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

Yang Su tossed and turned for most of the night, her face pale. Old Chen realized he couldn't persuade her anymore, so he just went to sleep. Anyway, no matter who was at fault, he was sure he wasn't.

The brothers Wang Ming and Wang Xian had climbed out of the window several times in the first half of the night, but Chen Xiangbei caught them each time. Not only did he catch them, but Chen Xiangbei, that despicable guy, would also humiliate them before letting them go back. The two brothers cursed him furiously in their hearts.

Wang Ming was still thinking to himself, wasn't it said that only the second son of the Chen family was clever? How come Chen Xiangbei was able to notice their climbing through the window in the middle of the night?

The two brothers lay listlessly in the room that originally belonged to Chen Xiangbei. What was worse, Chen Xiangbei wouldn't even let them sleep. As soon as they were getting sleepy, Chen Xiangbei would come in and rummage through the drawers and cabinets, saying he was looking for something, or that the room held some kind of memory for him. He insisted on listening to his awful stories in the middle of the night.

Wang De returned late at night. When he came back, Chen Xiangnan was sitting alone in the living room, with the light on... reading a book.

Wang De was startled. No normal person would do something so abnormal. If he hadn't been familiar with Chen Xiangnan, he would have thought he had seen a ghost. Chen Xiangnan's face was just too pale.

"Xiangnan, why are you sitting here? Why aren't you asleep? Your sister-in-law is back too, right?" Wang De thought about how Chen Xiangnan had taken care of him during this time, and he still cared about him. In addition, their two families had become one, so they were naturally like brothers. He even felt that Chen Xiangnan was closer to him than his two younger brothers. He was capable and had a nice way of speaking. Wang De felt that he could get along very well with him.

Upon seeing him return, Chen Xiangnan... gave him an extremely warm smile, "Brother De, you're back! Tang Jiao is asleep inside, and I don't want to wake her. Would you like to sit with me for a while?"

Wang De naturally agreed. There was a particularly urgent task at their factory today, so several groups worked overtime together. After everything was completed, they were told that they could rest for half a day tomorrow morning, so Wang De didn't mind taking a little more sleep.

"Brother De, you must have a really tough job teaching this class," Chen Xiangnan brought up the topic.

Upon hearing this, Wang De felt he had a lot to complain about. He had never done such tiring work before, but it was something his mother had earned for him by sacrificing her own job. He couldn't tell his mother that he was tired and suffering, otherwise she would definitely nag him about not being able to endure hardship, which was so annoying.

But he had no inhibitions when facing Chen Xiangnan, who was a good comrade and the person who understood him best.

"Xiang Nan, you really have no idea how exhausting my shift is. What factory is this busy? I think our group is the busiest and most tired in the factory. We have to work overtime during holidays. The supply and marketing cooperatives outside are all waiting for our canned goods. But who knows how hard we suffer?"

Wang De followed Chen Xiangnan outside to avoid disturbing the sleeping people, mainly because Chen Xiangnan was afraid that certain people would hear.

Chen Xiangnan nodded: "Yes, you guys are really suffering a lot. Hey, why did Aunt Su insist on finding you a factory job? Why couldn't she pull some strings to find you an office job?"

Look at my father-in-law, even though he's not my biological father, he really cares about me. Knowing I can't handle hardship, he arranged an office for me at the hospital. I don't even have to work shifts. Every time I think about this, it warms my heart. A kind person doesn't need words to express it.

Wang De was as angry as ever. "Yes, you don't know, my mother is so biased. She only knows how to make me be considerate of my two younger brothers, but their grades are not as good as mine, and they are not as capable as me at housework. In the future, I will be the one to take care of my mother in her old age. I feel so wronged."

Chen Xiangnan immediately expressed his understanding: "Brother De, I understand you so well. Although I'm not the eldest in the family, ever since my eldest brother was separated from the family, the burden of the family has fallen on my shoulders. As the second oldest, I've been neglected by the family since I was young and have suffered a lot since childhood. Why should I bear the responsibility of the eldest in the end?"

Wang De said angrily, "Yes, why are we always the ones who suffer losses? Why?"

Chen Xiangnan leaned closer to Wang De mysteriously and whispered, "Brother De, you have a job, but what about your second son when he graduates? Will he also go to work in a factory?"

Wang De hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It should be. My mom has already given him money. He's probably saving it up slowly to get into the factory. He's definitely not going to go to the countryside."

Chen Xiangnan pretended to hesitate, as if he wanted to speak but dared not, which prompted Wang De to press him further, "Xiangnan, do you know something?"

Chen Xiangnan sighed, "Brother De, it's not that I'm being nosy, but I'm really indignant on your behalf. You're the eldest son of your family, so you should have the best resources. But Aunt Su told Wang Ming today that she only got married for Wang Ming's sake, and that she wouldn't have even considered getting married if it weren't for his job."

Furthermore, I overheard her telling my dad that she wanted him to pay for and help find him an office, because she... she couldn't bear to see Wang Ming go to the arduous and exhausting workshop. She even said, "You're just a blockhead who doesn't know how to handle things; I can't count on you at all."

She actually had the opportunity to transfer you to an office position when she changed jobs; it would have only cost her a little money. But she didn't want to because your wages and subsidies in the workshop were higher, which could help her support her two sons. She even said that since you're the eldest, you should endure hardship.

Wang De's face turned grim: "What? She really said that?"

Chen Xiangnan lowered her head and didn't look at him. "Just take it as me talking nonsense. Don't overthink it. She's still your mother, after all."

Wang De: "Xiang Nan, just tell me the truth. You said I'm your brother from now on. What can't brothers say to each other?"

Chen Xiangnan hesitated, "But..."

Wang De: "No buts, just tell me everything."

Seeing his anxiety, Chen Xiangnan hesitated before saying, "You told me before that your mother gave your second brother more than 450 yuan to buy him a job, but my father didn't know about this at all, and even asked us to borrow money because of Wang Ming's matter."

I remembered what you said, so I found this money on him tonight. Then your mother said that this money was given to your second son by your grandparents. I said that's absolutely impossible. You're the eldest son, why would you give so much money to your second son? But she insisted that's how it is and is going to confront your grandparents tomorrow.

The key point is, I overheard her telling Wang Ming that she wanted my dad to find him a job, and then use the money to smooth things over, so he wouldn't get a particularly strenuous factory job, but rather an office job. I... I feel so sorry for you, Brother De. You work yourself to the bone to support your family, why should Wang Ming get to enjoy a life of luxury just because he has a job?

Wang Deqi's chest heaved with anger. "Am I just destined to be worked to death?"