Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

"However, I still have to get past my mother; I need to talk to her about it beforehand."

Wang Yuanchao muttered to himself in a low voice.

He knew that his mother had never thought highly of Li Yunlan.

Back then, because he was a sales clerk at the commune's grocery store, quite a few girls wanted to date him.

However, those girls who wanted to date him, he felt that he was a sales clerk in a grocery store, one of the eight major employees, and therefore had high standards.

Later, through a matchmaker, he met Li Yunlan from Xiangyang Commune in the neighboring county.

When Wang Yuanchao first saw Li Yunlan, he was immediately struck by her beauty.

With an oval face, willow-leaf eyebrows, eyes like pools of autumn water, and a plump figure, she looked like a woman who would bear many children.

Back then, he had his eye on her, but his mother didn't approve, because she felt that as one of the eight high-ranking officials, he should at least find someone of equal social standing.

In Xinghuo Commune, it's incredibly difficult to find someone of similar social standing, with a stable job, and around the same age. Plus, his mother has a bad reputation, so people of similar social standing won't date him. And he looks down on ordinary people who want to date him.

In addition, Li Yunlan was in love at the time and took the initiative to get close to him, and she became pregnant with his child, so the two got married.

Even after marriage, his mother, Feng Cuilan, still looked down on Li Yunlan.

Later, Li Yunlan gave birth to Qianqian. Because it was a girl, her mother often made veiled criticisms of Li Yunlan in front of her.

Actually, Wang Yuanchao was somewhat disgusted that Li Yunlan gave birth to a daughter, because his family had only had one son for five generations, and he wanted a son to carry on the family line.

After Li Yunlan gave birth to Qianqian and did not become pregnant again, Wang Yuanchao's attitude towards Li Yunlan changed.

"Come on, Yuanchao, eat this freshly made egg noodles. I've tried it, and it's not salty at all."

At this moment, Feng Cuilan prepared a new batch of egg noodles and brought it over.

"Mother, I have something to tell you."

While eating his noodles, Wang Yuanchao spoke up.

"What's up?"

While slurping her noodles, Feng Cuilan asked without looking up.

"Mother, Li Yunlan wants me to divorce her..."

"Divorce, this marriage must be divorced. I don't think any man would want a divorced woman like her. After you divorce her, I'll find a matchmaker to find you a suitable partner, and then you can get married and have two big, healthy sons."

Feng Cuilan had long disliked Li Yunlan. This time, she was severely beaten by Li Yunlan's family and even thrown into the latrine. She was already seething with anger. When she heard Wang Yuanchao mention the divorce with Li Yunlan, she interrupted him before he could finish speaking.

According to Feng Cuilan's thinking, since Li Yunlan had not gotten pregnant again for several years after giving birth to that girl, it was highly likely that she could not have any more children.

Now that Li Yunlan has taken the initiative to file for divorce, it's really a good thing, a wonderful thing. It's good that her eldest son, Wang Yuanchao, can find a new wife and give her two big, fat grandsons so that the Wang family can continue its lineage.

"Mother, that's not what I meant."

Wang Yuanchao quickly interrupted Feng Cuilan.

"What? You don't want a divorce?"

Feng Cuilan was dreaming of Wang Yuanchao divorcing Li Yunlan and marrying a new wife who would give her two big, healthy sons, when she was interrupted and looked on in astonishment.

"We'll definitely get a divorce, but now is not the time."

Wang Yuanchao said it with certainty.

"Why not at the right time? It just so happens that she was the one who brought up the divorce, not you. Why don't we just give her the divorce?"

Feng Cuilan frowned.

"Mother, I've just thought about it carefully. Li Yunlan can't have children, but her third brother is rich. I read in the newspaper that her third brother killed a tiger and rid the people of a scourge. The Hongxing Forest Farm in Qinghe County even rewarded him with a sum of money and gave him a job at the forest farm. I heard her say that her third brother gave the forest farm job to her eldest brother."

"When she went back to her parents' home last time, her third brother gave her four hundred yuan of his own money. This time she came all the way here again, which shows that her family still cares about her. Think about it, her family burned our thirty-six legs, stole the four hundred yuan, and even beat you up, Mother. Those thirty-six legs can't have been burned for nothing, and you can't have been beaten for nothing."

"Let's pretend to admit our mistake first, keep Li Yunlan here, and then find another opportunity to get her to ask her family for more money, or to get her the new 'Thirty-Six Legs'. Once we've got the money and the new 'Thirty-Six Legs' are in our hands, I'll kick her to the curb..."

Wang Yuanchao's eyes darted around, and he leaned close to Feng Cuilan's ear and whispered something.

"This... is a good idea, but it will delay your marriage and the birth of two big, fat grandsons for me, and it will delay the continuation of the Wang family line."

Upon hearing what Wang Yuanchao said, Feng Cuilan's eyes lit up; she was also tempted.

But she glanced at Wang Yuanchao. He was already twenty-seven, quite old, yet he didn't have a healthy son, only a poor girl who was a burden on his family…

"Mom, I'm still young. I can marry a new wife a year or two later. The key now is to get money from the Li family. I work at the grocery store, and I only earn about thirty yuan a month. It's not much. Besides, you can't let this beating go unpunished. Think about it, if Li Yunlan stays, her family can't stay here forever. As long as she doesn't leave, you'll have plenty of time to teach her a lesson."

Wang Yuanchao analyzed.

If Li Yunshan and the others were here, they would definitely be shocked and feel a chill run down their spines upon hearing Wang Yuanchao's remarks. Is this really the Wang Yuanchao they know? His methods of scheming are truly ingenious.

Because in Li Yunshan and others' minds, Wang Yuanchao was a fairly honest person, but he lacked his own opinions and always obeyed Feng Cuilan's every word.

