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

An elderly woman with sharp eyes suddenly stood up under the tree and pointed her palm-leaf fan toward the road.

"Hey, Old Song?"

Several elderly people around them turned their heads in unison.

"It really is the butcher who's back."

"Old Song, where are you going to make your fortune?" several old women shouted at the top of their lungs. "Stop and let's talk."

The rickshaw driver pedaled very fast.

It darted past the banyan tree with a "whoosh," kicking up a cloud of dust.

The old women coughed from the choking.

He pointed at the back of the car and started cursing.

"In such a hurry to be reborn, you short-lived brat? Didn't you see anyone say hello?"

Old Zhang, who was smoking a pipe nearby, tapped his pipe.

He smiled, revealing two yellow teeth.

"What did I say? Song the Pig Slaughterer, that scourge will live a thousand years." Old Zhang spat on the ground. "I haven't heard the Pig Slaughterer cursing in the streets for more than two months, and I can't sleep soundly at night."

Just the other day I was telling my husband, "I was worried that this old woman might have been swindled out of all her money by some stranger, and now she doesn't even have the fare to come back. She might be so desperate that she's begging for food."

Song Xianglan, sitting on the tricycle, turned around and yelled back when she heard this.

"Old Zhang, you still haven't completely broken your leg, have you? Cursing me to go bankrupt? I have factories all over the country, and you still haven't finished making your coffin."

A burst of laughter erupted from under the tree.

"Just right, just right." Old Zhang chuckled as he lit his cigarette again. "Still the same old dog of a temper, hasn't changed a bit."

"Old man, you deserve to be scolded."

The car is parked in front of my house.

Song Xianglan paid the fare.

The gate to the neighboring courtyard was pushed open with a loud bang.

Liu Chounu rushed out from inside and pounced on Song Xianglan, hugging her tightly.

"Lanlan, you're finally back! We've missed you so much."

Song Xianglan coughed as the cloth was being strangled, and pinched her cheek. "What happened to your face? You're so thin, the wrinkles on your skin could be stretched into a pancake crust. Doesn't Old Lin feed you?"

"Don't even mention it."

Liu Chounv loosened her grip and pulled a dark, grimy rubber band from her waistband, with a bunch of keys attached to the other end.

She skillfully pushed open the gate to Song Xianglan's courtyard.

The ugly woman bent down to pick up the snakeskin bag from the ground, muttering to herself as she carried it into the yard.

"Without you home, I have no joy in my life. I come to clean your main room and bedrooms every few days. I just opened the windows yesterday to let in some sunshine. I've been telling Dahua several times that without you coming back, our village is completely silent."

"No one else's insults sound as good as yours."

Song Xianglan entered the house and glanced around the courtyard.

The ground was shoveled clean.

The ugly woman put down the bag and unlocked the door to the main room. "You're my pillar of strength. Without you, I feel weak and insecure. I can't do anything with any backbone."

She complained, "Let me tell you, Old Lin has been raising his voice these past few days. He even dares to order me around. My servile nature has kicked in again, and I find myself running around serving him without even realizing it. This won't do; now that you're back, I have to set some rules for him."

Song Xianglan was amused and threw her bag onto the chair.

"Look at you, so spineless. You've been bossed around by him for decades, and you still let him act all high and mighty. You should discipline him. How much do you earn a month now? Does Old Lin earn as much as you?"

The ugly woman regained all her confidence.

"When I get home tonight, I'll give him the cold shoulder. He dares to order me around; I won't give him any food."

Song Xianglan dragged the snakeskin bag into the main room.

Untie the bag.

The paper packets and scraps of cloth inside were taken out and placed one by one on the Eight Immortals table.

Chicken head rice, Dingsheng cake, several kinds of fancy glutinous rice balls, and a few pieces of fabric for making clothes.

"What wonderful things these are! They look so exquisite," the ugly woman exclaimed, her eyes shining.

"These are local specialties prepared by Liu Yukun's mother-in-law. We'll distribute them to everyone later," Song Xianglan said, gathering them together.

"Liu Yukun has a girlfriend? I thought this kid was going to be a bachelor for life. His stepfather even said he was a dead man. He curses Liu Yukun more viciously than an enemy."

Liu Chounu gripped the edge of the table, her tone becoming mysterious, "Erhua's son, Yan Shugen, brought a girl home last week."

