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

The day the contract was signed.

Zhou Fang returned from the port city with dark circles under his eyes. He was carrying a thick roll of factory design blueprints.

In the evening, at a high-end seafood restaurant in Shenzhen.

The private room was brightly lit.

Song Xianglan, Chen Zui and his wife, Zhou Fang, and lawyer Qian sat around a table.

The door opened, and Song Xiangdong walked in wearing a white shirt.

He had a slight flush of alcohol on his face.

"Mom, I have a reception room next door. I'll just come over for a couple of toasts and then I have to leave." Song Xiangdong pulled out a chair and sat down.

Zhou Fang picked up her wine glass and leaned over to clink it with his.

"Xiang Dong, you must have practiced your drinking skills a lot in Shenzhen? Can you outdrink me?"

"How about we have a one-on-one fight?" Song Xiangdong laughed and downed his drink in one gulp. "Or I can call Huang Ronghua and the others over later and we can have a good drink together."

"Okay."

Zhou Fang swallowed his drink. "Once the factory blueprints are finalized, I'll drink you under the table."

"I've been incredibly busy in the port city lately. Those bigwigs there have such great ideas. Meeting with them once is like learning their way of thinking for free. After that, the real estate and home appliance industries will definitely take off."

Song Xiangdong put down his wine glass and looked Zhou Fang up and down.

"Hey Mr. Zhou, your business is booming, and you're always running to the port city. Shouldn't you have someone in your family? A big boss like you needs to find a wife."

Zhou Fang paused, picking up food with his chopsticks, and shook his head with a wry smile.

"What kind of big boss am I? I'm just a laborer who stays up all night drawing pictures." Zhou Fang picked up a piece of food and stuffed it into his mouth. "With my appearance, divorced and with two half-grown boys, who would want to marry me?"

Don't give me that.

Song Xiangdong wasn't buying it. "Really not going to look for anyone? Or is it that now that you have money, your standards have risen, and you're only eyeing those young girls who have just graduated?"

"Stop."

Zhou Fang looked horrified and turned to Song Xianglan with a wronged expression. "Godmother, your own son is bullying me, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

Song Xianglan peeled the shrimp shells in her hands without even lifting her eyelids.

"What did he say wrong? Which of those big bosses doesn't replace their wives with younger, prettier women after they make their fortune?"

"I'm innocent!"

Zhou Fang complained, "Why would I date a college girl? There's a difference of more than ten years, we can't even find common ground. If we go out together, people will think I'm an old father with his daughter. Do you think I'm just bored?"

Song Xianglan threw the peeled shrimp into the empty bowl.

"How is Cong Ying?" She wiped her hands with a damp towel and looked up at Zhou Fang.

The private room suddenly fell silent.

Song Xiangdong's hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air.

Zhou Fang was stunned.

"Cong Ying is also in her thirties and still living alone in the new city." Song Xianglan leaned back in her chair. "If the two of you were to get together, you would be a good match. Although you are not a good match for her, if she is willing to marry down, the two of you can live a good life together."

When Song Xianglan mentioned Cong Ying, she genuinely thought the girl was wonderful.

Down-to-earth, capable, sentimental, and with a strong sense of national responsibility.

Unfortunately, she met the wrong person and her devoted love was misplaced.

Why can't good women meet good men?

Zhou Fang's lips moved slightly.

A self-deprecating smile appeared on his face.

"Godmother, stop teasing me." He picked up his glass and took a big gulp. "What makes me, a divorced old bachelor who's made so many messes, a match for Cong Ying? She's a perfectly innocent and good girl."

Song Xiangdong slammed his teacup on the table.

"Unless Cong Ying finds a man much younger than her, most men in their thirties with good prospects are already married," Song Xiangdong sighed. "Given Cong Ying's personality, she definitely doesn't want to go back to her ex and wade into her past mess again."

Zhou Fang twirled the empty wine glass in his hand.

"That man from Beijing got married."

"Married?" Song Xiangdong frowned.

"Yes." Zhou Fang's eyes were cold. "It was arranged by my family. They found a girl who was a good match for me. We got our marriage certificate a long time ago."

A deathly silence fell over the table.

Right.

These four words are like a mountain, pressing down on many people's heads.

This is an era full of opportunities.

Everyone was desperately trying to get out, work hard, and make money.

I've met all sorts of people and encountered all kinds of fates.

There is a karmic entanglement.

There are also positive connections.

Many couples who love each other to the point of obsession don't reach the end, and no one can figure out who is right or wrong.

Seeing the somber atmosphere, Chen Zui said, "Alright, today is a good day to sign a big contract, let's talk about something happy. I wish our Nanshan food factory all the best and a prosperous business."

Everyone raised their glasses.

After a glass of wine, the atmosphere eased considerably.

"By the way, godmother," Chen Zui put down his wine glass, "I went to Hong Kong Island this time and heard from some business owners that recently a lot of people from Taiwan have been returning to the mainland to look for their relatives through Hong Kong."

Shih Hsin-yi chimed in, "That's true. I went to junior high and high school in Taiwan and knew a lot of second-generation mainlanders. Their elders are always looking forward to going back to the mainland to visit relatives. I heard that the first group of people set off last year."

