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

The fire was quickly extinguished. The neighbors, who knew the way well, borrowed a tricycle and worked together to carry Chen Xiangbei up. Old Chen sat in the back; some of the blood on his face had dried, but it was still sticky.

Chen Xiangnan jumped onto the front of the tricycle and struggled to ride it. Everyone except Grandma Xia followed him to the hospital.

Half of the people in the house had left, and the remaining neighbors finally had time to ask Grandma Xia what had happened.

"Aunt Xia, how can such a big thing happen during the Chinese New Year?"

"When we came in, we saw you being held down. Did you set this house on fire?"

"It's one thing for you to hit and curse people, and it's another for you to kick your eldest son out, but you can't kill and set fires."

"Even if your kids are hopeless and make you angry, you can't just beat them up like this on such a nice day."

"Poor Xiangbei, he's lying on the ground, all cold. I wonder where he's hurt."

"You didn't see Old Chen's head. Blood was gushing out, and he was still busy putting out the fire. I was really afraid he would just collapse."

"Yue'e, what you did was really wrong. Do you still want to live with Lao Chen?"

"Let me tell you, what couple doesn't argue? But apart from the Ma family, everyone else goes through this, right? You've been together for so long, how come you suddenly can't hold back anymore?"

"That's right. Old Chen isn't like Old Ma. If he were like Old Ma, beating you every day, we wouldn't say a word in his defense today. We would all be on your side. But he's not like that."

"Old Chen is already considered a good man around here. He gives you your salary without hesitation, and he helps with housework on a regular basis. We all see that. If my wife could be like Old Chen, I would be laughing in my dreams."

"Even if your child upsets you during the New Year, or Old Chen upsets you, it's still the New Year. Just bear with it and it will pass. Harmony in the family brings prosperity. Don't take things too seriously on the first day of the New Year."

They chattered on, each offering their own words of advice, bombarding her with what they thought were good for her, completely disregarding what had actually happened and why Old Mrs. Xia was crying so much.

They have to endure during the New Year, they have to endure as mothers, they have to endure as wives, they have to endure when they are young, they have to endure even more when they are older, they have to endure when they are unemployed, and they still have to endure when they have a job. After all, they are women, and they have an obligation to endure like this for a lifetime.

Grandma Xia wanted to tell them to get lost too, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out.

Grandma Yin noticed her actions and was also annoyed by these words. She scolded on behalf of Grandma Xia: "You have so many problems of your own family, yet you're lecturing others on how to behave. It's laughable. You're so tolerant and like to endure things so much. Then I, Yin Donghua, wish you to endure until you die in the new year. Now get out of here. It's none of your business to talk about other people's family affairs."

“Yin Donghua, we’re just trying to be helpful. Xia Yue’e has done something terrible today. She’s not acting like a good woman at all. Old Chen was perfectly fine, but she beat him up like that, and his son is lying on the ground. Any man would not be able to live with her.”

"What a tragedy! Your own man is dead, do you want Yue'e to be like you, without a man, all alone and helpless? You always call her your best friend, but now that you see her like this, you're probably happy inside."

"I think you're just jealous of Yue'e's large family and how good her husband is to her. So now that you see them arguing, you're just hoping she'll break up with Lao Chen as soon as possible."

“Aunt Yin isn’t that kind of person, so don’t talk nonsense. But if Aunt Xia really did separate from Uncle Chen, it wouldn’t do her any good either. Not only would she be gossiped about, but it’s also so hard for a woman to live alone.”

"That's true. We all know Donghua's personality. She's not the kind of person who's malicious. She was just worried when she saw Yue'e crying like that. Don't try to smear her. I remember you even asked her to take care of your grandson when you needed her help."

"Aunt Yin, don't be too anxious. Try to persuade Aunt Xia. Uncle Chen and Aunt Xia are not young anymore, so they shouldn't make things so difficult for each other."

"Yes, there are no divorced people in our compound."

"Get out, get out, I told you all to get out." The more Old Mrs. Yin listened, the more annoyed she became. If she was this annoyed, her sister Yue'e must be even more annoyed. So she helped the woman up and made her sit on a stool, wiped away her tears, and then started to kick her out.

Soon, the neighbors left, grumbling and cursing. Old Mrs. Xia lowered her head; it was originally her business, but Donghua had taken the blame for her.

Grandma Yin walked over and sat down on a bench with Grandma Xia, holding her hand tightly. "Those people are just gossipy, ignore them."

"Thank you," Grandma Xia said in a hoarse voice.

"What happened?"

With red eyes, Grandma Xia said, "What do you think we've lived for? When we were young, we struggled to get out of my family home. After finally getting a job, we were constantly introduced to men. We thought we had chosen a good man, got married, and then started taking care of his whole family. When we had children, we had to worry about them. When they grew up, we had to worry about their marriages. Then we had to worry about our grandchildren. Finally, when our health failed, we were abandoned by our children and died. That's how our lives went."

"A life of constant worry, what's the point of living?"

Grandma Yin patted her on the shoulder, "What's the point of living? The point of living is to enjoy life."

Grandma Xia said blankly, "Enjoy happiness? How could I possibly enjoy happiness?"

Grandma Yin said earnestly, “Sister Yue’e, it’s your own fault for not understanding. Look at me, I’ve said before that I’m even less useful than you. I couldn’t break free when I was young, and I only realized it after I discovered that my son Yin Sheng was successful. I’m useless myself, so I have to make my successful child know to be filial to me so that I can enjoy a good life. If I hadn’t woken up so late and wasn’t so old, I wouldn’t even want to rely on my son.”

“You’re much better off than me. At least you have a job, so you don’t have to rely on anyone. Sister Yue’e, you have more choices than me. If you feel that your children or Old Chen are making you unhappy, you can just take your money and walk away. Why waste your time with them?”

Grandma Xia asked in confusion, "Go out?"

Grandma Yin nodded emphatically. "Yes, go out and you can support yourself with your salary. Whether you rent a place or apply for worker dormitories at the factory, you can only worry about yourself and not others. You can rely on yourself and not others. What a carefree life that is!"

She smiled and said, "We women shouldn't be too burdened by our reputation. Who cares what they say, as long as we're happy. If you listen to others too much, you'll suffer."

“I didn’t go to school much, and some of what I’m saying may seem ridiculous to you, but if I hadn’t figured these things out, I would still be digging in the fields and working like a slave for my other sons.”