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

Tang Jiao stared at Chen Xiangnan with admiration the whole way, chattering about things at their hospital. Tang Jiao cut a sweet potato that Chen Xiangnan brought in half, one for her and one for Chen Xiangnan. She even took a large bag of red dates from her father's drawer, dates that her mother had specially bought for her father to nourish his health.

"The bag of red dates my mom bought is big and sweet. It can be eaten as a snack or used to make soup. You should drink more of it." Tang Jiao was especially happy today. "Next time I go home, I'll bring some smoked meat that I bought and made. It's delicious too."

Chen Xiangnan smiled and said, "I unexpectedly received an old watch from somewhere else. You can take it to Mom later."

Tang Jiao's eyes widened. "A watch? For my mom?"

Chen Xiangnan: "My mom already has one, and she bought a new one when you got married, so you can take this one back with you. Don't keep bringing things over there, or Dad will be even angrier when he sees me."

Tang Jiao: "No way, my dad must have been very impressed with you today."

Tang's father, braving the cold wind, took off his scarf and gloves and put them on the coat rack. Then Tang's mother brought him a meal that had been specially prepared for him and kept warm in the pot.

"Old Tang, you've run into trouble again?"

Tang's father's eyes were bright. He had been holding it in all the way. He couldn't share his feelings with his colleagues at the hospital because it would make him seem too unsteady. But today he really had a lot to say, and he looked exactly like Tang Jiao when she was watching the fun.

Before he could even swallow a bite of food, he started talking about the hospital incident, "You know, our son-in-law is actually pretty good, isn't he? Except he's unemployed and sometimes a bit irresponsible, and he's a divorced man with a child who's lost his wife, uh..."

As if to make amends, he added, "But his personality is top-notch, he's warm-hearted, and very eloquent. You don't know, he just scared that patient's family member half to death at the hospital, and they were so quick to hand over the money."

Tang's mother made him another soup, and when she brought it out, Tang's father was still praising his son-in-law, saying, "Alright, let's eat first, or the food will get cold."

Mr. Tang immediately lowered his head and started eating. Halfway through, he wanted to praise her again, but when he looked up, he noticed that his wife had a worried look on her face.

Tang's father asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Why do you look even more worried than happy? Our son-in-law is a very good person, what are you worried about?"

Tang's mother hesitated for a moment before voicing her suspicion, "Do you think our son-in-law might be a hoodlum? He always hangs out with those ruthless people; what if he does something bad in the future..."

Mr. Tang immediately shook his head, “How could that be? Apart from our mother-in-law, none of the rest of their family can do anything bad.”

Tang's mother: "Are you saying that my mother-in-law would do bad things?"

Mr. Tang laughed, “She’s just a bit fierce, but she’s still a full-time employee at the textile factory. Apart from having a bad temper and being prone to fighting, she’s quite popular. She’s unlikely to do anything bad.”

Tang's mother: "Didn't she kick her eldest son's family out? Isn't that doing something bad?"

Mr. Tang fell silent. He also felt that Old Chen and Old Mrs. Xia were completely unfit parents. If a child can't be taught well, then teach him slowly; no one is born a bad person. If his son did something utterly despicable, he would only feel it was his fault, that he, as a father, had failed in his responsibilities.

Mr. Tang strongly disapproved of the practice of kicking out an entire family just because their child made a mistake. No matter what, his grandson was innocent. He couldn't agree with the indiscriminate kicking them all out and forcing his son to marry into the family.

"Once we get to know each other better, I'll try to persuade Old Chen," Tang's father suddenly thought, his saintly heart yearning for guidance. Even if the eldest son of the Chen family is utterly disobedient, he's still a person, not a beast. With the right approach, perhaps he can turn over a new leaf.

However, on the other hand, he could put his eldest son's matter aside for now and talk about his good son-in-law first. If Chen Xiangnan really was hanging out with those hooligans, he would definitely try to correct him. But no matter how he looked at it, he didn't think Chen Xiangnan was that kind of person. "Anyway, I think our son-in-law is a pretty upright person. He can't possibly be like what you're saying."

Tang's mother: "You always think the best of people. Have you ever thought about where all that money came from when your good son-in-law spent so much on his wedding to our Jiaojiao? He doesn't have a job, so where did his money come from? Don't tell me he earned it by doing manual labor. He doesn't look like someone who does heavy work at all, let alone that he saved it up before. He used to be a temporary worker. Where would he get so much money? He hosted several banquets and even bought a sewing machine."

Tang's father was unconvinced. "Maybe it was his parents who paid for it. Our Jiaojiao has me as her father, her family is well-off, and she is a capable nurse. Old Chen would definitely be willing to spend a lot of money to help his good-for-nothing son get married. The two of them have worked for so many years, how could they not afford this money?"

Tang's mother: "You don't know the gossip about their family that's circulating among us women, do you?"

Mr. Tang pricked up his ears. "What gossip?"

Tang's mother: "That old lady Xia had previously made some outrageous remarks, saying that she and her husband would not interfere with their second son's second marriage and their third son's first marriage, and that each of them should rely on their own abilities to find a wife. If they were not capable, they would remain bachelors for life."

Mr. Tang's eyes widened. "How could there be such a person? It can't be, can it? Is he just being stubborn but soft-hearted?"

Tang's mother shook her head and whispered, "I heard that the sewing machine was obtained by that kid from... black market industrial tickets, which took him several months to collect. He also paid for all the dishes for the wedding banquet himself, and he was the one who hired the head chef to cook. When someone asked my mother-in-law about the head chef's prices and the source of the dishes, she knew nothing. I think she probably only helped out and didn't contribute any money."

Mr. Tang was surprised, "These days, there are still young men who can get married without spending their parents' money. This kid is quite capable."

Tang's mother was worried again, "So I really can't understand where he got this money. I'm afraid he did something shameful."

This time, Tang's father listened to what he said and began to worry. He had previously staked out Chen Xiangnan several times in order to keep him away from his daughter. Every time, the boy would leave early and return late, sometimes covered in mud, and he didn't know what he was doing.

If, as his wife said, he was using unspeakable methods to make money, Tang's father would be even more worried. What if something happened to that kid? What would happen to his daughter then?