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

After getting off work, Chen Xiangdong and his family didn't go home but rushed back to their old compound.

He had been cursing in his heart all day. His parents' divorce was such a big deal, and they only found out now. After being separated from the family, were they no longer a family? Why didn't anyone tell them about it? Not a single person had come to tell them.

Even though his family didn't visit any relatives during the Lunar New Year this year, his father still came to pay his respects. They were still angry, wondering why he had to visit anyone else.

He thought his parents were upset with them, so he ignored them for the entire New Year. But he never expected that so many things had happened at home. He only found out about this from the workers at his factory.

Everyone in his family knew, including his uncles and aunts, but he, as their biological son, was the last to know, and only found out today.

Chen Xiangdong stepped into the compound after a long absence. Like his mother, he felt as if he had lived there for several years, even though it had only been about half a year.

He knocked heavily on the door, "Dad, Dad."

Old Chen stayed at the factory again, the second son and his wife went to his father-in-law's house for dinner, the third son went to help his mother with some errands, and Xiang Hong went to find her boyfriend. The house was dark and empty.

The family of three stood at the door, listening to their neighbors talk about their family, looking at the house in front of them as if it had no human presence.

"Xiang Dong, they're not here today. Shall we come back tomorrow?" Zhu Wenying held her child, starving.

In her opinion, if they get divorced, so be it. Anyway, her "good" mother-in-law doesn't approve of their family. If her in-laws don't divorce, her mother-in-law has all the decisions, and her family gets no benefit. But if they divorce, she can bring the kids over more often and maybe even get some money from her husband.

But we can't say that now. It's obvious that Xiang Dong is preoccupied with his parents' divorce. Wouldn't saying something like that now affect their relationship?

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiangdong did not agree. "No, let's go to the factory to find Dad. If that doesn't work, we'll go to my second son's father-in-law's house."

Zhu Wenying was unhappy. She just wanted to go home. After a long day at work, she had to take care of her in-laws while holding her child. It was too tiring.

“It’s cold at night, and I’m worried that Baoyuan will get sick. Otherwise, I’ll take him home first, put on an extra layer of clothing, and then come out again,” Zhu Wenying said, using the child as an excuse.

Chen Xiangdong nodded, "That's right. There's no need for our whole family to go. You should take the child and go back first. Don't come out again. It wouldn't be good if you both got sick."

After receiving the answer she wanted, Zhu Wenying left.

In the clinic, Chen Xiangbei kept pestering Grandma Xia to talk about her affairs. After being slapped by Grandma Xia and quieting down, he started talking about things in their compound.

"Mom, I'm telling you, Guan Tao from our compound has run away."

Grandma Xia was watching over her sister, but since she hadn't woken up yet, she had the leisure to listen to Chen Xiangdong's nonsense. "What? She ran away? Where did she run off to?"

Chen Xiangbei gestured wildly, saying, "Everyone in the compound is saying she ran off with another man."

Grandma Xia asked in confusion, "She and Xiao Ma were legally married, weren't they? How could she run away without being divorced?"

Chen Xiangbei: "Actually, she didn't go with any other man. She took the letter of introduction and went back to her village. Before she left, she went to the hospital. She went in with a big belly and came out with a flat belly. Her face was as white as a ghost, and she walked very slowly. Even so, she still insisted on going to the train station. I guess she went back to her parents' home."

Grandma Xia: "You saw it again?"

Chen Xiangbei: "Hehe, I didn't see it, I just heard about it. I have a friend at the train station."

Grandma Xia sighed, "When Lao Ma was arrested, Xiao Ma stayed at home for a while before being released. When he was released, he still wanted to be a good person and raise his child. Now, the whole family is either in or out of the house, and the child is gone too."

Chen Xiangbei shook his head. "Not only that, Xiao Ma seems to have really gone mad. He was taken away by the neighborhood committee. I heard that they're going to bring Guan Tao back to take care of Xiao Ma."

Grandma Xia: "Huh? He wasn't crazy before? He even took off his pants in public. Is that something a normal person would do? And Guan Tao, she ran away and can't possibly come back, right?"

Chen Xiangbei: "Who says otherwise? Anyway, the aunt who lived next door to him during that time said that she often heard Xiao Ma crying and laughing alone in his house in the middle of the night, and shouting some nonsense. Guan Tao is not divorced from him, so how can she not take care of him?"

Grandma Xia: "Even if we take care of him, we can't possibly take good care of him. What if we get annoyed and just lock him in the house to fend for himself?"

Chen Xiangbei: "I don't know either. But I think their plan is going to fail. They might not be able to bring the person back, but they might bring back a divorce certificate instead."

Grandma Xia gripped her sister's hand tightly: "He's both hateful and pitiful. If he hadn't bullied his first wife so much, he wouldn't have ended up like this."

The hand holding hers twitched, and Grandma Xia, no longer able to speak to Chen Xiangbei, said, "Sister."

Xia Yu'e had just woken up and overheard the messy things happening in their compound. She hesitated about whether to open her eyes or not.

Although her life was a mess, it wasn't this chaotic.

"Little sister." Xia Yu'e opened her eyes and saw her sister Xia Yue'e's head fill her entire field of vision. It had been a long time since she had seen her, and she had aged.

"Sister, you...you..." Old Mrs. Xia didn't know what to say. Should she ask why she came here without looking for her? But her sister had never allowed her to tell her where she was working. Should she ask about her life over the years? But judging from her appearance, how good could it be?

Xia Yu'e smiled, the first time she had smiled from the bottom of her heart in so many years. She could hardly remember the last time she had smiled. She said, "I have been doing very well these years. I have a house to live in, a job to do, and a son... a son... anyway, I'm doing quite well."

Chen Xiangbei said from behind Grandma Xia, "Auntie, stop talking nonsense. That's just empty talk. You're so hungry you'd faint. You don't even have a single yuan on you."

Grandma Xia turned her head: "Shut up."

Chen Xiangbei fell silent, sitting on the stool next to him and picking at his fingers. Fine, don't talk then. Did you really think he wanted to? How ridiculous. Can't I even speak the truth now? He wasn't swearing; he was just telling the truth.

He had seen many poor families in the west of the city, but none of them could afford sweet potatoes. There might have been some a few years ago, but there were hardly any in recent years. He never expected that the east of the city was even worse than the countryside, and that someone could faint from hunger. And this person was his aunt. In the past, he would have thought that this was a slap in the face to his mother.

Although he didn't say anything, he rummaged through his pockets and managed to find a few sweet candies. He had bought these candies with his own money when he went to curry favor with his second brother; it was money he had worked hard to earn.

He handed the candy to his aunt, keeping his mouth shut and not saying a word, but his meaning was clear: he wanted her to eat it.