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

Startled by Yang Su's scream, Chen Xiangbei yelled even louder, "What are you yelling about? You're so old, why are you making such a fuss? Ahhhhhh~"

Wang Ming covered his face, but seeing Yang Su return immediately emboldened him. He was furious about the slap. "Xiang Bei, are you trying to kick us brothers and my mother out? Uncle Chen said this apple was edible, so why are you insisting we stole it?"

Chen Xiangbei: "If my dad really said that, then why can't I find any apples or sweet potatoes anywhere? Did you steal the whole basket and hide it in your room?"

Wang Ming was utterly wronged. His mother had given them the apples and told them to eat them slowly, that there were plenty more.

Yang Su rushed over from behind, shoved Chen Xiangbei aside, looked at Wang Ming's face, and then said, "Xiangbei, how can you hit people and frame them like that? Don't you have any manners?"

Chen Xiangbei stumbled from the push and retorted, "I have no manners, but you do. You taught your child to steal?"

Yang Su: "This wasn't stolen. These are apples your dad brought home for the whole family. Now that I'm married to your dad, we're family. Why can't I have an apple?"

Chen Xiangbei: "The family ate the apples, so what happened to the rest?"

Yang Su: "Of course, this kind of thing should be locked up."

Chen Xiangbei: "The whole family, locked up. Lock up the apples, lock up the rice, lock up the sweet potatoes, even lock up the salt. Your two good-for-nothing sons do nothing but lie in bed eating the food you cook, and everyone else has to come to you to unlock the locks to get anything to eat, right? Who are you trying to keep an eye on? Who the hell are you trying to keep an eye on?"

Yang Su's eyes widened. Chen Xiangbei never explicitly mentioned favoritism, but any normal person could tell from his words that she was showing it. But Chen Xiangbei himself was a child who was often away from home; how could she have known he had returned last night? As a stepmother, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to go directly to her adult stepson's room.

So she pitifully said to Old Chen, "Brother Chen, I really didn't know Xiang Bei came back last night. He hasn't been back for several days. I thought he wouldn't come back yesterday either. Besides, food is so precious now, many families lock their doors. I'm not the only one doing this. I'm really not the kind of person who's biased."

Old Chen was indeed persuaded by her. He had been a little unhappy, but after Yang Su's explanation, he understood. Chen Xiangbei was always away from home; who knew when he would go out and when he would come back, who knew if he had money or not, or if he had done good or bad things.

So, just as Chen Xiangbei was about to speak, Old Chen spoke up, "Alright, we're all family. From now on, just let us know when you come back so there won't be any misunderstandings. Stop arguing all the time. A family should live in harmony."

Old Chen felt very proud, thinking that he was becoming more and more like a patriarch.

Chen Xiangbei wasn't fooled by Old Chen's nonsense. He said sarcastically, "Brother Chen, please get your head straight. All the food and drink in our house are locked up by this woman. Even if you want to eat, you have to ask her for permission. Every single thing in this house, every single thing, was earned by you. How come you have to ask a stranger for food, and your son has to ask for food?"

Besides, when my second brother and sister-in-law come back, my sister-in-law will be pregnant. Pregnant women need to eat immediately when they're hungry. If she's not there, do you want my second brother to tear down this dilapidated house of yours, Brother Chen?

Old Chen got goosebumps from being called "Brother Chen" repeatedly. "Third brother, speak properly to me. I'm your father."