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

Old Chen dawdled as he arrived at the door of Old Lady Yin's room. His children and his younger siblings walked behind him, secretly watching. That brat Chen Xiangbei even clenched his fists to encourage him.

This time, it was Grandma Xia who opened the door again.

"Old woman, I..." Before he could finish speaking, he was slapped across the face, and then the door in front of him was quickly closed.

Old Chen stood there stunned, and the people behind him who were looking at him were also stunned.

After a while, Old Chen knocked on the door again. Old Mrs. Xia opened the door and slapped him again before closing the door.

After this happened several times, Old Chen gave up and returned home.

"She doesn't want to talk to me," Old Chen said.

Chen Xiangnan welcomed Old Chen in, and seeing that he didn't speak, he advised, "Dad, actually, Mom treats you very differently. I think only you can win her back."

Old Chen was puzzled, "She hit me like that."

Chen Xiangnan: "Think about it, every one of us went to see her today, and she wouldn't even bother to hit us. She just kicked us out and locked us out. Your aunt didn't even come in. Only you, Mom still had the mind to hit you. Isn't that special treatment for you?"

Old Chen remained expressionless. "Save those words for fooling young girls. I'm your father, I'm not stupid."

Chen Xiangnan touched his nose. His father hadn't lost his mind after all; he was no longer someone to be fooled.

In the following days, Old Chen went to see Old Lady Xia every day, without fail, and each time he would get slapped a few times.

A few days ago, some neighbors tried to dissuade them, but in the following days, this daily routine became a spectacle in the compound, attracting many onlookers, and some even went so far as to tell their relatives about their family's affairs.

Old Chen knew perfectly well how shameful this was, but he insisted on making it up to force Old Lady Xia to go home.

Although they laughed at him, they also knew the extent of Old Chen's apology to Old Lady Xia. If Old Lady Xia continued to treat him this way, in the end, everyone would only blame Old Lady Xia.

This was an idea Old Chen came up with in the middle of the night on the second day of the Lunar New Year.

He considered himself a man of integrity and should not be so subservient. But if he was too indifferent and ignored Old Lady Xia, people might say behind his back that it was because of him that Old Lady Xia wanted to divorce him.

Therefore, he felt that even if he was unwilling, he had to put on an act.

Within a few days, the news about their compound spread to neighboring compounds, and even Grandma Xia and the factory leaders of Old Chen's factory knew about it.

Leader: ...I'm so tired, really tired. Can't we just let them have a proper New Year?

Soon, the leaders of Old Chen's Machinery Factory came to persuade Old Chen. Old Chen immediately burst into tears, using a retreat as a tactic to express his pitiful state and his attitude of admitting his mistakes. Then, he took the leaders to find Old Lady Xia. After getting a slap as he wished, Old Lady Xia finally had the mind to talk to the leaders.

But no matter what, Old Mrs. Xia was determined to get a divorce.

The factory leader left, and before he left, he told Grandma Xia that it's normal for couples to quarrel, and that no one just gets divorced on a whim. He said if they could make it work, they should stay together, since the children were all grown up and they already had grandchildren. He also said that Old Chen wasn't the kind of man who gambled and drank, and that he was a good man.

After seeing off the leaders from the machinery factory, the leaders from Xia's textile factory also came to inquire about the situation. They couldn't understand why Xia wanted a divorce either. If Chen Weiguo were a wife-beater, unreasonable, or a person of bad character who would do bad things, they wouldn't have advised her against it.

But Chen Weiguo, the engineer, doesn't fit any of these descriptions. He's even willing to do housework. They can't understand why Comrade Xia insists on divorcing him. He's such a good man.

Grandma Xia remained unmoved, only telling them that only she knew the joys and sorrows of life, and outsiders would never understand the twists and turns and hardships involved. Finally, the textile factory leaders left, still hoping Grandma Xia would consider it.

A marital breakdown that could alarm even the leaders meant that other people were discussing it even more intensely.

A small number of people believe that Old Mrs. Xia must have suffered some terrible injustice, and this injustice is not easy to express. Otherwise, why would Old Mrs. Xia insist on getting a divorce, and why would she beat Old Mr. Chen every time she sees him? Old Mr. Chen must have made some serious mistake.

Many people even believe that Old Chen might be having an affair, and that the other woman might have even had his child. This view is widely accepted. If it weren't for such a serious matter, most women would just tolerate minor mistakes.

However, most people still think that Old Mrs. Xia was too heartless. After so many years of marriage, there must have been some feelings between them. Yet she just said she wanted a divorce, and even Old Mr. Chen's desperate pleas did not shake her determination. They disliked such a cold-hearted old lady very much.

These past few days, Grandma Yin's house has been bustling with activity. Grandma Xia's face was very dark, and given her usual tendency to hit people without warning, many people didn't dare to approach her. Instead, they tried to find out what had happened by talking to Grandma Yin and Yin Sheng.

These past few days, whenever Grandma Yin and her son go out, they are surrounded by people. They feel that these two people are easy to talk to, so they often hold onto them and don't let them leave.

But while they were easy to talk to, they were very discerning about what to say and what not to say, so even though the Lunar New Year holiday was almost over, no one managed to find out any information.

The speculations became increasingly outlandish and spread wider and wider.

But Old Mrs. Xia never stayed at Old Mrs. Yin's house and never showed her face. The only time she was allowed to go out for fresh air each day was when Old Mr. Chen went to see her, and then she would slap him a few times and go back.

On the first day back to work after the Spring Festival, Grandma Xia took half a day off to go to the machinery factory to find Old Chen. She asked someone to call Old Chen, but he didn't come out. He just said that he was very busy on the first day back to work and didn't have time.

Grandma Xia was so angry that she wanted to rush in and grab the person, but the security guards at the gate wouldn't let her in. She used to be able to get in because everyone there was a local resident and they all knew each other.

Everyone was siding with Old Chen, and Old Lady Xia suddenly realized this.

Old Chen gets off work at five o'clock, and the Civil Affairs Bureau also gets off work at five o'clock. If that's the case, she really can't do anything about this old man.

Grandma Xia pursed her lips and went back to the textile factory to report back from work.

Before dawn the next day, Old Mrs. Xia was waiting at his door. When Old Chen thought he had gotten up early and was sneaking around trying to avoid Old Mrs. Xia, she caught him in the act.

"I'm not going! I'm telling you, I won't divorce you!" Old Chen yelled as his hair was grabbed.

Old Mrs. Xia thought to herself that she had guessed correctly. This old man was trying to drag her down. She slapped him a few more times, but after being pushed down hard by Old Chen, she yelled, "Chen Weiguo, how long are you going to keep hurting me?"

The two started fighting in the dim light of the early morning, disturbing the neighbors who were still fast asleep in the courtyard.