Falling into the mortal world

That heartless, beastly thing.

My life is so miserable! God, my life is so miserable! Everyone says it's hard to be a stepmother, and it's absolutely true! I treated him with all my heart, and this ungrateful wretch, now that he's grown up, he wants to abandon the mother who raised him!

That heartless bastard! May lightning strike this unfilial son dead!

Lan Qingqing was quite annoyed by the old woman who was sitting at the door crying. She really wanted to slap this unreasonable old woman.

Lan Qingqing stepped forward and said: Don't forget, our two families have already separated. My grandmother raised my father, and you have nothing to do with us.

"I am his mother, your grandmother. To be disobedient and unfilial is a grave offense. I can sue him for this great filial impiety!" Old Mrs. Lan declared, throwing a tantrum.

"My own grandmother is buried in the Lan family ancestral graveyard. What kind of grandmother are you to me? My grandfather will also be buried with my grandmother after he passes away. You will only be buried next to her, not even allowed to be buried together. I want to ask you, what kind of grandmother are you to me?" Lan Qingqing said sarcastically.

Even if I'm not your biological grandmother, I'm still your grandmother, and I'm your elder in a proper sense.

"You've grown wings and think you can disown your ancestors? Let me tell you, no way! As long as I'm alive, don't even think about it!" Old Mrs. Lan said, spitting as she spoke.

"What a joke! We officially separated our family back then. The village chief and clan head are witnesses. We even have the separation document in hand. Is Grandma planning to renege on our agreement?" Lan Qingqing said.

"Who agreed to the division of the family? I didn't agree to the division. That doesn't count at all," Old Mrs. Lan said unreasonably.

"Yes!" said Lan Xiaohong, standing to the side, "Our parents don't separate their households." Lan Xiaohong's eldest daughter from her second wife is sixteen years old this year. She has a harsh face and looks remarkably like Wang Shi.

Are you planning to cling to our family?

Just then, the village chief came over. When some villagers saw that Old Lady Lan had come to cause trouble, they quickly notified the village chief to come over.

"Aunt Lan, what's going on? Didn't you separate from the Big Tree family? What's the meaning of this now? Are you treating separating the family like a game? You can separate whenever you want, and not separate whenever you don't want to?" the village chief said angrily.

"Uncle Village Chief, you can't say that. We're all family, blood is thicker than water. We can't sever our blood ties just because of a family division document," Lan Xiaohong said righteously.

Lan Qingqing sneered. What a joke! Making such a grandiose claim about taking advantage, are you even moved by your own words? Lan Xiaohong, let me tell you, even if we have to feed our money to the dogs, we will never let you take the slightest advantage. What are you? Get out of here! You're not welcome in our house.

Listen to this, village chief, listen to this, everyone listen to this, is this something a junior should say?

"I'm still her grandmother, and this disobedient and unfilial brat! I'm going to the county government right now to lodge a formal complaint against her!" Old Mrs. Lan said, her face red with anger.

Seeing that Old Mrs. Lan was still relentless, Mr. Lan stepped forward and said, "Mother, we've already separated our family. Back then, Father and Mother were afraid of getting into trouble, so they severed ties with our family directly. We've also separated our branches in the family genealogy. So Qingqing isn't disobedient. Mother has no right to sue my daughter."

And the reason our family has become like this is all your fault. Haven't you harmed our family enough?

My Qingqing was a renowned beauty in the surrounding area. If it weren't for your actions, such a wonderful girl wouldn't have had to bear such a bad reputation. My second son sold himself to save our lives for the sake of this family. My eldest son's fate is still unknown.

We just want to live a good life, why are you all like leeches, sucking us dry?! As Mr. Lan spoke, tears streamed down his face.

"You think you can get rid of us and live a good life? No way!" Old Mrs. Lan said viciously.

"Village chief, since we've severed ties with the Lan family, what should we do now that they're coming to our door causing trouble?" Lan Qingqing asked the village chief.

The village chief, somewhat exasperated, said to the villagers beside him, "Go and call Uncle Lan over. If he doesn't handle this properly, then we'll hand it over to the Lan family patriarch."

The Lan family patriarch was also in the crowd, and he strongly disapproved of Old Madam Lan's actions. Lan Dashu had always been raised by Old Madam Lan. However, after Old Madam Lan passed away a few years ago, her vicious nature was revealed. The Lan family was nearly destroyed because of her. Unfortunately, this was their family matter, and they couldn't interfere.

They watched helplessly as Mother Lan's hair turned white overnight, and Father Lan's back hunched and his leg became lame. Life had finally turned around after so much hardship, and now this wicked woman was causing trouble again. The clan chief also looked on with pity.

Soon after, Old Man Lan arrived at the Lan family's courtyard, supported by the villagers.

The village chief spoke first: "Uncle Lan, when your two families separated and severed ties, it was all done in the presence of the village elders. How come you're starting to deny it now, so soon?"

Old Man Lan lowered his head in shame after being told off by the village chief. He knew that Old Lady Lan had come to make a scene, and he was worried that his wife might actually get the prescription.

Wouldn't that allow us to live the life of the elite?

But now that the village chief had bluntly said it, Old Man Lan still felt ashamed, after all, he hadn't intended to get involved. He didn't care about being embarrassed. Who would have thought that he'd be cornered by the villagers even while hiding in the fields?

The division of the family property is definitely a done deal. I'll take my wife home now," said Old Man Lan.

Grandma Lan was somewhat unwilling, but with Grandpa Lan's forceful pulling, she still left. Seeing that her grandparents had left, Lan Xiaohong hurriedly followed.

Seeing that there was no more excitement to be had, the villagers dispersed. Lan Qingqing gave the clan chief and the village chief each a piece of tofu.

The village chief initially refused, but after Lan Qingqing's repeated insistence, he finally accepted the tofu.

The clan chief looked at the tofu Lan Qingqing offered and declined, saying he didn't need it. "You can keep this for yourselves to sell for money. If Second Grandfather wants some, he'll buy it himself," the clan chief said.

"Second Grandpa, please take this. It's not worth much. Consider it our gift to you. If it weren't for your secret help to my parents, they wouldn't be here today," Lan Qingqing said.

"Second Grandpa, please take it! When I have money in the future, I'll buy you big fish and meat dishes!" Lan Xiaotian said with a smile.

The clan chief was also quite flustered by Lan Xiaotian's words. This child is so sensible; Old Man Lan is truly unlucky! The clan chief smiled and took the tofu home.

Lan Qingqing helped her parents to sit down on the stools.

Lan Qingqing emptied the mushrooms from her basket. Feng Caidie sat on a stool, holding scissors, and trimmed the fungal soil around the roots of some mushrooms.

Lan Xiaoya emptied the mushrooms from her basket. Lan's father looked at his children and his eyes reddened. If it weren't for their grandparents, they wouldn't be living such a hard life.

Seeing her father's eyes redden, Lan Qingqing comforted him, saying, "Dad, our lives will get better and better from now on. We won't let others laugh at our family anymore." Her father nodded with relief and said, "Yes, yes, we'll all be alright from now on."