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

While cooking, Mr. Qiu, speaking in a sarcastic tone, was tending the fire in the kitchen, with no one around to help him wash or chop the vegetables.

Jiang's mother sat outside, feeling even worse than if she had been beaten.

"Mom, are you... sick?"

"It must be Mom's hand that's injured."

"Has Wen Hua been treating you badly?"

The children outside started speculating. It was really strange that they would see Jiang's mother sitting properly while Qiu's father cooked the meal.

Jiang's mother felt extremely uncomfortable, "No, no."

"Then why doesn't Mom cook?"

Jiang's mother really didn't know how to answer. She also wanted to cook, she really wanted to cook. She felt that it was a terrible sin for her not to cook while she was at home. But Jiang Wenhua's words were like a knife hanging over her head. Pressed by her children's questions, she blurted out, "Why should I cook? Wenhua gives your father money, which is more than enough to support me and to support your father."

Hearing this from the kitchen, Qiu's father rushed out with the groceries, shouting, "Jiang Qiu, what do you mean? Are you planning to act like the ancestor of our family and have me serve you?"

Jiang's mother stood up timidly, glanced guiltily at Qiu's eldest son, and then muttered under her breath, "Old Qiu, I didn't mean it."

Mr. Qiu shoved the vegetables into her hands and said, "Then you go and cook for me."

Jiang's mother shook her head and handed the vegetables back to him, saying, "No."

Mr. Qiu: "You don't cook or do any housework, what are you doing back here? You just said that Jiang Wenhua, that brat, gave me money, right?"

Jiang's mother nodded.

Mr. Qiu rushed into the house, grabbed the money, and threw it at Mrs. Jiang, saying, "I don't want his filthy money, take it back to me."

Jiang's mother squatted down and picked up the money, then said, "Even if you don't want the money, I'm your wife, and you have to support me."

Mr. Qiu was furious: "What do you mean? Have I been supporting you for nothing?"

Although Jiang's mother was timid, her words were anything but. Recalling Jiang Wenhua's words, she said, "We'll split the housework in half. If you do it today, I'll do it tomorrow. If you buy groceries today, I'll use Wenhua's money to buy groceries tomorrow. If you wash the dishes today, I'll wash the dishes tomorrow... something like that."

Mr. Qiu: "This is outrageous! How can I marry you if you act like this?"

Jiang's mother looked at him and asked, "So you want a divorce? We're at this age, and you want a divorce?"

Mr. Qiu felt as if his life was being held in the hands of his second wife, with whom he had lived for over a decade. How could such a traditional man as him possibly divorce her? He would rather die than divorce her. "You...you..."

Fearing he might get sick from anger, Jiang's mother immediately comforted him, saying, "Don't be angry. But if you get sick from it, I'll take care of you. I'll do the work for those few days. Um... not at other times."

Mr. Qiu steadied himself against the wall and shouted, "Where is that little brat Jiang Wenhua?"

Jiang's mother stepped forward and patted his chest. "He's in his own home. If you want to hit him, that's fine. You can go over there yourself. I won't go."

Jiang's mother spoke softly, but what she said was unbearable for Qiu's father. Even the Qiu family children, who were waiting to have lunch, were at a loss when they saw this scene, and finally they all said goodbye and left.

After the children left, Qiu's father grabbed Jiang's mother and started arguing.

But it was completely useless. Jiang's mother just stood there, not arguing with him at all. Qiu's father had no way to change Jiang's mother's mind. Even if he cursed her, the final result was still Jiang's mother's wish: that family matters be split 50/50, and that if the family needed to pay, she would use Jiang Wenhua's money to pay.

Mr. Qiu felt utterly helpless.

No one noticed that there was a suspicious old woman outside their house. If Jiang's mother had seen her, she would have recognized her as Old Lady Xia.

Today is a day off. After listening to Jiang Wenhua's words yesterday, Grandma Xia wanted to see if Jiang Wenhua's method would work. If it did, she might be able to use it when persuading others in the future. Now it seems that it is a really good method. She made another note of it in her notebook.

Afterwards, she quietly left, intending to go to Qiu Rong's house.

Chen Xiangnan was startled awake by Tang's father's shouts early in the morning. He was kicked out of the house by his second brother with dark circles under his eyes. Although he was later pulled back by the Tang family and had a proper meal, Chen Xiangnan still harbored resentment towards his second brother.

"I won't help you look things up next time," Chen Xiangbei said in a muffled voice, squatting outside the Tang family's door, "except for my second sister-in-law's family."

Chen Xiangnan squatted down next to him and said, "Heh, you even helped me investigate. Doesn't Dad's second marriage affect you too?"

Chen Xiangbei: "So what if it's a second marriage? At worst, I'll make sure that woman can't get a divorce even if she wants to."

Chen Xiangnan: "What, have you come up with a great idea?"

Chen Xiangbei: "Don't look at me like that. You think you can look down on me? I'm much better than you now. You're just a gigolo."

Chen Xiangnan slapped him on the back of the head. After the two brothers argued for a few words, Chen Xiangbei said, "I know all the matchmakers around here. Lend me some money and I'll make sure that old woman's three sons can't find a wife."

Chen Xiangnan: "You've got a really good idea. What if that woman takes money out of our dad's pocket and uses a high dowry to marry him?"

Chen Xiangbei's face turned pale. With his father's stupidity, nothing was impossible.

"Let's go find my older brother first." Chen Xiangnan gazed into the distance, feeling that since his mother passed away, he hadn't had many things go smoothly. "Your sister-in-law is on duty today. I'll take her to work and then go. Will you come with me?"

Chen Xiangbei: "Fine, you're my brother, I can only listen to you."

Not long after, the two brothers appeared at Chen Xiangdong's door.

Chen Xiangdong was playing with his son at the door when two shadows suddenly loomed over him, and he had a bad feeling.

Turning around, he saw two brothers who had almost lost all affection standing behind him, expressionless, like two debt collectors.

He jumped to his feet. "What are you two doing?"

Bao Yuan held a few marbles in his hand and whispered, "Second Uncle, Little Uncle, hello!"

Chen Xiangnan smiled and gave him two marbles, which he had taken out of Chen Xiangbei's pocket.

Chen Xiangbei rolled his eyes, ruffled Baoyuan's hair into a mess, and after making the child cry, he sent him into the house to his sister-in-law, almost getting scolded to death by her.

Chen Xiangdong stood up. "What brings you two here? You're rare guests."

Chen Xiangnan gave him a push, then moved a stool inside and poured water for himself and Chen Xiangbei. Given his older brother and sister-in-law's lack of social skills, if he didn't pour himself water today, he probably wouldn't get any.

“We’ve found our second spring.” Chen Xiangnan blew on the steam rising from the hot water and slowly dropped a bombshell on Chen Xiangdong.