Divorce not only requires the village chief to help write the divorce agreement, but also a trip to the government office to have the officials record the divorce, after which the two are no longer considered family.
The village chief naturally understood these things. He nodded, arranged for a child to go to his house to get paper and pen, and then looked at He Yong, who was lying unconscious on the ground, and said, "Find a way to wake him up and clean him up properly. We can't just send him to the yamen like this."
Dan Niang nodded, called her second son over, and said, "Go and pack your father's things, and send him off on his final journey."
This statement is easy to misunderstand, as if He Yong were already dead.
However, everyone was in a bad mood because someone had come to collect a debt, and their dislike for He Yong was genuine, so no one said much.
When the second son was called out, everyone's attention was focused on him. He was very nervous and didn't know what to do.
In the past, their mothers did these things. They only knew that their mothers took good care of the family and did everything. Now that it was their turn, they felt lost.
He looked at Dan Niang, knowing her as well as his mother. Dan Niang said, "Just like how I treat your grandmother."
The second son understood, went forward to wake the unconscious He Yong, helped him up, and went back into the house to clean his body.
He Yong had been unconscious from the beginning, and now that he was awake, he didn't think much about it. Anyway, his wife would handle everything, so he didn't need to worry about it. He went back with his son.
Once inside the house, the second son said, "Father, I'll fetch some water for you to wash."
He Yong's mouth was broken and swollen, making it difficult for him to speak and his words were unclear, but his second son still understood what he meant. He said, "Go and get me some food, I'm starving!"
The second son didn't want to talk to him about his mother wanting a divorce, so he turned around and left, ignoring him.
He Yong was injured and felt terrible all over. Even though he was angry, he could only hold back and wait for his son to clean him up before he lashed out.
Meanwhile, the village chief had already written the divorce papers for them.
Dan Niang was illiterate and couldn't write. She only asked the village chief to write it down, and then she bit her finger and pressed her fingerprint on it.
"Alright, I'll go to the government office with you first thing tomorrow morning to take care of the rest of the business. When those people come again, just give them to them directly."
Dan Niang nodded and thanked her again, saying, "Thank you so much, Village Chief, thank you so much."
After the matter was settled, everyone went back to their respective homes.
Li cried in the courtyard, feeling sorry for her daughter's life. It was bad enough that she had been harmed like this, but now she was divorced and she didn't know how she would live in the future.
Dan Niang was very happy and stepped forward to comfort her, saying, "Mother, don't worry too much. I will take good care of you. Just focus on getting better."
Her mother couldn't accept it. She felt that the woman's divorce was a major taboo. Now that her life was so difficult, she didn't know what the future held. She felt very distressed and thought that she was the one who had ruined her daughter's life. She wished she could atone for her sins with her death right now.
She kept crying, but Danniang didn't say anything more; some people couldn't be persuaded otherwise.
After a while, Li realized something was wrong. She found that she seemed to be the only one who was feeling unwell. Her eldest and youngest granddaughters were talking to Dan Niang, and their happy scene made Li question the meaning of life.
"Mother, will I not have a father anymore? Will he never come back to bully us again?"
"From now on, we can save money at home to buy delicious food without worrying about it being stolen, right?"
"Mother, I want to learn embroidery from you properly. I want to buy a new dress for the New Year this year!"
"I want to learn embroidery too, so I can earn money with my mother!"
...
Li was somewhat bewildered. Could it really be like this?
How could they be so happy?
At this moment, Danniang came over, took Li's hand, and asked, "Mother, did you hear that? We can live a better life after the divorce, so why be sad about this?"
"Can……"
Li was still somewhat hesitant, but Dan Niang continued, "You heard what the village chief just said; there's no better way."
As they were talking, the second son had already cleaned He Yong up and made him look somewhat presentable. He came out and told Dan Niang, who said, "Go and tie him up so he doesn't have a chance to escape. Also, take one of the leftover coarse flour buns from this morning to him. A person can't die at home."
As for what happens next, that's not her concern.
The second son hesitated, "Mother, I dare not..."
He's his father, isn't he going too far?
Dan Niang knew that He Yong usually treated her son well, so it was normal for her son not to be able to do it. She said, "Never mind, I'll go by myself. You go cook."
The second son nodded and went into the kitchen.
The eldest daughter, worried that she couldn't hold He Yong down by herself, quickly ran in to help.
Holding her granddaughter, Mrs. Li reflected in the yard, wondering whether what she had done was right or wrong.
A moment later, He Yong's furious voice echoed from the room: "You bitch, how dare you ask me for a divorce? You don't want to live anymore? You think you can live a good life without me? No way! I don't agree, there's absolutely no way we'll get a divorce!"
"Don't even think about getting rid of me. You'd better pay off all those debts outside. Didn't you get five taels of silver? Don't think I don't know. Take it out and pay off my debts, or see how I'm going to explain this to them tomorrow! Do you think women are more valuable in those people's eyes, or am I, a man, more valuable?"
He Yong has already decided to mortgage Dan Niang to them. This woman is quite attractive and can be sold to a brothel to make money.
At worst, he still has two daughters who can be sold and raised from a young age.
Isn't that how women always use it?
"Smack!"
A crisp slap rang out; it was Dan Niang who had made the move.
Dan Niang didn't say anything. Anyway, He Yong was no match for her now. She started by hitting his face, and when her hands hurt, she kicked him. It seemed that she wanted to get back all the grievances she had suffered over the years.
He Yong was screaming in pain; he already had many injuries, and now they were getting worse.
Only now did he truly realize that he could no longer decide to sell the woman to pay off his debts; rather, he was about to be abandoned by her. If they divorced tomorrow, the people from the gambling den would take him away, and he had no idea what they would do with him.
But it's definitely not a good thing.
Upon thinking about it, he instantly deflated.
"Please help me, just this once, okay? We've been husband and wife for over ten years, you can't be so cruel to me!"
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