Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

"Get this straight, nobody owes you anything!"

Bai Jianguo pointed at Hou Guifen's nose, his hand trembling, not because he was afraid, but because he was angry, angry at himself for being so spineless for so many years.

"Over the years, I've always believed that harmony in the family brings prosperity, so I've always yielded to you. If you scold me, I've tolerated it; if you insult our parents, I've tried to reason with you; if you cause trouble outside, I've always put on a smiling face and clean up your mess!"

"And the result?! Huh?! What have I done to you?!"

Bai Jianguo's voice cracked from shouting: "I was wrong! I was terribly wrong! I shouldn't have spoiled you!"

"It's because I don't hit you, don't correct your mistakes, and let you run wild that you think everyone is entitled to you!"

Outside the door, Bai Weiguo felt a pang of sadness seeing his elder brother's state.

He leaned close to Wang Xiulian's ear and whispered, "Big brother is right...you can't spoil a woman."

"If he doesn't hit his sister-in-law, she'll have a whole bunch of demands. But if he does hit her, she'll only have one demand: that he doesn't hit her. Men need to stand up for themselves! Otherwise, they'll just take advantage of you."

Wang Xiulian glanced at him sideways and asked coldly, "Then why didn't you hit me?"

Bai Weiguo shrank back, immediately putting on a fawning smile:

"How could I! My wife is so wonderful, so virtuous and kind, how could I bear to part with her? I'm just... I'm helping you analyze the battle situation!"

At this moment, Hou Guifen, who was sitting on the ground, finally realized what was happening.

This good-for-nothing has rebelled?!

"Well done, Bai Jianguo!"

Hou Guifen jumped up from the ground with a thud, her movements so agile that she didn't look like a fat person at all.

"So you're bullying me now, aren't you! You think you're so great just because you have a loud voice? Anyone can shout like that!"

She put her hands on her hips and pulled out her tried-and-true trump card:

"I'm telling you, if you don't give me this old house, or if that little brat Bai Li doesn't give me the money, I'm divorcing you!!"

This trick used to work every time.

Whenever divorce is mentioned, Bai Jianguo immediately admits his mistakes.

But this time...

Bai Jianguo took a deep breath, looking at the woman with a ferocious face, the last glimmer of light in his eyes gone.

He calmly said, "Okay."

Hou Guifen was about to continue her tantrum when she heard this word and froze.

She thought she had misheard, or that Bai Jianguo had given in.

"Hmph! It's good that you know you were wrong! Why aren't you getting ready to have the third son transfer the old house? And that money..."

"I said it's good!!"

Bai Jianguo suddenly raised his voice, startling Hou Guifen.

"Fine, let's get a divorce! I've had enough of you! Who cares about you!"

"We're going to the Civil Affairs Bureau on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year! I'm getting a divorce, even God can't stop me! I said it!!"

Hou Guifen was completely dumbfounded.

She stared wide-eyed at her unfamiliar husband, the feeling of losing control making her feel like the sky had fallen.

"You...you dare to abandon me?"

Hou Guifen panicked, but her deep-seated, mysterious self-confidence made her unwilling to back down.

Her eyes darted around, and she started to find a way to provoke Bai Jianguo by using jealousy.

"Ha! Bai Jianguo, have you thought this through? Without me, you'll be a bachelor forever!"

Hou Guifen said with a smug look, "Hmph, don't you know? Women are like fine wine, the older they get, the more fragrant and mellow they become."

"Now is the prime of my life. If some domineering CEO or young, handsome man takes a liking to me, I won't look back even if he kneels on his knees!"

"Pfft—"

Chen Tingting burst out laughing: "Stop making me laugh, okay? Like wine? I think you're like a giant intestine, all smelling like shit."

Li Jiaxin crossed her arms and coldly added, "Your primary task right now is to avoid being killed by the pig slaughterers, lest you get caught in the crossfire."

"Hahahaha!" Lin Xiaoshuang and Zhang Qian laughed so hard they were doubled over.

"You! All of you!" Hou Guifen was so angry that her face was trembling.

She turned to look at Bai Jianguo, and seeing that he didn't react, she gritted her teeth: "Fine! Let's get a divorce! I deserve half of the house! And the family savings, you have to give me the lion's share!"

"You're dreaming!"

Bai Jianguo is determined this time, and will not back down an inch.

"I forgot to tell you, the property deed for the house in the county is in my parents' names, it has absolutely nothing to do with you! As for the family savings? You've already spent them all! Go eat shit!"

"Let me tell you, you won't get a single penny from me! I've kept track of how much stuff you've moved back to your parents' house over the years! I'll be in the right even in court!"

Hou Guifen was completely panicked.

She placed her last hope on her son, who was cowering by the door.

"Bai Jian! Son! Say something!"

Hou Guifen rushed over and grabbed Bai Jian's arm: "You just want to watch your dad bully your mom? Your dad doesn't want me anymore, you have to stand up for me!"

Bai Jian was pulled so hard he stumbled.

He glanced at his hysterical mother, then at his father standing beside him.

He recalled how, over the years, because of his mother's tantrums, he was even looked down upon for having a difficult mother when trying to find a partner.

Bai Jian steeled his resolve and shook off Hou Guifen's hand.

"Mom..." Bai Jian lowered his head, his voice soft but clear: "Let's get a divorce."

"What?!" Hou Guifen was struck dumb.

