The heavens set sail from the courtyard

Wang Gang offered compensation, but He Wenhui and Yu Qiuhua both looked distressed, really not wanting to pay the money.

However, Wang Gang had already made up his mind not to let the He family off easily, otherwise his backside would have been burned for nothing and all his suffering would have been for nothing!
“He Wentao deliberately plotted to harm me. The evidence is conclusive, and he hasn’t denied it. You’re not going to deny it, are you?” Wang Gang said with a cold laugh.

“Wen Tao is still a child,” He Wenhui said, frowning.

“If a child causes trouble, the adults should naturally compensate for it.” Wang Gang said disdainfully, “If your He family doesn’t acknowledge it, then I will sue in court. No matter what, I am in the right.”

He Wenhui said angrily, "Then go ahead and sue. I want to see who will come and arrest a child."

Wang Gang sneered, "Don't think that just because the police don't care about this, I can't do anything to He Wentao. I can go to his school and ask the principal to settle this matter."

"You dare!" He Wenhui exclaimed urgently.

"Why wouldn't I dare? We're getting a divorce anyway, and we'll have nothing to do with each other anymore. What does it matter to me whether your brother gets expelled from school?" Wang Gang said confidently.

Upon hearing Wang Gang's words, Yu Qiuhua sighed deeply and said to He Wenhui, "Wenhui, don't say anymore. Wentao did cause trouble, and we should be the ones to pay the compensation."

"Mom!" He Wenhui exclaimed anxiously, "Where would we get any money now?!"

Yu Qiuhua said, "Take out this month's living expenses and give it to Hongchang as compensation."

He Wenhui said, "If we give him the living expenses, what will we eat this month?"

Yu Qiuhua said, "Go borrow some money from Junling, and I'll take some jobs pasting matchboxes on the street. We'll manage to get by."

Wang Gang laughed and said, "He Wenhui, look how sensible your mother is. You should learn from her."

He Wenhui gritted her teeth and said, "Liu Hongchang, I never thought you were this kind of person."

Wang Gang pursed his lips and said, "Before we got married, I never expected you to treat me like a sucker."

He Wenhui took out twenty yuan and threw it to Wang Gang.

"Take the money and get out of here."

Wang Gang took the money and said, "Alright! Now that your brother's bill is settled, let's settle the others."

"Are you never going to stop?!" He Wenhui said angrily.

"Hmph!" Wang Gang said, "For the past few months, your whole family has been eating and drinking my food. Don't you have to pay back that money?"

"You, you did all of this voluntarily before, I didn't force you," He Wenhui said angrily.

Wang Gang sneered, "Even if you are my wife, I have no obligation to support your whole family."

He Wenhui said angrily, "You paid this money voluntarily; I never asked for it."

Wang Gang laughed and said, "He Wenhui, if you want to deny it, I'll go to the yard and ask the neighbors to judge. Anyway, the He family's reputation is already ruined, so what's a little worse?"

"You dare?" He Wenhui said urgently.

"What wouldn't I dare to do now?" Wang Gang retorted.

He Wenhui suddenly felt scared. She finally realized that the person in front of her was no longer the Liu Hongchang she knew.

He Wenhui wasn't oblivious to the gossip circulating these past few days. She wanted to explain, but Yu Qiuhua said that such things would only get worse if she tried to explain, and it would be better to ignore them. She believed that the rumors would eventually fall apart on their own.

He Wenhui thought it made sense, so she asked her younger siblings to stay home and not go out for the next two days, and she also took leave from work.

I thought the rumors would fade away in a couple of days, but if Wang Gang keeps making trouble, how will the He family survive!
"Mom, what should we do?" He Wenhui was at a loss and could only ask her mother for help.

Yu Qiuhua thought for a moment and said to Wang Gang, "Hongchang! I know you no longer consider us family. Logically speaking, the money you spent on our family should be returned to you, but you know our family's situation, we really can't afford it."

Wang Gang laughed, "If you don't have money, you can borrow it. Aren't you on good terms with Gao Junling? This little bit of money shouldn't be a problem." He Wenhui asked, "How much money do you want? Just give me a number!"

