"But now you haven't gotten a single penny, and your son treats you like an enemy."

Xiao Ping was extremely helpless. "What can I do? Ever since that brat tricked me into breaking off our marriage, I've been unable to hold onto him anymore."

Two days ago, the clan chief came to his house and gave him a good scolding, basically saying that he had let Xiao Lei go, which had now benefited the Zhao clan.

They said Xiao Lei was already a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, that only a handful of such people had emerged from the county in a hundred years, and that his next step was to become an official. They scolded him for being useless, mistaking gold for earthenware, and being incredibly blind.

They even called him a scoundrel, saying he abused his own son and let his stepmother torment him, that he was useless and listened to women... In short, the clan chief must have been rebuffed by Xiao Lei, so he took out all his anger on him.

After the clan chief left, the wife cried for a long time, saying that being a stepmother was difficult, and she cried as if she were dying.

He thought about it for a long time and decided to talk to Xiao Lei again, but unexpectedly...

Xiao Lei kept a tense face the whole way. The two children looked at each other, their hearts pounding. This time, it seemed like they were doomed.

Their father, who had always loved them the most, got angry, and very angry.

Zhao Qixi tugged at her father's sleeve, "Dad, what's wrong? Are you angry?"

Xiao Lei remained silent; it wasn't the right time to reprimand them. He would deal with it when they got home.

The two looked at their mother for help.

Zhao Xiaoyu turned her head to the side, refusing to meet their gaze and refusing to soften her heart.

These two kids need to be taught a lesson.

She and Xiao Lei were terrified just now.

The person is gone, the person just suddenly disappeared!

After returning home, the four went inside, and Xiao Lei closed the door.

"Tell me, why did you go with him? Didn't I tell you not to go with strangers or talk to strangers?"

“But your parents said the village is safe, and you know everyone there; this is your hometown.”

"Zhao Qixi, stop joking with me."

Xiao Lei's cold expression was a bit frightening, and the little girl was clearly startled, shrinking back two steps.

Her little mouth twitched, as if she wanted to cry.

"Don't cry. Tell me, why do you want to be with a stranger?"

The little girl burst into tears, sobbing, "He said he was my grandfather, so we wanted to see where my father used to live. My mother used to say that you had a hard childhood, living alone."

We just wanted to visit the place where Dad lived when he was a child, and also to see that ungrateful grandpa.

Da Bao nodded in agreement. They were genuinely just curious and wanted to see just how bad the place where their father had lived as a child really was. Although it wasn't the place where their father lived alone later, it was probably the place where their great-grandmother had lived before he passed away.

They just wanted to see where their father used to live; if they hadn't gone with them, they might never have seen it again.

After seeing it, I felt even more sorry for my father. He had a very hard life before, and he lived in very poor conditions, just like my mother.

She's even more pitiful than her mother. Her father's father was a bad person.

Grandpa was a good man; he loved Mom.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lei was shocked. His anger vanished instantly, replaced by a bitter feeling.

Zhao Xiaoyu never expected that the child just wanted to go to the Xiao family to see where their father was born. How could someone so young have so many thoughts and so many tricks up their sleeve?

“You’ve seen it now; Father didn’t live there for more than a few years.”

“We know that Grandpa is a bad person, and we will not have a grandpa in the future.”

They dared to follow Xiao Ping for two reasons: first, they were in the village; second, they had their own people with them, and they were certain that their grandfather wouldn't bully them.

"Don't go there again, okay? That family isn't good people; they might have bad intentions towards you."

"We know, we won't go anymore."

They have seen what they wanted to see today, and they are certain that their father's father and stepmother are bad people. They will not go to their house again.

“Dad, your father is not a good person. We will never go to his house again.”

Xiao Lei's Adam's apple bobbed several times, his emotions unreadable. Though the children were young, they could clearly distinguish who was good to them.

Xiao Ping and Yang Shi, ah, they're still the same as ever, they haven't improved at all.

The little girl sniffed and said seriously, "His forehead is dark, he's going to have bad luck soon. That old hag is the same, her eyes droop and her mouth has a sinister look, she's not a kind person."

Xiao Lei: ...

"Don't talk nonsense outside."

The little girl shut up.

Xiao Lei looked at Zhao Xiaoyu, at a loss. He wasn't angry anymore and didn't want to punish them. But the two of them had gone to the Xiao family without their permission, so they had to be punished.

Zhao Xiaoyu turned her head, her meaning clear: let him handle it himself.

"Alright, let's let this go for today. But you can't do it again. There are a lot of bad people in the Xiao family. You two are so young, what if something happens to you?"

"Someone is following us."

"Following them is not allowed either. From now on, no matter what anyone says, you can't go with them, understand?"

The two little ones were very good at admitting their mistakes, indicating that they knew they were wrong.

Xiao Lei thought that he had to punish him; the child couldn't be spoiled too much. "Go stand in the corner as punishment for an hour. Da Bao, write a letter of self-criticism for me."

"I understand." The voice was muffled.

"Mother, how is Great-Grandma?"

The little girl was simply curious, because her parents had returned so quickly. But last time she clearly saw that her great-grandmother's lifespan was almost over. Could the dead really recover?

No way!

"Nothing much. We're not home most of the time lately, so you guys should behave yourselves and go to the back mountain less often. Especially you, Zhao Qixi."

That little rascal, without her encouragement, her son would be very well-behaved.

"We'll stay home and not wander around."

She knew it; she clearly saw that her great-grandmother was nearing her end, she couldn't have been mistaken.

The child was sent to stand in the next room as punishment. Xiao Lei saw his wife yawn twice in a row. "Want to take a nap?"

"I'm not going to sleep anymore. I'll sleep after dinner. If I wake up, I'll go to the milk again."

They would greet me twice a day without fail, until the milk ran out.

"Then don't go out, lest they see you and try to get away with it again."

"Okay, Xiao Lei, how much longer do you think the milk can last?"

"I don't know," it's hard to say when a person will die, especially since Grandma seems loud and boisterous but is actually very resilient. "It looks like it's been about ten days."

Try to rest as much as possible these days. I haven't been able to sleep much for several days since she passed away, and I'm worried you won't be able to handle it, especially with the weather being so cold.

"I see."

Yes, it's so cold that it's hard to dig graves. Last time, when Grandpa was here, the whole clan had to go up the mountain to dig them. It seems like it will be the same this time.

The reason why more elderly people visit in winter is because they cannot withstand the cold.