The two from the second branch were released after being educated by the brigade headquarters. Wherever they went, the commune members avoided them, a stark contrast to the past.

The two young people were not sent to the police station, but were sent directly to the Revolutionary Committee. In this day and age, this matter is basically under the jurisdiction of the Revolutionary Committee.

When Xu Yaoyang's wife saw the two elderly people, who were completely disfigured, she finally realized how serious the matter was. She knew that the Xu family in Xujia Village still had some influence. No matter what, Yang Chunqin was still the brigade leader. If she wanted to protect the two elderly people, she should have the ability to do so, unless the eldest son's family did not want to get involved.

Xu Yaoyang's wife stepped forward and asked worriedly, "Auntie, Dad, what's wrong?"

With a sullen face, Xu Lao Er limped towards his room.

The old woman, who was usually prone to cursing, fell silent and followed the old man inside. She needed to have a good talk with him to see if there was any hope of saving the situation.

The old woman had barely stepped into the room when Xu Lao Er slapped her across the face: "You spendthrift woman, I've had the worst luck in my life to marry you. It's all your fault. Are you satisfied now?"

This was the first time Xu Lao Er had ever hit his own wife.

The old woman had always known that Xu Lao Er was ruthless, but he kept it well hidden and didn't usually show it.

Did he really not know what she had done?

Without his tacit approval, where would the old woman get the courage?

Many things seem to be done by the old woman, but in fact, Xu Lao Er is the one behind it all.

Xu Lao Er had been jealous of Xu Lao Ye Zi since he was a child. Xu Lao Ye Zi was smart and knew how to act properly, and the two elders always valued him.

Xu Lao Er was six or seven years younger than Xu Lao Ye Zi. He was a bit weak as a child and was pampered growing up. Because of his weak health, his parents rarely told him anything, and this protection was perceived as neglect in Xu Lao Er's mind.

As he grew up, he always wanted to surpass Grandpa Xu, but living in the village, he never had the chance.

When his wife suggested switching children, Xu Lao Er felt inexplicably excited. He wanted to see the pain of losing their child, and he would be happy as long as they suffered.

As expected, the eldest son suffered a great blow after losing his child, and was even bedridden for several months.

At that time, Xu Lao Er thought that it would be good if Xu Lao Tai couldn't get through it, because that would be a huge blow to Xu Lao Ye, and maybe he wouldn't be able to get through it either.

During that time, even his wife could sense Xu Lao Er's happiness, but she thought it was because he had a son.

Later, he finally had his own son, Xu Yaoyang. His wife began to beat and scold Xu Mingyang from time to time, making the little child work all the time without giving him any food.

Xu Lao Er felt a sense of satisfaction, as if the old woman was bullying not Xu Mingyang but Old Master Xu.

But when the child grew up, he escaped his control and secretly went to join the army. Xu Lao Er was furious! He secretly vowed that it would be best if the child never came back.

Unexpectedly, just when Xu Lao Er thought he would never have another chance, Xu Mingyang was injured and retired.

It was Xu Lao Er who suggested to his wife that Xu Yaoyang take over the job, but unfortunately, Xu Yaoyang's abilities were limited and he couldn't get into a good department, so he could only go to the leisurely radio station.

However, Xu Lao Er was satisfied. He knew his son's capabilities well. Although Xu Yaoyang was usually polite and refined, he was frivolous at heart and had high aspirations. He had no ability but was always looking for something better.

If it weren't for Xu Lao Er keeping things under control all these years, who knows what might have happened.

Xu Lao Er didn't regret anything that happened; he was only angry that his wife and her nephew were too arrogant and that people had found out.

However, Xu Lao Er found this incident extremely mysterious; he was certain that he was being controlled by a mysterious force.

The thought of this sent chills down Xu Lao Er's spine.

But he has to find a way to extricate himself from this.

In fact, Xu Lao Er understood his father very well. As long as he pushed all these things onto his wife and then went to his father to confess his lax management of the household, he believed that his elder brother would definitely forgive him.

The old woman's mouth was bleeding from the beating, but she dared not refute it.

The old woman's silence emboldened Xu Lao Er. He pulled out his belt (a belt that Xu Mingyang had given him when he first came home from the army), wrapped one end around his palm, and then swung it at the old woman, as if he wanted to unleash all the pent-up anger he had suffered that day.

The old woman never expected Xu Lao Er to suddenly go crazy, and before she could dodge, she was whipped hard by the belt.

As Xu Lao Er smoked, he cursed and swore: "Marrying an unvirtuous wife will bring disaster to three generations. I shouldn't have pitied you in the first place. And your hooligan nephew, he's been having an affair with women all the time. You think you've kept it a secret? I'll make sure he gets what's coming to him this time. There's not a single good woman in your family. My Xu family can't afford a wife like you. Today I'm going to divorce you."

In just a short while, the old woman's back was already covered in cuts and bruises from being whipped, which showed how much effort Xu Lao Er had put in.

Xu Lao Er's cursing and his wife's screams and wails terrified the mother and her two children outside the door, especially the two children, who were so frightened that they forgot how to cry.

The neighbors also heard the commotion at Xu Lao Er's house, but no one came out to see what was going on. They just stayed home and listened intently.

After Xu Yaoqiang's family left the old house, Niu Zhaodi started to chatter on and on.

Niu Zhaodi: "Auntie, Ada is so biased! Xu Mingyang has been recognized, but is it really necessary to make such a big fuss? Look at that bed, that cabinet, even other girls don't have such nice furnishings for their weddings. I heard that the fake wife was divorced. Given how much Ada and I value him, we'll definitely find him another marriage. We'll probably have to take out our life savings for him!"

Niu Zhaodi: "Hey, why don't we hurry up and find a husband for Daya? Maybe we can even squeeze some of your parents' money for their funerals. My nephew is getting married soon, so we can make him a couple of cabinets like the ones in Mingyang's room. It'll be so impressive when the bride comes home."

Niu Zhaodi's words became increasingly nonsensical, but Xu Yaoqiang ignored her and quickened his pace.

Xu Daya lowered her head, pondering her plan. She needed to find a way out as soon as possible; she absolutely couldn't let her mother sell her off.

Xu Zeyu truly hated Niu Zhaodi. She always thought of her own family, while his own family was practically destitute. If it weren't for his grandparents' help, he probably wouldn't even have pants to wear when he went out.

They're all children of the Xu family, but Xu Zeyu, not to mention his older brother and the third brother, is far ahead of Xu Zexin and Xu Zelei in terms of life.

If his mother weren't so unreliable, how could they have ended up like this with just his father and sister's hard work?