Chapter 1 The Second Marriage of a Couple
In a small courtyard in the old town of a small county in northern Jiangsu, lanterns and decorations were hung, and laughter filled the air.
It was already dusk, and a temporary light bulb had been strung up in the yard, making the yard brightly lit.
Just by looking at the red double happiness symbols pasted on the doors and windows, you can tell that this family is celebrating a happy occasion.
The courtyard was neither too big nor too small, and four tables were set up for the banquet.
Yao Guohua, who was getting married for the second time, was holding a pack of Double Happiness cigarettes and happily handing them out to everyone present.
Everyone patted him on the shoulder with smiles, saying he was very lucky to have married such a good wife in his second marriage.
Beside him was a woman in her thirties, of good build, neither fat nor thin, with fair skin.
She was wearing a new red wool coat she had bought at the department store, her hair was permed, she had applied rouge to her face, and she wore lipstick like an actress in a magazine.
Her name was Song Yuling, and she was Yao Guohua's second wife. The two worked at the same factory.
The people who came to the banquet in the courtyard were all their colleagues and superiors.
While exchanging auspicious greetings, some of which were a mix of slang and humorous, everyone wished the couple a long and happy marriage...
Just as everyone was excitedly cheering and asking Song Yuling, who was also a bride for the second time, to light cigarettes for everyone, the courtyard gate was kicked open with a thud...
The gate to the courtyard was quite old, and it creaked when it was opened and closed. Suddenly someone kicked it, making a bigger noise!
The wooden door creaked and rattled for a while before the person who kicked it down appeared before everyone.
Everyone immediately looked towards the courtyard gate, wanting to see who was so rude as to kick the door with such force.
Upon seeing this, no one knew what to say!
Standing at the gate of the courtyard were four children, one adult and three children.
The oldest was a girl, in her early twenties, with delicate features and a slender build. At that moment, she was holding a kitchen knife...
The remaining three children are two boys and one girl.
The girl looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. She had two braids, her face was full of anger, and she was tightly gripping a pair of fire tongs in her hand.
The remaining two little boys...
The slightly older boy, around ten years old, was holding a worn-out broom handle.
The youngest one looked about five or six years old. He was holding a picture frame in one hand and... half a cornbread in the other.
No one recognized the youngest boy holding the cornbread, but everyone recognized the three older ones.
The three children are the three children of today's groom, Yao Guohua, and also the three children born to his wife who passed away a year ago.
Seeing the four children blocking the door, everyone immediately looked at Yao Guohua.
What's going on?! Today is a joyous day, why aren't these children properly settled in?!
Everyone had previously advised that, to avoid upsetting the children, it would be best to send them to stay with relatives for a couple of days, and then bring them back after the wedding...
Judging from the current situation... these kids don't seem to be here to congratulate their fathers on becoming grooms again!
Yao Guohua's heart skipped a beat.
The way those three kids were acting made it clear they were looking for trouble!
He had already told them that he would stay at his uncle's house for a couple of days and then bring them back in a few days...
Now……
"Hey, Shura! What brings you here at this hour! Come sit over here..." One of Yao Guohua's colleagues was about to invite the siblings over.
But after being glared at coldly by the girl in charge, Yao Guohua's colleague suddenly couldn't say anything.
Everyone watched as Yao Guohua's eldest daughter, Yao Shula, led her younger sister, Yao Shuxin, and younger brother, Yao Shuli, slowly walked towards Yao Guohua.
And then there was that little boy whom nobody recognized, carrying a picture frame in his arms, walking along while munching on a cornbread.
Everyone was watching the four children.
They knew there was bound to be some exciting new development to see today...
"Shura, why are you back? Didn't I say I'd pick you up?" Yao Guohua put down his wine glass and immediately went to greet them.
Yao Shula gave a cold laugh, then waved to the back.
Upon seeing this, Yao Shuxin and Yao Shuli thought for a moment and realized that they probably weren't the ones who needed to go forward. So, they immediately pulled the little boy who was still eating a cornbread pancake up from behind.
The little boy immediately realized what was happening after being pulled like that.
He quickly stuffed the cornbread into his pocket, then walked over to Yao Shula with the photo frame in his arms.
The child's photo frame was originally facing away from everyone, but after the child stood next to Yao Shula, the front of the photo frame was turned out.
Everyone's expression changed upon seeing the person in the photo frame.
They all recognized the woman in the photo frame.
It was Shu Man, Yao Guohua's wife who had passed away a year earlier due to work-related reasons, and also their colleague.
By displaying Schumann's photo on this occasion, everyone knew that Yao Guohua's three children were definitely dissatisfied.
"Shura, today is your father's big day. Whatever you want to say, you can talk about it tomorrow."
"And..." A colleague of Yao Guohua also tried to come over and pull Yao Shula away.
Yao Shula pointed the kitchen knife, which was already wrapped in cloth and tied in a tight knot, at the man.
"Shut the hell up! Do you even have the right to speak here?"
Or are you feeling guilty? You introduced this woman to my dad, isn't that because you resent my mom?
You were having an affair with this woman's cousin, and my mom caught you. She scolded you for not being a good wife to your family.
And you, you turned around and introduced this woman to my dad. What are you up to?
"Do you want my dad to become a despicable person like you?" Yao Shula yelled at the man.
The people in the courtyard immediately became noisy.
A fat woman suddenly jumped in front of the man and slapped him several times.
"You bastard Zhang Daqiang, so that's why you were running around so enthusiastically. Turns out you're having an affair with this little bitch's sister!"
You're such a greedy fellow, always wanting what you don't have. Don't you know your place?
