Su Xiumei, who was sleeping restlessly, heard the noise at the door and knew that Meng Shuyun had returned. She quickly sat up and asked, "Mother, what happened? Why are you setting off firecrackers?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing. Go to sleep. It's just a little warding off evil spirits. It's nothing serious," Meng Shuyun replied with a smile, a hint of barely perceptible pleasure on her face.

Early the next morning, Meng Shuyun got up and hurriedly asked Meng Kangshun to take Su Xiangnan to the rented courtyard in the county to help urge the construction schedule there.

With Su Xiulan's postpartum confinement period almost over, the whole family will move to the courtyard in the county after she leaves. This will make it much easier for Su Xiulan to commute to and from get off work, and will also save Xiuju a lot of trouble.

The hair accessory business has a stable order volume of two thousand units, and the goods are delivered once every market day, which makes Meng Shuyun feel very gratified.

Around noon, Meng Kangshun rushed back home, looking anxious. As soon as he entered the house, he said, "Mom, Director Zhang asked me to go on a business trip. The place is a bit far. But don't worry, I will definitely be back as soon as possible. I estimate I will be home in about half a month."

"Are you leaving in such a hurry? Then take a few more warm clothes with you. It gets chilly at night, so don't catch a cold."

As Meng Shuyun spoke, she helped pack the luggage. Su Xiumei also specially made dumplings for Meng Kangshun before his departure.

"Be careful on the road, and remember to call home if anything happens," Meng Shuyun repeatedly reminded her.

"Uncle, take these milk candies and eat them on the way." The sisters Xiaoli and Xiaojuan took out the milk candies they had saved up for many days and handed them to Meng Kangshun.

"Okay, I'll bring you gifts when your uncle comes back." Meng Kangshun smiled and patted the two sisters on the head before slinging his bag over his shoulder.

The cigarette factory's truck was already parked at the intersection, waiting for him to get on.

Meng Shuyun waved her hand and watched the delivery truck gradually disappear into the distance before calling the mother and her two children back to the house to work, while still talking about Su Xiulan's postpartum period.

"Xiulan will be out of confinement in two days, so we'll have two tables for her full moon celebration."

Xiumei, please take good care of the hair ornaments with you and the children. I'm going out to buy some things now.

Meng Shuyun made the arrangements. She was still thinking about the woman from Beijing, who would probably come looking for Su Dahai in the next few days. She figured she had to go to the clinic to check on her before she could feel at ease.

On the other side, inside the main room of the Zhou family in Teng County.

Old Zhou was puffing on his pipe, while Zhong Shuzhen stood beside him. Below them sat Zhou Xianchuan, the second son of the Zhou family, and Wu Fang, who was wearing a maternity hat and crying her eyes out.

Wu Fang cried so hard she could hardly breathe, as if she had suffered a terrible injustice: "Father! Mother, you must stand up for the son in my belly!"

I was kicked so hard by Su Xiumei's mother that my son was gone!

My older brother is still thinking of bringing Su Xiumei, this scourge, back, but I absolutely disagree!

"Should we still pay for those two money-losing brats' schooling? No way!"

Just as Zhong Shuzhen was about to speak, Old Man Zhou slammed his pipe heavily on the table with a loud "bang," which startled Wu Fang and even made her crying weaker.

"Xianye, go to your mother-in-law's house again and bring Xiumei and her two children back."

It's a fact that your mother-in-law kicked Wu Fang's baby out of the womb. Make her pay fifty yuan as compensation for her postpartum care, and that's the end of the matter.

Xiumei has been married into the family for so many years and hasn't given you a son. You personally went to pick her up, which already shows her a lot of respect.

If she doesn't want to come back, then forget it. Let your mother find another woman who can bear a son. Life will go on even without her.”

Upon hearing that the compensation was only fifty yuan, Wu Fang immediately became unhappy and kicked Zhou Xianchuan hard, signaling him to speak.

Zhou Xianchuan immediately exclaimed "Ah!" and hurriedly said, "Dad, my wife has miscarried, and her body is badly injured. Fifty yuan is not enough! It will take at least a hundred!"

Zhong Shuzhen chimed in, "Yes, miscarriage is the worst thing for a woman's body. Fifty yuan is definitely not enough. This is no joke. They beat us up like this; the medical expenses alone would be more than that."

Wu Fang and Zhou Xianchuan nodded in agreement, feeling that the Meng family was in the wrong and that paying compensation was only natural.

Whenever Zhong Shuzhen thought about what happened that day, she felt a tightness in her chest, as if a breath was stuck there, neither coming out nor going out, making her extremely uncomfortable.

Old Zhou slammed his hand on the table again, his wrinkled face contorted with anger: "Xianchuan, if you're worried about not being able to have a son in the future, you can ask your mother to find you a new wife, someone who isn't fussy and hasn't had a miscarriage. Wouldn't that be perfect?"

Wu Fang's face darkened instantly, and she glared fiercely at Zhou Xianchuan.

If he dares, I'll break his third leg, take my son back to my parents' home, and make sure the Zhou family line ends!

Zhou Xianye watched them talking amongst themselves, making all the decisions for him without ever asking for his opinion, and his face turned extremely ugly.

When Su Xiumei was still at home, they would at least pretend to be at it.

Now, things have gotten even better. They've stopped pretending and are already discussing which widow with a big butt to find him.

Although Zhou Xianye is usually mild-mannered and believes in avoiding trouble, he is not without temper.

"Father, Mother, I will not divorce Xiumei."

I've brought so much money home over the years, is it really that hard to support Xiaoli and Xiaojuan's schooling?

It's not like our family can't afford this money.

Mother, if you find her, you can be my father's wife!

Since you all look down on my son and daughter-in-law so much, why don't you just separate our family and live separately?

"If I ever have no one to support me in my old age and can no longer work, I'll find a river and jump in, ending it all, and then nobody will get in anyone's way."

The four people in the main room stared at Zhou Xianye in shock. They never expected that he, who was usually so weak, could be so tough.

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered!

Zhou Xianye's words were straightforward and resolute. He thought that even if he was kicked out and left with nothing, he wouldn't be afraid. With his job, he could definitely support Su Xiumei and her two children.

If I find some part-time work during the week, I'm sure I can get both Xiaoli and Xiaojuan back to school next year.

He was often ridiculed by his colleagues for being illiterate when he was driving, and he also felt inferior at times.

Who wouldn't want to go to school if they had the chance?

He used to have experienced mentors guiding him, so he wouldn't be so familiar with the routes, let alone be able to do this job.

He had considered countless possible consequences before he said those words, but he never expected that his family would not take him seriously at all.

Old Man Zhou snorted coldly, glanced at Zhou Xianye sideways, and said sarcastically, "If you want to separate, then go ahead and live separately. Don't come back in the future. Just hand over your salary to me and your mother every month."