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

New Year's Day.

Before dawn, the sound of firecrackers went off.

The gate to Song Xianglan's courtyard hadn't been closed since early morning.

People from the village came to visit in twos and threes. Some came to wish Song Xianglan a Happy New Year, while others came specifically to see Song Xiangdong.

Song Xiangdong welcomed wave after wave of people.

They smiled and said auspicious words, offered cigarettes, and poured tea.

Plates of peanuts, candies, and melon seeds were brought out one by one.

Youbao and Erbao squatted at the gate of the courtyard, clutching a small firecracker in their hands.

They lit one every now and then, making a crackling sound.

Youbao chuckled, and Erbao laughed so hard he almost fell over.

Da Bao stood to the side, holding You Bao by the back of his collar with one hand and Er Bao by the other, ready to pull the two back at any moment.

Old Lin was wearing a newly bought navy blue cotton-padded jacket, his hair neatly combed with water, listening to the noises next door as he spoke to his son.

"I haven't done anything particularly significant in my life, but it's a source of pride to be neighbors with the deputy mayor of Xincheng."

Lin Gang laughed:

"You always say a few words to your uncles."

"I told people that the deputy mayor of the new city is my next-door neighbor. They thought I was bragging. I told them to go and ask around; those uncles of yours are short-sighted."

He got more and more excited as he talked, "If my grandson gets into a good university, he can become a deputy county head. I'm not greedy, being a deputy county head is enough."

Liu Chounu rolled her eyes, so white that her eyeballs were almost entirely white.

"None of your grandsons will benefit from this."

Old Lin... Old woman, don't undermine me.

The ugly woman is still complaining:

"Even if an old hen poops on a test paper, the score from the poop splattered on it is higher than your grandson's score."

Old Lin's face immediately fell.

"Isn't that going too far? If the big one isn't suitable, then the small one won't do?"

"How many points did your eldest grandson get on his last test? Eighteen. The teacher said that even if he had chosen C's all on that test, he would have gotten more than eighteen points."

Old Lin couldn't refute it.

Lin Gang's wife also complained:

"I don't know what happened. All the money Lin Gang and I earned ended up in the mouths of our kids, and they all eat more than the next one. They're all getting dumber than the next one."

She looked around, and if she weren't in the first year of junior high, she would have wanted to hit someone.

"Last time, the eldest son wrote a self-criticism instead of an essay, so the math teacher asked the second son to do a problem on the blackboard. He drew a turtle on it."

The ugly woman offered a word of comfort:

"At least they are healthy."

Lin Gang's wife sighed. "This is the only thing that can comfort me."

The ugly daughter said, "Don't spend all your money on the kids' food. You need to save more money. That way, you can find a high school graduate as a daughter-in-law, and you can expect your grandson to arrive sooner."

She paused.

"I can't count on my grandson, let's see if your grandson can do it."

Lin Gang's wife was both amused and exasperated by these words.

Lin Fang is also spending the Spring Festival here this year.

Wang Zhihe and Lin Fang's wedding date was set.

Lin Fang is staying at her parents' home, and the attitudes of Lin Gang's wife and Lin Mu's wife are completely different from before.

Her two sisters-in-law used to say she was unlucky and had a tough life.

When she comes back for holidays, her words are barbed, and you feel like you could kick her out with a mop.

Lin Gang's wife held Lin Fang's hand and looked her up and down twice.

"Xiaofang, don't go into the kitchen today."

Lin Fang was about to help wash the vegetables when her sister-in-law stopped her.

"Take good care of your hands these next few days." Lin Gang's wife pushed her to sit down on a chair and handed her a tangerine. "Look at your hands, they've gotten rough from all the work. They won't look good when you wear a ring."

Lin Mu's wife also smiled and said:

"Xiaofang, these next few days you just need to eat and drink, don't do anything else. Just be a good bride. If you need anything, just tell your sister-in-law."

Lin Fang looked down at her hands. Her knuckles were rough, and there was an old scar on the web of her thumb.

These hands have chopped vegetables, kneaded dough, endured beatings, and carried bricks...

He felt quite pleased to have the ugly woman watching from the side.

Finally, someone cares about her daughter.

*

Grandma Wang was wearing a dark red cotton-padded jacket, and her hair was neatly combed.

Daya was eating rice cake, Erya was squatting by the door peeling oranges. Sanya was hugging Old Lady Wang's leg, with a piece of candy in her mouth.

