Chapter 1
“Li Xia, stop making a fuss here. Marriage is free, you can get married and divorced if you want. It’s unreasonable for you to be throwing a tantrum like this.”
“She’s just a shrew. Why are you trying to reason with her?” The youngest sister of the Fang family was furious and yelled at her brother, “Take her and throw her out. There are so many people in our family. Are we going to let her trouble us like this?”
The two grown men looked at each other and both felt that it was not appropriate. They turned their eyes to the eldest brother, Fang Zhongcheng, who was shocked.
The one crying, making a scene, and then hanging herself was his wife, and her making a scene gave him a headache and made him feel ashamed. He wanted a divorce when he entered university, and now that he has graduated and been assigned a job, this matter cannot be put off any longer.
“Snapped,”
Seeing that no one could take the rope from the woman’s hand, she cried and made a scene, trying to wrap the rope around the beam. He raised his hand and slapped her hard, causing the woman to fall to the ground.
“Stop making a fuss. What are you making a fuss about? There are so many divorced people, but I’ve never seen anyone cry and act crazy like you. Just tell me, which man would want a shrew like you? And you’re saying it’s for the sake of the children. The children don’t want a mother like you…”
“Dad, Mom isn’t moving.”
The woman fell to the ground after being slapped by him. It was just a simple slap, but he didn’t care. He was venting his dissatisfaction there, and didn’t notice that she had her eyes closed and didn’t move at all. The two children called her, but she didn’t respond at all.
Hearing his daughter talking, he finally stopped talking. Seeing that she was indeed motionless, he immediately panicked. No way, could a slap in the face kill someone?
He was stunned and stood there without moving. The second brother came to his senses and squatted forward. He reached out and felt the woman and found that she was still breathing. He patted her chest and looked up to tell his family that she was fine.
“She’s breathing and her heart is beating. Maybe he fainted from anger.”
“Now what?”
“I’ll go get a bucket of cold water and splash it over her so she can wake up.”
The youngest sister ran to scoop up a bucket of cold water and splashed it on the woman’s face. She had been married to the eldest son of the Fang family for many years, but the family didn’t consider her a member of the family at all.
The eldest son of the Fang family wanted to divorce her, and the whole family supported him. The sisters came together to persuade her, and their parents hid outside for fear of being labeled as bullies.
Li Xia took a deep breath, shuddered, and opened her eyes. The scene before her confused her and she didn’t know how to react. She was alone in the empty night, watching the TV in a daze. She had been suffering from insomnia for a long time and thought it would be another sleepless night, but what was going on now?
“Look, she’s awake now.” The younger sister was close enough to see clearly, and her words were extremely harsh. “I said this kind of woman is very lucky. She won’t die even if we torture her to death. Don’t be afraid of her, brother. Take her to the Civil Affairs Bureau. Even a de-facto marriage needs to go through the divorce procedures, otherwise she will keep pestering us.”
The eldest brother sighed and looked at the mother and daughter on the ground with indifference. Li Xia, who had just woken up, turned her head and looked around. When she saw her seven-year-old daughter, she reached out and pulled the child to her.
I haven’t seen my daughter for a long time. Every time we meet, we either argue or are speechless. The child graduated from high school and went out to work. The daughter was so old but still refuses to get married. She tried talking to her, but it was useless. The child doesn’t say anything and just looks at her with pity. It’s as if she’s asking, “Are you living a good life? You’re not living a good life yourself, why do you want me to get married?”
She opened a breakfast shop in the county town. There were more people during the day, but it was empty after closing. Her daughter didn’t want to quarrel with her and stayed away from home. Her son rarely came back after going to college in the city. Later, she found out that he had recognized Fang Zhongcheng as his father even after he abandoned them and hence the mother and son quarreled until their faces turned red and their necks became thick.
“Mother,”
The youngest son squatted beside them, and when he saw the mother and daughter hugging each other, he also came over. There was fear in the little guy’s black and white eyes. She had been very extreme these days, and she would go crazy at any time. Just now, she cried and wanted to hang herself. Both children were a little scared.
“Li Xia, don’t be crazy. No matter what you do, I will divorce you. I don’t want you even if you hang yourself.”
The woman looked up at the man who was speaking, her eyes dark and shadowy. This was the man who had given her the oath for lifetime, lived with her for many years and had two children with her, divorced her after graduation from college, and abandoned her and her children.
