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

Song Xianglan's words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Chen Xiuqin's head, chilling her to the bone.

The neighbors who had been watching the commotion all went home to cook.

The Chen family came arrogantly and left desolate.

They slunk away.

Several middle-aged women were still pointing and gossiping in the distance.

Wang Jianguo glanced at the sky.

He cleared his throat, nodded to Song Xianglan as a greeting, and hurried home.

In the courtyard, only the Yang family's mess remained.

Yang Jianjun looked utterly drained, his eyes vacant. Chen Xiuqin leaned against the wall, muttering curses under her breath, but dared not raise her voice.

As for Zhang Yujuan, who had stirred up trouble, she had long since slipped away.

Song Xianglan didn't even bother to look at them, and turned to walk into Yang Jianjun and Chen Xiuqin's room.

In her past life, she was deceived by this despicable couple. They claimed to have no money, but in reality, they had secretly amassed a large sum.

She will not leave them a single penny in this lifetime.

"Mom! What are you doing!" Yang Jianjun finally realized what was happening and scrambled inside.

Chen Xiuqin rushed into the house like a madwoman, spreading her arms to block Song Xianglan's way.

"What are you doing! This is our house!"

Song Xianglan ignored her completely and went straight to the bedside.

The house was a complete mess, like a pigsty. The clothes of the family of four were scattered everywhere, and there was a sour, foul smell in the air.

Song Xianglan remembered clearly that their money was hidden behind a loose brick on the wall behind the bed.

She reached out, felt around on the wall for a few moments, and then pried hard.

With a "thud," she removed a brick, revealing a dark hole behind it.

Chen Xiuqin's breath caught in her throat; she lunged forward desperately. "Don't move! That's my money!"

Song Xianglan dodged to the side, but was much faster, pulling out something wrapped tightly in a handkerchief from the hole.

Opening the handkerchief, there was a thick stack of "big unity" bills inside, worth at least two or three hundred dollars.

In an era when a worker's monthly salary was only twenty or thirty yuan, this was undoubtedly a huge sum of money.

"My money! My money!" Chen Xiuqin completely broke down and reached out to grab it.

Song Xianglan slapped her across the face, making her stumble and bump into the edge of the bed.

"Your money?"

Song Xianglan held the stack of money and slapped it against her palms repeatedly. "It's clearly written on the document that all your property must be handed over."

This money was money I gave you; now it's simply coming back to me.

Yang Jianjun looked at the money, his heart aching.

That was money they had painstakingly swindled from Song Xianglan.

"Mom, please leave us some money... We don't have a single penny left..."

"Leave some?" Song Xianglan sneered. "Then when we divide the family property, you will all leave with nothing."

Yang Jianjun still wanted to swindle money.

Song Xiangdong is ruthless but filial, and he gives Song Xianglan a lot of money every year.

He endured it.

I promise that when my father comes back, my mother will obediently hand over the money.

Song Xianglan neatly folded the money, put it into her inner pocket, patted it, and then turned and left.

With a loud bang, the courtyard gate was kicked open.

On his way back from visiting relatives, Yang Dashan was stopped by Zhang Yujuan, who spoke to him with red eyes.

Yang Dashan was seething with anger.

"Song Xianglan! You vicious woman! What's wrong with you now!" Yang Dashan pointed at Song Xianglan's nose and cursed, "What do you, a butcher, care about money? You've ruined my reputation as an educated person."

Yang Dashan had a junior high school education and considered himself a cultured person his whole life.

Chen Xiuqin admired her father-in-law the most, and continued:

"Dad, Song Xiangdong wrote back yesterday. Did he say something?"

Yang Dashan rushed up to Song Xianglan, raising his large, fan-like hand to slap her. "I'll beat you to death, you troublemaker!"

However, before his hand could land, he received a solid blow to the face.

"Snapped!"

A crisp, resounding slap.

Yang Dashan was stunned by the beating. He covered his face in disbelief, staring at the thin but intimidating woman in front of him.

Before he could react, he was slapped again.

