Meanwhile, the atmosphere at Hua Xiaoyu's home in the same courtyard was oppressive.
In the cramped living room, a dim electric light barely illuminated the dining table.
Before the dishes were even cleared away, Zhang Desheng's mother, Granny Zhang, began her daily routine of crying and cursing, pounding her chest.
She didn't even lower her voice, deliberately letting the people in the inner room hear, "What sins have I committed to deserve this! To end up with such a barren hen!"
Three in a row are money-losing ventures! This is going to wipe out the Zhang family line!
"Victory! My son! Your father died young, and we were counting on you to carry on the family line. What am I going to do?! When I die, I won't have the face to face the ancestors of the Zhang family! Waaah..."
Zhang Desheng sat silently on a small stool, a cheap cigarette between his fingers, surrounded by swirling smoke.
He frowned, his face grim, but he remained silent, letting his mother hurl the most scathing insults at his wife and daughter.
Inside the room, Hua Xiaoyu silently closed the door, trying to shut out the vicious voice.
On the kang (a heated brick bed), the two girls, Da Ya and Er Ya, who were just over ten years old, and Xiao Ya, who was about to turn ten, huddled together, their little faces filled with fear and numbness.
Hua Xiaoyu walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and sat down next to her daughters.
She took a deep breath and tried to make her voice sound calm. "Da Ya, Er Ya, Xiao Ya, Mom... Mom wants to ask you something."
The three girls looked up at her, puzzled.
Hua Xiaoyu pursed her lips and paused before speaking, "If... Mommy means if, Mommy wants to separate from your father, that is... divorce."
Do you agree? Are you... willing to go with Mom? Just the four of us.
"Mom can support you. Mom works in a factory and earns enough to feed and clothe us, and to send you to school. Once things are settled, Mom can even bring Grandpa and Grandma from the countryside to help us."
As soon as she finished speaking, to her surprise, the three girls responded almost without hesitation.
The most sensible girl, Daya, immediately grabbed her mother's hand and said urgently, "Mom! I'm willing! I'll go with you! I don't want to stay here anymore! Grandma scolds us every day, calling us a money-losing burden!"
Er Ya nodded quickly, her eyes reddening. "Mom, I'll go with you too! Dad never speaks up for us, and Grandma pinches my arm every day, but he pretends not to see it even though he clearly does..."
The little girl is the youngest, yet she seems to have borne the most.
She spoke timidly, her voice trembling with tears, "Mom...Dad doesn't like me...He always glares at me...His eyes are so scary...It seems...it seems like he really hates me..."
"!!" Hua Xiaoyu's heart felt like it had been gripped tightly by an invisible hand, and she was instantly in so much pain that she couldn't breathe!
She always thought Zhang Desheng was just cowardly and blindly filial, but she never expected that deep down he would take out his resentment at being unable to have a son on his youngest daughter!
Because she suffered a difficult childbirth and damaged her body, she can no longer have children!
So Zhang Desheng actually blamed her little maid!
Thinking of this, Hua Xiaoyu felt even more heartbroken. She suddenly hugged Xiaoya tightly, tears streaming down her face, her voice choked and trembling:
"Silly child...my silly daughter...it's not your fault...it's not your fault! It's Mom's fault...Mom didn't protect you well..."
She looked up and saw the same aggrieved and frightened eyes in Daya and Erya's eyes. All her hesitation... all her worries... all her fear...
At this moment, I was completely consumed by raging anger and immense heartache!
Hua Xiaoyu forcefully wiped away her tears, her eyes becoming more resolute and sharp than ever before. She spoke to her daughters, word by word:
"Fine! Mom understands! This divorce is a must! We'll live together as mother and daughter! Mom will definitely take you away from this house! So you'll never have to listen to these insults again, and you'll never have to be afraid of anyone glaring at you again! From now on, Mom will be in charge of our lives!"
Outside, the sounds of Granny Zhang crying and cursing, and Zhang Desheng's silence could still be faintly heard.
But inside the room, Hua Xiaoyu's heart became brighter and harder than ever before.
For the sake of her three daughters, she had to cut all ties!
......
After talking with the three children and waiting for Grandma Zhang to leave, Hua Xiaoyu went out.
The living room was still filled with smoke.
Seeing Hua Xiaoyu come out, Zhang Desheng stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and didn't even glance at her.
He planned to go out and have some peace and quiet, as usual.
Seeing that Hua Xiaoyu was blocking him, he felt that Hua Xiaoyu was unusually silent tonight. He guessed that she might want to apologize for the fight a few days ago, but he was annoyed and didn't want to listen.
So his tone was very impatient, "Move aside, I don't want to talk to you right now, let me go out for some fresh air."
He had just lifted his foot to leave when Hua Xiaoyu's calm voice rang out, but it was like a thunderclap thrown into the room.
"Zhang Desheng, let's get a divorce."
"!!" Zhang Desheng stopped abruptly, as if he hadn't heard clearly, or as if he had been nailed to the spot. He slowly turned around, his face filled with disbelief and bewilderment. "Hua Xiaoyu, what... what did you say? Say it again?"
He felt a mix of emotions, but he couldn't say he was unhappy...
After all, his mother kept nagging him to get a divorce and find someone who could have a son... something he had considered countless times deep down.
But when Hua Xiaoyu said it so bluntly, he didn't feel the relief and joy he had expected.
Instead, there was a strange sense of emptiness and...being caught off guard.
Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open with a bang!
Grandma Zhang, who had been eavesdropping outside the door, rushed in like a gust of wind.
Her face was full of excitement and eagerness, as if she had heard some incredibly good news.
She rushed to Zhang Desheng's side and grabbed his arm, shouting, "Divorce! Son! Divorce her! She's the one who brought it up!"
It's not that our Zhang family has mistreated her! How dare a woman who can't give birth to a son bring up divorce first?
Perfect! Perfect! Get her divorced and find someone else quickly, someone who'll give me a big, healthy grandson! She can't hold you back anymore!
Zhang Desheng was annoyed by his mother's nagging and subconsciously wanted to scold her for making things worse.
He opened his mouth, but seeing Hua Xiaoyu's calm, even somewhat cold face, he swallowed his words back.
He remained silent, neither opposing his mother nor even uttering a single, pretentious rebuke as he had done before.
Hua Xiaoyu's gaze remained fixed on Zhang Desheng's face, not missing his initial shock, nor his current silence.
Seeing his tacit acceptance, the last glimmer of hope in Hua Xiaoyu's heart was completely extinguished, replaced by a cold, bitter smile.
As expected... I knew it!
He had thought about it countless times in his mind, but he didn't dare to be the villain.
Her suggestion suited his wishes perfectly, and saved him from being criticized.
That's good, that's good too, now she can finally give up completely!
She turned away, no longer looking at the mother and child, her tone still calm, "Since you have no objections, then it's settled. The three children must stay with me. As for the specifics of the divorce... how the child support will be calculated... I will have Sister Chunlan from the parents' committee come and talk to you about it later."
After saying that, she ignored the dumbfounded Granny Zhang and the complicated-looking Zhang Desheng, turned around and walked straight back into the inner room.
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