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

"Are you blind? Hanging out with that yellow-haired bastard, is your brain filled with shit?" Yu Xiujuan shouted as she hit and cursed, her eyes wide open.

A bystander standing at the door shouted:

"That kid's name is Huang Asan. He lives in the next village. He has an old mother who takes medicine all year round. He also has several younger siblings. They still live in two small old houses. His family is a bottomless pit."

Upon hearing this, Yu Xiujuan became even more furious.

"Are you out of your mind or sick? Targeted poverty alleviation efforts are being made to find someone like this? Are you tired of having a good life and want to suffer?"

The comb was draped over his shoulder.

Yu Daya cried out in pain and struggled to break free.

"What right do you have to hit me!" Yu Daya yelled back, her eyes red-rimmed. "I'm all grown up now, it's none of your business to tell me what to do. Who do you think you are?"

"I am your aunt."

"My own aunt?"

Yu Daya scoffed, her eyes filled with disgust. "You're useless at everything, and you're the number one lazybones. All you do at home is slack off and cause trouble. What right do you have to talk to me like that?"

"A troublemaker, a shrew. Selfish and selfish."

Yu Xiujuan's hand froze in mid-air, her chest heaving violently.

Yu Daya mercilessly exposed his shortcomings:

"Our family was living a good life in the village. But as soon as you came back, it was like a bandit crossing the border, causing chaos and disorder."

Grandma doesn't love us; she never even glances at us. She only favors you. You take all the good things, you've caused our family to split up, and now you come here acting like an elder?

The comb in Yu Xiujuan's hand fell to the ground.

Feelings of regret and remorse welled up inside me.

Tears streamed down her face, washing away the powder she had just applied and leaving two deep streaks.

"You think I'm doing well?" Yu Xiujuan's voice came through her fingers, muffled.

Yu Daya looked at her with a cold face.

Yu Xiujuan wiped away her tears. "Do you think someone like me will have a good ending? I used to be so troublesome, and I finally managed to marry into a city family, but I ruined it all. I argued with people every day and made a mess of my life."

"I want to start over and have a proper relationship. But what kind of people have I been meeting?"

He's either a lecherous old man trying to take advantage of me, or an old widower trying to trick me into going back to be his free babysitter.

And those old bachelors who can't even find a wife, their eyes are full of calculation when they look at me.

She pointed at Yu Daya, her voice filled with anguish:

"The price of growing up is too high. Daya, the path you're on now is the path I took wrong back then."

Yu Xiujuan turned to look at Song Xianglan sitting next to her, her eyes filled with resentment and envy.

"I often wonder if my mother could be like Aunt Song, reasonable and upright, would I have become the freak I am now?"

I really envy Song Tingting. I just hope that while you're young, you can live a life different from mine, and not regret it like I did later.

After hearing this, Yu Daya twitched the corners of her mouth and gave a bitter smile.

"My mom is different from your mom." Yu Daya raised her head. "My mom is impartial. She hugs money tightly to her chest whenever she sees it, and she won't give it to anyone. Even her own children can only dream of getting a single penny from her."

"As for my father," Yu Daya laughed sarcastically, "he's a missing person. He's been gone for years, and there hasn't been a trace of him since."

Song Xianglan leaned back on the bench and sighed.

"You cannot let your parents' inaction lead you to depravity."

Song Xianglan looked at Yu Daya and said, "The more others dislike you and take you for granted, the more you should prove yourself and forge a path that is completely different from theirs."

"Giving up and ruining things will only hurt you. You think they'll be sad, but they don't care. They'll even say, 'How can I favor her when she's like this?'"

When Yu Daya faced Song Xianglan, her arrogance vanished instantly.

She pouted, not daring to utter a single word in rebuttal.

She was fearless, except for this Grandma Song.

There was also an inexplicable sense of closeness within that fear.

On the day she had her first period, she was walking on the village road wearing only trousers, and her crotch was covered in red.

A few gossipy villagers pointed and whispered among themselves.

She was so scared that she hid behind the haystack and cried. Her mother wasn't home, and she had no idea what to do.

It was Song Xianglan who grabbed her hand and took her home.

Song Xianglan found a pair of Song Tingting's old trousers and a brand new pair of underwear for her to change into, and taught her step by step how to fold toilet paper and put it in her crotch.

That afternoon, Song Xianglan served her a full bowl of brown sugar chocolate egg soup.