You got this job entirely because of our family.
You actually dare to pull these kinds of tricks on me outside!
"You fucking don't want to live together anymore, do you?!"
The fat woman scratched and clawed at Zhang Daqiang.
People nearby quickly stepped forward to break up the fight.
Yao Guohua and the woman beside him both turned pale.
"Shura, did you bring your younger brother and sister here today to cause trouble?"
Aunt Song and I fell in love freely, and we have the right to marry and form a new family! This is a right granted to us in this new era.
You should take your younger siblings home right away, and I'll pretend today's events never happened.
If you don't listen to me, just wait and see...
"What? You want to hit me? Come on! Hit me here! Hit me in front of my mother!"
Come, come, everyone, take a look. How dare you, Yao Guohua, a man who only managed to get a foothold in the factory because of his wife, lay a hand on me?
This courtyard was left to my mother by my maternal grandfather.
And you, a year after my mother passed away, want to live in my mother's house with your lover and even beat her child.
"Yao Guohua, aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning?!" Yao Shula said, pointing the kitchen knife at Yao Guohua again.
Yao Guohua's hand, which had already been raised, suddenly stopped.
Yao Shuxin and Yao Shuli also pointed their things at Yao Guohua.
"Yes, how could you do this to my mother?"
The youngest child looked around and regretted not having picked up a pebble or something.
He thought for a moment, then immediately held the photo frame in one hand and pointed at Yao Guohua with the other.
"Yes! How could you do this to... her?"
When the people who came to the banquet saw this situation, several of them who knew Yao Shula tried to come up and pull her away.
They thought that since they all knew each other, and they knew that Yao Shula was gentle and easy to talk to, Yao Shula was definitely just putting on an act.
How could we actually do that!
Yao Shula immediately pointed at the group of people with the finger with the kitchen knife strapped to it.
"Anyone who comes near me today, I'll chop them up!"
"Whoever comes here, I'll call their house! Try it if you don't believe me!"
After Yao Shula finished speaking, she looked at Yao Guohua and the woman.
"Song Yuling, do you have no shame?! The police should take you to be shot."
How did my mother die? Do you two dare to tell me?
Because she often worked overtime at the factory, her health was already poor. After seeing the two of you getting together, she was heartbroken and worked herself to death at the factory after only three days.
Song Yuling, you're still my mom's apprentice! Everyone in the factory knows how my mom treats you!
They practically treat you like their own sister.
"But what about you? You climbed into my dad's bed behind my mom's back! Don't you have any shame?!" Yao Shula continued to yell.
The courtyard fell silent immediately, and everyone looked at Yao Guohua and Song Yuling with strange expressions.
This... wasn't it said that the two were in a free-love relationship, and that Song Yuling was entrusted by Shuman to help take care of Shuman's children, which is why the two of them decided to remarry?
Isn't that the case?
There's so much going on here...
"No! You're talking nonsense!" The bride, Song Yuling, turned pale.
"Yao Shula..." Yao Guohua was also furious.
"Shut the hell up! How dare you stand in this yard and yell at us three siblings!"
You still dare to say I'm talking nonsense?
Song Yuling, do you dare to swear?
Can you swear that you didn't start an affair with Yao Guohua while my mother was still alive?
Come on, swear to God that if you lie, may your son be covered in sores on his head and feet, and his whole body be rotten and incurable.
"Song Yuling, do you dare to swear?" Yao Shula turned her attention to Song Yuling again.
Upon hearing Yao Shula's words, Song Yuling's face turned deathly pale, but she couldn't open her mouth at all.
When everyone saw Song Yuling like this, they knew that what Yao Shula said was true.
Everyone present has a family, and they find Song Yuling's behavior utterly shameful.
Seeing everyone frowning at the two of them, Yao Guohua's face was as black as it could possibly be!
"Yao Shula, do you still consider me your father?"
"No! What's wrong?"
Yao Guohua, let me tell you, I have no objection to you wanting to marry this woman. Yes, you're right, you have the freedom to remarry.
But if you want to get married in my mother's house and also want this woman and her son to move in, that's not allowed.
You let the woman my mother hates live in her house, sleep in her bed, and watch this woman swagger around in front of us.
"Absolutely not! Take her and get out of my mother's house!" Yao Shula pointed the kitchen knife at Yao Guohua again.
At this moment, no one was speaking up for Yao Guohua and Song Yuling anymore.
Their behavior... is despicable!
"Fine! Very well! Then I'll pretend I never raised any of you!" Yao Guohua's hand was trembling as he pointed at Yao Shula.
“We’ll consider you dead too!” Yao Shula retorted without hesitation.
Yao Guohua...
Seeing that everyone was looking at the second-marriage couple with scrutinizing eyes, Yao Shula rushed towards the nearest table of food and drink.
He swept the bowls and chopsticks off the table onto the floor.
"Eat! I'll let you eat! How dare you hold a banquet in my mother's house? Get out!"
Before Yao Guohua could react, Yao Shula and the three children pushed Yao Guohua aside and then went into the house.
Yao Shula locked the door, opened the window, and then winked at her younger siblings.
"Throw all of those two bastards' stuff out of my mother's house!" Yao Shula shouted.
Yao Shuxin and Yao Shuli immediately put down what they were doing and threw the thermos, washbasin, pillowcases, quilts and other items out the window of the new house...
The child quickly put down the photo frame he was holding, and seeing anything he could throw, he also helped throw it out the window.
Yao Shula's mood finally improved a little.
Well, this "I've already cursed" order has finally started!
Once construction begins, there's no turning back!
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