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

"Pah. You think you can set her free? Who do you think you are?"

Mother An spat, her scarlet lips opening and closing.

In Zhou Fang's eyes, that face was no different from a silver carp that had become a spirit in the water.

"Oh dear, that's how country folk are, all sullen and poor. We're sending you abroad to live a good life, and you still complain." Mother An's fingertips were almost poking Zhou Fang's nose, and saliva was flying everywhere.

"It's my daughter's good fortune that she can go out."

You'll be nothing but a peasant your whole life in China. Are you even worthy of her? You're not even as good as the calluses on Fu Qingnian's feet.

Zhou Fang stared at the finger with red nail polish.

Song Xianglan's voice rang in my ears on the phone: "Suppress your temper and don't let yourself be bullied on someone else's turf."

At this critical juncture, we must remain calm and composed.

Let's consider this a final period to this relationship that has lasted for more than ten years.

Zhou Fang recalled all the words she had said and managed to suppress her anger.

He stared intently at Anxi Yang.

"Fu Qingnian." Zhou Fang enunciated these three words without any change in her eyes. "Did you call me here to belittle me and elevate Fu Qingnian, or to discuss a divorce?"

Anxi Yang was somewhat annoyed.

"I have no relationship with Fu Qingnian."

"It's okay?" Zhou Fang leaned back in her chair and scoffed. "Then why did your mother compare me to him? I thought you two were already together."

"Smack."

A crisp slap landed on Zhou Fang's face.

An Xiyang withdrew her hand, tears instantly welling up in her eyes.

"Zhou Fang, you've gone too far."

Her hands were trembling.

My heart trembled along with it.

She knew she had wronged Zhou Fang; her feelings had faded and she no longer loved him, but she hadn't fallen for someone else.

An's mother, standing to the side, bristled and began to berate him, her face flushed red:

"What nonsense are you spouting, you little rascal? Our Nannan and Qingnian are innocent. Besides, they were originally..."

"Shut up."

Father An grabbed Mother An and covered her mouth tightly with his large hand.

"Old woman, what nonsense are you spouting?" Father An scolded in a low voice, "Don't bring up those old, trivial things from when you were little, those are all your doing."

An's father glared angrily.

If it weren't for this old woman nagging her daughter all day long, would An Xiyang have forgotten her original intention and insisted on divorcing Zhou Fang?

An's mother struggled a few times.

It's finally quiet down.

An's father turned to look at Zhou Fang, his face showing apology.

"Xiao Zhou, your mother-in-law was angry and said some hurtful things. Let's part ways amicably. You know what kind of person west Yang is. Otherwise, you wouldn't have spoiled her all these years."

Father An sighed:

"We are so grateful to you all these years. You have taken such good care of our two children, and we are all thankful."

"The child," Zhou Fang seized on this word, "I will not agree to the child going abroad."

"Who wants to take this burden abroad?" Mother An shoved Father An's hand away and rolled her eyes.

Because of this peasant son-in-law, she could never hold her head high in front of her old friends in Haishi.

Other people's sons-in-law are either section chiefs, factory directors, or even earn foreign exchange abroad.

Zhou Fang was a peasant.

Even if they've just put together a makeshift team on the construction site, how can they compare to a top student like Fu Qingnian?

Women always aspire to marry up.

Since she was forced into a marriage of lower status by life's circumstances, she must sever this ill-fated relationship now that she has the chance.

In An's mother's eyes, Zhou Fang was the most disgusting and tragic relationship.

Upon hearing that An's mother didn't want the child, Zhou Fang's tense back finally relaxed.

It's good that we don't have to fight for custody.

"Since we've come this far, let's settle things clearly." Mother An sat up straight again, her abacus clicking away. "Our daughter has given you the best years of her youth; you have to pay for that loss."

This should amount to at least three thousand yuan. And since the child isn't with her, we also need to calculate her compensation for emotional distress.

Mother An took a sip of red tea to soothe her throat.

"She needs to have some security for the future. We don't want the house in our hometown to go to you. This house in Shanghai will be entirely yours as compensation."

Zhou Fang spoke:

"The house in the new town will be left to the two children."

"That won't do. The house in the new town will be divided in two," Mother An said matter-of-factly. "One share will be for the two children, and the other share will be given to our daughter in cash."

Father An remained silent, which was considered an acceptance of this division of labor.

A man should be magnanimous and not compete with a woman for things.

Mother An rolled her eyes and continued:

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing outside. Your makeshift construction team, even that broken-down boat still has three pounds of iron. That's also marital property."

Now that you've made money by building your team, you must cash it all out and give half to Nannan.

And you should also share half of your savings with your daughter.