Wang Gang calculated: "For the past three months, I've been serving your family good food and drink every day, which costs at least fifty yuan a month. And then there are the leather shoes your sister stole and wore, which I bought for sixty yuan. So, you should give me back two hundred yuan!"

"So much?" He Wenhui exclaimed in surprise, "My monthly salary is only thirty yuan, how long will it take me to earn two hundred yuan?"

Wang Gang scoffed, "That's your problem, it has nothing to do with me."

“You’re trying to extort money from me,” He Wenhui said angrily.

“If you think it’s expensive, I can break it down for you item by item. For the past three months, your family has had meat on every meal, and that all cost money,” Wang Gang said.
“I paid for all of your younger siblings’ tuition and textbooks, and I also paid for your mother’s medicine. I paid for every single one of them.”

He Wenhui then realized that Wang Gang (Liu Hongchang) had done so much for her over the past few months, and that two hundred yuan was indeed an understatement.

Yu Qiuhua sighed and said to Wang Gang, "Hongchang, our family really can't come up with this money. How about this, I'll write you an IOU, and you can pay me back slowly later!"

Wang Gang laughed and said, "Sure! Considering we've been husband and wife, I can do you a favor, but He Wenhui has to write the IOU."

Although He Wenhui was unwilling, she could not refuse Yu Qiuhua's order, so she could only reluctantly write down the IOU and affix her fingerprint.

Wang Gang took the IOU and laughed, "He Wenhui, pack your things right now and move out of my house!"

He Wenhui said, "Can you give me some time? Can we move tomorrow?"

"No way," Wang Gang refused flatly. "You and your sister have been staying at my place for the past two days, and I've already been generous by not charging you rent. You think you can just freeload?"

"You!" He Wenhui said angrily, "Don't forget, I'm still your wife. What's wrong with me living in your house!"

Wang Gang brandished the IOU and said, "If you want to live in a house, that's fine too, as long as you pay the rent!"

"Money, money, money! All you can see now is money!" He Wenhui said angrily.

"If we don't talk about money, am I supposed to talk about feelings with you? Do we even have that kind of thing?" Wang Gang said disdainfully.

“Wenhui, let it go. Since the house belongs to someone else, you and Wenyuan should move out.” Yu Qiuhua grabbed He Wenhui’s hand and said, “Tomorrow you and Hongchang will go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and get the divorce certificate.”

Yu Qiuhua knew very well that if she continued to argue, the He family would be the ones to suffer, since she was indeed in the wrong.

“Okay, Mom,” He Wenhui replied reluctantly.

Wang Gang gave Yu Qiuhua a deep look. This blind old woman was indeed much smarter than He Wenhui. She knew when to make a clean break and was a ruthless person!
He Wenhui returned to Wang Gang's room, packed up her and her sister's belongings, glared at Wang Gang resentfully, and then ran home.

Wang Gang packed a few of his clothes, then found a lock, locked the door, and thought that he would sell the house later and get as far away from the He family as possible.

As he was about to leave, Wang Gang found his bicycle and discovered that it had been wrecked beyond recognition. Not only were both wheels punctured and one pedal missing, but the seat was also torn in several places, revealing the steel spring underneath.

Wang Gang didn't even need to think to know who had caused the bicycle damage.

He pushed the cart directly to the He family's house.

"What are you doing here again?" He Wenhui gave Wang Gang a cold look as soon as she saw him.

“Your younger brother and sister damaged my bicycle like this. There’s a reason for this, so who else should I go after if not you?” Wang Gang said as he parked his bicycle in front of the He family’s house.

"Who can prove that my younger brother and sister did this? Don't wrong people." He Wenhui's heart tightened, and she wanted to deny it.

“Who else could it be but your younger brother or sister!” Wang Gang said calmly. “If you don’t admit it, I’ll call the police. Bicycles are expensive items, and they’re damaged like this. The police will definitely take care of it.”

"No, don't call the police!" (End of Chapter)