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

She pointed at Granny Yu huddled inside the house, her eyes red as if they could drip blood.

"Are you two old folks pretending to be dead? Your grandson is so grown up, and you don't even bother to find him a matchmaker, just letting him remain bachelors?"

I was so blind back then not to divorce Yu Pengfei. If I had, I could have found another man with my eyes closed and lived a hundred times better life than I do now.

You always said Song the Pig Slaughterer was a bad person and had a hard life. I think you're cheap and versatile, yet you pretend to be high-class.

The room fell silent for a moment.

An old tea mug flew out of the door and crashed onto the door frame with a clang.

Granny Yu, leaning on her cane, walked shakily out of the house.

"You jinx, how dare you curse me!" Granny Yu pointed her cane at her eldest daughter-in-law and shouted back, "It was you, you lowly slut, who ruined my Pengfei!"

If you hadn't been stirring up trouble every day, would Pengfei have been unable to stay and run away? He was forced into it by you.

You have puffy eyes, yellow teeth, and armpits that smell like they're sprouting rotten, yet you dream of finding a good man. Go find one if you dare. You're practically offering yourself up for free, and nobody wants to sleep with you.

Leave the ugly woman: ...

"You two, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, are so gossipy. Did you just have a midnight snack at the outhouse?"

Sister-in-law Yu yelled, "I forced him? He got fired because he's incompetent, and now he's blaming me?"

Granny Yu trembled with rage: "Pengfei is incredibly unlucky to have married you. You should have just drunk a bottle of pesticide and jumped into the sea to die. Staying at home is nothing but a curse. Marrying an unworthy wife ruins three generations."

"You're that unvirtuous old hag."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were hurling insults at each other in the yard, choosing the most offensive and hurtful things to say.

They exposed each other's secrets without any scruples, and trampled each other to death.

The neighbors were all woken up by the noise.

Everyone put on their clothes and slippers and ran out to see what was going on.

People gathered three or four deep outside the courtyard wall to watch the spectacle.

Liu Chounu pulled Song Xianglan to squeeze to the front of the crowd.

Old Liu, standing nearby, tapped his pipe, shook his head, and muttered, "That old woman from the Yu family and her sons separated a long time ago and live their own lives. They haven't seen each other for years. Why are they arguing again today?"

The old lady next door chimed in.

"What else could it be? Xiaoying is dating a young punk from the next town. His family looks down on them and refuses to spend any money to propose marriage."

He said Xiaoying shouldn't have to pay a penny to move in first, and they could talk about marriage after she gave birth to their son. Xiaoying, like a lecherous man possessed, insisted on going with him.

The old lady pouted:

"Pengfei's wife was furious and beat her daughter. The daughter ran away, and her two younger sons are also unruly. Pengfei hasn't been seen for years, and she has nowhere to vent her anger, so of course she takes it out on her mother-in-law, doesn't she?"

Another aunt snorted:

"If you ask me, this is retribution. Back then, that old woman from the Yu family and Pengfei's wife had eyelids that were thinner than fingernails."

They're always scheming and plotting. Even after all they went to join the army, they were still restless, completely ruining their peaceful lives.

Someone glanced at Song Xianglan standing to the side.

He deliberately raised his voice.

"It's just that the Yu family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are restless. Look at the Song family. Back then, the Yu family dared to look down on Song the butcher, saying that she was shameless and had no good fortune."

Look at Song the butcher and his daughter-in-law now, they're living a very prosperous life.

Then look at Song Xiangdong, that's someone you only see on TV. And then look at Yu Pengfei, you can't even find a trace of him.

"That's what they call the wheel of fortune turning."

Old Liu sighed, "Having such a mother-in-law ruins three generations. I'm afraid the Yu family won't be able to sleep peacefully every night."

The shouting and cursing continued in the courtyard.

Sister-in-law Yu rushed forward to grab Granny Yu's clothes, but was pulled back by the people around her.

"Let's go." Song Xianglan pulled Liu Chounu, who was still craning her neck, "The show's over. Go back and wash up and go to sleep, you're all sweaty."

The ugly woman smacked her lips, still seemingly unsatisfied.

"He's really pathetic. Yu Pengfei is a coward too. He's been away from home for years, letting his wife run wild at home."

The area around the crowd was noisy.

Grandma Yu squatted down on the muddy ground with a "thump".

