“Your son is shameless. He found another woman outside and got her pregnant. As a mother, instead of lecturing your son, you actually come here to scold my sister. If it weren’t for the sake of the children, I’d scratch your face up right now, you shameless old hag.”
Zhang Xiufang was no pushover, and being berated like this by Han Xiaojing made her furious. “My family’s business is none of your outsider’s concern. If you curse me again, I’ll tear your mouth apart!”
Han Xiaojing didn’t yield an inch, snapping back, “Yang Jianming is the one without shame. A dignified university teacher who only knows how to chase women and ruined my sister’s life! That woman is also disgusting—not even married yet, and she’s already moved in. Are you trying to bully my sister because she’s alone?”
“I, Han Xiaojing, may not have other skills, but I have a life. If you really push me too far, I’ll stab your whole family.”
Han Xiaojing’s voice was high and crisp, sounding like pearls hitting a jade plate. But the words she spoke were terrifying! The barefooted are not afraid of the ones wearing shoes; once she went all out, it was the “shoe-wearers” who became afraid.
“You… you dare! This is my house!” Zhang Xiufang was hysterical. She couldn’t believe that Han Xiaojing, the rural relative who never dared to breathe loudly in front of her before, was now daring to argue back. “Get out! Don’t be in my house!”
Han Xiaojing was no easy target either. She spat back, “Whose house is this? Aren’t we divorced? Oh my, I’ve never heard of a case where after a divorce, the ex-mother-in-law still considers the daughter-in-law family.”
“Is my sister your biological daughter? Or was your son born from you and some wild man? Uncle Yang went to buy nails and will be here soon. When he gets here, I’ll have to take a good look at his head to see if his hat has turned green!”
Han Xiaorui, who had been slightly worried, smiled upon hearing Han Xiaojing’s sharp retort and pushed the door open to enter.
To deal with a drama-queen mother-in-law like this, one just had to be more shameless, more difficult, and have a sharper tongue than she did, and she would quickly fall into line. Teach her a lesson a few times, and she would learn to hide whenever she saw them.
“Oh, isn’t this my dear mother-in-law?” Han Xiaorui pretended to be obsequious, grabbing Zhang Xiufang’s arm tightly and refusing to let go. “The expenses at the hospital these past two days were too high; seven hundred yuan isn’t nearly enough. As a divorced woman, I can’t earn money. I’ve decided not to divorce anymore. That way, I can rightfully and boldly demand money from my father-in-law.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiufang was immediately frantic. If Han Xiaorui didn’t divorce, wouldn’t her eldest grandson be unable to get a household registration and become an “illegal resident”? Zhang Lili was easy to fool, but Zhang Lili’s family was not to be trifled with. If they went to make a scene at her son’s school, his prestigious job would likely be gone.
“Everything was agreed upon—how can you do this? Divorce! You must divorce!” Zhang Xiufang panicked, backing away continuously. “My son doesn’t like you; don’t try to play games and refuse to divorce.”
Just then, Yang Zhigang arrived carrying various tools and materials. His face darkened. “What are you talking nonsense about here again?”
Seeing her husband, Zhang Xiufang said quickly, “Zhigang, we had an agreement, but Han Xiaorui doesn’t want to divorce anymore—she wants to embezzle our family’s money.”
Yang Zhigang felt a throbbing headache. “If you didn’t come here to make trouble, there wouldn’t be any problems! That’s enough. Since you don’t care for your two granddaughters, don’t come over anymore.”
After saying this, Yang Zhigang took his helpers to the corner of the yard and built chicken coops, duck pens, goose pens, as well as a doghouse and a cat house. By housing these small animals outside, the interior could remain clean.
Zhang Xiufang was flushed with humiliation and rage. She wanted to curse, but she was worried that Han Xiaorui might actually refuse to divorce. Stomping her feet in anger, she turned and scurried home.
Half an hour later, everything was finished. As Yang Zhigang washed his hands, he said, “Xiaorui, Jianming’s mother is just like that. In the future, if you see her, just ignore her. I’ll say it again: even if you divorce Jianming, you are still the mother of my two granddaughters. I am truly grateful that you didn’t just walk away.”
Han Xiaorui smiled lightly. “Dad, I’ll say the same: even if I divorce, I don’t acknowledge Yang Jianming, but I acknowledge you as my elder. You will always be Pingping and An’an’s grandfather.”
“Having a father like Yang Jianming is the children’s misfortune, but having a grandfather like you is their luck.”
Yang Zhigang wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, his dark face filled with gratitude. “It’s all done. If you need anything in the future, just come to me.”
“If you feel awkward coming to the old house, you can come to the market or have someone leave a message for me. In short, whatever I can do, I will never refuse.”
“Thank you!” Han Xiaorui expressed her gratitude and beckoned to Pingping and An’an, who were hiding behind the door. “Pingping, An’an, Grandpa and Uncle built houses for the chicks, ducklings, and goslings. Say thank you to Grandpa and Uncle.”
Han Xiaojing led her two nieces over. Zhang Xiufang’s shouting had frightened them, but unlike before, they didn’t just stand there foolishly—they knew how to find a place to hide. This was a huge improvement.
“Thank… you, Grandpa.”
“Thank… you, Uncle.”
Yang Zhigang was overjoyed; he patted his two granddaughters’ heads before leaving.
His nephew, Yang Jianguo, sighed. “Uncle, since Pingping and An’an can talk now, we will treat them well. I don’t ask for them to be geniuses; just becoming ordinary children would be wonderful!”
His cousin, Yang Jianming, was 1.83 meters tall and handsome; Han Xiaorui wasn’t short and was a pretty girl as well. Pingping and An’an were even more extraordinary, inheriting the best features of their parents. As long as they were normal children, the suitors would be lining up at their door in the future.
Yang Zhigang nodded. “Of course we will treat them. Before, they couldn’t say a single word. Now, after two days at the hospital, they can call out ‘Grandpa,’ ‘Mom,’ ‘Uncle,’ ‘fish,’ ‘shrimp,’ ‘chicken,’ ‘duck,’ ‘goose,’ ‘cat,’ and ‘dog’.”
“Jianguo, you are the village team leader. I go out to sea often. If I’m not here, please help Xiaorui if she needs anything. Don’t let anyone bully the mother and her two daughters.”
“Second Uncle, don’t you worry.” Yang Jianguo nodded and agreed. “I am Pingping and An’an’s eldest uncle. Just because Xiaorui is their mother, this is a family tie that will never be broken!”
When Han Xiaojing closed the door, she overheard the conversation between the uncle and nephew and sighed to Han Xiaorui again, “Sister, was your eyesight that bad? You managed to pick out the only scumbag in the Yang family!”
Han Xiaorui laughed bitterly. “What bad eyesight? It was plain old blindness! It’s getting late, let’s hurry up and cook. I caught a lot of shrimp today. We’ll have garlic shrimp and steamed grouper.”
Han Xiaorui didn’t stop moving, busy with the preparation. When Han Xiaojing saw the fish and shrimp in her sister’s bucket, her eyes lit up. “Sister, this is amazing! I didn’t expect you to really catch fish!”
“More than just catching fish,” Han Xiaorui said proudly, raising an eyebrow. “I caught so many that I didn’t dare sell them at the village pier; I went all the way to the county pier to sell them. Guess how much I made today?”
Seeing her sister so lively, cheerful, and sharp, Han Xiaojing felt a sting in her nose—her beautiful, bright, and clever sister was back!
“One hundred yuan?”
“Too low, guess again!”
“Three hundred?”
“Can we have a little more ambition? Still too low, guess again!”
“Is it… one thousand?”