"Snapped!"

"The first slap is for your poor parenting; you've raised a good-for-nothing!"

"The second slap is for your ungratefulness."

Song Xianglan's voice wasn't loud, but it made Yang Dashan's head buzz.

For two or three decades of marriage, he lived a life of ease, with everything done for him.

Song Xianglan served him like a servant would serve a master.

How dare you hit him?

The courtyard was deathly silent.

Song Xianglan's wrists were still a little numb after hitting them, but she felt incredibly relieved. She turned and walked into the kitchen, no longer looking at the stunned people.

Song Tingting, the daughter who had been hiding in her room and too afraid to come out, timidly peeked out and whispered, "Mom..."

Song Xianglan waved to her.

"Are you hungry? Mom will make you something delicious."

Song Xianglan scooped some flour from the flour bag and took two eggs. Then she took the flour bag and eggs to her room.

Soon, the enticing aroma of scallion oil and eggs wafted from the kitchen.

Yang Dashan, Yang Jianjun, and Chen Xiuqin, who were in the courtyard, smelled the aroma and their stomachs started growling.

A short while later, Song Xianglan came out of the kitchen carrying two large bowls.

Two bowls of hand-pulled noodles with eggs, topped with a few vegetable leaves.

She placed one bowl on the table in the main room and handed the other to her daughter, Tingting. "Eat up, this is our dinner."

Song Tingting looked at the poached egg in the bowl, her mouth watering.

In the past, all the eggs in our family were given to my older brother, nephew, father, and sister-in-law.

She and Song Xianglan could only smell the fragrance.

"Eat." Song Xianglan shoved the chopsticks into her hand. "From today onwards, I'm in charge of this family. You're my daughter, so you should eat the best."

Tingting picked up her chopsticks and carefully took a bite of noodles and put it in her mouth.

Yang Dashan's face turned green with anger at the sight. "Song Xianglan! Where's our food?"

Without looking up, Song Xianglan pointed towards the kitchen with her chopsticks. "It's in the pot, help yourself."

Yang Jianjun lifted the lid of the pot and was completely stunned.

The pot contained a small amount of watery sweet potato porridge, so thin you could see your reflection in it. Water was water, sweet potato was sweet potato, and a few pitiful slices of sweet potato floated in the yellow broth.

This isn't meant for him to eat.

"Mom! You're letting us eat this?"

"Eat it or not, it's up to you." Song Xianglan picked up the poached egg from her bowl, took a big bite, and chewed slowly.

Chen Xiuqin watched Song Xianglan and her daughter eating the fragrant egg noodles. "Your grandsons Dazhuang and Erzhuang need to eat egg noodles, right? What kind of boy drinks sweet potato porridge while the girl eats egg noodles?"

"From now on, my daughter will eat egg noodles."

Song Xianglan stood up, looked around at the family full of resentment, and slowly spoke. Her voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable authority.

"Let's establish a new rule starting tomorrow."

"Yang Dashan and Yang Jianjun, you two grown men must earn me ten work points. If you lose even one, your dinner will be halved."

After work, no one is allowed to loiter outside. Anyone going to the beach to collect seafood must hand over all the fish, shrimp, and shellfish they bring back.

She then turned her gaze to Chen Xiuqin, who shuddered at her stare.

"Chen Xiuqin, all the housework is yours. Washing clothes, cooking, feeding the pigs and chickens. Take good care of that plot of land in the backyard. If even a single vegetable is missing, I'll hold you responsible."

Every day, they also have to go up the mountain to collect a load of firewood, and while they're at it, they'll see if they can pick some mushrooms.

"Every day at low tide, you go to the beach. If you don't dig up a basketful of clams and oysters, don't even think about eating."

Song Xianglan's words struck the hearts of the three members of the Yang family like heavy hammers.

This is treating them like cattle and horses!

Chen Xiuqin's body trembled uncontrollably, partly from hunger and partly from anger.

She stared intently at the half-eaten fried egg left in Song Xianglan's bowl, her eyes practically spitting fire.