And the aunt immediately shared the gossip with Wenxi.

It turned out that a man named Deng Shouquan from the team had come to Widow Shen's house in broad daylight to have an affair. They thought everyone was at Qian Chunxing's house for a wedding banquet and no one would notice. Who would have thought that Qian Chunxing's food was so bad that the banquet ended early, and the two of them were so unrestrained and loud that others heard them.

It's no wonder people are suspicious when such sounds come from a widow's house. And sure enough, as soon as they came in, they saw Deng Shouquan and the widow having an affair.

The reason everyone was so agitated was that Deng Shouquan had a wife and children, two sons and a daughter, and could be said to have both a son and a daughter, and was very happy. However, he did such a thing with a widow, which was really shocking.

"I don't want to live anymore..."

"Deng Shouquan, I bore you children and worked tirelessly to manage the household, yet in your heart I'm not even as good as this harlot..."

From inside, the sounds of a woman's heart-wrenching cries and a child's wailing could be heard from time to time. It was truly pitiful. For a woman, this was an utter disgrace. She had done so much, yet she was not as good as a promiscuous woman.

Wenxi was really speechless. You're a widow, if you want a man, why don't you ask someone to introduce you to one? Why are you trying to seduce someone else's husband?

Isn't this self-destructive?

If she were to consider getting married now, no decent man would consider her. After all, she's promiscuous and could easily end up being cuckolded.

The aunt told Wenxi that this widow Shen was a smart woman. Once she got married, she had to serve her parents-in-law and the whole family. Moreover, since she was a widow, no one would respect her or treat her well.

But staying in the Harvest Brigade was different. With just a glance, men would help her with chores, bring her food, and even come to keep her company at night. Wasn't that more enjoyable than being married?

The reason everyone wants to take this opportunity to drive away Widow Shen is because she has already stolen many men from other women.

Those men are still obsessed with Widow Shen, and they're jealous of each other. Even though they've made mistakes, they still give their wives the cold shoulder when they get home. Their wives hate Widow Shen to the core, which is why they were yelling the loudest today.

Soon Captain Qian and a group of village officials came to handle the matter. Deng Shouquan's wife wanted a divorce and wanted to let Deng Shouquan and Widow Shen be together. Deng Shouquan's house would go to her and the children, and Deng Shouquan and the children would sign a document severing their relationship. Then Deng Shouquan would move in with Widow Shen. If Deng Shouquan and Widow Shen were unwilling, she would go to the commune to sue them and send them to the farm for reform.

Then it wasn't Deng Shouquan's wife who was kicked out, but Deng Shouquan himself. All he got were a few of his own tattered clothes and nothing else. He had traded all his wealth for a widow.

Then the other women who had been betrayed by their husbands followed suit, making a scene and demanding a divorce. Their husbands then knelt down and begged for forgiveness, promising never to have anything to do with Widow Shen again.

Their wives didn't really want a divorce; they just wanted them to settle down. So they made them write a guarantee in front of everyone that if they flirted with other women again, they would be left with nothing, just like Deng Shouquan, and their children would cut off all ties with them and wouldn't support them in their old age.

At this time, men are more afraid than women of not having anyone to support them in their old age. This clause can be said to have a firm grip on their lifeline, so they ask village officials to help them write guarantees and make various oaths.

With Deng Shouquan and Widow Shen locked up together, everyone felt relieved, as Widow Shen could no longer seduce other men. However, now there was another woman, Ge Chenglan, who was Deng Shouquan's ex-wife.

Will she become the second widow Shen?

To reassure everyone, Ge Chenglan stepped forward, bowed deeply to them, and said earnestly, "Sisters, don't worry. I, Ge Chenglan, am not as shameless as Widow Shen, who would prey on other women's men. If I meet a suitable man, I will consider remarrying, but I will not move out of my house. Also, if any man dares to climb over my wall and ruin my reputation, I will chop off his flesh and make him a eunuch for life..."

These words sent a chill down the spines of many men. Ge Chenglan was truly ruthless. If she weren't, she wouldn't have divorced him with the child, nor would she have left Deng Shouquan with nothing.

Of course, a woman's position is not secure if she is not ruthless.

As Ge Chenglan spoke, she turned back to look at Widow Shen. The difference in their character was immediately apparent, which made everyone even more disgusted with Widow Shen.

Even if she were to marry Deng Shouquan, it wouldn't stop people from disliking her even more.

Widow Shen was furious. It wasn't that she didn't want to get married, but she hadn't met a man with good conditions who could give her a good life. The men in the village could only give her small favors, which made her feel like she was losing out.

It's all Deng Shouquan's fault for getting aroused in broad daylight and insisting on coming to find her, causing her such a terrible situation. She got nothing but a poor man with a few tattered clothes!

But she couldn't refuse to marry Deng Shouquan, because if they didn't, Ge Chenglan would report them to the commune, and all the people who saw her today were willing to testify for Ge Chenglan.

During this period, the crackdown on extramarital affairs was even stricter than before. You could be punished by being put in a slut's den or sent to a farm for re-education, where you would do the hardest and most tiring work every day and not even get enough to eat. People who went there might not come back alive.

The widow dared to have affairs with men, but she dared not challenge the rules of the times.

The matter was resolved, and everyone dispersed. Wenxi and the others also left. Today's incident prompted Wenxi to reflect deeply on marriage and family.

If He Chen'an were to betray her one day, she would not forgive him like the other women, and she would never spend her life with a piece of trash. She would leave decisively, just like Ge Chenglan did.

There's no shortage of people in this world, and He Chen'an isn't the only outstanding man. So she doesn't need to stay with a piece of trash; it would be an insult to herself.

Although I'm not particularly outstanding, I'm rich. I can't find any man I want, so why should I insult myself with trash?

If you're happy together, then stay together; if you're not happy together, then end the relationship.

In short, she won't be like the TV dramas she watched in her past life, where the endings were all about forgiveness and happy endings, using a woman's grievances to achieve a happy ending.

We are all human beings, and we are all experiencing life for the first time. Why should women have to suffer?

Since no one was full, Wenxi cooked another pot of noodles after returning home, rinsed them in cold boiled water, and then shredded some cucumber. That's how a bowl of cold noodles was made.