Wei Yao stayed in the hospital with her two children for another night. Early the next morning, Liu Chunling, the deputy director of the neighborhood committee, came to her ward. Seeing that Wei Yao looked somewhat better, she finally felt a little relieved.
“Xiao Wei, how did you rest last night?”
“Much better, thank you, Director Liu.”
Just as Liu Chunling was about to say something, the doctor on rounds pushed the door open and entered. Seeing visitors so early in the morning, he knew they were here to help Wei Yao. He had already heard from the nurses when he arrived for work.
“Better? Your body has been malnourished for years, and on top of that, you have this head injury. You need to take good care of yourself. Don’t take it lightly. If things go on like this, in twenty or thirty years, you might die young. And your two children—I had the pediatrician come check on them. They also need nutritional supplements. Go order some milk for the children to drink. After you’re discharged, make sure to come back regularly for check-ups, understand?”
Wei Yao’s face turned pale. She lowered her head to look at her two children, her heart aching as tears fell.
Liu Chunling naturally heard all of this as well. As the deputy director of the neighborhood committee, how could she not have heard about Wei Yao’s temperament? She just hadn’t expected this girl to be a paper tiger. With her husband away, she had been bullied like this for so many years.
Out of the corner of her eye, Wei Yao glanced at Liu Chunling. In the past, she had been afraid of being looked down upon and had been fiercely determined, insisting on separating from the Song Family. But the tough approach hadn’t worked—the label of “filial piety” alone could suffocate her. She had no choice but to show weakness. Come to think of it, this tactic was something she had learned from Song Liping.
When Song Dagui arrived, he looked extremely displeased. He had originally hoped to settle the separation in front of the neighbors, but he hadn’t expected Wei Yao to be unable to leave the hospital. Now, the separation would have to take place in the hospital ward.
His daughter-in-law was hospitalized with her children, and the in-laws were coming to the hospital to settle the separation. He could already imagine how disgustingly the neighbors would talk about his family in the future.
“Why are you so late? You’re really holding things up. Hurry up, hurry up. I just went over the accounts with Xiao Wei. Over the years, Song Mingrui and his wife earned money and ration coupons, plus the five hundred yuan for buying the side room—it all adds up to four thousand two hundred yuan. This child is filial, so we won’t count the used ration coupons or the things her maternal family sent.”
Chang Yongqin and Song Liping’s expressions changed. They had only brought three thousand seven hundred yuan in total, and that was after selling everything they could at home and borrowing from everyone around them. They hadn’t expected even this amount to fall short.
“Director Liu, settling a separation isn’t done like this. You can’t just count the money Wei Yao and Song Mingrui earned. You also have to consider how my mother took care of the family’s daily needs and looked after the children for over four years. How do you account for that? And my father often bought things for Song Yang and Song Hui. How do you account for that?”
“Let’s not bother calculating anymore. You’ve raised your daughter-in-law to the point of malnutrition, and your grandchildren need regular hospital check-ups. If this goes on, these three might not survive.”
Chang Yongqin’s face also darkened. She had originally planned to speak softly to Wei Yao, appealing to their shared family ties and asking her not to push things too hard. But Wei Yao had kept her head down the whole time, saying nothing, and now Deputy Director Liu had become her mouthpiece.
"Oh, Director Liu, that's going a bit too far. My wife has always taken care of them wholeheartedly, and we've never mistreated her and the kids over the years. Now that Xiao Wei wants to split the family, we old folks have emptied out our savings—it's all debts owed to our children. If she wants to split, so be it. Xiao Wei, everything that's due to you will be given. Mother is even willing to let your family live in the side room. As long as you agree, after you're discharged, Mother will still be willing to take care of you. How about that?"
"Please spare me. Let's just stick to what we agreed on. Give me Mingrui's seal for the remittances, and don't say anything else. It's all the same old talk, going back and forth is pointless."
Seeing that she wouldn't listen to anything he said, Song Dagui simply handed over the bag in his hand.
"Since your mind is made up, we'll do it your way. The money and Mingrui's remittance seal are in the bag—three thousand seven hundred. Liping's current house can be given to you—a sixty-square-meter big place, enough for you and your two kids to live in. From now on, our three-and-a-half-room house plus the side room will belong to Liping and her four kids. You and Mingrui can forget about it. Additionally, you'll need to go to the Public Security Bureau to get Li Ying released. If you agree, you can go to the neighborhood office to handle the paperwork once you're discharged."
Wei Yao thought it over, nodded, and glanced at Liu Chunling.
"Alright, I agree. The shortfall in the money can be considered Mingrui's filial offering to you. Rest assured, unless something comes up, I won't set foot here again."
"Good, those are your words. I hope you'll keep them."
Song Liping shot Wei Yao a disgusted look. She had long wanted to move away from that place anyway—everyone upstairs and downstairs were acquaintances, and whenever something happened in their family, the whole apartment building knew about it. Those gossiping, petty townsfolk were annoying.
They drew up a written agreement, pressed their fingerprints, and the deal was done. The Song family didn't linger.
After they left, Wei Yao repeatedly thanked Liu Chunling and gave her some instructions. Liu Chunling was momentarily surprised, then nodded.
"It's good that you're being cautious. I could tell right away that your mother-in-law isn't an easy one. It's best to keep your distance from this family. Oh, and if your husband comes back and treats you poorly, come find me. The neighborhood office and the Women's Federation aren't just for show."
"Thank you, Director Liu. Once I've sorted everything out, I'll definitely come by to express my gratitude."
After Director Liu left, Wei Yao tossed the money and the seal into her space. Song Yang and Song Hui were already awake. She staggered up to feed Song Hui, then took out a thermos from her space filled with hot chicken soup noodles. The two of them shared it, eating heartily.
That evening, Chen Shumin hurried home. As soon as she arrived, she slammed her bag onto the dining table, startling Lü Guangyao, who was drinking tea in the living room.
"Shumin, what are you doing? You scared me!"
"You're asking me what I'm doing? You've gotten yourself into trouble!"
Lü Guangyao frowned, glanced at her, and curled his lip.
"Are you losing your mind? I had the day off today and didn't go anywhere. What trouble could I have caused?"
Chen Shumin paced back and forth in front of him, taking a long while to catch her breath.
"What did Mingrui tell you before he left? He asked you to keep an eye on and take care of his family. How have you been taking care of them? Have you even been paying attention?"
"What do you mean by that? Haven’t I been attentive enough in caring for him? Every time Mingrui goes out, I have people inquire about his wife’s situation—everything’s been fine. Her father is a formal worker, and though her mother doesn’t work, she’s a very kind person. It’s just that her sister is unfortunate, widowed at a young age. I had someone ask at her workplace, and she’s a cultured and refined woman. If a family like this still causes trouble, it must be Mingrui’s wife’s fault."