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

Under the watchful eye of Old Mrs. Xia, Jiang Wenhua had no choice but to unlock the door. Mainly because if he didn't, his sister and mother, who were locked inside, would smash the house up.

Yes, just now when Jiang Wenhua and Grandma Xia were fighting against the evil forces of Qiu's father, his mother and sister were banging on the door trying to get out. When they saw his brother-in-law being beaten and his stepfather falling down, they were extremely anxious and started cursing.

It's one thing to scold them—they're just calling them ungrateful wretches and unfilial children—but when they start smashing things, Jiang Wenhua really feels a pang of heartache.

He's such a stingy person, but when he heard the commotion at home, his heart started bleeding—those were all his precious possessions.

The door opened, and Qiu Rong was about to rush out when Jiang's mother slapped Jiang Wenhua across the face. "You even hit your own father! You're not human! Even though he's not your biological son, he raised you from childhood. How could you treat him like this and raise you like this? How can I face your father in the future? How can I explain this to your biological father after I die?"

Jiang Wenhua knelt on the ground, holding her beloved... bowl, and cried out in anguish, "Mom, you smashed my rice bowl?"

Whether he hits it or not is not important, but this is a new bowl, the first bowl he bought with his own money. He has used it for several years and has a lot of affection for it.

The other bowls were completely different from this one. Those bowls were either gifts from his older brothers and sisters when he and his mother were kicked out, or... taken from his stepfather's house.

This bowl, though small, was the first one he had ever bought with his own money, making it completely different in meaning. He usually couldn't bear to use it, but now it was broken into several pieces that couldn't be repaired.

Jiang Wenhua was heartbroken.

Jiang's mother was already furious, and seeing him like this made her even more upset. She hit him on the back repeatedly, saying, "All you know is bowls, all you know is money, all you know are these things. You're a heartless person. Are you even human?"

Qiu Rong was about to go out, but when she saw that Jiang's mother was still hitting her, she thought for a moment and turned back to stop her. "Mom, please stop hitting her. I'll go back home. Nothing will happen."

Jiang's mother helped her up. "Rongrong, it's all my fault. If they're angry with you, blame it on me. I didn't teach Wenhua well. I'll have him go to your house to apologize."

Seeing the two slowly walking out, Qiu Rong, who had just returned from the hospital, and an old lady who had never dared to go out for years, were both moved by the fact that they had such great courage and determination to overcome their own limitations for the sake of a man and for the sake of the family that had almost killed Qiu Rong.

If they had the courage for their own sake, Old Lady Xia would have applauded and cheered them on. But they were doing it for men, for the extremely vicious ideas instilled in them from childhood, so they were willing to risk everything to go back and be their slaves.

This kind of mentality is disgusting.

Old Mrs. Xia blocked their way, "Do you really have to serve others? Are you willing to risk your life to serve others?"

Avoiding Xia's gaze, Jiang's mother said softly, "This is the fate of us women. Once married, we obey our husbands. From the moment we get married, we belong to our husband's family. This is not called serving; this is what we are supposed to do."

Old Mrs. Xia: "Fate? This kind of fate? Who decided our destiny?"

Jiang's mother: "Since ancient times..."

Grandma Xia: "Since ancient times?"

Jiang Wenhua was still squatting on the ground when she heard this. She looked up and said, "Mom, it has always been said that a woman should obey her husband after marriage and her son after her husband's death. My father is dead, shouldn't you listen to me?"

Jiang's mother was taken aback for a moment, "But I've remarried, so I have to listen to your father first."

Jiang Wenhua: "So who will you be buried with when you die?"

Jiang's mother: "Your biological father."

Jiang Wenhua: "Then we are family. I am your biological son, and my biological father is your biological husband. Why do you listen to my stepfather but not me?"

Jiang's mother: "Since I married him, of course I have to listen to him first."

Jiang Wenhua: "...I can't explain it to you."

Seeing how useless Jiang Wenhua was, and realizing that Jiang's mother's thinking was as rigid as rotten wood in a ditch, Old Mrs. Xia knew that reasoning with her wouldn't work, so she had to resort to threats. Therefore, she said:

“We live in a new society now. Do you, old lady, still want to go back to the old days? If you dare say you do, I'll send you to a labor camp right now. Your thinking…”

When Jiang's mother heard about the labor camp sentence, she panicked. She only wanted to be a good woman; what had she done wrong? She was thinking of her husband; what had she done wrong? She was different from this divorced old woman; she wanted to be a good woman.

Divorced women are considered bad people nowadays; in the past, they would have been considered extremely rebellious. She wanted to argue, but as soon as the old comrade said that her thoughts would lead to her being sent to a labor camp, Jiang's mother swallowed her words.

Does being a good woman mean you have to be arrested and imprisoned?

Faced with Old Mrs. Xia's fierce yet unsettling demeanor, she could only wave her hands repeatedly, feeling wronged, "I didn't, I didn't mean it, I was just talking nonsense."

Grandma Xia: "What's our slogan? Women can do it all..."

Jiang's mother whispered in response, "Half the sky."

Old Mrs. Xia shouted, "Speak louder! Do you still think there's something wrong with what you're saying?"

Startled by Old Lady Xia's words, Jiang's mother trembled and raised her voice a little, "Women hold up half the sky."

Qiu Rong was terrified. It was as if the old comrade was going to convict her and her mother, as if if she didn't shout out this slogan, she would be immediately dragged away and locked up.

Seeing Qiu Rong staring at her, Old Lady Xia immediately fixed her gaze on her. Qiu Rong became a little scared and timidly called out, "Women hold up half the sky!"

Old Mrs. Xia said in a harsh voice, "You've been to school, and all you know is this one sentence?"

Qiu Rong nervously recalled the propaganda slogans she had learned during her school days, and began to shout them out haltingly.

"Gender equality, whether you have a boy or a girl, is the same."

"Respect women and protect their legitimate rights and interests."

"Times have changed. Men and women are equal. What men can do, women can do too."

Equal pay for equal work for men and women.

Qiu Rong thought carefully and tried hard to understand. Just as Grandma Xia was about to raise her hand to scratch her face, Qiu Rong cried out in panic, "I was wrong, I know I was wrong, you can't hit people."

At Qiu Rong's shout, Grandma Xia's hand trembled slightly.

Sure enough, even the most stubborn person is afraid of going to jail. It's good that they're afraid; if they're the kind of person who's headstrong and can't be stopped from serving others, then Old Mrs. Xia thinks the only thing she can do is try to persuade Xiao Jiang to think more positively.