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

“If you go over there, you’ll have to ask the factory for leave and get a certificate from them, which will cost you several days’ wages. Isn’t that unnecessary?” Old Chen said, taking a puff of his cigarette and frowning.

Similarly, Old Chen also received an angry slap.

"When you donated your salary to that widow, did you not think about how many days' wages you would lose? When that widow was dressed in fine clothes and eating meat and fish, did you not think about your own daughter in the countryside wearing tattered clothes and eating coarse food? You are allowed to feel sorry for that widow, but I am not allowed to feel sorry for Xiang Hong?"

Grandma Xia didn't give Old Chen any face in front of the children at all, and blurted everything out.

The house was in chaos again. Zhu Wenying was the most petty. When she heard that Old Chen would rather give money to the widow to buy clothes than spend money on his eldest grandson, she immediately started shouting.

“Dad, Baoyuan is already four years old, and I can’t bear to take him to a state-run restaurant. But you, you give half of your salary to Widow Huang. Do you only care about their family and not us?”

Old Chen's temper flared up too. He could tolerate his wife hitting him, but what was this junior yelling about? "I can give my money to whomever I want, and you're trying to tell me what to do?"

Zhu Wenying: "Why can't I interfere? We haven't separated our households or lived separately. Look at Mom's clothes, they're patched in several places, but she still hasn't been willing to change them. And look at that widow Huang, she's so old, yet she's dressed better than me. Giving money to her is cheating, it's having an affair. At your age, how can you talk about that?"

Old Chen: "You're a daughter-in-law who's always eyeing your in-laws' money. Do you think that sounds good to others? I've never seen such a vicious daughter-in-law as you."

Chen Xiangnan looked at this and then that, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly, until he finally figured it out. Going along with his mother would get you some good things; going against her would get you a slap in the face.

He immediately expressed his support for Grandma Xia going to the countryside and said he could take a few days off to accompany her, which earned him an appreciative look from Grandma Xia.

"Alright, now your dad's money is all in my hands and won't be given to outsiders. From now on, I'll only be responsible for your meals; you'll have to pay for everything else yourselves, so don't bother me." She paused, then added, "I gave your dad money for your meals these past few days so he can cook for you."

“The second son will come with me to the countryside. Old man, you keep an eye on Lingling and make sure her mother doesn’t take her out.”

Since Grandma Xia had made her decision, Old Chen had no choice but to nod. He had also heard about Chen Lingling's situation; it was too tragic. Neither of his two daughters-in-law was good. He didn't know what sins he had committed to end up with these two.

If this were said aloud, Old Mrs. Xia would agree wholeheartedly, but she felt that her two sons... oh no, her three sons weren't exactly good people either.

Perhaps the way we raise our children is wrong. The children we take good care of are all ungrateful. Only our daughter, who was raised more freely, is a good one, at least someone cares about her.

Grandma Xia locked up the things her daughter had sent, preparing to go to work tomorrow to get the necessary documents.

Today was a day off, and Grandma Xia aired out the quilts and washed her own and Old Chen's clothes. She didn't want to bother with Old Chen, but he had been beaten by her yesterday and probably hurt his back, so he couldn't bend over. Considering that he had wisely handed over all his wages, she had no choice but to wash his clothes as well.

At noon, she took out the dried mushrooms and bamboo shoots that Xiang Hong had sent. She stir-fried the mushrooms with minced meat and also made a tomato and bamboo shoot soup, which was refreshing and appetizing. In the sweltering summer, she just wanted something light and refreshing.

Dong Chunmiao stayed inside and refused to come out for dinner, and Grandma Xia let her be.

When they first returned, Zhu Wenying, with her swollen face, was reluctant to go out, but she was frightened by Grandma Xia's frantic banging on the door and had no choice but to come out.

Seeing that Dong Chunmiao had also been beaten, she felt inexplicably much better.

If it were just their family that was beaten, Zhu Wenying would be furious. Why is it that when the second son is working, Grandma Xia doesn't beat him, but when their family is just asking for a little money, they get beaten like this?

Seeing that Dong Chunmiao's condition wasn't much better, her pent-up anger subsided. It seemed her mother-in-law treated everyone fairly, but why did she only beat Dong Chunmiao and not Chen Xiangnan?

Sure enough, her mother-in-law favored the second son.

Thinking about it this way, Zhu Wenying felt a little indignant again. Why was it so unfair?

