Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

Wei Baoguo lay sprawled in the mud like a mangy dog ​​whose spine had been removed, watching helplessly as the oxcart that had taken away his last hope disappeared at the village entrance.

The villagers outside the courtyard dispersed, pointing and whispering, seeing that the show had ended and there was nothing more to see.

Li Cuihua stood in the messy courtyard, seeing everything clearly.

She was initially furious and plotting how to skin that old man alive.

But now, seeing Wei Baoguo's miserable state, as if he had lost his parents, her plans suddenly took a turn.

Although this old bastard lost his house in the city and became a homeless old stray dog, he still has a secure job and receives a pension of several tens of yuan every month!

Moreover, he had been a leader in the city for so many years, so he must have some connections and relationships. If he could find someone to help his third son find an easy job, wouldn't their lives be much better?

Thinking of this, Li Cuihua immediately changed her expression.

She stepped forward, first bending down to pick up the envelope containing ten yuan from the mud and stuffing it into her pocket, then, for the first time ever, reaching out and pulling Wei Baoguo out of the mud.

"Alright, stop making a fool of yourself in this mud."

Li Cuihua patted the dirty water off his body while pretending to sigh.

Wei Baoguo stared blankly at her, his eyes empty like a dead man's, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Li Cuihua pursed her lips, but her tone softened considerably, like a reasonable old woman advising her:

"The fight we had just had was just a casual conversation. Husbands and wives don't hold grudges overnight. Every couple has its disagreements. Now that we're married, we're family. From now on, my son is your son."

As she spoke, she helped Wei Baoguo straighten his torn collar, her tone carrying a highly seductive and soothing quality:

"Look at those ungrateful wretches you raised! When it really matters, they'd throw you out like dirt just for a house. They have no conscience! But Li Cuihua and my third son are the most conscientious. We country folk don't have so many tricks up our sleeves. As long as you settle down and live a peaceful life in our Kaoshantun village, our Zhao family will never kick you out like those little beasts did."

Li Cuihua took Wei Baoguo's arm and, with a mix of coaxing and cajoling, helped him into the house.

"Don't be afraid. No matter how heartless the city is, Kaoshantun is still your home. From now on, as long as Shanlin and I have a bowl of soup, you'll definitely have a bowl of dry soup too."

These few words of insincerity sounded like a lifeline to Wei Baoguo, who had just experienced betrayal by his loved ones and was in utter despair.

His parched lips trembled violently, a suppressed sob escaped his throat, and tears instantly streamed down his face.

This shrewd old man, who had schemed his whole life, was completely abandoned by his own flesh and blood. Yet, he was so moved by the slightest "kindness" from this wicked peasant woman that he burst into tears like a homeless child.

Li Cuihua took Wei Baoguo's arm and half-pulled, half-helped him into the dilapidated mud house that leaked air from all sides.

The room was dark and damp, with a musty smell from years of poor ventilation.

Li Cuihua pressed him down to sit on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), then turned and went to the stove in the outer room.

A moment later, she came in carrying a chipped, rough old bowl.

The bowl contained half a bowl of lukewarm cornmeal porridge, with a few strands of pickled vegetables floating on top; it was leftover from breakfast.

"Eat up, it'll warm your stomach."

Li Cuihua shoved the bowl into Wei Baoguo's hand and sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

Seeing his drenched and miserable state, her tone became even more like that of a caring and considerate woman:

"Look at you, what good has it all been since you were a cadre in the city? In the end, even your own son won't give you a sip of hot water, he just throws you in the mud. You know, people only know who truly cares for them when they're in trouble."

Wei Baoguo held the rough, broken bowl in both hands, his hands trembling like a leaf.

He used to live in the city, where he ate fried dough sticks and soy milk every morning, and drank strong tea. He would never even glance at this kind of rough, coarse grain porridge.

But now, this half-bowl of stale, leftover food has become the most life-saving thing he has ever eaten in his life.

He picked up the bowl, buried his head in it, and gulped down the gruel with loud slurping. Large tears fell into the gruel, mingling with the pickled vegetable shreds and being swallowed down his stomach.