"I said, let's get a divorce." Bai Jian raised his head, a look of relief in his eyes. "I'm tired too. Every time I go home, it's just arguments and fights. Dad has suffered so much these past few years, and I... I'm really fed up too."

"You...you..."

Hou Guifen pointed at Bai Jian, her fingers trembling for a long time, but she couldn't utter a single word.

He was abandoned by everyone.

Even her most beloved and proudest son stood on the opposite side.

This is pathetic; it's a complete joke.

Just then, Old Master Bai, who had been sitting silently on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), finally spoke.

"Alright."

He looked at Hou Guifen with his cloudy eyes and sighed:

"Guifen, you should leave. Our Bai family temple is too small to accommodate a Buddha like you. Since you came into our lives, we haven't had a single good New Year. Just do as Jianguo said, get a divorce and leave."

The old lady next to her also wiped away her tears and turned her head away, no longer looking at her eldest daughter-in-law.

Hou Guifen stood in the middle of the room, isolated and helpless.

Looking at this large family, she suddenly felt like an outsider.

No, she was an outsider to begin with.

"Fine...fine! You're all ganging up on me, aren't you!"

Hou Guifen tried one last time to struggle, plopping down on the ground in preparation for her second round of rolling around: "I'm not leaving! How could the Bai family treat me like this?! I don't want to live anymore!"

"Damn it, is this never going to end?"

Chen Tingting rolled up her sleeves, revealing her tattooed arm.

She gave a wink to the women next to her.

Li Jiaxin didn't waste any words and directly showed off the tattoo on her ankle.

Chen Tingting walked up to Hou Guifen, put one foot on the bench next to her, and said in a very江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) manner:

"I'd like to see how you, a newcomer from out of town, dare to rebel against me, a local tyrant!"

As she spoke, she pulled a small folding comb from her pocket and flicked it away with a "snap".

The movement was so fast that Hou Guifen's eyes were blurry, and she thought it was some kind of razor blade.

"Ah!! Murder!!"

Hou Guifen screamed in fright and scrambled to her feet, faster than a wild boar.

She was really scared.

These girls don't look like good people!

"Don't kill me, I'm a good person!"

Hou Guifen shouted as she stumbled and ran outside, not even bothering to pick up one of her shoes that had fallen off.

They bully the weak and fear the strong; the ruthless fear the stubborn; and the stubborn fear the reckless.

The courtyard was silent for a few seconds as they watched the fleeing figure.

Then.

"Hahahahaha!"

Bai Weiguo was the first to burst out laughing.

Immediately afterwards, everyone in the room burst into laughter.

The dark cloud that had been hanging over the Bai family for decades seemed to have completely dissipated with the disappearance of that bloated figure.

Even Bai Jianguo, who had just been on the verge of death, let out a long breath, as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Although he still had injuries on his face, his eyes shone with light.

At this moment, Grandma Bai, who was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), came to her senses.

The old woman looked at the four girls standing in the room who had scared the shrew away, her expression somewhat complicated.

That was really satisfying.

But these four daughters...

Why does he look a little like a child from a respectable family?

"Um..." The old lady's cloudy eyes swept over the girls, finally settling on Bai Li: "Little Li, who are these ladies...?"

The atmosphere in the room changed.

It was a scene from the movie "Young and Dangerous" a moment ago, but now it's turned into "If You Are the One".

Chen Tingting quickly pulled down her sleeves to cover her tattooed arms.

Li Jiaxin also pulled down her trouser legs.

Lin Xiaoshuang and Zhang Qian immediately stood up straight and obediently touched their index fingers together in front of them.

"Grandma..." Lin Xiaoshuang blushed, lowered her head, and said in a sweet voice that seemed to drip with moisture, "Um... we are Bai Li's girlfriends."

"Girlfriend...?"

The two elders were stunned.

"All...all of them?" Grandpa forgot to smoke the pipe in his hand.

Bai Li touched his nose somewhat awkwardly:

"Ahem, well... Grandpa, Grandma, these days young people value... free love, having more friends, and it's easier to navigate life, right?"

"oops!"

Grandpa suddenly slapped his thigh, his face crinkling into a wide grin: "Good! Good! I knew my grandson was going to amount to something!"

The old man didn't understand anything about "playboys" or anything like that. In his simple values, if his grandson could bring back so many beautiful daughters, then he must be incredibly capable! It must be that the Bai family's ancestral graves were emitting auspicious smoke!

"So many beautiful young women! Wonderful! Really wonderful!"

Grandma was beaming with joy, and quickly rummaged through her pockets, pulling out a stack of red bills wrapped in a handkerchief:

"Come on, come on, we have it all! We have it all! Big red envelopes from Grandma!"

The four spirited young women, who had been cursing fiercely just moments before, were now as shy as newlywed brides, lining up to receive red envelopes, saying "Thank you, Grandma" and "Wishing Grandpa good health" repeatedly.

The sight of this almost made Bai Jian and Bai Mo's eyes pop out of their sockets.

This is actually allowed?!

Just when everyone was having a good time.

Grandpa suddenly slipped off the kang (a heated brick bed), put on his shoes, and walked outside. His steps were so agile that he didn't look like an eighty-year-old at all.

Bai Li was taken aback: "Grandpa, where are you going?"

Grandpa didn't turn his head, waved his hand, and said in a loud voice:

"I'm going to the convenience store! To buy cigarettes for my granddaughters-in-law!!"

......

...