1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

When Xinghua's mother realized that the matter was completely unworkable and that she couldn't keep the person, all her plans had failed, so she immediately started throwing a tantrum.

She quickly ran out, slipped, and simply sat down on the snow in the yard, slapped her thighs with both hands, and started howling at the top of her lungs.

"You heartless wretch! How could I have given birth to such a good-for-nothing, ungrateful brat! Her father and I came all this way, pouring our hearts out for her sake! And you Chen family, you ganged up on my family, taking advantage of my daughter for nothing, how shameless of you!"

"Xinghua, are you really abandoning your family? Wait till you suffer injustice in the Chen family, or offend your brothers, see who's going to stand up for you then! Don't forget, your surname is Wang, not Chen! This is outrageous! Everyone, come and judge! The Chen family is bullying us, they're stealing my daughter!"

She sat in the snow, crying her heart out, tears and snot streaming down her face.

Gao Shan's mother was no pushover. Among the group of old women in the village, she was known for her sharp tongue and fiery temper. She was always the one who had the right to reason with others, and she would never tolerate outsiders running wild and bullying people in her yard.

Hearing Wang's wife wailing in the snow, she quickly stepped out, lifted the curtain, and sat down on the snow in the yard without saying a word. She then shouted back at Wang's wife, her voice louder and more penetrating than the other woman's.

"Listen up, everyone! What kind of logic is it that a married daughter is treated well by her husband's family, but her own family comes to snatch her back? There has never been such a rule since ancient times! You are clearly taking advantage of the honesty of our Chen family, and you can't just bully us by relying on your family's status!"

I think you're all just greedy and obsessed with money! Ever since Xinghua entered our Chen family, my husband and I have always treated her like our own daughter.

She's always been given the best food, never lacked anything in terms of clothes or accessories, and we never let her do any heavy or tiring work. And yet, you all dare to slander our Chen family for mistreating her!"

"You say you mean well, but what are you up to? Everyone in the village knows perfectly well. Even the most straightforward person can't just open their mouth and say whatever they want!"

Look at your face, it looks like a squashed pumpkin. How can your face be so big? Xinghua has been married into our family for so many years. Every time she goes back to her parents' home, she brings big bags and small packages. She brings noodles, meat and all sorts of things to your family. When have I ever let her go empty-handed?

"Only your family is so stingy that you'd pick up a bean and slurp it up if it popped in your mouth, and you still have the nerve to say you're doing it for your daughter's good? Nobody believes that!"

The old lady's rant was full of valid points, and before long, neighbors who heard the commotion came running over in their cotton-padded coats and slippers to see what was going on. Soon, a crowd of people gathered three or four deep around the courtyard gate and the base of the wall.

They were all from the same village, and they saw each other all the time. Naturally, they sided with their own villager, speaking up for the Chen family and pointing fingers at the Wang couple.

"Hey, Wang's family, this is really unfair of you! Xinghua herself said she wanted to stay with the Chen family, and you, as her maternal family, had to cause trouble. Aren't you just ruining your daughter's life?"

"That's right! As the old saying goes, a married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl. Xinghua is now part of the Chen family. What business is it of yours anymore? You shamelessly come to pick her up. It's so unreasonable!"

"Now you know how to feel sorry for your daughter? The baby died, and now you're here to breastfeed! You rushed to marry your daughter off to this family just for two bags of sorghum as a dowry, and now that Gao Lin is gone, you want to squeeze out more money. Don't think everyone doesn't know!"

Xinghua's mother sat on the snow, feeling cold and ashamed. The snow under her bottom was freezing cold, and she couldn't sit still any longer.

She quickly scrambled to her feet, hastily brushed the snow off her cotton-padded coat, put her hands on her hips, and stubbornly tried to argue, but her tone was noticeably weaker, lacking the confidence she had displayed earlier.

"I...I really did this for Xinghua's own good! I even had a fortune teller do her divination a while ago, and they said she was destined to clash with your Chen family, that she was the one who killed Gao Lin. I took her away to protect your Chen family from disaster, not to harm you. How can you not distinguish right from wrong!"

"Besides, the Li family in Kaoshantun is very well-off. They own a house and land, and have two sons. If Xinghua marries into their family, she can become a mother right away, saving herself the suffering of ten months of pregnancy. As her own mother, would I deliberately harm my own daughter? Don't be ungrateful!"

Although that's what they say, it's clear to everyone that the Wang family is in the wrong. They can't win an argument with the Chen family, and they can't out-argue Gao Shan's mother with her sharp tongue. The Wang couple stood in the courtyard, their faces turning red and white in turns.

Chen Gaoshan wasn't sure what Lianhua's attitude was towards her family, and he didn't want to make things too awkward. After all, Xinghua and Lianhua were both in his own home, and it wouldn't be good for the two girls if things got too ugly.

But looking at them now, it's clear that the Wang couple are completely disrespectful to their elders. They take advantage of any kindness shown to them and are not the kind of people who can reason with others. If we continue to tolerate them, they will only go further.

"Mother, you said Xinghua is bad luck for our Chen family? What a coincidence, I also had my fortune told a while ago. The fortune teller said that my fate is too strong, and I have a lot of evil energy in my destiny. No one can kill me."

"I also heard that your Erzhu is busy looking for girls and preparing to get married. It seems that I should visit your village more often when I have nothing to do, and chat with the villagers."

I wonder if other families' daughters would still be willing to marry into your Wang family if they knew they had such an unreasonable mother-in-law who loves to sit on the ground and throw tantrums.

"But I think Widow Li from our village is a really good person. She's hardworking and capable, and she has three children. She'd be a perfect match for Erzhu. If Erzhu marries her, he can become a father to all three children—buy one, get three free! What a bargain! How about it? Should I, as your brother-in-law, step in and play matchmaker for you two? I guarantee it'll work out!"

Upon hearing this, the Wang couple's faces turned deathly pale. They trembled with anger but couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal. After all, the Chen family was in the right and had the support of the entire village. They were completely at a loss and could only stand there, caught in a dilemma.

Chen Liu didn't care about any of that nonsense. The men in the family were concerned about their reputation and were too embarrassed to take action, afraid of ruining things and giving others something to talk about. But she, an old woman, didn't care about her reputation at all in order to protect her daughter-in-law. She wasn't afraid of falling out with anyone.

Seeing that Wang's wife was still arguing and spewing nonsense, she suddenly stood up from the snow and brushed the snow off her body.