"Drink slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

Seeing his desperate, dog-like behavior, Li Cuihua's eyes flashed with smugness, but she continued her persuasive brainwashing:

"Old Wei, you have to look forward. You can't go back to your home in the city. But as long as you stay in Kaoshantun, even if I, Li Cuihua, have to beg for food, I'll still walk ahead of you with a bowl. Shanlin may have a crippled leg and a bad temper, but he's not a bad person. After a while, use your old connections in the city to find him an easy job in town that can earn him a living. Won't he treat you like his own father?"

Wei Baoguo paused for a moment as he drank the porridge, his cloudy eyes shifting slightly, as if he had taken his words to heart.

"As for Xiulan's messy radio debt, let's just leave it for now."

Li Cuihua leaned closer, lowered her voice, and adopted a protective stance, seemingly sharing Wei Baoguo's grievances: "Who knows how many years her broken radio has been used? Why should we pay over a hundred yuan for a new one? We'll just stall her and drag it out as long as possible. Does she really dare to cause trouble at your workplace in the city? Don't worry, she wouldn't dare even if she had ten times the courage. She can't even afford a train ticket to the city! If she dares to come to the yard and make a scene, Shanlin and I will beat her out with sticks and won't let her lay a finger on you."

She paused, then casually touched the empty bowl that Wei Baoguo had just put down:

"As long as our family sticks together, no one can bully us. Just relax, and I'll manage your monthly pension. I promise to take good care of the household and shield you from all the troubles outside, so you can enjoy your retirement comfortably. Isn't that better than sleeping in the city hallway and having to put up with your children's attitudes?"

Upon hearing these words, Wei Baoguo's cloudy eyes rolled lifelessly for a moment.

He knew he had no way out.

His house in the city has been seized by his own son, and his reputation is also in the hands of this shrew. He is now just an old dog with his teeth pulled and his legs broken. He has no choice but to live a miserable life in this desolate place.

Wei Baoguo seemed to have all his energy drained away, and he collapsed like a lump of mud.

"good……"

Wei Baoguo let out a desperate yet submissive sigh, his voice hoarse.

He was like a completely tamed old animal, his head drooping helplessly, his voice so humble it seemed to sink into the earth: "From now on... I'll listen to you... I'll listen to everything you say..."

Upon hearing this, a radiant smile, like that of a victor, finally blossomed on Li Cuihua's bruised and battered face.

What she didn't see was that in Wei Baoguo's lowered face, in his murky old eyes staring at the ground, was a venomous hatred surging like that of a viper.

He hates!

He hated his eldest son, who lived in his nice house but made him sleep on the streets;

He hated the wicked woman Li Cuihua who was exploiting him to the bone, and the cripple Zhao Shanlin who was poking his spine with a stick!

It was these beasts who ganged up on him and forced him from a high-ranking city cadre into becoming a stray dog ​​in the mud!

But amidst all this resentment, what pierced his heart the most was Zhao Shanhe.

Wei Baoguo couldn't shake the image of Zhao Shanhe's mocking face as he exhaled smoke rings in that large tiled-roof courtyard.

The little bastard, seeing Li Cuihua's ridiculous attempt to save face, showed no respect whatsoever. Instead, he mockingly praised her as a "talent" who could fool him into a state of utter disarray.

And his wife, Lin Xiu, that crisp, mocking laugh was even more humiliating than being slapped twice in public or having his skin peeled off in the street!

The couple's condescending gaze was as if they were looking at a pile of stinking garbage, or a ridiculous actor who thought he was clever but ended up rolling around in a pit of childlessness!

That kind of scornful contempt was a million times more painful for him than Zhao Shanlin's fist or the bedding roll his eldest son threw down.

Wei Baoguo gritted his teeth and made a vicious oath in his heart.

As long as he can still breathe, he will make those people pay back the humiliation he suffered in Kaoshantun today, with interest, sooner or later!

But he hid this hatred very well, not even a trace of it showing on his face.

When he looked up again, Wei Baoguo had adopted a resigned and miserable expression.

He placed the broken bowl on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), swallowed hard, and casually inquired of Li Cuihua:

"Cuihua... Now that we're family, I'd like to get to the bottom of this."

Wei Baoguo paused, then said, "When I came to you to look at houses before, I first went to that big brick house, the one where your eldest son, Zhao Shanhe, had a falling out with you. I saw that his courtyard was really grand, and he lived a very luxurious life. Even the two big wolfhounds he kept in the yard had meaty bones gnawing in their bowls! Since he's your son and has such a large fortune, why doesn't he lend a helping hand to you and your third son?"