Meng Yan's Transformation

Zhan Zichuan went to live with his wife Wang Guijun. His family members silently blessed him and hoped that his new life would be sweet and happy.

One day, Zhan Zichuan sneaked back to the Zhan family. Yunqing made him hand-rolled noodles. He wolfed down three big bowls, which stunned Zhan Mengyan.

Zhan Mengyan watched Zhan Zichuan finish three bowls of wide noodles and still seemed unsatisfied, so she jokingly said, "Brother Zichuan, you're not full yet, are you? You didn't have such a big appetite before, how come you can eat so much all of a sudden? Have you become stronger? Your appetite has also increased, why do I think you've become much thinner than when you were at home? Could it be that my sister-in-law Guijun doesn't give you enough food every day and abuses you, which is why you've become so thin..."

Yunqing saw Zhan Zichuan smiled awkwardly when he heard Zhan Mengyan's words, so she hurriedly stopped him and said, "Zhan Mengyan, don't tease your brother Zichuan. Besides, as a sister-in-law, how can you, as a sister-in-law, speculate about your sister-in-law behind her back and stir up trouble? Quickly serve your brother Zichuan another bowl of noodles and add more sauce. He likes to add more of this sauce."

Zhan Mengyan stuck out her tongue, made a face, and served Zhan Zichuan another bowl of noodles after hearing what Yun Qing said.

"My mom's cooking is the best. Her hand-rolled noodles are the best in the world. I haven't eaten them for a long time. They are so delicious." Zhan Zichuan said while eating.

Yunqing looked at Zhan Zichuan eating happily and said with great satisfaction: "Zichuan, if you like the food cooked by mom, come home anytime and tell mom what you want to eat."

"Mom, I don't want to go back to Wang Guijun's house. I want to eat the meals you cook for me every day." Zhan Zichuan said.

"Mom said you can come home for dinner anytime, but I didn't say you shouldn't go back to your wife. Zichuan, tell me honestly, did you have a fight with your wife Guijun? Why did you come back alone? Did you sneak back?"

Zhan Zichuan wanted to say something but stopped, hesitating, his fists clenched, veins bulging, he looked at Yunqing with a gloomy expression, frowned, as if he was about to tell the truth by accident, but swallowed it back. His lips were tightly closed, tears flashed in his eyes, he hesitated and sighed in annoyance, put down the unfinished noodles in his hand, paced left and right on the ground, and finally stopped after a long time.

Yunqing looked at Zhan Zichuan and was very anxious. She grabbed Zhan Zichuan and said, "Child, if you have anything to say, please say it quickly. These are all your family members. If you have any unspeakable secrets or grievances, don't tell us! Do you want to make your mother anxious to death? Do you want us to worry about you for no reason?"

Zhan Zichuan slowly squatted down, his eyes became dim, his brows were furrowed, revealing an indescribable grievance, looking very depressed, and his expression was very serious. There was a hint of gloom on his face, as if he was thinking about his own experience. There was a stream of sadness on his face, and his eyes were half closed, as if he was crying all the time...

"Brother Zichuan, what's wrong with you? Say something. I'm so scared and heartbroken when you do this... woo woo," Zhan Mengyan said while crying.

Zhan Zichuan opened his eyes, patted Zhan Mengyan who had thrown herself into his arms, and said, "Sister Mengyan, don't be afraid. Your brother Zichuan just misses home, misses dad, mom, brother, and sisters, so I ran back home to see you. I don't want to be separated from my family again, so I don't want to go back to Wang Guijun's house. What kind of 'son-in-law' is this!"

"Zichuan, you are not the 'son-in-law who lives with the family'. Although our Zhan family is not a famous family, we were arranged by a matchmaker and gave a betrothal gift to marry Wang Guijun. It was because your mother-in-law was sick and needed your care that your father and I reluctantly let you go to the Wang family. Is there someone in your village gossiping about you, thinking that you are a 'son-in-law who lives with the family'? You are not a 'son-in-law who lives with the family', so you can't belittle yourself." Yunqing said.

"Mom, I was wrong. I was fooled by Wang Guijun and her mother Fu Jinzhi. I shouldn't have listened to them and left you to go to Wang Guijun's house by myself. Since I arrived at Wang Guijun's house, the first two days were fine and they were polite. But after that, her mother made things difficult for me. She urged me to get up and work before dawn every day. I was just like Zhou Paopi in "The Cock Crows at Midnight". Fu Jinzhi wanted me to work 24 hours a day. It would be fine if I just worked more, but she only gave me a small bowl of porridge every morning, no rice at noon, and a fixed amount for dinner, saying that eating too much would cause indigestion. She always complained that I ate too much and did not work enough. I was so hungry that I saw stars every day. Fu Jinzhi was always dissatisfied with all my work, and said that recruiting me as a 'son-in-law' was all show and no use. When I was working, if she was satisfied, she would hit me with the walking stick in her hand..." Zhan Zichuan took off his shirt and saw bruises on his arms, back and chest.

Yunqing and Zhan Mengyan were shocked to see Zhan Zichuan covered in injuries.

"Brother Zichuan, I thought you and sister-in-law lived a sweet and happy life every day. I never expected that you lived such an inhuman life of slavery. I support you. Never go back to Wang Guijun's house. In our house, you have the final say on what you want to eat, and we all listen to you." Zhan Mengyan said.

"Zichuan, does your wife know that your mother-in-law treats you like this? Doesn't your wife care about her mother? Don't you and your wife have a very good relationship?" Yunqing asked.

Zhan Zichuan looked at Zhan Mengyan and Yunqing and said, "Wang Guijun knows her mother's temper. She watched her mother scolding and beating me, but she didn't care. She just told me before going to bed at night that I should be more patient with her mother's bad temper for her sake. She said that it was not easy for her mother to be a widow for many years. In order to support the family, she was afraid of being bullied by others, so she became a famous 'hot pepper' in the village. She was also secretly called 'little hot pepper' by the people in the village. She said that she would persuade her mother to change her temper and be nicer to me, but I feel that after she persuaded her, her mother became worse and worse. She also said that I was a 'son-in-law' who lived off his wife and could only complain to his wife. What kind of ability was that? Today, because I didn't trim the branches at the door, Fu Jinzhi beat me again. I was so angry that I refused to do it and ran back home. I don't plan to go back to Wang Guijun's house and suffer humiliation every day."

I don't know when Zhan Yu came back. When he heard Zhan Zichuan said that he didn't want to go back to live with his wife Wang Guijun, he was very angry. He said seriously: "Zhan Zichuan, if you don't go back to your wife, do you want to live with us for the rest of your life? At the beginning, your mother-in-law gave us the 'Hongmen Banquet', but we didn't surrender or betray you. It was you who decided to go to your wife's house. Do you regret it today? A man has to keep going on the path he has decided to take, even if he has to crawl. Zichuan, when you have eaten and drunk enough, go back to your wife as soon as possible so that she won't worry about you."

"Dad, they abuse my brother Zichuan. We can't let him go back to that den of wolves. They are too cruel. They don't give us enough food and they beat us. My brother Zichuan is not a slave of their family in the old society!" Zhan Mengyan hurriedly hugged Zhan Zichuan and refused to let go.

"Zhan Mengyan, let go of your hand and let Zhan Zichuan go. I am the head of the family. When will it be your turn, a little girl, to have the final say?" Zhan Yu angrily scolded Zhan Mengyan.

Zhan Zichuan left Zhan Mengyan behind and rushed out the door...

Zhan Mengyan cried and chased after him...