"Several groups of people have also traveled north via the port city this year to search for relatives. It seems that some people have returned in the last few days. They are still going to the Qingyang area of ​​the new city."

Song Xianglan's chopsticks, which were about to pick up food, stopped in mid-air.

Taiwan?

Searching for relatives?

A name suddenly popped into her head.

Huang Guoping.

Around this time in her previous life, Liu Dahua's unfaithful husband returned home from Taiwan with his mistress and children in triumph.

Liu Dahua waited patiently at home for decades, serving her elders, supporting her uncles and brothers, and raising her children, only to be met with Huang Guoping's merciless humiliation.

Rural women of that era were driven to desperation.

"No, I have to go back to Qingyang right away." Song Xianglan's expression was serious.

Song Xiangdong was stunned.

"Mom, the factory in Shenzhen is about to break ground. Are you leaving now? Can't you stay here? The factory in Qingyang is too small. You can either close it down or hand it over to Zhao Guodong to manage. It would be much better if you stayed in Shenzhen to oversee things."

Song Xiangdong hopes that Song Xianglan will live by his side.

He always felt that his mother should enjoy the care of her son.

Song Xianglan glared at him, "Do you know how many people are employed in that factory in Qingyang? Where will those hundreds of female workers earn money after leaving the factory?"

Go back to the village and continue to toil in the fields, being controlled by your in-laws?

Women need financial independence to have confidence. I don't want to shatter the confidence they've worked so hard to gain.

Song Xiangdong was speechless.

"Qingyang's factory is my root." Song Xianglan said with great emphasis, "It's incredibly difficult for a rural woman to find a way to make money."

There are more female workers than male workers in my factory, precisely to ensure they have a way to make a living. Later, when the factory makes money, I plan to build schools for girls in mountainous areas, so they can have access to education.

Chen Zui's eyes lit up.

"Godmother, count me in when the school is built. I'll donate."

Zhou Fang quickly raised her hand: "I'll donate too. I'll draw the blueprints for free, and I'll pay for it."

Song Xiangdong smiled and raised his teacup to toast Song Xianglan.

"Damn, that's a high level of thinking. I'll donate to build schools too. I'll take out all my salary for this year."

Song Xianglan was waiting for these words.

She turned to the lawyer beside her who had remained silent. "Attorney Qian. Write this down. The school construction will follow the charitable process. You'll maintain direct contact with those individuals later. Show them every single item—income, expenditure, construction bills. Not a single penny can be wasted."

"Understood, Chairman Song." Attorney Qian pushed up his glasses.

Just then, the door to the private room was knocked open.

Song Xiangdong's secretary stood at the door and reminded him in a low voice, "The people next door are waiting for you."

Song Xiangdong stood up, grabbed his coat, and said, "Mom, I'll book you a ticket back to Qingyang. Zhou Fang will keep an eye on things in Shenzhen."

"Go do your thing," Song Xianglan waved her hand.

Half an hour later, the dinner party ended.

Chen Zui and Shi Xinyi had other plans, so they left first in their Mercedes-Benz.

Outside the restaurant, the night wind rustled the leaves.

The neon lights on the street flickered on and off.

Zhou Fang had indeed drunk quite a bit, and his steps were a little unsteady.

Song Xianglan didn't let him ride the bike, so the two of them simply walked slowly home along the asphalt road.

I passed by a fruit stall.

Zhou Fang stopped and took out a few cents to buy two bananas.

He peeled one open and handed it to Song Xianglan.

"Godmother, did you notice?" Zhou Fang took a bite of her banana.

"What did you see?"

"Chen Zui and his fiancée," Zhou Fang said vaguely, "were seen holding hands and arm in arm outside. But throughout the meal, I felt there was a certain politeness between them. How should I put it, they were treating each other with the utmost respect."

Song Xianglan took the banana but didn't eat it; she just held it in her hand and played with it.

"Your eyesight isn't completely gone yet," Song Xianglan chuckled.

Zhou Fang turned to look at her.

"That was an arranged marriage. The two families were well-matched, and the goal was to maximize their benefits."

Song Xianglan looked at the long road ahead. "Chen Zui wants to use the Shi family's shopping mall channels, and the Shi family wants Chen Zui's family to build connections around Yunlong. They may not have much affection for each other, but they are a community of shared interests."

"What's the point of living like this?" Zhou Fang pouted.

"What do you know?" Song Xianglan glanced at him sideways. "Chen knows best what he wants, and Shi Xinyi is just as clear-headed."

In their marriage, romantic love was secondary.

Responsibility and self-interest alone are enough to bind them tightly together. Isn't that far better than those who make grand vows but end up fighting tooth and nail over mundane necessities?

Zhou Fang fell silent.

He squeezed the banana peel in his hand until it was dripping wet.

"People shouldn't always be hoping for empty promises. Being well-matched isn't just about money, it's also about intelligence." Song Xianglan patted his shoulder. "I told you you're love-struck, but you just wouldn't believe me."

Even a dog would think that smelling you would affect its intelligence.

While it's true that being love-struck is a man's best dowry, you have to consider the person.

The two walked forward into the night, their shadows stretched long by the streetlights.

.