But in reality, people's hearts change. A person who used to seem honest will inevitably change their character as they come into contact with more things and experience more in society.

Wang Yuanchao worked at the commune's grocery store. At first, he had little experience and was like a fresh college graduate, with a pure and innocent look on his face, but he didn't look like an honest person.

But as he came into contact with more people in his work environment, he naturally became more skilled.

Honesty was merely a protective facade that Wang Yuanchao presented to others.

Moreover, because Li Yunlan married far away, and due to the transportation and travel restrictions of that era, the two families did not interact very frequently. In the minds of Li Yunshan and others, Wang Yuanchao was an honest man whose only shortcoming was that he lacked his own opinions and was obedient to Feng Cuilan.

"Okay... then."

Feng Cuilan thought for a moment. Although she wished Wang Yuanchao would divorce Li Yunlan as soon as possible and marry a new wife to give her two big, fat grandsons, the thought of the thirty-six legs burned by Li Yunshan and others, and the four hundred yuan stolen from him, made Feng Cuilan's heart ache.

She thought about it and realized that Wang Yuanchao was right. He was still young and there was no rush to marry a new wife. Right now, she needed to win Li Yunlan back first, and then get the new 36 legs and the Li family's money through Li Yunlan.

Once we've got the new thirty-six legs and the Li family's money, it won't be too late to kick Li Yunlan aside.

By then, the family will have thirty-six new legs and money. Wang Yuanchao will be a salesman at the commune's grocery store, holding a secure job. Plenty of girls will be waiting for her son to choose from. Feng Cuilan doesn't believe she can't find a chubby boy who can give the Wang family two sons.

"But Mother, you must listen to me in everything then, and don't just spout nonsense about things you shouldn't say."

Seeing that Feng Cuilan had agreed, Wang Yuanchao was still worried and gave her another word of advice.

"How could I talk nonsense..." Feng Cuilan was displeased upon hearing this, but remembering Wang Yuanchao's words, she instantly cleared her mind and immediately changed her tune, saying, "Fine, I'll listen to you. Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do. If you don't tell me to do something, even if a tiger is chasing me, I won't do it, okay?"

"Okay, Mom, listen to me. We'll have thirty-six new legs, and we'll have money too. Maybe we'll even have seventy-two legs."

Wang Yuanchao said excitedly.

His confidence stemmed from the fact that Li Yunlan had defied her mother and gotten pregnant before marriage, creating a fait accompli, to marry him. That's why he dared to say such a thing.

Moreover, after marrying into his family, Li Yunlan had always been submissive. It was only recently that the mother and son had pushed her too hard, which led to the current situation.

But Wang Yuanchao felt that as long as he took the initiative to admit his mistake and said a few nice words, Li Yunlan would definitely forgive him.

However, Wang Yuanchao's idea was good, but reality dealt him and Feng Cuilan a heavy blow.

The next day, when Wang Yuanchao and Feng Cuilan arrived at the commune health center carrying a thermos and appeared in front of the ward at the end of the corridor, they were stopped by Li Yunshan before they could even enter.

"What are you doing here?"

Li Yunshan blocked Wang Yuanchao and Feng Cuilan outside the ward door. He glanced at the thermos in Feng Cuilan's hand. Although he didn't know what was inside, he guessed that it must be something like soup or liquid, since it was in a thermos.

Moreover, Wang Yuanchao was also carrying several pears and apples that are rare in the market.

In those days, many people couldn't even get enough to eat, and pears and apples weren't produced in their area.

Moreover, it's not easy to get fresh pears and apples now that it's the dead of winter.

Of course, it wasn't difficult for Wang Yuanchao, who worked at the Xinghuo Commune grocery store, to get pears and apples, but he still had to pay for them.

However, fresh pears and apples are not cheap at this time of year.

But Li Yunshan was also very wary.

As the saying goes, "No one visits the temple without a reason." Things have escalated to this point. Feng Cuilan has been slapped hard across the face by his mother and second sister, and even thrown into the latrine by him. This has created a grudge. Even if it's not a life-or-death feud, she will at least keep it in her heart for most of her life. Occasionally, she will grit her teeth and curse him when she thinks about it.

But now, Wang Yuanchao and Feng Cuilan, carrying a thermos and a bag of fresh pears and apples, came to the Xinghuo Commune Health Center with great enthusiasm...

It's definitely not going to be good.

Li Yunshan thought to himself.

"Hehe, Third Brother, my mother and I are here to apologize to Yunlan. We were wrong before. We shouldn't have hit Yunlan. We were wrong in every way. We hope Yunlan can forgive my mother and me, and that our family can continue to live happily together."

Seeing Li Yunshan's unfriendly expression and wary look, and fearing that Feng Cuilan might say something inappropriate, Wang Yuanchao quickly took over the conversation, smiling obsequiously and speaking in a humble tone.

"Apologize? And then continue living happily ever after?"

After hearing Wang Yuanchao's words, Li Yunshan couldn't help but laugh.

He looked at Wang Yuanchao and Feng Cuilan mockingly: "Wang Yuanchao, if an apology were enough, I'd stab you twice with a knife, bleed you a bit, then apologize to you, and you'd forgive me, right?"

Faced with Li Yunshan's playful question, Wang Yuanchao and Feng Cuilan were stunned.

"Hehe, her third brother, how can you say that? We have realized our mistakes. We came here specifically to apologize to Yunlan, hoping that Yunlan and our Yuanchao will not divorce and can live a happy life together. What you're saying about using knives and drawing blood sounds rather frightening."

Feng Cuilan chuckled twice, forcing a smile.

"When you beat my sister, who married far away, did you ever think about how she was alone in your house, being beaten bloody by you and your son? Did you ever consider that she might be scared, even terrified?"

Li Yunshan questioned with a cold smile.