Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

On a summer afternoon, insects chirped and birds sang, the sun scorched the cement road, and the streets were steaming hot, but the alleys were quiet and comfortable.

The elderly people in the neighborhood all gathered in a row in the alley, chatting about everyday things.

Lin Qin rode her bicycle quickly through the alleys and arrived at Grandma Liu's house. The alley was very quiet.

Without thinking much, she pushed her bicycle inside. She had only knocked twice at Grandma Liu's door when she heard a loud bang coming from the Liu family's house.

Lin Qin looked over instinctively, just as the door opened.

Grandma Liu was clearly surprised to see Lin Qin. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she quickly invited her inside, saying, "Hurry up, it's very hot outside, don't stand at the door."

"Grandma, I think it's quite cool in the alley," Lin Qin said as she pushed her bicycle in.

Grandma Liu closed the door very quickly, and even bolted it shut.

Lin Qin was full of questions. "Grandma, why are you locking the door?!"

Grandma Liu gestured for silence, "Don't speak, lest you get yourself into trouble."

As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Ling came out of the house, holding a half-eaten popsicle in her hand, and excitedly waved to Lin Qin, "Sister, come here, I'll show you the fun!"

Lin Qin followed Liu Ling.

Grandma Liu looked quite helpless.

The two went into the house next door. The houses on this side all have high windows along the street, but the windows are so high that passersby can't see inside.

Moreover, the windows are small and serve only one purpose: to let in light.

Liu Ling moved two stools and pulled Lin Qin up to stand on them. From there, they could see the entire Liu family courtyard.

At this moment, Lin Qin only saw two broken flowerpots in the yard, and a long-haired woman sitting domineeringly in a chair in the main room, not knowing what she was doing.

Before she could ask any further questions, she heard the sound of a bicycle coming from the alley.

Liu Yongming rushed into the yard, ignoring the mess on the ground, and angrily shouted at Fang Meixiang inside the house, "What exactly do you want? You just got out of prison and you want to go back in?"

Fang Meixiang slowly raised her eyes. Three years of prison life had worn away the last bit of sweetness in her. She looked more than ten years older, and her eyes were full of ruthlessness.

"Liu Yongming, you're quite capable! I told you to take good care of my daughter, but you didn't take my words to heart at all!"

A hint of guilt flashed in Liu Yongming's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. "I hadn't graduated yet at the time."

"Stop making excuses for me!" Fang Meixiang suddenly sprang to her feet, kicking over a stool. Two gangsters beside her immediately pinned Liu Yongming down, forcing him to kneel.

Fang Meixiang looked down at him, a cold smile playing on her lips. "I heard you've been having an affair behind my back!" "I didn't! Stop talking nonsense!" Liu Yongming struggled and denied it vehemently.

Fang Meixiang didn't even bother arguing with him; she turned around and told another henchman to bring An Meihua over.

Upon seeing An Meihua, Liu Yongming's face instantly turned pale. "Fang Meixiang, this is between the two of us and has nothing to do with Meihua. You were the one who impersonated Fang Ying to get close to me, and I don't intend to hold it against you. We're even now. How about we each take a step back?"
"We can discuss anything you want."

An Meihua was terrified, but seeing Liu Yongming protecting her like this, she was deeply moved. Relying on the fact that she was pregnant and these people wouldn't dare to really do anything to her, she insisted on stepping forward to rescue Liu Yongming.

"Fang Meixiang! I know everything about you and Yongming. If you hadn't lied to him, he wouldn't have married you. You even lied to him that you were pregnant with a son, but you gave birth to a girl instead. Yongming had such a hard time back then! He lost all his money because of you. How could he possibly raise a child? It's clearly your fault. How dare you make a scene here!"

An Meihua looked at them with a mocking smile, her sneer growing more pronounced. "Oh! Who gave you the audacity to boss around the first wife like that? Do you really think I wouldn't dare do anything to you? Or do you think Liu Yongming can protect you?"

An Meihua was stopped by Liu Yongming's gaze as soon as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Fang Meixiang, you know very well that my mother only wants her grandson. I'm a grown man and I can't take care of a child at all. The request you made back then was just to make things difficult for me. It's better for the child to stay in the Fang family than with me. You're the child's mother, don't you understand? Now you've come to me just to get something in return. Tell me, what exactly do you want?"

Liu Yongming looked coldly at Fang Meixiang. He had already paid off the loan sharks, had a stable job, and the incident of beating Lin Yi was still fresh in his mind. Even if Fang Meixiang brought up old grievances and gave the evidence to the police station, he would at most have to pay some money and find some connections to smooth things over. It wouldn't have any impact on him at all.

It can be said that Fang Meixiang no longer has any leverage over him, and he no longer needs to worry about being threatened by Fang Meixiang.

Fang Meixiang has been out of prison for a while now, and the reason she is only now coming to find Liu Yongming is to investigate the Liu family's situation over the past three years.

She knew perfectly well that Liu Yongming had found a powerful backer, otherwise he wouldn't be so defiant in opposing her.

Thinking of this, Fang Meixiang's lips curled up slightly, and she slowly stood up from the chair, approaching Liu Yongming. "You are even more ruthless than I thought. You are indeed worthy of being the man I once had my eye on. We are still husband and wife! As long as I do not agree to a divorce, I will always have a place in the Liu family. An Meihua will never be able to be with you legitimately, even if she dies."

Even if you two have a son, he'll be a bastard! Hahahaha!

Fang Meixiang watched Liu Yongming and An Meihua's expressions change with a wicked smile, then leisurely walked out of the courtyard and pushed open Ma Cuihua's door.

Inside the room were Ma Cuihua and Xu Manzhi, the two women huddled together, watching Fang Meixiang warily.

Fang Meixiang scoffed, "Mom! Sister-in-law! Haven't you seen Liu Li in a long time? Tsk tsk tsk. Trading a mere girl for the wealth of the whole family, Liu Yongming is quite capable. People really do have to be ruthless, otherwise they won't climb high! I wonder who will be next!"

Ma Cuihua's face tightened, and her voice trembled as she spoke, "What nonsense are you talking about! My daughter clearly married a rich man, stop trying to sow discord here!"

“That’s right! Mom, don’t listen to her nonsense,” Xu Manzhi said urgently.

In fact, she had long suspected that something was wrong with Liu Li's marriage, but it didn't affect her interests. Moreover, with that annoying brat Liu Li gone, her life was much more peaceful, so there was no need to pursue the matter further.

"I'm talking nonsense?" Fang Meixiang laughed loudly. "Mom, aren't you supposed to be very shrewd? How come you've lost your mind when it comes to your precious daughter's life-long happiness? Liu Li's body has already been ruined. She's been drinking, getting abortions, causing trouble, and has been to the police station countless times."

Forget about rich families, any decent family wouldn't want to marry her! What kind of rich man do you think she could marry? Tsk tsk tsk, don't blame me when you're collecting Liu Li's corpse one day! (End of Chapter)