, dried meat, and fabrics filled half the living room.

Song Xianglan glanced at the items and her lips twitched slightly.

"Why did you buy so much stuff for the New Year? We have too many chickens, ducks and geese at home to keep up with. I've already prepared all the New Year's goods."

Liu Yukun placed a box of mountain delicacies on the ground and wiped his sweat.

"Godmother, these are local specialties I bought in Northeast China. They're different from what we have here."

"Even if we eat them all, we can't finish them all." Song Xianglan reached over and rummaged through the box, finding several packets of mushrooms inside.

"Stewed meat should taste good."

Huang Ronghua helped carry the last bag of items in and dusted off his hands.

"Dare you? You can rest during the New Year. We'll do all the work this year."

Song Xianglan glanced at him. "There's not much work left to do at home; Song Dong and the others have already done it all. They came over a couple of days ago to fry things, and they also cleaned the yard, the building, and the old house next door."

Huang Ronghua gave an awkward smile, "Let's come back earlier next year too."

"Making money is the priority, you don't need to come back so early."

On the morning of New Year's Eve.

Zhou Fang and Song Xiangdong just returned.

Zhou drove up in a pickup truck. Da Bao jumped out first, and Er Bao hopped out. Before he could even stand properly, Er Bao turned around and looked around.

"Yubao."

"Fu Bao".

Erbao shouted twice at the top of his lungs and then ran into the yard.

Zhou Fang got out of the driver's seat.

They brought in New Year's goods and gift boxes from the carriage.

Song Xianglan stood at the door and glanced behind him.

There is no Anxi Yang.

She didn't ask.

When Zhou Fang brought his things in, Song Xianglan gave him a careful look.

My cheekbones are higher than last year, and my eye sockets are deeper.

All that's left of her is a pretty skeleton supporting her face.

He smiled and called her "godmother".

Da Bao stood in the courtyard, taking the last item from Zhou Fang and putting it away.

Da Bao has grown taller again, and he stands more steadily than other children his age. He helped put things away and then went to the kitchen to ask Shen Huijun if she needed any help.

Shen Huijun waved him off to go play.

Da Bao didn't go.

He hesitated for a moment at the kitchen doorway, then turned to see Fu Bao, You Bao, and Er Bao playing in the yard.

Zhou Fang was talking to Song Xiangdong.

The two walked to the side and said something in hushed tones that no one could hear.

Da Bao sat down quietly at the kitchen doorway.

Erbao pulled Youbao and rushed out of the courtyard gate, calling out Gousheng's name.

"Gousheng, come out and play."

"Fu Bao, come out quickly."

A few boys huddled together, each with a matchbox in their pocket.

Song Tingting chased after her for a few steps, shouting at the top of her lungs.

"No playing with fire, do you hear me?"

Youbao waved without turning his head.

"knew--"

With a long, drawn-out syllable, the person had already disappeared.

Song Tingting stood by the roadside with her hands on her hips.

"Those kids are probably playing with fire again. Da Bao, go keep an eye on them. Don't let them set the haystack on fire."

Da Bao grunted in agreement and ran off.

In the main room of Song Xianglan's house, a large round table was full of people.

Zhou Fang's family, Liu Yukun, Song Tingting, Song Xiangdong, and Shen Huijun sat next to Youbao and Fubao, and the children were making a lot of noise.

The dishes on the table were prepared by Shen Huijun, Song Xianglan, and Song Tingting.

Salt-baked chicken, fried oysters, braised goose, ginger duck, steamed grouper, garlic vermicelli shrimp, vinegar pork, blanched whelk and bitter snail. Steamed scallops with vermicelli, stonefish and tofu soup.

There was also a large plate of taro and duck paste, which the children love.

Song Xiangdong opened two bottles of wine and poured one for everyone present.

Children drink soda.

Zhou Fang was the first to raise her glass and stand up. "Come on, it's New Year's. Let's toast Godmother."

Song Xianglan waved her hand.

"Sit down, sit down. This isn't proper for a family. Eat your food, eat your food."

The meal lasted for over an hour, filled with lively conversation.

The children couldn't sit still halfway through their meal, so Da Bao led Er Bao and You Bao to the yard to set off small firecrackers.