He pounded the ground with both hands and wailed loudly.

As she was wailing, Granny Yu looked up and her gaze passed over several heads, landing directly on Song Xianglan, who was standing in the front row watching the commotion.

Her crying sound effect was stuck.

The next second, Granny Yu scrambled forward, her withered hands reaching out to grab Song Xianglan's trouser leg.

Tears and snot streamed down the wrinkles on his face.

"Song Xianglan, have you seen my Pengfei?"

Granny Yu tilted her head back and pressed on with questions, one after another, "You travel all over the place for business, you must have seen him. Tell me, where is he?"

"Has Xiang Dong met my Pengfei?"

Song Xianglan looked down at Granny Yu on the ground.

He pulled the trouser leg out of those dirty hands and took a half step back.

Before Song Xianglan could speak...

Sister-in-law Yu slapped her thigh and raised her chin, wailing at the sky.

"My life is more bitter than bitter herbs. I didn't live a good life back then, but I listened to you and let you come with me to join the army. I thought going to the army would be a good life. In the end, I didn't even last two years before I was slinking back home with my bedding packed up."

The more Sister-in-law Yu talked, the angrier she became.

He tapped the plaster on the wall in the yard with his hand.

"It's infuriating to compare yourself to others. If I were a few years younger and married Song Xiangdong, I'd be enjoying a life of luxury now. Even Shen Huijun can become an official's wife, so what do I lack compared to her?"

Why should she live a life of luxury while I have to come back to farm this wretched land and put up with your old geezer's wrath?

I'm no less than her, how come our lives are so completely different? It's all your Yu family's fault!

"I'm destined to be an official's wife too."

He just blurted out a few words.

The surrounding villagers all burst out laughing.

Old Liu, holding his pipe, pointed at Sister-in-law Yu through the low wall.

"Pengfei's wife, you're really shameless. What makes you think you can compare to Xiangdong's wife?"

An auntie nearby immediately chimed in, "Xiang Dong's wife is educated and literate; she's a well-mannered city girl. Not to mention, she's beautiful and polite. Who wouldn't greet her with a cheerful smile?"

The aunt rolled her eyes and spat:

"You have eyes that are always on top of your head. Even when we, your neighbors, walk past your house on the main road, you have to stand at the door and keep an eye on us."

They're terrified someone might steal even the withered grass roots from your doorstep. Your five elements are flawed, your birth chart is cursed; you can't even compare to your ancestors in terms of virtue.

Another woman chimed in:

"Heaven gave you the opportunity to enjoy good fortune, but you squandered it yourself. Who can you blame for not embracing your blessings?"

The villagers chimed in with their own opinions.

They directly stripped Sister-in-law Yu of all her underwear.

Sister-in-law Yu's face turned a deep purplish-red, and she jumped up from the threshold.

"Stop talking nonsense, you old codgers who don't know what's going on when you're not the ones suffering."

Song Xianglan listened to the commotion.

He glanced down at Granny Yu, who was still sprawled on the ground.

It's been most of my life.

Granny Yu has been competitive since she was young.

They always try to outdo others in everything they do, and they always think their own son is the most successful.

Now that she's old, her eldest son, on whom she had the highest hopes, refuses to come home, her daughter-in-law is a troublemaker, and her grandchildren are all troublemakers.

Every day, Granny Yu watched as the Song family, whom she had once trampled underfoot, prospered more and more. This disparity was more painful than death for her.

Song Xianglan could understand this mentality, but that was all she could do.

"I don't know where your Yu Pengfei is," Song Xianglan said honestly, looking into Granny Yu's eyes. "I haven't seen Yu Pengfei outside. I have no idea whether he's in the south or the north."

Upon hearing this, the last glimmer of light in Granny Yu's eyes went out.

She let go of his hand and stood up, her back hunched.

Without uttering another curse, he turned and walked dejectedly into the courtyard.

He walked unsteadily, forgetting even to take his cane.

Granny Yu went into the house.

But Sister-in-law Yu wouldn't stop, standing with her hands on her hips and continuing to yell at the villagers outside.

"You're all happy that my family is having a hard time, aren't you? You've all come to laugh at me."

Unable to bear it any longer, the ugly woman took a step forward.

"Shut up in the middle of the night. If you dare to yell again and disturb the peace, I'll beat you up."

Sister-in-law Yu retorted defiantly, "You dare!"