As for the debt, that's your own business. You can't expect our little girl to take on your debts. A person should have a conscience; Xiao Zhou, you can't go against your conscience and lie to our little girl.

Besides, people like us wouldn't take advantage of you. The conditions I proposed are for your own good.

We didn't even want that big house in our hometown. And those fields were also going to be divided, but we didn't want them for the sake of the children.

"I'm not like you country folk who are so petty and insist on fighting to the death. If you have no objections, let's write it down in black and white."

The living room was so quiet that only An's mother's chatter could be heard.

Zhou Fang's gaze passed over An's parents and landed directly on An Xiyang's face.

An Xiyang lowered her head and bit her lower lip tightly.

She felt that asking for so many was indeed inappropriate.

But then she thought, Zhou Fang would remarry sooner or later.

Will a newlywed wife treat her two children well?

She might as well take this opportunity to get the money back.

In the future, won't all this money go to the two children anyway?

She was thinking of the child's future.

"west Yang," Zhou Fang said. "Is this your mother's wish, or yours?"

An Xi Yang avoided his gaze and didn't say a word.

Zhou Fang's heart was completely broken.

He cherished this woman for over a decade.

In the end, he realized that he had never really known her.

Mother An retorted in a shrill voice:

"It was my decision, and it was hers too. You keep saying you love her, but this is the kind of face you show when it comes to dividing the assets. Tsk tsk tsk, don't let me look down on you."

Zhou Fang smiled.

He stood up and patted his trouser leg.

Does your opinion matter?

He stared down at An's mother. "If you weren't An Xiyang's mother, someone like you wouldn't even amount to a fart in my eyes."

"Zhou Fang".

Anxi Yang screamed like a madwoman, rushed up and slapped him again.

Zhou Fang tilted her head slightly.

The slap missed its mark.

Anxi Yang lost her balance and staggered forward a large step.

She stood there, rooted to the spot.

She looked at her hands in disbelief.

Why would she do that?

She has always been a respectable person with higher education, so how could she lose control like a shrew?

How could Zhou Fang avoid it? He's changed.

Thinking of this, An Xiyang felt a suffocating pain in her heart.

Zhou Fang looked at her coldly.

"I didn't dodge the first slap; it was to repay the kindness of bearing my child back then. And now you want to hit me again for your mother's sake? What right do you have?" Zhou Fang's voice was completely flat. "Do you really think the whole world will stand still and take your beatings?"

An Xiyang looked at Zhou Fang with red eyes.

"Do you think I'm asking you for that money for my own sake? Zhou Fang, if you remarry in the future, do you think another woman will treat Da Bao and Er Bao well? I'm taking this money because I'm being responsible for the children."

Stop with your hypocritical act.

Zhou Fang directly tore off her pretense. "You're afraid that if I don't give you money, you won't have any money to stand on your own abroad, right? You think Fu Qingnian's family background is so good and his future is so bright. But you'll need money to support yourself when you go there. Using the child as an excuse to blackmail me, An Xiyang, you disgust me."

An Xiyang's face turned deathly pale instantly.

Zhou Fang's tone was cold. "The house in our hometown is mine. The house in the new city is mine too. I built it brick by brick on the construction site. It has nothing to do with you. You can have a divorce if you want. I'll give you the house in Haishi, but nothing else."

"You wish!"

An's mother jumped up from the sofa. "If you don't give us the money, we'll take you to court."

Zhou Fang turned and walked towards the door. "Then let's sue in court. I have plenty of time. It'll be a good opportunity for everyone to see how you people who keep talking about going abroad are trying to extort money in China. Fu Qingnian is a big shot in Shanghai, isn't he? Let's make a scene and see who's ashamed."

"Are you threatening us?"

An's father could no longer stand and shouted sternly.

"You're the ones extorting me." Zhou Fang stared directly at An's father. "We could have parted ways amicably. But you insisted on treating me like a sucker."

An's father's face turned ashen as he looked at An Xiyang.

"west Yang, say something."

Anxi Yang's tears fell like a broken string.

Looking at Zhou Fang's resolute profile, she knew he wasn't joking. "Zhou Fang, you're not even going to share the construction team's money? That's what I deserve."

"I earned that with my life."

Zhou Fang gripped the doorknob. "If you want your freedom, let's go through the formalities. If you don't sign, then we'll just wait and see."

The door was pulled open forcefully.

The cold wind outside, mixed with the unique humidity of the city, blew into the living room.

Zhou Fang stepped out the door without looking back.

Mother An grabbed a teacup from the table and smashed it against the doorframe, shards of porcelain scattering everywhere. "You peasant! You'll never amount to anything!"

The curses behind him were shut out from inside the door.

Zhou Fang walked forward along the street.

He was very sad, feeling as if the wind in Shanghai was cutting into his face like a knife.