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

Huang Guoping's wife quickly lowered her head and followed.

Tianyun and the others exchanged glances, but none of them moved.

"Aren't you going back with us?" Xiaoqin asked from the roadside.

"I'm so annoyed by those people who just cry poor and ask for money when I go back," Tianyun said, pouting. "Let whoever wants to stay can stay."

Xiaoqun tugged at her sleeve.

"Then... shall we take you for a walk around the village?" Xiaoqun asked tentatively.

"Sure," Tianyun readily agreed.

The villagers didn't seem to have much of a problem with the young people, and even Song Xianglan didn't say anything. She told Xiaoqun to take some breakfast with him.

Xiaoqun happily thanked them and bought fried dates, fried cakes, and taro balls.

Song Xianglan paid the money.

Xiaoqun and Xiaoqin led Tianyun and her three siblings along the road toward the back of the village.

After rounding a few small hills, the view suddenly opened up.

A large pond enclosed by netting connects to the sea.

In the nearby typhoon shelter, dozens of small boats were moored. Several egrets landed on the shallow water, occasionally diving in to snatch a small fish.

People are weighing seafood on the shore.

"This place looks really nice." Tianyun took a deep breath, facing the sea breeze.

Xiaoqun pointed to a small sampan in the middle of the pond.

Wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, Liu Dahua and Liu Yidao worked together to pull up a heavy fishing net.

David stood shirtless in the mud to meet us. "Grandma, Grandpa, and my younger brother."

Tianyun withdrew her gaze.

"The place is beautiful, but it's too poor." She kicked away an empty white seashell at her feet. "And your uncles or grandmas. Yesterday, when they saw my dad take money, their eyes were practically glowing green, like hungry wolves pouncing on their prey, it was terrifying."

Xiaoqin laughed out loud.

"That's just how the Huang family is. Other families in the village aren't like that. My grandma used to say that it was lucky my maternal grandma wasn't the kind of person who was easily swayed. Otherwise, she would have refused to let my dad marry my mom even if it meant her death."

"We have another saying here: 'When choosing a wife, look at the mother-in-law; when getting married, look at the mother-in-law.'" Xiaoqun chimed in from the side.

Tianyun stopped and turned to look at her.

"What about the father-in-law and father-in-law? Don't they need to see men?"

Xiaoqin was stunned.

The small group whispered to each other:

"That's what the older generation says. Women manage the household affairs, while men earn money and are in charge."

"That's just making women take the blame." Tianyun rolled her eyes. "Is it reasonable for men to not take responsibility?"

The group continued walking forward.

The conversation somehow drifted to Xiaoqun.

"I'm getting married at the end of the year. My fiancé's family is having furniture made. I don't know what my in-laws are like, or if they'll be easy to get along with. I'm a little scared about the future."

"A wedding at the end of the year? How old are you?" Tianyun's eyes widened.

"Twenty-one."

"How long did you talk? Do you understand his temperament?"

We met through a blind date. We've met three times.

Tianyun gasped.

Tianxin followed with an "Ah!"

"You dare to marry him after only three meetings? You don't even love him, why would you marry him? Are you crazy, or are my sister and brother-in-law crazy?"

Xiaoqun blushed.

"What's so shameful about love? As long as my family thinks he's a good match and he's honest, that's enough."

"At your age, you can definitely find a job." Tianyun pointed in the direction of the food factory at the village entrance. "Go work in that big factory and earn money. Or go to the city and learn a trade."

Hairdressing, makeup, photography, accounting—aren't all of these better than just marrying a stranger?

Even in famine years, skilled craftsmen won't starve. But if you're married and constantly working around the stove, you'll have your moments of regret. Loving someone is shameful, but sleeping with a stranger isn't?

Xiaoqin: ……

She probably knew that licking her lips could poison her.

"Sis, I think Auntie is right." Xiaoqin nudged Xiaoqun's arm. "After graduating from junior high school, I didn't want to stay at home washing dishes and farming every day. It would be so much better to learn a skill."

"Auntie?" Tianyun got goosebumps.

She's only in her early twenties and she's already an aunt.

Xiaoqun: "Only disreputable girls learn hairdressing. No decent family would go to a place like a hair salon."

"Your brain is like a fossil," Tianyun scolded her angrily. "You can't stand on your own two feet and have to rely on a man to support you. It's just a few people who are improper, not all hairdressers."

Xiaoqin quickly smoothed things over.

"You can learn anything else besides hairdressing. Anyway, earning some money at the factory is better than staying at home."

The group of people walked to a group of rocks by the sea.

On the outermost edge stood a huge, smooth rock. Not a single weed was on it.

"Why is this rock completely bare?" Tianyun asked curiously.

"This is the Waiting-for-Husband Rock." Xiaoqin looked at the distant sea. "Many people from our area go to Southeast Asia, and some go to the other side. So many people leave their wives behind to make a living in Southeast Asia."

Women left behind in the village have a hard time; they can't go back to their parents' home, and they can't be accepted by their husband's family.

They sat on this rock every day, waiting. Year after year, they waited until the rock shone brightly. Some of the old women died without ever seeing their young lovers again.

Xiaoqin sighed.

"There are still many grandmothers in the village who come here every day to look at the other side of the sea. My maternal grandmother has been waiting for my maternal grandfather for more than 30 years."

