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

A few days later, Old Chen went back to work. Chen Xiangbei, smelling the money, waited on Old Chen's usual route home. He wanted to settle the money issue before his mother's official election.

He told his older brothers and sister that this period was crucial for their mother's advancement, and no one was allowed to hold her back. Although his eldest brother was skeptical and his second brother was somewhat dismissive, they figured that their mother's advancement wouldn't harm them, so they agreed.

Chen Xiangnan has been quite well-behaved lately. He not only stops going to the black market, but he also backs away when female colleagues at the hospital get close to him, although part of this is thanks to Tang Jiao.

Chen Xiangdong and his wife Zhu Wenying have stopped arguing with Old Zhu and Jiang Fangru lately, ignoring their sarcastic remarks. What else can they do? Chen Xiangbei has even said that if the young couple drags Xia down, they won't get a share of Old Chen's money in the future.

Money was the lifeblood of this young couple.

Ever since Zhu Wenfei was arrested, and his parents begged and pleaded until he was released, Zhu Wenfei has been ruined.

Even if he wasn't a good person before, he was at least a worker. But after he was released, he lost his job and drank at home every day, ending up in the hospital several times. From then on, Zhu Wenying would never let him get close to her son.

Yu Xue, the lesbian who almost married Zhu Wenfei at the beginning, ended up marrying a lesbian man of similar social standing, arranged by her father.

When Chen Xiangdong and the others were talking about these things, Grandma Xia specifically asked about this person. Upon hearing the result, she was genuinely happy for her. No matter what, Yu Xue and Factory Director Yu's ending couldn't be worse than in their previous life.

Chen Xiangbei finally caught Old Chen. The old man had bandages wrapped around his head, but he was still muttering that he wanted to buy a fish so that everyone could have a lively meal together.

These were meant to be comforting words, but they left a bitter taste in Chen Xiangbei's mouth.

Everyone's eating together in a lively atmosphere? Who's "everyone"?

As far as he knew, his second sister-in-law's family had relatives visiting today, and his second brother must have been eating there. He had slept at home last night, and Old Chen had seen him leave, but hadn't mentioned that they were having fish for dinner. So, wasn't this fish he bought for Yang Su and her sons?

He treated other people's sons as well as his own, even though he was completely out of his mind. None of his stepsons ever visited him in the hospital. He had lost all his money, yet he still managed to find money to buy fish.

Chen Xiangbei's face was as black as if he had just been dug out of a coal pile. He had been secretly following behind Old Chen, but now he walked up to Old Chen in a huff and puff. "Oh, Dad, we have guests at home? You bought fish to eat? What kind of fish? Will you give your own son a bite?"

Old Chen rolled his eyes. "If you want to eat, come back and eat. If you don't want to eat, get lost. It's like you're telling someone not to let you go home. Who are you implying?"

Chen Xiangbei spat, "The room I've lived in since I was a child is now someone else's. And who's stopping me from coming home? Isn't it you? Dad, tell me, where is my sister sleeping the night before she gets married? You're not going to prevent her from leaving home to get married, are you?"

Old Chen: "You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth. Of course your sister will live at home after she gets married!"

Chen Xiangbei: "Where will she sleep? I sleep in her room. If she comes, will I sleep on the floor, or with your two dog-like stepsons? Or between you and Aunt Su?"

Old Chen pretended to hit her again, "You and Wang De can sleep in the same room. Your sister will have her own room, of course. I've arranged everything for you."

Chen Xiangbei sighed: "Sigh, my sister is pitiful. After she got married, there's no place for her in her own family anymore. Anyway, I won't sleep with Wang De. If you can't get me a room, I'll go and persuade my sister to get married away from my mother's house. I'll tell everyone that Dad, you kicked my sister out and won't let her come home."

Old Chen took off his shoes and was about to beat him up, but Chen Xiangbei ran very fast, and the two of them arrived at a secluded place in no time.

Old Chen was panting heavily. "Third son, how long are you going to stay angry? I'm already married to your Aunt Su. Do you want to see your father get divorced again?"

Chen Xiangbei casually replied, "Practice makes perfect!"

Old Chen didn't want to listen to this brat anymore; if he kept listening, he'd be driven mad with anger sooner or later. So he turned and left.

After wasting so much time, it seems we won't be able to buy any fish.

"Dad, don't you want to know where your money went?" Chen Xiangbei shouted from behind him.

Old Chen's anger, which he had just suppressed, flared up again. "I knew it... I knew you little brat, you can't change your ways. It really was you who took it!"

Chen Xiangbei grinned and said, "Dad, if I'm a dog, I eat shit. You're an old dog, so you eat old shit."

Old Chen raised his hand to hit Chen Xiangbei, but Chen bent over, causing Old Chen's hand to miss and nearly strain his back. He clutched his back and yelled, "Hurry up and hand over the money! Aren't you afraid I'll report you to the police?"

Chen Xiangbei: "Report to the police? Dad, don't scare me. You've been beaten up like this and you still want to buy fish for the guy who beat you. I'm just temporarily holding onto your money. Why are you reporting it? Besides, do you really dare to report it? Does having a convict son make you proud? If I get arrested, I'll say that you asked me to hold onto the money, and that I staged this whole thing to make your future wife believe that you have no money."

Old Chen couldn't argue with him, and he wasn't agile enough to fight. He hadn't even found the stolen money. He was furious, and now his weakness had been discovered by his third brother. Just like his mother, he was a difficult person to deal with. He didn't want to argue anymore, so he stretched out his hand and said, "Give me the money now, I'm not talking to you anymore."

Chen Xiangbei spread his hands: "I hid the money; it's not on me. Dad, let me be frank with you, my two brothers, my sister, and I no longer trust you. Who knows who you'll spend the money meant for our important matters on beforehand? So, to maintain our father-son relationship one last time, why don't you just divide the money up now? Give us the money meant for our important matters directly, and we'll pay for everything ourselves in the future, so you don't have to worry about it."

You should just focus on worrying about your new wife and her good-for-nothing sons. As for your own children, they'll figure things out themselves. You've used all your favors and your future salary on them. You haven't even paid attention to my youngest son. My second brother used to do temporary work every day, and you didn't put this much effort into finding him a permanent job.

"You're clearly capable, aren't you? You could have easily found such a good job for your stepson with just a few words, but we were never allowed to use these resources before. We all agree that you're unreliable. But you have to give us the money Mom left us kids when she divorced. Do you agree?"

Seeing that Old Chen's face was turning red and he was about to curse, Chen Xiangbei added, "If you don't agree, I won't give the money back to you."