Facing the biting cold wind, people in the compound and nearby nearby lit kerosene lamps, put on clothes, opened the door and walked out sleepily. When they saw that it was them, they sighed.
"Yue'e, what are you two doing? It's not even daybreak yet. Can't you wait until daybreak to talk about it? You scared my little grandson to tears."
"Why is Lao Chen beating his wife now? He's really ruthless."
"Aunt Xia's actions are even more ruthless. This is true hatred."
"Don't just watch the fun, quickly pull them two apart."
Everyone hurriedly pulled the two apart, but they were so furious that they kept kicking each other even when being pulled apart.
Mrs. Xia: "I want a divorce. I must divorce you today."
Old Chen: "Listen to what she said. Who would divorce easily? I still don't know what I did wrong. What did I do wrong that she insisted on divorcing me?"
"Yeah, we've been neighbors for years. Old Chen has some minor flaws, but nothing major. How could it get to the point where he wants a divorce?"
"Who doesn't have flaws? We're not gods, so we all have our issues. We've lived together for so many years, and we've endured what we can. It's impossible that we're only now getting divorced because we can't endure what we can't endure."
"Old Ma has been beating his wife all his life, and his wife hasn't divorced him yet. Didn't she send the news yesterday that she was going to the farm with him for reform? How could Old Chen be worse than Old Ma?"
"Don't talk about Old Chen. My husband doesn't make as much money as Old Chen, but he acts like a big shot and wants me to serve him when he comes home. He doesn't even help me pick up a fallen soy sauce bottle. He gets physical with me when I argue with him. He has a bad temper and a violent personality, and I haven't even thought about getting a divorce."
"You already have three children and two grandchildren, why are you making such a fuss every day? If you really can't make ends meet, how could you have gotten by when you were younger? Why can't you bear it now at this age?"
"I don't know what you women are thinking. You have food to eat, drink to drink, clothes to wear, and a place to live. What else could you be dissatisfied with? It's you who are causing unrest in your homes every day. Don't you know what 'harmony in the family brings prosperity' means?"
"How can you talk like that? Maybe some people look like decent people on the surface, but they do a lot of disgusting things behind the scenes, just like you. Do you really think we've forgotten how badly you bullied your wife in the past?"
"What do you mean by 'just having enough to eat and wear'? We're not working, we still have to take care of the whole family after work. You guys want to be the bosses, and we deserve to be slaves, right? You men are tired, but we women aren't. If you just knew how to share the housework, who would cause trouble for no reason?"
"Exactly. He's acting like no one's making any money. My husband and I earn about the same, but he spends most of his money on eating and drinking with other people. Most of the money is still spent by me, doing the housework, raising the children. And in the end, it's him who's the one who's making the most money, right?"
"Isn't that a real talent? You can be tricked into working for free, and then you have people serving you, giving birth to and raising your children, and even helping you take care of your parents. And most importantly, you use the money you earn to take care of their whole family. Who can we talk to about this?"
"There's one thing I haven't explained in full. In the end, after you've raised the child, some ungrateful people still think it's all thanks to their father."
The neighbors who were trying to persuade Mr. Chen and Mrs. Xia to stop fighting and not to divorce suddenly split into two factions, men and women, and started quarreling. One couple even started fighting and kept shouting about divorce!
Old Mrs. Xia: ...She knew that their compound would not be so peaceful.
She pricked up her ears and began to listen to their quarrels, then was caught off guard by an elderly neighbor who pulled her over. The elderly neighbor shouted, "Sister Xia, divorce! You must divorce Lao Chen! You can't stand someone as patient as you can. Lao Chen must have done something that is outrageous. Divorce! I support you!"
After saying this, she wiped away the tears that had flowed out of her eyes. "I want a divorce too. I want to divorce you together. Let's go to the Civil Affairs Bureau now and get my household registration. We must divorce today. Whoever doesn't divorce is a dog!"
The old neighbor's husband pulled her, and she pulled Old Lady Xia. As Old Lady Xia was being dragged away, she grabbed Old Chen. The four of them stumbled along while the other people in the compound were still arguing.
Old Mrs. Yin had just finished comforting Hu Yingying when she rushed out and was stunned when she saw the scene in front of her.
What’s going on? I just heard Sister Yue’e arguing, and then suddenly there was a lot of noise. Now several couples are fighting. What on earth happened?
Old Lady Yin ran to Old Lady Xia and said, "Sister Yue'e, are you going to get a divorce? And why are you guys so embarrassed?"
The sky finally got a little brighter, and there were many people standing at the door of the Civil Affairs Bureau. Some of them followed after the protagonist left during the quarrel, some were so angry that they wanted to divorce, and some actually brought their household registration documents with them, but the man finally changed his mind and was trying to say nice things at the door.
The staff of the Civil Affairs Bureau were shocked when they came to work today. They almost thought that someone in their unit had offended someone and was blocked like this. When they heard that it was an elderly couple who wanted to divorce, they were even more confused.
Old Chen didn't want to divorce, and even if Old Lady Xia agreed, it was useless. The staff were also there to mediate. These days, there are many weddings but very few divorces. She hadn't seen a divorce in her years at work.
"Auntie, you see, our uncle doesn't want a divorce, so we can't get one. I don't know what happened, but my uncle's attitude is that no matter what mistakes he made, he will change in the future. Why don't you give him another chance?"
Old Chen said pitifully, "Yes, I will definitely change it. No matter what you say, I will change it."
Old Lady Xia slapped her again. "What have you changed? Have you changed at all in all these years? Besides pushing me out and playing the good guy behind my back, have you ever done anything good? Have you ever planned anything for me?"
Old Chen: "Why didn't I make plans for you? Aren't you having a hard time now? Didn't I give all my salary to you? Didn't I help you when you had a conflict with someone?"
Old Lady Xia: "I have a job and I have a salary. I can live better on my own. Also, how many times do I have to say that all those conflicts are caused by you and your children. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have any conflicts with others. If I continue to live with people like you, I will kill you all sooner or later."
The two of them had a big quarrel in the Civil Affairs Bureau. In the end, Old Chen was so angry that he couldn't win the argument with her, so he agreed to divorce in a fit of rage.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Old Mrs. Xia quickly asked the staff to handle it. After stamping and getting the divorce certificate, she breathed a sigh of relief and walked out with a swagger.
Seeing how helpful the old sisters were this time, Old Lady Yin stopped rushing over to help and just stood by and watched her sister Yue'e gain a new life today.
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