Holding her two children, Su Erya burst into tears.

Her mother said that if they divorced, the two children would suffer, and it would be impossible for her to take the children out with her.

She also said that divorce is a shameful thing, and if the man doesn't agree to divorce, they can't get a divorce anyway; if things get out of hand, the man might be divorced.

It would be even more shameful to divorce her, and her family would never allow a daughter who had been divorced to return home.

She can't bear to leave her child, and she can't go back to her parents' home. Is she just going to die in this house?

She looked at her rough hands, the sleeves concealing the numerous scars on her arms.

She wasn't afraid of rough hands; what woman doesn't do chores? But the constant new and old wounds on her body revealed the hardships she endured in this family.

My mother-in-law and husband beat and scold me all the time; being beaten is a daily occurrence for me.

When the two children saw their mother crying again, they kept rubbing against her. The older daughter, Wei Xin, wiped away her tears and said, "Mom, don't cry. When I grow up, I can protect you."

Su Erya's tears fell even more profusely. Was there any end to this kind of life?

While Mrs. Wei was complaining in the main room, Old Man Wei said impatiently, "Dinner isn't ready yet, what's wrong with you?"

"If Er Ya won't do it, you do it."

Old Wei wanted to have a smoke, but then he remembered that the cigarettes his son had brought him last time were gone, which made him even angrier.

Madam Wei muttered, "Zhang Xiong passed the exam, will our son pass it too?"

Old Wei snorted. Didn't he know anything about his own son?

"Alright, forget about who got in. Cooking is the important thing now, so go cook!"

“My son took the exam with Zhang Xiong and the others. Zhang Xiong has been back for a while now, so Xiao Wei should be back by now.”

"Who cares? Come back if you want. It's not like you haven't been back for a day or two. The village chief has criticized you many times, saying that if you miss work again, he will deduct your wages."

"Don't go and beat or scold Er Ya if you have nothing to do. She earns more than half of our wages and food. If you beat her to death, who will earn money for us?"

Madam Wei snorted, "I didn't kill him, it was your son who did. Go and discipline him!"

Old Man Wei got angry and grabbed the broom he used to sweep the kang (a heated brick bed) and started hitting him.

"You lazy woman, if you hadn't stirred things up, would Xiaowei have hit you so hard?"

“I think you guys beat her badly a few days ago. She hasn’t been working as well these past few days, and her wages and food allowance have been reduced. You all better take it easy on her.”

Wei pursed her lips: "I overheard the gossipy women on her mother's side letting it slip that Su Er Ya is actually thinking about divorce, but her family isn't happy about it. Do you think she should be beaten or not?"

This was the first time Old Man Wei had heard that Su Erya had thoughts of divorce. Every time Su Erya was beaten, he would not show up, nor would he ask about it afterwards.

Old Man Wei thought for a moment and nodded: "We can't indulge those who want a divorce, but you have to be careful not to let them get seriously injured and unable to work."

Wei knew that Old Man Wei was aware of Su Erya's desire for reconciliation and would definitely not stop her from beating people again. She sneered inwardly, "Do you think I can't figure out your little schemes?"

In the end, Madam Wei went to cook, but Su Erya refused to come out. She couldn't very well tear down the doors and windows of the house, as that would cost money to repair them.

But Su Erya wasn't given a share of dinner, nor was Wei Xin. They only invited their grandson Wei Bin to eat.

Wei Bin was only three years old and didn't understand adult matters. He just wanted to eat when he was hungry.

But he knew his mother was crying, and he was making a fuss about getting food for his mother and sister.

Madam Wei was furious and knocked Wei Bin's chopsticks away: "If you care about your mother, then you shouldn't eat either."

Wei Bin was never afraid of his grandmother, and he lay on the ground crying loudly.

Wei was cursing and swearing, and things were in complete chaos.

Just then, Wei Xiaowei returned. Upon entering and seeing the mess, he angrily kicked his son, who was rolling on the ground, and said, "Go outside and cry your mourning."

He had nowhere to vent his anger at failing the exam.

Upon seeing Wei Xiaowei, Wei Bin was indeed frightened. He obediently got up, picked up his bowl of rice, and ran away as fast as he could.

Wei shouted angrily, "If you're so capable, don't come back! See if you'll still get to eat tomorrow!"

Then he turned around and put on a different face, smiling broadly: "Son, how did your test go today?"

Old Man Wei simply ignored it. With his son looking like that, was there even a need to ask? He must have failed the exam!

Wei Xiaowei snorted and sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Madam Wei understood and immediately comforted him, "It's alright, if you didn't pass this time, there's always next time."

"But why was Zhang Xiong able to pass the exam?"

Wei Xiaowei glared at her, always bringing up topics that shouldn't be discussed.

He usually looked down on Zhang Xiong the most; he was tall and strong, but had no temper and was a coward!

Yet, this very person he looked down upon passed the first test.

He said bitterly, "Even if he passes the first test, I will make sure he can't pass the second one."

Wei was puzzled: "You're not the one proctoring the second round of examinations, so how could you possibly control who the officials hire?"

Wei Xiaowei grinned maliciously: "Just you wait and see. The day after tomorrow, I'll definitely not let him pass the exam."

Madam Wei supported whatever her son did: "I'm just waiting to see Zhang Xiong's mother make a fool of herself and show off."

While eating, Old Man Wei said, "Don't make a big fuss, or you'll regret it."

Wei Xiaowei disliked Old Man Wei, but at this moment he didn't want him to ruin things. He took out a small bag of tobacco from his pocket and threw it to him: "Mind your own business. Don't go around getting involved with a bunch of old women. Don't go around saying what I said."

Old Wei took the tobacco, sniffed it hard, and without caring about anything else, he put it into his pipe, lit it, and started smoking.

Wei Xiaowei snorted. He knew this old man was selfish and wouldn't care about anything if he was given a little benefit.

Wei Xiaowei had already eaten out with several of his cronies, sneaking a bite out of them to get by.

Wei still felt sorry for him and said, "Eat some more. Look how thin you've become. You've worked hard today too."

Wei Xiaowei noticed a small plate of crispy fish on the table and asked, "Where did this come from?"

Fish and meat are only distributed by the village during festivals. Given how poor his family is on weekdays, how could they possibly have crispy fish!

Madam Wei immediately placed a chopstick on his plate and urged him to eat, saying, "Try it, this is what I saved for you."

Wei Xiaowei took a bite, and it did indeed taste good.

Wei explained, "This is what I got from having your wife work for the village chief's family, just so you can have something to eat when you come back tonight."

Wei Xiaowei hummed in agreement. As for how long and how much work his wife had done to earn a small plate of crispy fish, he didn't care.

"However, please don't hit or scold Er Ya anymore, and I won't hit her either."

Madam Wei was taken aback: "Why? She wants a divorce, how can we not fight her? Divorce? Humph, it's her good fortune not to divorce her!"

Wei Xiaowei ate another crispy fish, chewing noisily: "I told you to stop fighting, so stop! Why all the nonsense!"

However, he still offered an explanation, which left Su Erya, who was listening outside, completely astonished!