Fu Bao was held in Shen Huijun's arms, who was also holding the rabbit doll that Song Tingting had brought back. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the firelight outside.

After finishing his meal, Zhou Fang wiped his mouth.

He glanced at Song Xiangdong.

Song Xiangdong nodded slightly.

The two got up and went upstairs.

Song Xianglan put down her chopsticks and followed.

Liu Yukun looked around, stuffed the last piece of goose meat into his mouth, and followed them up to the third floor.

The tea room on the third floor.

The water in the kettle boiled, bubbling and steaming.

Song Xianglan sat in the main seat, with a set of Kung Fu tea utensils in front of her.

She picked up the teapot, scalded the cups, poured the tea, skimmed the foam, and rinsed the lid—a series of movements that flowed smoothly and effortlessly.

Zhou Fang sat opposite her.

Place a file folder on the tea table.

He opened the file folder, pulled out a few sheets of paper, and pushed them in front of Song Xianglan.

"Godmother, this is the company's report for this year."

Song Xianglan took it, put on her reading glasses, and read it line by line.

Song Xianglan has shares in Zhou Fang's construction company.

When we invested the funds, we agreed that we would keep her informed about important matters.

"This year's revenue is good." Song Xianglan turned a page.

"Yes. We've taken on a few projects, and we're making a profit on paper." Zhou Fang held his teacup but didn't drink. "Godmother, I'm thinking of not distributing dividends this year."

Song Xianglan looked away from the report.

He glanced at him, signaling him to continue.

"I've got my eye on a piece of land." Zhou Fang pulled out another piece of paper, on which was a map showing the location of a plot of land. "This land is in the eastern part of the new city, and it's still farmland right now, so the price isn't high. I'm thinking of buying it and developing real estate there in a few years."

Song Xianglan took it and looked at it.

This area became a commercial hub over the next twenty years, and even the surrounding property prices soared.

Song Xiangdong leaned back in his chair and interjected.

"Zhou Fang has had a tough year."

Zhou Fang's teacup wobbled slightly.

My brother is the one who exposes my shortcomings.

"When he first started his business, he was always on the construction site, eating and sleeping with the workers." Song Xiangdong felt sorry for his good friend. "Sometimes he would still be looking at blueprints and drawing plans late into the night. When I went to the construction site to find him, he would be squatting there eating steamed buns and pickled vegetables."

Zhou Fang pursed her lips slightly.

"That's only occasionally; most of the time the food is good."

"Anxi Yang's mother came to Xincheng to look for him."

Song Xiangdong picked up his teacup and took a sip. "His expression changed immediately when he saw him living in the workers' shed. He was short of money at the time, so he was inevitably a bit stingy with his spending. The An family had quite a few complaints."

The tea room was quiet for a few seconds.

Zhou Fang lowered his head, his two hands clasped together.

"Godmother".

"Um."

He raised his head.

"If I give up on this relationship, will you say I'm too cowardly?"

Zhou Fang's voice was muffled, as if it had been stuck in her throat for a long time, but she finally managed to squeeze it out today.

"I feel it's too hard to walk this path alone. I know I'm not good enough for Xiyang, so over the years I've almost forgotten that I'm also a person with a temper. In front of her and her family, I've lost all backbone."

"I thought I could give everything for her, but maybe I didn't love her enough. I can't do it anymore. She wants to go to America, but I don't want to immigrate."

He had lost some weight, and his jawline was more defined.

Of Song Xiangdong's brothers, Zhou Fang is the best looking.

That kind of clean, warm look is beautiful.

Even more eye-catching than Song Xiangdong's cold and hard appearance.

It looks nice, but it can't put food on the table, and it certainly won't please the mother-in-law.

"I often reminisce about the days when she was in the Xiaoquan Brigade. We had a really good relationship back then." Zhou Fang got emotional. "I will never compromise on the matter of the child or going abroad."

My two children are mine, and no one can take them away. My career is based in China, and going abroad is out of the question.

Song Xianglan did not rush to speak.

She refilled Zhou Fang's tea.

"They say being love-struck is a man's best dowry," Song Xianglan said, putting down the teapot. "But being love-struck all the time is also undesirable."