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

On the way back, Chen Xianghong was picked up by Chen Xiangnan. When Grandma Xia and Xia Yu'e returned to their home, they ran into Jiang Wenhua, who was helping swallows build their nests.

"Swallows, oh swallows, who is as lucky as you to build your nests under my eaves? Not only will I not charge you for the space, but I will also help you build your nests for free."

"Look at you, are you even proper swallows? You can't even build a nest properly. Several baby swallows have already fallen to their deaths. I don't even want to talk to you anymore."

"You're still swallows of the Jiang family, after all. Even if you don't develop in all aspects of morality, intelligence, physical fitness, and aesthetics, you should at least know how to build a nest. Look at the nest you built, it's really too shabby."

"I won't return the bird eggs that fell to their deaths. Just give me some nutrition as a small reward. They're all broken anyway, and they're so small. Why couldn't you have laid bigger eggs? They're not even enough to fill my teeth."

“I didn’t eat those little swallows that you dropped to their deaths. I was thinking of eating them, but my mother said that if I did, you would scold me. They were so small that they wouldn’t even be enough to fill my teeth. So I gave up. It wouldn’t be worth it.”

"After I finish building your nest, you must repay me, for example, if you are old and die, you can let me eat you."

Jiang Wenhua was muttering to herself to a few birds when she noticed her kind mother staring at her from the window with a somewhat fierce expression.

He had no choice but to change his tune, "Alright, alright, I won't eat you. My mother said that swallows coming to our house is a blessing, and we can't eat them. I won't let anyone else eat you either. If any children capture you, escape and let me know, then I'll go and get them to pay me back."

"Is this alright now, Mom?"

Jiang's mother turned and went into the kitchen, leaving him with the back of her head.

When Xia Yu'e saw him, she automatically moved closer to her own house, afraid that he might ask her for land fees after taking the open space in front of her house.

It has to be said that Jiang Wenhua's personality is disliked by everyone in their compound. Even the other troublemakers don't like being asked for money all the time.

When faced with someone like this, even normally generous people become stingy. They might normally think that exchanging cheap gifts between neighbors is a small token of goodwill and wouldn't be too concerned. But with Jiang Wenhua being such an oddball, they're afraid to give anything away casually, lest they be taken advantage of.

For example, a few days ago, Zheng Qianlan gave Grandma Xia and the others some radishes. After Jiang Wenhua found out, he kept saying in front of her that Zheng Qianlan's family was not united in the compound and that he was deliberately isolating Jiang Wenhua.

Zheng Qianlan: ...She had lived like this for several years, and who could she tell about the hardships she had endured?

Grandma Xia also didn't want to pay attention to Jiang Wenhua. After walking a few steps, she found two little girls squatting at her door, staring at Jiang Wenhua with bright eyes.

She immediately recognized them: one was Qiao Yi, and the other was Fang Yingdi. It was one thing for Qiao Yi to come to her house, but what was Fang Yingdi doing here? Was she here specifically to scold her? Was this woman's vengefulness a bit too much? Old Mrs. Xia silently complained to herself.

Fang Yingdi came to see Grandma Xia today. She had been feeling very anxious these past few days, afraid that her parents would cause trouble at the factory and make her lose her job. This job was her lifeline. If she lost it, she would have to go back to the village and marry according to her parents' arrangements, which would be worse than death.

When Fang Yingdi mentioned wanting to buy a rope for any eventuality for the umpteenth time, Qiao Yi finally couldn't stand it anymore and brought her to see Grandma Xia.

But Grandma Xia was in such a hurry after get off work today that she couldn't catch anyone. When she got to the yard, she found that there was no one there either, so she had no choice but to wait here.

Qiao Yi felt that Fang Yingdi couldn't continue like this; if she continued to worry, Fang Yingdi would suffer a mental breakdown. The reason she bought a rope in case of emergency was so that she could hang herself at the factory when she was fired, rather than return to the village.

She was terrified of what would happen if she lost her job, so she absolutely couldn't bear to lose it. Logically speaking, when parents are in the wrong, the factory should side with their own workers, but Fang Yingdi couldn't bear any risk and kept muttering to herself that she might as well just die.

Qiao Yi simply couldn't take it anymore.

When they arrived at the compound, they discovered that Jiang Wenhua also lived there. Recalling the legends surrounding this compound, Fang Yingdi and Qiao Yi's initial admiration for him shattered. These were some of the most difficult people to deal with in the factory. What was Jiang Wenhua's reason for living there?

It can't be because of his money-saving tips, can it?

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Jiang Wenhua began to repair the swallow's nest. The two of them rarely saw anyone not catching swallows to eat but instead building nests for them, so they watched for a while until Grandma Xia returned.

Xia Yu'e was happy; she quite liked the lively atmosphere at home. However, her and Old Lady Xia's children weren't very good, and if they really lived together, they would definitely cause trouble. So, it was fine if the younger generation came over occasionally.

"This..." Xia Yu'e wanted to ask who the other girl was.

Grandma Xia: "She is Qiao Yi's roommate, Comrade Xiao Fang."

Xia Yu'e nodded. "Comrade Xiao Fang, hello, hello, you're such a nice girl. I'll get you some water, you two chat."

Fang Yingdi saw that Old Lady Xia blushed slightly, and said in a voice softer than a mosquito's buzz, "Comrade Xia."

When Grandma Xia saw that Qiao Yi also looked embarrassed, she realized that something must have required her to intervene, and it probably wasn't anything good.

Once inside, before Qiao Yi could even say a few sweet words to coax Old Mrs. Xia, Old Mrs. Xia cut straight to the point, "What do you want to see me about? Just say it."

Qiao Yi was about to speak up for Fang Yingdi when she opened her mouth. She knew Fang Yingdi was embarrassed because she had been a bit rude to her master before. To avoid embarrassment, she wanted to speak up for her.

But Grandma Xia told her to shut her mouth and let Fang Yingdi speak for herself.

Fang Yingdi spoke softly at first, whether out of embarrassment for Old Lady Xia or shame for her family's troubles, it was hard to tell.

Old Mrs. Xia was getting annoyed. "Comrade Xiao Fang, speak louder. I'm old and my hearing isn't very good. Also, when you were talking to me before, you were quite loud. Just use that volume. Don't be so hesitant. As workers, we have a lot of face to show off. We should be confident and outspoken. And straighten your back and open your shoulders. Don't be so timid."

Fang Yingdi straightened her back immediately, took a deep breath, and began to talk about her family's trivial matters.

The more Grandma Xia listened, the more annoyed she became. She felt that Fang Yingdi's past behavior was just like that of her former second daughter-in-law, Dong Chunmiao. She was definitely a second Dong Chunmiao.

After Fang Yingdi finished expressing her concerns, apart from Qiao Yi's usual worry, Comrade Xia and Comrade Xia's sister looked at her with mixed feelings.

"What's wrong?" Fang Yingdi felt inexplicably guilty.