The annoyance on Tianyun's face disappeared.

She stared at the stone and fell silent.

A single stone can weigh down the hopes and disappointments of countless women throughout their lives, ultimately turning them into despair.

Huang Guoping has been staying at home for the past few days.

I'm having a really tough time.

The main room was filled with smoke.

Several brothers came to visit one after another.

"Guoping," Huang Lao Er took a puff of his pipe, "My son Daming is getting married next month. The bride's family insists on three major items (property, furniture, and accessories). Our old house also needs renovation. We're a bit strapped for cash. As his uncle, you can't just watch your nephew remain a bachelor, can you?"

"Second brother, I just gave each of your families a thousand yuan the day before yesterday," Huang Guoping said in a deep voice.

"That's money meant to support my mother, how can you mix it up with this kind of thing?" Old Huang's eyes widened. "Besides, I used that money to invest in stone materials, I'd never get it back."

Huang Laosi crowded around and pushed Lao Er aside.

"Guoping. That's a muddled account. I'm doing legitimate business. I'm interested in the seafood business."

We're just short 5,000 yuan in capital.

"Lend me the money, and I'll pay you back with interest once I've made some. From now on, I'll cover all of my mother's medical expenses."

"Five thousand?" Huang Guoping's wife poured tea beside him; these Huang family members were all bloodsucking leeches. "Fourth Brother. Guoping's money is all tied up in goods. Where would he get five thousand in cash?"

"Women shouldn't interrupt when men are talking," the eldest brother snapped.

The eldest brother turned to look at Huang Guoping.

"Fifth brother. Put the second and fourth brothers aside for now. Our Huang family's ancestral graves haven't been repaired for years." The eldest brother's tone left no room for negotiation. "The weeds are half a person tall. You've made your fortune on the other side, so you're the one who should pay for repairing the ancestral graves. It's a great thing to bring honor to our ancestors."

Huang Guoping pinched his brow to suppress his anger.

"Brother, repairing the ancestral graves isn't something our family can decide. The whole clan has to agree, right?"

Old Huang patted his chest and guaranteed, "As long as you have the money, I'll bring men to haul bricks tomorrow. Who dares to object?"

Huang Guoping gritted his teeth.

These past few days, these brothers have been swarming around him like vampires.

The cash he brought back in his purse was almost gone.

The remaining amount still needs to be used to repay Liu Dahua's money, and money needs to be saved to go back home.

Unable to bear the atmosphere in the house, Huang Guoping's wife turned and fled into the kitchen.

Zhang Haiyan is chopping pork ribs on the cutting board.

"Haiyan," Huang Guoping's wife said angrily, "what's wrong with your Huang family? You're always finding ways to ask for money. You practically skin Guoping alive just to buy a scallion. You're treating us like suckers."

Zhang Haiyan didn't stop wielding the kitchen knife.

"Auntie, these are my father-in-law's blood relatives." Zhang Haiyan threw the chopped ribs into the bowl. "He's only been back a few days and he can't even stand it?"

Huang Guoping's wife choked for a moment.

"Don't you know how much they've demanded these past few days?"

Zhang Haiyan picked up a rag to wipe her hands and gave a cold laugh.

"My mother-in-law was ripped off like dirt for 30 years, constantly being extorted for money and things."

Huang Guoping's wife was stunned.

"Those uncles and aunts all talk about being filial. My grandfather is bedridden and can't move, so my mother-in-law has to take care of all his needs, from eating and drinking to using the toilet. That old man is a chauvinist with a terrible temper. He'll throw bowls and yell at people at the drop of a hat."

"And that old lady. Her mouth is as nasty as a rock in a latrine. She's always finding fault and picking on my mother-in-law."

"Then...isn't anyone going to do anything about it?" Huang Guoping's wife asked dryly.

"Those biological sons hid further away than anyone else. A few years ago, my mother-in-law finally woke up and kicked the old lady out. Only then did things calm down."

Zhang Haiyan turned to look at Huang Guoping's wife.

"And guess what happened?"

"What's wrong?"

"Those uncles and aunts are gossiping all over the village. They're spreading rumors that my mother-in-law is unfaithful and disrespectful to her elders." Zhang Haiyan scoffed. "I wholeheartedly support my mother-in-law and Uncle Liu's marriage. If it were me, I couldn't possibly make it work."

Huang Guoping's wife leaned against the stove, unable to utter a sound for a long time.

"To be honest, Zhu Zi has also inherited the Huang family's traits. He's always scheming and plotting against everyone. Sometimes when I look at my mother-in-law, I even think about taking the child and changing her surname to live with her."

Huang Guoping's wife felt a mix of emotions.

The sense of superiority I felt when I first entered the village has now turned into shame.

She looked out the window. The sea in the distance shimmered in the sunlight.

"Haiyan. Sister Dahua... is a resilient woman." Her voice was a little hoarse.

Zhang Haiyan looked at her in surprise.

"If it were me," Huang Guoping's wife shook her head, "I couldn't do what she did. I couldn't endure even a single day of that kind of life."

Zhang Haiyan smiled.

She truly hadn't expected that this woman who had taken her mother-in-law's place would actually stand on her mother-in-law's side and say something fair.