Baogen sat in the corner eating candy.

Ever since Grandma Wang started to officially discipline the children, Baogen's previous preferential treatment has all disappeared.

Grandma doesn't protect him.

Not only did he not protect her, he also told Daya that she should beat her younger brother as soon as possible.

From that day on, Baogen's status at home plummeted.

Now, if Da Ya says to go east, he doesn't dare to go west; if Da Ya says to eat, he doesn't dare to take an extra bite of food.

He saw Wang Zhihe come out and rushed over to him.

"Dad, Mom said you should give her some money to get a divorce; she wants to come back. I don't want a wicked stepmother. Can we please bring Mom back?"

Baogen peered at Daya and Erya through the gap between Wang Zhihe's legs.

"Don't you want Mom to come back?"

The courtyard was quiet for a moment.

Daya's gaze drifted to Old Lady Wang sitting in the main room, then drifted back.

Er Ya peeled the orange apart segment by segment without looking up.

Sanya was the first to speak.

She lifted her head from Old Lady Wang's lap, giggling:

"I like my grandma."

She had absolutely no recollection of what Qiao Zhaodi looked like.

Old Mrs. Wang's face fell.

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year.

She took a deep breath and silently repeated three times in her mind: "Don't hit people on the first day of the lunar new year. Don ...."

We should wait until tomorrow to take action.

She ground her molars as she spoke:

"Qiao Zhaodi has been with countless men. All sorts of filthy and stinking men have entered her room. She still dreams of coming to my Wang family?"

They put a plaster on my anus, thinking I was being stubborn.

Life has no flaws, only idiocy. Even a pig's brain can be used in hot pot. Your mother's brain is so foul it's disgusting even if it's used for rotting.

Baogen shrank back slightly.

Grandma Wang leaned forward from her chair, pointing at Baogen and Daya with her finger.

"You think I care about you? I'd rather talk to my hair or pick lice than bother with your nonsense."

If you miss her, go with her.

You are your father's children, and only then are you my grandchildren. Without your father's connection, you would be nothing more than a cold wind blowing in the wind and rain, and I wouldn't even give you a second glance.

Da Ya didn't dare to make a sound.

Grandma Wang didn't stop.

"Don't threaten me with your surname rights." She leaned back in her chair, raised her chin, and said, "My surname isn't Wang, it's Weng. You don't share my surname, and whether it's the Weng family or the Wang family, we don't need people like you just filling in."

Baogen lowered his head slightly.

Grandma Wang was still angry after scolding her grandchildren.

They turned around and opened fire on Wang Zhihe.

"Is your head a cesspool, filled only with shit and piss, not brains? I don't care if you want green grass to grow on your head. Anyway, I'm not the one being the bastard. Just tell me straight, do you think you're good enough for Lin Fang?"

"With those two holes hanging under your eyebrows, you only deserve to be paired with those filthy, smelly people." She snorted. "You're obviously an ungrateful wretch."

She stared at Daya as she said this.

"Even if your own mother beats you to death, she's still your mother. I'd rather be a blood donation bag. I can understand Baogen; he's a beneficiary of the system."

"What a wretched life you two lived before! Now you want to play the saint?"

Wang Zhihe had no way to defend himself; the old woman's voice was too rapid.

He couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Grandma Wang's voice grew louder and louder as she spoke.

"Pack your things and send them to Qiao Zhaodi in a few days. Go live a miserable life with your mother. When she's feeding you coarse food, do you even miss her?"

"Your maternal grandfather's family used to be bandit leaders. They dug up the Qiao family's ancestral graves and found several large boxes of gold bars and antiques inside. You ungrateful wretches got a good deal."

Wang Zhihe's eyelids twitched violently as he listened.

If Qiao Yaozu heard this, he might actually dig up the ancestral graves. After he dies, the Qiao family patriarch will probably break Qiao Yaozu's legs.

"Mom, I don't want to marry Qiao Zhaodi. I've already set a date with Xiaofang, and we're getting married in a few days."

The old woman continued to curse, it was unclear whether she was speaking to Wang Zhihe or to the children.

"Qiao Zhaodi is already married, and who knows how many 'broken shoes' she's had. Her family is like a bottomless pit; as long as they have money for Qiao Yaozu, they'd marry Qiao Zhaodi off to multiple men. You should save more money in the future; only your children have Qiao family blood..."