When the second wife arrived at the educated youth settlement, the educated youth were just getting ready to go to work.
The educated youth had a very bad impression of the elderly couple from the second wife's family. They would avoid them whenever they saw them. Just imagine, if someone would harm even their own older brother and nephew, what would they do to others?
When Xiang Wanzhen and Xu Yaoyang divorced and moved to the educated youth settlement, it was entirely out of sympathy for Xiang Wanzhen. If they really didn't want people to move in, there was nothing the village could do, since this place was, after all, called an educated youth settlement.
After Xiang Wanqin and her two children moved in, they were quite sensible. They took care of their own cleaning and meals. Moreover, the two children were very well-behaved, never making a fuss, and never going to the places where the educated youth lived.
So after a week or two, everyone continued their lives as usual, without disturbing each other.
Xiang Wanqin was a hard-working person.
The courtyard was so big that the educated youth had never thought of clearing a few plots of land to grow some vegetables. But the day after Xiang Wanqin and her two children arrived, they started clearing the land in a corner of the courtyard. The adults cleared the land, and the children were responsible for picking up stones.
The three of them worked together very well, and they never complained even when their hands were worn raw.
They like their current life, which gives Xiang Wanqin hope, while the children feel happier with their mother because she is no longer sick.
It took them two days to clear out the area where they wanted to grow vegetables.
When the second wife arrived, the mother and her two children were farming.
The educated youth could tell from the old woman's expression that her visit was definitely not going to bring anything good.
Out of curiosity, the educated youth didn't rush to work.
The mother and her two children were taken aback when they saw Old Lady Xu; none of them expected her to come to their place.
The two children hid behind Xiang Wanqin in fear.
The elderly couple from the second wife's side knew that Xiang Wanqin and her two children had moved out.
At the time, the elderly couple were basking in their joy at their son finding a first-time bride in the city, so they didn't care what Xiang Wanqin brought out, much less that Xiang Wanqin had taken the two siblings away with her.
But Xiang Wanqin didn't actually take much with her; apart from the children's belongings, most of the rest was her original dowry.
When Xiang Wanqin got married, her family put a lot of effort into it. They made her a double-door wardrobe and a special cabinet for storing quilts. They also made six quilts for her: two winter quilts, two summer quilts, and two small quilts for the children.
In the Jiangnan region, almost every household with a daughter would grow some cotton in their private plot and store it. They would accumulate a little each year, and when the daughter was about to get married, they would take out all the accumulated cotton, dry it again, and then hire someone to fluff the cotton to make quilts.
The number of quilts a woman receives at her wedding can indicate how much her family values her.
Some families don't care, believing that a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup, and they'd rather be criticized than let their in-laws benefit from it.
But most people still care about saving face.
When Xu Yaoyang married Xiang Wanqin, the second wife was quite generous, and the dowry she gave was considered large at the time. So the Xiang family made sure to save face, preparing not only the big items but also a variety of small things.
When Xiang Wanqin married into the family, it was a very grand affair.
I never expected things to turn out like this eight years later.
When Xiang Wanqin moved out after her divorce, the village elders were still talking about the excitement of her wedding.
Marrying a man is about having food on your hands. It's not about how well-off a man is; the most important thing is whether he has a sense of responsibility. No matter how good a family's financial situation is, if the man has no sense of responsibility, the family can't be sustained. Besides, how good can an ordinary family really be?
When Xiang Wanqin was moving, she thought that the second wife might not let her take all her dowry with her, but in fact the second wife didn't say anything or check what she took, which was undoubtedly dignified for both parties.
Just then, the second wife's wife rushed over with a stern face, and Xiang Wanqin felt a little uneasy.
She had heard about Xu Yaoyang's affair, and she knew that even if she didn't expose them, someone else would. That's why she was in a hurry to get a divorce and move with her child after listening to Xu Xinning's advice.
She had already been harmed so badly by Xu Yaoyang, she didn't want to pay the price for his philandering, nor could she let her child pay the price for his irresponsibility.
The second wife glanced at the mother and her two children, then walked into their room without saying a word.
When Xiang Wanqin realized something was wrong, she immediately rushed into the room.
The two children were a little scared and dared not follow Xiang Wanqin inside. They timidly leaned against the wall, not daring to move, but their eyes were looking towards their own room.
As soon as the second wife entered the room, she wanted to open the wardrobe door.
Because there were many people living in the educated youth settlement, Xiang Wanqin was careful and always kept her cabinet locked.
As soon as the second wife saw that the wardrobe was locked, she started yelling, "You jinx! Open the wardrobe right now! You've taken all the blankets in the house. What am I going to do with my Yaoyang?"
Xiang Wanqin sneered. Xu Yaoyang was favored at home. When she married into the family, the two elders of the second wife made two quilts for her, one for a mattress and one for a cover.
After Xu Yaoyang went to work, he took the two quilts to his workplace, saying he would need them while on duty.
Xu Yaoyang doesn't have many days on duty. In the past, he would avoid going if he could, but this year he has spent most of his time at work.
Xiang Wanqin: "I only took the quilt that came with my dowry. I don't care about anything from your Xu family!"
Second wife: "I don't care, my Yaoyang doesn't have a blanket right now, you have to bring out the blanket."
Xiang Wanqin retorted without any politeness, "His quilt is at his workplace. What right do you have to take mine?"
The second wife is also a bully at home; how could she dare to go to Xu Yaoyang's workplace to get things now? She can only come here to take advantage of Xiang Wanqin.
Without saying a word, the second wife walked out of the room and into the courtyard.
The firewood gathered by the educated youth was neatly stacked in the courtyard. The second wife took out a long stick and went back to the room of Xiang Wanqin and her two children. She pushed Xiang Wanqin aside and was about to raise the stick to smash the glass on the bedside table.
The wardrobes of that era were about 1.4 to 1.5 meters tall and had three doors. The middle door had a window-like opening with frosted glass. The second wife's intention was to break the frosted glass and take out the quilt inside.
Xiang Wanqin's body had not fully recovered. When the second wife pushed her like that, Xiang Wanqin lost her balance and fell backward. Her forehead accidentally hit the corner of the table, and blood immediately flowed out, probably because the skin was broken.
Although the two children were standing outside, their eyes were fixed on the room. When they saw Xiang Wanqin bleeding so much after being pushed down by the second wife, they burst into tears.
The educated youths had been keeping an eye on things, and when they heard the child crying so pitifully, they all rushed over.
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