He had a stable job and remarried to start a family, while she was a rural woman who had not even finished junior high school. She also had two children.
He had a leisurely job, but she worked hard from dawn to dusk and treated herself like a man. The children she raised with great effort were filial to her but would also avoid her. He does nothing, but his son still calls him father when he grows up.
Why is God so unfair? She worked so hard but at end she was lonely in her old age, and her daughter was also lonely and unwilling to get married. But he who abandoned his wife and children may have many children and grandchildren, and live happily with his wife. No, it shouldn’t be like this.
“Li Xia, speak up.”
“Don’t play dead.” The younger sister of the Fang family scolded: “You were desperate just now, why are you playing dead now? Hurry up and go with my eldest brother to handle the formalities, take your two kids and get out of our Fang family.”
“Snapped,”
Li Xia let go of her daughter, stood up suddenly, and slapped her in the face. She had always scolded and threatened her the most, but this sudden slap stunned the girl. She covered her cheek and her eyes turned red instantly.
“You dare to hit me?”
“I’m going to hit you.”
The five words landed loudly, but her state was completely different from before. She looked crazy just now, but now her words, actions and expressions were very calm.
“I’ll fight…”
The girl was about to start a fight, but Li Xia grabbed her arm with her left hand and slapped her with her right hand. Seeing the man walking forward, she picked up the mirror on the table and threw it on the edge of the table.
With a snap, the mirror broke into pieces. She took the largest piece and held it in her hand. “Whoever dares to come over here, I’ll cut his neck.”
The stunned ones are afraid of the aggressive ones, and the aggressive ones are afraid of the desperate ones. When she did this, the whole family retreated, and the eldest brother Fang Zhongcheng sat down on the bunk bed behind him. He waved his hands and looked panicked. It turned out that the panic caused by hurting oneself and hurting others was different. The family was full of disgust just now, but now they were all pale with fear. They dared not open their mouths to insult casually anymore.
“Li Xia, don’t be like this…”
“Yes, put the glass down first. We can discuss anything. Don’t get too aggressive right away.”
“Yes, put it down. Let’s sit down and discuss it.”
The most weakest one was dragged by Li Xia and dared not say a word. The two children were also scared and hid aside. The daughter wanted to go to her, but was pulled back by Fang Zhongcheng.
Li Xia sneered, holding the glass in her right hand and grabbing the youngest daughter of the Fang family with her left hand. She thought to herself, she made a mistake once, and was bullied and ridiculed by them. Now she got a new chance, will she still be bullied by them again?
“What do you want to discussing?”
Those three men almost tripped, and you were crying and making a fuss, wanting to commit suicide and kill people. Don’t you know what to discuss?
The two younger brothers of the Fang family turned around to look at their eldest brother, and Fang Zhongcheng spoke gently: “Let’s discuss, discuss our divorce.”
This time, Li Xia sneered and sat down on the chair. “Talk.”
She was willing to sit down and talk properly, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The younger sister who was released had her wrists bruised by the pulling, but seeing her sit down and pour herself some water as if nothing had happened, she pointed at her and yelled.
“She just hit me and my hand. Look what happened to me. Are you just going to let her go?”
The men looked at each other in dismay. If they let it go, it would seem like they were incompetent. If they didn’t, they were afraid that Li Xia would start making trouble again. Even if they called the police, it would be a family matter. If they criticized and educated her and then let her go, it would probably be even more difficult to deal with her.
Li Xia lived for several decades in her previous life, so she could see this clearly. She was sure that they couldn’t do anything to her, so she took the opportunity to vent her anger.
In the family, this sister-in-law was the most troublemaking and scolded her the most harshly. In her previous life, she was concerned about her husband and didn’t want to divorce him. In this life, she has made up her mind to divorce, and didn’t care about anyone.
“Have you made up your mind? Should we rush in and have a fight, or should we sit down and discuss it?”
These words, coupled with her contemptuous look, made the three brothers lose their breath. Fight? She had been doing farm work for many years and was very strong. She looked angry and ready to fight with others. Who dared to fight with her? Those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. They also wear shoes and dare not confront others head-on.
“Let’s talk.”