The scalding hot, sweet soup entered her stomach, suppressing her panic and the pain in her abdomen.

Song Xianglan made her eat there for several days in a row.

He also stuffed a thick stack of toilet paper and a pack of chocolates into her hand.

I took a comb and braided her into a shiny, smooth braid.

She wore that braid for three days straight, not wanting to take it off.

He even protects it with his hand while sleeping.

Thinking of all this, Yu Daya lowered her head.

Just then, Yu Daya's stomach betrayed her and growled twice. The sound was particularly loud in the quiet barbershop.

Yu Xiujuan stood up and picked up the comb that had fallen to the ground.

"Come on, I'll take you to eat." Yu Xiujuan took off her apron.

"I'm not going."

Yu Daya stood still, her whole body filled with resistance.

Song Xianglan stood up and slung the bag from the bench over her shoulder.

"Listen to Grandma Song's advice." Song Xianglan walked up to Yu Daya and said, "If you don't want to study, then you should obediently follow your aunt and learn hairdressing. You won't starve if you have a skill."

If you want to study, go back to school. The town's middle school offers scholarships for underprivileged girls. If you don't meet the criteria, the village also provides subsidies for eligible students. You have two paths; the choice is yours.

Yu Xiujuan continued the conversation:

"I'll pay your tuition and cover your living expenses. As long as you're willing to study, I'll support you until you graduate. You're only 16; you have a long road ahead of you."

Yu Daya looked over warily, her tone barbed:

"Are you really that kind?"

Song Xianglan couldn't stand it anymore, so she reached out and grabbed Yu Daya's ear and pulled it up.

"Ouch. That hurts." Yu Daya grimaced and stood on tiptoe.

"Do you have thorns on your tongue or nails in your throat?" Song Xianglan scolded. "Your aunt was really outrageous when she was young, she was no good."

But she's being unusually generous this time, willing to give you money, and you're still not happy about it. Consider this her compensation on behalf of the Yu family. What's the point of your arrogance? Can arrogance put food on the table?

"Can't you even say a single sentence properly?"

Song Xianglan loosened her grip.

Yu Daya covered her reddened ears, not annoyed by the scolding, but instead smiled and moved closer to Song Xianglan.

"Grandma Song, then you can treat me to some salty rice," Yu Daya asked, her eyes sparkling.

A sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl asking for food.

Song Xianglan naturally wouldn't refuse.

"Okay," Song Xianglan readily agreed. "A bowl of salted rice, a bowl of pig's feet and small intestine soup. I'll also add a piece of braised tofu and a braised egg. Is that enough?"

Yu Daya nodded repeatedly.

"That's enough."

As soon as the wind chimes outside the door rang, two female customers with permed hair walked in.

Yu Xiujuan couldn't leave, so she had to stay and do business.

Song Xianglan led Yu Daya out of the barbershop.

There's a small restaurant right across the street.

The two chose a table against the wall and sat down.

The owner brought out two bowls of salty rice and two bowls of pig's feet and small intestine soup.

Braised tofu and braised eggs were steaming hot, soaking in a brown broth. We also ordered an oyster omelet topped with pickled radish shreds and sweet chili sauce.

Yu Daya grabbed her chopsticks, picked up a piece of braised tofu, and stuffed it into her mouth, her cheeks puffed out high.

Song Xianglan ate slowly, taking sips of soup every now and then.

Halfway through the meal, Yu Daya put down her chopsticks.

She glanced around and spoke in a low voice.

"Grandma Song, I'm pregnant."

Song Xianglan almost dropped the piece of rice she had just picked up onto the table.

She stared at Yu Daya, her heart pounding with rage.

How old is this girl? How dare she be so audacious?

Song Xianglan resisted the urge to slam her chopsticks on the table.

You can't easily hit or scold other people's children.

"Huang A-San's?" Song Xianglan put down her chopsticks, her tone still relatively calm.

Yu Daya nodded: "I haven't had my period for two months. That time he told me he wouldn't go inside, just touch me from the outside..."

"You believe what men say? When they're lying to girls, they always say they can't get in. But they get in incredibly fast." Song Xianglan looked at her like she was an idiot. "What did that bastard say?"

She was only sixteen years old.

"He said his mother's health wasn't good, and his younger siblings were too young." Yu Daya poked at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks. "He wanted me to move in with him first. After the baby was born, we could get married."