She won't clear her name; she'll throw away all the scum.

Chen Xiangdong was truly exasperated. "Dad, I'm already in such a miserable state, and you still want to make money off me. That Jiang Fangru is also eyeing my and Wenying's meager salaries every day, and she even wants us to hand them over in full. Why do you only care about money? Aren't I your child? Why can't you think about me?"

Old Chen turned and left. He didn't know how much money they'd deduct from his paycheck during this period at the factory; he'd have to plead his case later. The eldest son was hopeless; he was always blaming them. He didn't want to deal with him anymore. Last time he was injured, the kid ran away faster than a dog, refusing to even come to see him.

Just like his wife said, this child is beyond saving, it's better to just give up.

Seeing his father's resolute back, Chen Xiangdong immediately called out to him, "I'll give it to him, I'll give it to him, okay? Come back here!"

Old Chen slowly walked back and firmly reached out his hand.

Helpless, Chen Xiangdong could only take out several loose bills from his pocket, count them out with a pained expression, and hand them over.

Old Chen immediately took it, counted it, and said with some disdain, "Is this all? It's not even enough for half a day's wages. Don't you care about your old man at all? Do you want me to die? Then I'm not going!"

Chen Xiangdong: ...Can their father-son relationship only be maintained by money? His mother has changed, and now his father has changed too.

Finally, the father and son reached an agreement and hurried to the gate of the textile factory.

Grandma Xia was in a calm mood today. Apart from being annoyed by the news that her eldest son was looking for her when she went to work early in the morning, nothing else happened.

She was working hard when she heard that Old Chen had come looking for her.

What a strange day! The son came looking for me, and now his father is here too. Since it's this old geezer, I should at least give him some face.

She didn't want to give him face, but her supervisor had called her in for a talk, saying that her beating her husband in public at the machinery factory had a terrible impact and that she shouldn't do it again.

The factories are all connected, and many people know each other. The story of her hitting the old man had already spread far and wide, and it certainly had a bad influence. Anyway, she wasn't fined, and the leaders' words still carried weight with her, so she could only say that she wouldn't do it again.

Once outside the gate, she greeted the security guard and went out.

"What do you want? Can't you wait until after work to talk about it? And why did you bring him here again? I told you I'm not going to deal with him anymore." Old Mrs. Xia pointed at Chen Xiangdong, this unlucky fellow, feeling annoyed again. Did they all just ignore her words?

"Keep your voice down, it's not exactly a respectable thing to begin with." Old Chen pulled the man aside and pointed to the gossipy look in the security guard's eyes. He really didn't want to be the subject of gossip anymore.

After regaining her balance, Grandma Xia asked impatiently again, "What is it? If it's not a matter of life and death, can you please not bother me?"

Chen Xiangdong pleaded softly, "Mom, I really have no other choice. You don't know how vicious they are, they're not even human."

He wanted to have a good talk with his mother about the mess the Zhu family was making, but Old Mrs. Xia was impatient to listen. When she saw Chen Xiangdong start cursing the Zhu family, she sneered, "Sometimes you can be so vicious that you're not even human."

Chen Xiangdong was truly suffering. He always felt that he hadn't made any big mistakes, and he didn't understand why everyone said he was unfilial, an ingrate, and that even his own mother didn't like him.

But now is not the time to argue about this. He endured Old Madam Xia's death stare and explained the Zhu family's situation. Finally, he pleaded, "Mom, this is really a matter of life and death. Please help us. If you don't want us to move back in the future, we won't come back. We'll just stay at the Zhu family's house, okay?"

Grandma Xia felt that her eldest son was exaggerating again. If it were a matter of life and death, the police would have been dispatched long ago. So she didn't answer, but instead asked Old Chen, "How long have you been on leave?"