Xu Xialian and her family moved in without informing the second branch of the family, since they had long since severed ties with the second branch. Therefore, they did not invite the second branch to the housewarming party.
Although this newly added village belongs to Xujia Village Brigade, it is actually an independent village.
Because it was built at the foot of Mantou Mountain, it was called Mantou Village.
The Xun family thought the name was good; they felt that their village would never lack food in the future.
The news that the Xun family of Mantou Village wanted to heat their house was spread in Xujia Village by someone, and it eventually reached the ears of the second branch of the Xu family.
The second wife's spirits have been low ever since she was frightened last time. Sometimes she'll be in a daze and make random noises, but most of the time she's normal.
The second wife felt that they were the most entitled to eat and drink at Xu Xialian's housewarming party. Why were the first wife's family invited but not them? They were the legitimate family members of the bride's family.
Besides Xu Yaoyang, the second wife doted on her youngest daughter, Xu Dongmei, the most.
Xu Dongmei is just as selfish and opportunistic as Xu Yaoyang.
When the second branch of the Xu family was prosperous, she would often come back to coax the old woman into giving her money and food. But after Xu Mingyang's incident, she stopped coming, because she felt ashamed.
Xu Dongmei married into a nearby village. She inherited the temperament of the second wife completely and was quite famous in the village. Most people didn't dare to mess with her.
Needless to say, not only the villagers, but even her husband's family dared not provoke her.
What makes her so assertive?
She simply gave birth to a son for her husband's family the year she married him, and then gave birth to a younger son when her eldest son was fourteen months old.
Her two sons are her source of confidence.
In addition to her shrewishness and unreasonable behavior, her husband's family had no choice but to give in, though they did so partly out of respect for Xu Yaozu.
When the second wife learned that Xu Xialian and her husband were going to have their housewarming party, she immediately sent someone to deliver a message to Xu Dongmei.
The idea came from the second branch of the family, because they had said they would sever ties with Xu Xialian and the Xun family. If it were just the two of them, they wouldn't have been able to bring themselves to go and confront her.
But with Xu Dongmei leading the way, things are different.
After all, Xu Dongmei is Xu Xialian's younger sister.
With the two elders backing them up, no one can really say anything.
Xu Dongmei had known for a long time that Xu Xialian had been sold to the mountains by the second wife to be a gay man's wife. In fact, she was a beneficiary, as the second wife had used the money from selling Xu Xialian to buy her a lot of dowry.
She thought Xu Xialian would never be able to turn her life around.
A wife of a gay man!
Xu Dongmei felt ashamed just thinking about it.
She secretly despised Xu Xialian.
She had long forgotten how Xu Xialian had protected her since she was a child.
But no one knew that although Xu Xialian was a gay woman, she had not consummated her marriage with Xun Qifu until she made concessions. Therefore, both children, including the one in her womb, were the children of the eldest brother, Xun Qigui.
Because of this, Xun Qigui always felt indebted to his younger brother Xun Qifu, and Xun Qifu felt very uncomfortable about it.
He accepted the idea of wives of gay men, and he had long considered Xu Xialian as his wife.
His serious injury last time was also caused by his frustration, which led him to go hunting alone in the mountains.
But after dying once, he stopped caring.
They approve of wives of gay men, but Xu Xialian is from outside the mountains. Her upbringing may allow her to accept polygamy, but not polyandry.
From the age of fifteen to the age of twenty-five, Xun Qifu has been married to Xu Xialian in name only for ten years.
Ten years have passed, and Xu Dongmei has not seen Xu Xialian again. She is eager to see what Xu Xialian, now a wife of a gay man, has become.
Perhaps he was so thin and frail that he looked terribly old.
The thought of Xu Xialian being tormented by two strong men taking turns made Xu Dongmei feel a little smug.
In fact, Xu Dongmei had been jealous of Xu Xialian since she was a child.
Xu Xialian's appearance is inherited from the Xu family, while Xu Dongmei looks exactly like the second wife's wife. Therefore, Xu Xialian has been much prettier than Xu Dongmei since childhood.
Moreover, Xu Xialian has been hardworking since she was a child, always busy with chores and taking care of her younger siblings. She has a very good reputation in the brigade and even in the neighboring village.
Xu Dongmei was lazy and greedy from a young age, and only knew how to coax people.
People in the village love to compare, so it's inevitable that they'll bring up these two sisters for comparison.
Every time Xu Dongmei heard villagers praising Xu Xialian while simultaneously putting her down, she felt an intense rage, to the point that she came to hate Xu Xialian as well.
Therefore, Xu Dongmei was happy whenever Xu Xialian was unlucky.
She said she was going to help Xu Xialian and the others with a housewarming party, but Xu Dongmei didn't bring anything with her.
After arriving at Xujia Village, Xu Dongmei did not miss the opportunity to scold Xu Xialian.
"This daughter is a waste of her life. She's been married for ten years and hasn't come back to visit her parents, let alone be filial to them. Such a daughter is truly rare."
"Now we see the truth. She didn't even invite her own parents to her housewarming party. Is she even a daughter?"
"It's because her family is down on their luck now, otherwise why would she invite her uncle's family but not her own parents?"
"Ungrateful wretch! Her parents raised her for eighteen years, and this is how she treats them? Why doesn't God send lightning to strike her dead?"
Xu Dongmei was cursing and swearing. If the people of Xujia Village Brigade hadn't known the family's character, they would have really thought that Xu Xialian was that kind of person.
The people of Xujia Village could never forget the incident a few months ago when Xu Xialian and her family carried a seriously injured man to her parents' home for help. Not only did the second branch of the Xu family not help, but the old woman also spoke very rudely. If it weren't for the first branch and the youngest daughter of the first branch helping out, would this man have been saved?
Xu Xialian and the others stayed in the main room for almost a month.
None of the second wife's family members showed any concern whatsoever.
Putting myself in their shoes, I wouldn't forgive my own family if I encountered such relatives, especially since the second wife's parents had already stated that they were severing ties.
Xu Dongmei's rant was scathing, but those who heard it just listened as if it were a good show, secretly despising her, thinking that she was just like any other woman, just like the second wife's wife.
Xu Dongmei finally satisfied her twisted desires and then took the two elderly people to Mantou Village.
"How can there be such a person, talking like she's so reasonable? Why don't we see her bringing gifts to the housewarming party?"
"The mother and daughter are alike, all they have is one mouth, they eat but don't excrete."
"Xia Lian is also pitiful. How could she have encountered such relatives? Fortunately, her uncle's family did not abandon her, otherwise she would have been truly pitiful."
"Now it's all good. I saw her today. She's heavily pregnant, has gained a lot of weight, and has a rosy complexion. She looks like she's doing well."
"Xia Lian is the only good child in the second branch of the Xu family, but now that Xu Lao Er and his family want to get back at her, things will be troublesome in the future."
"Who can argue with that? Before, we could avoid it by staying far away, but now it's impossible for Xu Lao Er and his gang not to leech off her."
After the second son of Old Xu left, the villagers started talking about it.
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