Song Xianglan paused.

"Is she his master's daughter? What's she like? She went to learn the trade by cutting tree roots, and she came back at first. But then she said she was out earning money during the New Year, so I never saw her again. I've never met her master either."

The ugly woman pouted.

"This girl doesn't seem quite right. She's pretty, with delicate skin. But standing next to Yan Shugen, she looks like a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung—definitely a step down. And she's incredibly quiet."

Song Xianglan divided the pastries into a small package.

"Being quiet is part of her personality. Just live a down-to-earth life. Her family is well-off; marrying Shugen is like marrying down."

"He's not the type who doesn't like to talk."

Liu Chounu's face had particularly deep wrinkles. "She was the kind of girl who looked down on everyone and didn't like to talk. When she came to Erhua's house, she wouldn't touch this or ask for that. Shugen is always out and about, and I don't think he can handle such a delicate girl. A man like him needs to find someone stable and capable of managing the household."

Song Xianglan folded the foreign cloth neatly, her tone reasonable.

"They chose the tree roots themselves; it's not our place to interfere. Who doesn't like pretty girls? Let them be."

"What about Erhua? What's her attitude?" Song Xianglan asked.

"What attitude can Erhua have? Her son likes her, and she won't dare to utter a word." Liu Chounu sighed, turned and walked into the inner room, "I'll go in and make your bed and wipe the table with water."

The sound of a basin of water came from the inner room.

Song Xianglan continued distributing the items in the main room, raising her voice to ask:

"Did anything happen in the village while I was gone for two months?"

The sound of wringing out towels in the inner room stopped.

The ugly woman leaned out halfway, holding a wet towel in her hand, her eyes wide open.

"Haiyan is really determined this time. She's completely broken up with Huang Zhuzi. They didn't get a divorce certificate, but they've separated everything, from pots and pans to kitchenware. They each cook their own meals. We thought they'd only be together for ten days or half a month, but we didn't expect them to break up now."

Song Xianglan sneered:

"They should have broken up a long time ago. Arguing with that good-for-nothing is just a waste of time."

"Zhu Zi got anxious. He was tough at first, but then he begged several times. Once, he went to Hai Yan's door to ask for marital relations, but Hai Yan scratched his face. Zhu Zi had no choice but to ask some of the village elders to mediate. Hai Yan stood at the door, getting angry with everyone who tried to persuade her, and wouldn't budge."

The ugly woman said while wiping the door frame:

"Haiyan is raising three children alone. Zhuzi offered to pay child support, but Haiyan refused. She said she has hands and can keep her children from starving."

Song Xianglan nodded in affirmation.

"That's principled. But Zhu Zi is the child's father; he should still get the money he's owed. Didn't Old Lady Huang cause any trouble?"

"How could we not make a fuss?"

Liu Chounu came out carrying a basin, her face full of schadenfreude. "Old Mrs. Huang dotes on her grandson, and she runs to the pillar's side every day to help with cooking and laundry. While she's working, she jumps up and down in the yard, cursing all the while."

"They scolded Haiyan for being heartless and an insensible daughter-in-law."

Liu Chounv vividly imitated, "She also said that Haiyan was corrupted by her mother-in-law Liu Dahua. Old Mrs. Huang was still not satisfied and went to Haiyan's parents' house, dragged Haiyan's father over, and tried to use the old man to force her daughter to compromise."

Song Xianglan: "That old bastard is really cunning. What did Haiyan's father say?"

"Haiyan said she wasn't divorced, they just ate separately. She told the old man to mind his own business. Seeing his daughter get angry, the old man cursed a few times and stormed off."

Song Xianglan leaned back in her chair. "Where's Da Hua?"

Liu Chounv gave a thumbs up. "Dahua ignores Old Lady Huang and doesn't help her own son, Zhuzi. She secretly gives Haiyan living expenses every month, saying it's to help Haiyan raise her child."

Liu Chounu lowered her voice, her tone excited, "Dahua told me herself. She said that Zhuzi's lack of ambition shouldn't drag Haiyan down. She's a mother-in-law who cares more than her own father."

Zhang Haiyan's mother is a good person, but unfortunately she has no say in the family.

Even her son can say a few words to her.

Even when helping my daughter with chores, I have to be very careful, otherwise my daughter-in-law will get upset.