Wu Yuanyuan was already quite pregnant. When Bu Ling and the other person arrived, she was nestled on the warm kang (a heated brick bed) cracking walnuts. Upon seeing Bu Ling and the other person, she immediately greeted them warmly: "Ling, come on over, it's warm on the kang!"
Bu Ling didn't stand on ceremony. He quickly took off his shoes and climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), leaning against Wu Yuanyuan. Tie He, on the other side of the kang, seeing this, tactfully got off the kang, put on his shoes, went to Aunt Zhao's room, brought back a plate of peanuts and melon seeds, placed them on the kang table, and also brought a pot of hot water and two bowls. Then he said:
"Hey bro, let's go play mahjong at bro's house!"
Upon hearing this, Sangshen looked at Buling, who waved her hand and said, "Go on, go on, don't stay out too late, we still have to go back for lunch later."
"Got it!" Sang Shen happily followed Tie He.
Only Wu Yuanyuan and Bu Ling remained in the room. "Ling, I have something to tell you, Grandma Shi is back."
Buling cracked walnuts with a hammer, saying, "I know, my brother-in-law said so."
"Then you probably don't know how they got back." Seeing how clumsy she was, Wu Yuanyuan simply took the keys from her hands. "I'll knock for you."
Bu Ling let go of the hand and said, "I know, it must have been Engineer Qi who went to Factory Director Yu. My brother-in-law said that Factory Director Yu pleaded on his behalf."
Wu Yuanyuan paused in her walnut-cracking motion, still unwilling to give up: "Did you know that Old Mrs. Shi has become godparents to Hu Sigu?"
Bling shook his head this time: "I really don't know, when did this happen?"
"It was the 25th, the second day of our holiday, the day Grandma Shi came out." Wu Yuanyuan handed the cracked walnut kernel to Buling.
Bling caught it and threw it into his mouth: "So fast?"
Wu Yuanyuan took the next walnut and continued to crack it: "We have to hurry. Is the Revolutionary Committee a place that good people can enter? They're already lucky to have come out safe and sound. How can we dare to delay any longer?"
"You wouldn't believe it, when we were recognizing our godparents, Hu Sigu's wife and her whole family came. They sat down at the Qi family's house, ate and drank to their hearts' content, and then his wife announced that she was divorcing Hu Sigu and that he should never come home again."
Bling struggled to crack the walnuts, so he simply tossed them aside and ate peanuts instead. "His wife is something else," he muttered. "Why wouldn't she throw away a man like that, who's covered in shit?"
Wu Yuanyuan handed her a walnut kernel, rolled her eyes at her, and said, "You're eating, so don't poop or pee like that!"
"Alright, alright, I got it." Buling smiled and handed over a peanut: "As an apology."
Wu Yuanyuan proudly accepted the peanuts: "But you're right, my cousin is a bit soft-hearted, so her decision is truly admirable!"
"That Hu Sigu is a country scoundrel. After his parents died, his older brother and sister-in-law didn't care about him. If it weren't for Cousin Li, he would have starved to death long ago. Oh, Cousin Li is Hu Sigu's wife."
"At first, Cousin Li only felt sorry for Hu Sigu and gave him food a few times. But Hu Sigu was a scoundrel. He actually used this to his advantage and became dependent on Cousin Li, ruining her reputation. In the end, Cousin Li had no choice but to marry him."
"He's quite something. Thanks to my cousin, he went from a country bumpkin to a city dweller. Not only is he ungrateful, but he also causes trouble everywhere. Before, my cousin turned a blind eye for the sake of the children, but this time she finally made up her mind." Wu Yuanyuan was so excited that she spat out words.
Bling wiped her face with her sleeve in disgust: "You sprayed your saliva all over my face!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Yuanyuan quickly wiped her face, saying, "Just a little bit, just a little bit, I'm so excited."
Bling pushed her hand away: "Alright, alright, continue."
To make amends, Wu Yuanyuan continued cracking walnuts at her: "Let me continue! That Hu Sigu, a petty hoodlum, is entirely supported by my cousin. He definitely won't agree to a divorce, but even with so many people from my cousin's family coming, they still couldn't control that hoodlum?"
“My cousins and nephews beat him up whenever he disagreed. If they asked him and he said he disagreed, they would slap him. They even threatened him that if he didn’t get a divorce, they would beat him up every day! Hu Sigu was so scared of being beaten that he didn’t dare to disagree.”
"That very day, I dragged him to my cousin's notary office to get a divorce. Then my cousins threw out some of Hu Sigu's clothes and even changed the locks on the house!" Wu Yuanyuan said with a relieved expression.
Bu Ling silently poured her a glass of water: "Sister Yuanyuan, have some water!"
Wu Yuanyuan waved her hand: "I'm not thirsty. I haven't finished speaking yet, don't interrupt me!"
Bling gestured for him to continue: "Please continue!"
Wu Yuanyuan said she wouldn't drink the water, but she still picked up the glass and drank it all in one gulp, then wiped her mouth: "Then, the funny thing happened, Hu Sigu had nowhere to go, so he went back to the Qi family with Old Madam Shi!"
"The Qi family?" Bu Ling's mouth dropped open.
Wu Yuanyuan nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "It's the Qi family. Hu Sigu is still staying at the Qi family's place. He even ate New Year's Eve dinner with them."
"The Qi family is willing?" Bu Ling asked incredulously.
Wu Yuanyuan glanced at Bu Ling with curiosity: "How could that be? The Qi family's faces have been so dark these past few days, they haven't had a single smile on their faces even during the New Year!"
"They don't resist because they don't want to?" Bu Ling really didn't understand. The Qi family was supposed to be large and powerful, so how could they be so easily controlled by an old woman?
"How do you know they didn't resist? Sister Ru and Sister Wanqing were furious, but Grandpa Qi suppressed them," Wu Yuanyuan said with a sigh. "You know, Grandpa Qi usually seems so quiet and reserved, but when it really matters, everyone in the family listens to him!"
After pondering for a moment, Bu Ling smiled and said, "Old ginger is definitely spicier."
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
