The granddaughter looks just like Xia'er when she was a child.

Cute and sensible.

Thinking of this, Yan Hecheng forgot about lunch and prepared to go again.

"You little slut, all you do is eat and not work! You don't even deserve such precious food! Go up the mountain and dig up pig feed, then pull up the weeds in the field and chop some firewood..."

As I approached the Wang family's gate, I heard Wang Laizi's mother cursing her granddaughter.

Yan Hecheng's face darkened.

"Xiaoyu—"

He stood outside the courtyard and shouted.

"Why are you here again? Your granddaughter is already married into our Wang family. What's the point of your Yan family coming to our door all the time?"

Aside from Bai Lizheng, Zhao Xinrong, and Zhao Dali's families, almost no one knew that Yan Hecheng had reconciled with his daughter.

So even though Yan Hecheng was wearing new clothes, the Wang family still didn't treat him well.

"Let Xiaoyu come out; I have something to say to her."

He hadn't seen his granddaughter since he arrived, and he was determined to see her this time, or he wouldn't leave.

Wang Laizi's mother, Qiu, glanced at Yan Hecheng.

"Xiaoyu, your grandfather has come to see you. He didn't bring anything with him, but he probably wanted to give you some money. Your grandfather really loves you. Come out quickly, don't keep your grandfather waiting too long."

Qiu's voice carried a hint of sarcasm, implying that Yan Hecheng didn't care about Yan Zhiyu if he didn't give him money.

"grandfather--"

After not seeing her for several days, my lively and cheerful granddaughter looked like a withered grass whose life had been drained.

She was thin and frail, her face was covered in bruises, and her cheeks were deeply sunken.

They're worse off than refugees.

"Xiaoyu—"

Yan Hecheng was heartbroken.

He held his granddaughter's wrist, tears streaming down his face.

"Grandpa, you're back! Was the corvée labor hard? Dad won't let me visit you at the dilapidated temple. Grandpa, I missed you so much."

Yan Zhiyu's lifeless eyes lit up the moment he saw his grandfather.

It emits a faint light.

"The injuries on your face were inflicted by that beast Wang Laizi, weren't they?"

Yan Hecheng stroked his granddaughter's cheek with his rough right hand.

"Hiss—" Yan Zhiyu cried out in pain. She turned her head and saw her mother-in-law glaring at her fiercely. She didn't dare to tell the truth. "No, no, I hit it myself."

"No need to lie anymore, Grandpa isn't stupid. Qiu, I want to take Xiaoyu with me for a divorce, and I'll give you back the five taels of silver!"

Yan Hecheng took out a purse from his pocket, which contained eight taels of silver. It was the pocket money he had saved up before, plus the money his daughter had given him to buy fish and vegetables.

"Five taels? That won't do. She's married into our Wang family. She's a Wang family daughter-in-law in life and a Wang family ghost in death. No one can take her away. Son, come out quickly! Someone's trying to steal your wife."

After Qiu finished speaking, she shouted loudly.

Wang Laizi rushed out of the house.

He grabbed Yan Zhiyu.

"Smack—"

The sound of the slap was like firecrackers on New Year's Eve, so loud it was startling.

Five finger marks instantly appeared on Yan Zhiyu's face.

"You little whore, have you been seducing some man? Who wants to take you away? You slut, I'll beat you to death."

Without even asking what happened, Wang Laizi slapped her across the face.

His ugly face was covered with a ferocious expression.

As his name suggests, Wang Laizi's face was covered in thick, mottled blisters, just like a toad's back.

It's chilling to watch.

"You little beast, who gave you the right to hit my granddaughter?"

Seeing that Wang Laizi was about to make another move, Yan Hecheng quickly protected his granddaughter and cursed loudly.

"I can beat my wife however I want, it's none of your business! You refuse to do your corvée labor, so what are you doing coming to my Wang family looking for a piss to drink? You old bastard!" Wang Laizi was a reckless and unruly man.

His speech was full of profanities.

It's unbearable to hear.

“Try swearing again, and I’ll take this to the village head. Today, you must divorce my granddaughter. Here’s the five taels of silver. I’ll return the silver to you, and I’ll take my granddaughter with me.”

That slap just now solidified Yan Hecheng's determination to take his granddaughter away.

"Five taels? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar? It should be at least ten taels!"

Wang Laizi's eyes darted around.

Yan Zhiyu was originally quite good-looking, but after marrying him, she turned out to be less exciting than the widows in the village. He was like a wooden doll in bed, offering no pleasure whatsoever.

And recently, he was taken to a brothel by some street hustler friends.

Only then did I discover the true joy of life.

He was ugly and no one wanted to marry him. His two previous wives were beaten to death by him when he was drunk.

His mother wanted to find him a wife and have a son.

He used all the little money he had to "buy" a wife.

Anyway, Yan Zhiyu had already been played with by him and lost her virginity long ago.

Why not ask for more money, buy another young virgin, and use the rest of the money to visit brothels?

Isn't that wonderful?

Having found a breakthrough indicates that divorce is feasible.

Yan Hecheng breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't stupid, so there was no way he would actually give ten taels.

"It's just five taels, take it or leave it. My granddaughter, I'm not capable enough to save you. I'll make it up to you properly in the next life."

After saying that, he even started acting.

Pretending to want to leave.

"Fine, fine, seven taels, I'll release him for seven taels!"

Wang Laizi called out to him.

"I only have five taels!"

Yan Hecheng turned around.

"No, I'd be at a huge loss if I paid five taels. She's been eating a lot of my Wang family's food these past few days."

No one would believe that.

Yan Hecheng twitched the corner of his mouth.

His granddaughter has become so thin.

It's obvious that this is caused by not eating enough every day.

"Six taels, not a penny more."

"make a deal!"

Wang Laizi agreed very quickly, fearing that Yan Hecheng might go back on his word.

After helping his granddaughter pack her clothes, the three of them went to the village head's house, just as the village head woke up.

He had a nightmare in which Xiaoxue was beaten to death by the He family.

I woke up in fright and couldn't fall back asleep.

"Brother Yan, what brings you here?"

Family scandals should not be aired in public. Facing outsiders, Bai Lizheng pretended to be as usual, and asked Yan Hecheng with a smile.

“My granddaughter wants to divorce Wang Laizi. I would like to trouble you to write a divorce agreement.”

For such a trivial matter.

Bai Lizheng readily agreed.

After the divorce papers were written, the two signed and sealed them.

Yan Hecheng took out six taels of silver from his purse and handed it to Wang Laizi.

From then on, the two had no further connection.

In the village, getting married only requires informing the village head, who will then register the marriage with the government. Alternatively, the officials can register the marriage during their annual routine inspections, or the couple can go on their own, though it is quite troublesome. Yan Zhiyu and Wang Laizi have not yet registered their marriage, and in principle, her household registration is still with the Yan family.

Therefore, there is no need to turn back.

There are more important things to do after the divorce: where will my granddaughter go?

We can't go back to the Yan family, lest our granddaughter be sold to Zhang Laizi, Liu Laizi, or Zhao Laizi again.

Yan Hecheng temporarily arranged for her to stay at Zhao Xinrong's house. After all, he also lived at his daughter's house, and he didn't know what Xia was thinking. If his daughter disliked Xiaoyu, wouldn't it make Xia unhappy if he let Xiaoyu stay at his daughter's house for no reason?

In his heart, his daughter was still more important.

The villagers love to gossip.