Chapter 109 Bullying the Out-of-Town Wife

Shen Hongmei stiffened her neck and began to argue unreasonably: "Liu Xiangyang! Don't you have any conscience? I've been married to you for so many years, working like a slave. Even if I haven't done anything great, I've still put in a lot of effort! Why can't I get something of my own?"

Liu Xiangyang laughed angrily: "Fine! Then take it out and let everyone see what your so-called 'own thing' really is!"

Shen Hongmei fell silent instantly, her eyes darting away.

"What? You don't dare?" Liu Xiangyang pressed on, "As long as you can prove it's yours, I'll let you take it away immediately!"

Liu Zhixia added insult to injury: "Ex-sister-in-law, since you're so self-righteous, then show yourself and let everyone judge. Otherwise, if you take one thing today and another tomorrow, are you planning to empty the Liu family's coffers?"

The moment those words were spoken, the winds of change immediately shifted.

Everyone in the village knows that Shen Hongmei used to be the type to move her husband's family to her own. Now that she's divorced, she's still trying to take advantage of them. That's really not fair.

Looking at her swollen face, people felt no sympathy, but rather a sense of contempt.

Seeing that Shen Hongmei was completely unfazed, Liu Xiangyang gritted his teeth and said, "Since all the aunties are here, then please do me a favor and search her body! We, the Liu family, want to avoid suspicion and prevent people from saying that we are bullying her."

Aunt Zhou, who had been watching the commotion, rolled up her sleeves and shouted in a loud voice, "Alright! I'll take charge of this! Let's drag her inside and search her! We have to search carefully, just in case she stole money or tickets."

Seeing several burly women surround her, Shen Hongmei cowered in the corner and screamed in fright:

"Don't come any closer! You're bullying me! Help! The people from Lujia Village are ganging up on a woman from out of town!"

This huge accusation only fueled the anger of the women.

"Oh ho? There's definitely something fishy going on! Otherwise, what are you afraid of?"

"Exactly! Why can't something that's perfectly legitimate be shown to others? Hold it down!"

Just as Shen Hongmei was about to be caught, a figure suddenly rushed out and caught her.

"Shen Hongmei! You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! You used to be a wife in our village, how can you talk about our fellow villagers like this?"

Lu Xiaohui gripped Shen Hongmei's arm tightly, scolding her, but secretly winked at her amidst the chaos.

Shen Hongmei understood immediately.

This is a lifeline!

Taking advantage of the fact that everyone's view was blocked, she flipped her hand and quickly stuffed the crumpled paper into Lu Xiaohui's hand.

As soon as she dropped the item, Shen Hongmei straightened her back and shouted loudly:

"Fine! Search me all you want! In your eyes, I, Shen Hongmei, am not even a human being! It's better this divorce is over!"

Seeing that Lu Xiaohui was about to leave as if nothing had happened, Liu Zhixia and Zhang Xiuying blocked her from the left and right.

Liu Zhixia narrowed her eyes, her gaze turning cold: "Lu Xiaohui, are you treating us like fools?"

Lu Xiaohui raised an eyebrow, looking completely innocent: "What? You suspect me of helping her hide stolen goods? Fine, then search me too. I'm innocent, so I have nothing to hide."

She played her tactic of feigning retreat skillfully, but unfortunately, she ran into Aunt Zhou, who was very straightforward.

"Just search! Stop talking nonsense!"

Without saying a word, Aunt Zhou pulled the two of them into the house.

A moment later, Aunt Zhou came out with a dark face, leaned close to Zhang Xiuying's ear, and whispered, "We didn't find anything."

Zhang Xiuying was shocked: "You didn't find either of them?"

Aunt Zhou shook her head: "I've searched them thoroughly, but there's nothing there. Those two brats must have used some kind of trick. Is the item important? Should we search the house again?"

Zhang Xiuying looked at Liu Zhixia.

Liu Zhixia gently shook her head, a barely perceptible smile curving her lips: "Never mind, let her go."

These words were overheard by Shen Hongmei, who had just come out.

She immediately became smug, her tail wagging in the air: "I already said I didn't take it! You insist I stole it, that's slander! You're bullying a divorced woman like me!"

Seeing her arrogant demeanor, everyone knew perfectly well that the item had definitely been hidden, but since the Liu family was no longer pursuing the matter, no one else could say anything.

Lu Xiaohui straightened her clothes and came out, giving Liu Zhixia a provocative smile: "Xia, since we didn't find anything, I'll be leaving now?"

Liu Zhixia smiled even brighter, her eyes conveying a meaningful look: "Okay. Sister Xiaohui, thank you so much for 'troubling' me today."

"It's alright. We're all from the same village, it's good that the misunderstanding has been cleared up."

After Lu Xiaohui finished speaking, she turned to leave, but Shen Hongmei panicked and quickly called out, "Wait! I'll go with you!"

The items were still in Lu Xiaohui's hands; how could she dare let the person go?

Liu Xiangyang grabbed Shen Hongmei: "Trying to leave? Our business isn't over yet!"

Seeing her ex-husband's angry face, Shen Hongmei felt emboldened and straightened her back: "Fine! Let's talk! I've been married to you for so many years and given you a son, so you have to give me half of the money you have!"

Liu Xiangyang felt as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Shen Hongmei, you want to settle accounts with me? Ha, don't you have any idea how much money and grain I've given to the Shen family over the years?"

Shen Hongmei's arrogance faltered, and she retorted, "One thing at a time! That...that's the filial piety that a son-in-law should give!"

"Alright! Let the villagers see just how much this 'son-in-law' has really given!"

Liu Xiangyang turned around and rushed into the house, took out a yellowed notebook, and shoved it directly into Aunt Zhou's hands.

When Aunt Zhou opened it, her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"This...this is..."

"This is every penny of money and every pound of grain I've given to the Shen family over the years! Not even counting what Shen Hongmei secretly brought back herself!"

Shen Hongmei was completely dumbfounded: "Liu Xiangyang! You actually kept accounts? You've been wary of me from the very beginning?"

Liu Xiangyang sneered: "If I really wanted to hold a grudge, I should have taken the account book and asked your parents for money the day I sent you back!"

As he spoke, he turned to look at the two elders, his eyes instantly reddening.

"Actually... every time I send something to the Shen family, I feel sad. I've never been this filial to my own parents! I keep accounts because I think it wasn't easy for my wife to marry into the family, so it's only right that I treat her family well. But I swear, I will earn back every single penny recorded here in the future and give it back to my parents!"

Liu Xiangyang wiped away his tears and gave a bitter smile: "Unfortunately, the number on this page keeps growing bigger and bigger, but I haven't been able to make up for it, which has also broken my parents' hearts."

Zhang Xiuying felt a pang of sadness, tears welling in her eyes. She laughed and scolded, "You brat, you actually had such a scheme in mind..."

Just as Aunt Zhou was about to recite the numbers, Liu Zhixia brought out an abacus and slammed it onto the table.

"Since my ex-sister-in-law wants to settle accounts, let's do it in front of everyone, one by one! So that we won't say later that the Liu family bullied us!"

Her gaze shifted and locked onto Lu Xiaohui, who was trying to slip away.

“Especially Sister Xiaohui, you spoke up so righteously just now, you can’t leave now, you should stay and be a witness!”

Lu Xiaohui had just stepped out the door when she was called out by name, and could only awkwardly pull her foot back.

Aunt Zhou pointed at her and called out, "That's right! Xiao Hui, come over here too! Didn't you want to come see the show? You can come along and hear how the accounts are settled!"