That's just the kind of person she is; even when she's down on her luck, she wants to see other people suffer along with her.

After the meal, Grandma Xia assigned tasks to the two families, with each family taking turns washing dishes and doing housework for a week. In any case, she, as the mother-in-law, would no longer serve them.

At that moment, she suddenly realized that her third brother hadn't been home for a day and a night.

"Old man, heading north?"

Old Chen then realized that his third son had run away from home and hadn't returned yet.

This whole affair has caused trouble for all three sons, leaving them all with no peace of mind.

"Then I'll go look for it!" Old Chen put down his pipe and was about to walk out, but Old Lady Xia didn't move.

"Aren't you going?"

Grandma Xia: "At least we won't starve to death. If we really get hungry, we'll go home."

Old Chen angrily rebuked, "What kind of mother are you? What if something happens to the child?"

Grandma Xia: "What could possibly happen? Even if someone harms us, we won't be able to find them."

Old Chen choked for a moment, "What if someone bullies me?"

Grandma Xia: "A child this big, wouldn't they run home if they were bullied? Besides..."

Grandma Xia shut her mouth because she saw her third son, who was covered in dirt, standing at the door.

"Heading north?" Old Mrs. Xia walked over, saying she didn't care, but she was still a little worried. "How did it get like this?"

Chen Xiangbei was hungry and tired outside. When she saw the concern in her mother's words, she couldn't hold back her tears. She shook off Xia's hand and shouted angrily, "I don't need your help. Didn't you want to kick me out? What are you pretending for now?"

Grandma Xia was both angry and heartbroken that her third brother had spoken ill of her. She had gotten used to hitting people these past two days, so she slapped him across the face. Chen Xiangbei, with tears still on his face, stopped crying.

Zhu Wenying was no longer angry. Her mother-in-law beat everyone she saw, so it couldn't be that she was targeting her on purpose. Didn't she see that her third brother, who was still in school, was also beaten?

Well done! Chen Xiangbei, that kind of brat who cheats people out of money and causes trouble, deserves a good beating.

In that instant, Zhu Wenying suddenly felt no pain from the wounds on her body and face, and her eyes were filled with excitement.

Old Mrs. Xia asked coldly, "Still crying?"

Chen Xiangbei shoved Grandma Xia hard, then cried even louder.

After being slapped a few more times by Old Mrs. Xia, Chen Xiangbei could no longer open his mouth and could only sob and look angrily at his mother.

Grandma Xia raised her hand again, and Chen Xiangbei's body twitched as he begged for mercy, "No... hiccup... don't cry anymore."

Grandma Xia turned around and went into the kitchen. She made a bowl of clear soup noodles and brought it out to him without even adding an egg. "Eat up."

Chen Xiangbei was a little disgusted, but he hadn't eaten all day and was really hungry. He was also afraid that Old Lady Xia would hit him again or take the noodles away and not give him any to eat, so he had no choice but to swallow his food with a small mouth open, feeling wronged.

It smells so good! It tastes so good! Hehe! I'm so satisfied!

Chen Xiangbei ate his noodles with gusto, knowing that his mother was angry that he had run away from home and disobeyed her, so she didn't put an egg in his noodles. He covered his face as he ate, not daring to object.

Grandma Xia started packing her luggage, and told Chen Xiangnan to pack too, so they could leave tomorrow after he got his leave. She wanted to see Xiang Hong as soon as possible and bring her lots of good food.

Chen Xiangbei looked at the two of them busily working, confused. "Where is Mom going?"

Old Chen: "Look at your third sister."

Chen Xiangbei: "What's so interesting about my third sister?"

Old Chen gently patted his youngest son, then glanced fearfully at Old Mrs. Xia, who was busy inside the house, and said, "Shh, don't let your mother hear this."

Chen Xiangbei immediately lowered his head; the slaps his mother gave him hurt terribly.

It was then that he noticed his father, older brother, and sister-in-law's faces were swollen. He had a very outrageous guess in his mind: could it be that his mother beat all three of them by herself?

This is impossible, right?

At this moment, Dong Chunmiao came out of the house.

To Chen Xiangbei's surprise, his second sister-in-law had also been beaten.

Who bullied their family?

Right now, only his mother and his second brother in the whole family seem to have never been beaten.

Chen Xiangbei was filled with doubts, but he didn't dare to ask them because his mother came out.