Fang Zhongcheng said calmly, thinking that you are the rubble and we are the porcelain, so we won’t be tough with you. I was just trying to get you to agree to a divorce, and now that you have agreed, that’s just what I want. As for the younger sister who was beaten, it’s not a big deal if she didn’t get hurt.
The brothers all backed off, and Fang Xiaomei, who had been beaten, had no choice but to do nothing. She had looked down on Li Xia and ridiculed her before, but now she could do nothing about it even though she had bitten her lips until they were broken. She couldn’t beat Li Xia, and if the brothers didn’t help, she would just get beaten.
The two parties sat down to discuss, but there was actually nothing to discuss. There were only two thatched houses in the countryside, and the annual income was only enough to feed and cloth them, so there was nothing to divide.
Fang Zhongcheng was about to speak, but Li Xia spoke first: “What happened to me just now?”
The Fang brothers looked at each other, and then the younger sister Fang said, “You were so noisy at home, and my eldest brother hit you just to save your dignity. Who knew you were so weak that you fainted on the ground.”
Okay, it’s good to know the reason. Li Xia’s expression remained unchanged, she quickly stood up and slapped Fang Zhongcheng. The man’s eyes were red from being slapped, and he wanted to fight in anger, but Li Xia raised her hand and grabbed his arm.
“If you don’t want a divorce, go ahead and slap me. I’m not in a hurry anyway.”
The woman had an expression that she was not at a disadvantage. The Fang family had no way to deal with her at this time. They could still ridicule and despise her just now, but now they were strangled by her step by step and could only follow her rhythm. They couldn’t even fight back after being beaten.
“I have saved five dollars. I will give it all to you so that you can go home and buy a ticket. You must take the children and leave immediately.”
Li Xia sneered: “You’re sending me away with five dollars?”
If it was in her previous life, she would have been cold-hearted and wanted nothing. But she is no longer a woman in her twenties. She has experienced the beatings of society and is no longer naive.
“You want more…”
“Shut up, or I’ll tear your skin apart.”
Fang Xiaomei actually dared to interrupt, and glared at Li Xia after being confronted. She was not afraid unless she took action, and when she saw Li Xia was about to stand up and raise her hand, she screamed and ran out of the room quickly.
She is not capable, but she deserves a beating. If you refuse the favor given by her, don’t blame hee for beating you. After beating her, Li Xia swept her eyes over the three brothers. The two brothers-in-law stepped back subconsciously and dared not say anything.
“Thirty. That’s all I have. I’ll give it all to you.”
Li Xia knew he wouldn’t have much money because he hadn’t started working yet. She looked at him without saying anything or taking the money, her eyes moving between the two children.
“Thirty is thirty. But what about the two children? What are you going to do?”
After he was admitted to university, she gave birth to her second child. At that time, people were worried about this day. After the birth of the child, an educated youth who did not pass the college entrance examination and had not left helped her name the second child Ruyi.
Persistence, consistency. This implication, now she heard it was ironic. This child was smart, clever, and good at talking, she liked him very much. But now she wondered if she should leave him with his father? He longed for his father so much, wouldn’t he be happier with his father?
Fang Zhongcheng looked at his two children, his heart was in turmoil. She was the one who took care of the children, so he was a little unfamiliar with them. When he heard her talking about this topic, his daughter ran to hug her arm. His son stood beside him, looking around with a confused look.
Seeing that he didn’t say anything, Li Xia said, “The daughter is mine, and the son is yours. We’ll break up now, and we’ll each raise one child. There’s no need to talk about child support.”
In fact, in her previous life, she raised two children by herself, and he never gave her any child support. When she saw this term on TV, she was still laughing, not knowing whether she was laughing at herself for being silly or stupid.
“Mother,”
The little guy ran to his mother and grabbed the corner of her clothes. Li Xia looked at her son’s tender face and felt mixed emotions.
It was as if she saw him growing up, from a cute little boy to a handsome young man. From elementary school to junior high school to high school, he ranked among the top and became the top scorer in science at No. 1 Middle School. She was invited to the stage as a mother to give a speech, and she was radiant with light because of her son among the thousands of people.
The child who brought her glory also hurt her from head to toe. “He is my father, he should support my education, can’t you just relax a little?”
For more than ten years, he never showed up. I was the one who was with him when he was sick, sad, when he studied , when he needed tuition, and took care of all aspects of his life. Finally, he told me that he was his father, accepted his compensation, and called him dad.
