Chapter 16: Divorce

After Chen Jin moved back to the village, she realized that there was excitement everywhere.

The eldest son of the former village secretary, Chen Wensong, was actually making a fuss about divorcing his wife, Jiang Kexin. What was even more shocking than the divorce was that Chen Wensong wanted Jiang Kexin to leave empty-handed, meaning their daughter was not allowed to go with her and he wouldn’t give her a single cent from their shared assets.

The couple got into a huge fight at home. Chen Jin rushed over in her slippers, the sound echoing as she hurried, and she only caught the tail end of the chaos: Jiang Kexin had a swollen face from the beating, but she wasn’t without her defenses—she had a chopping knife in her hand and had slashed Chen Wensong’s arm twice, leaving a small pool of blood on the floor. Meanwhile, Zhao Dahua, the wife of the village secretary who rushed in to help her son, was kicked to the ground by Jiang Kexin and curled up, holding her stomach, sweating profusely.

Jiang Kexin’s chopping knife dripped with blood, and she felt a chill run down her spine at the sight.

It had to be said that even though there were few people in Qiaodong Village, they could really fight when they got crazy, especially the women, and particularly those with a fearsome reputation.

The two “bad women” of Qiaodong Village were undoubtedly led by Zhou Xiangxiang, with Jiang Kexin previously managing to keep up with her occasionally. However, after today’s showdown, it was safe to say that Jiang Kexin had firmly secured the second spot.

The former village secretary was so furious that he clutched his chest in pain, shouting for help and calling for an ambulance, lamenting, “What misfortune has befallen our family!”

Uncle Chen Wu squeezed through the crowd, unable to bear seeing the old secretary in distress at his age.

But Zhou Xiangxiang scoffed disdainfully. Chen Jin, with her sharp ears, immediately caught the hidden “secret” behind that sneer and quietly stepped closer to her.

Sure enough!

Zhou Xiangxiang said, “What’s so hard about it? Chen Wensong got rich and wants to trade Jiang Kexin for a younger, prettier wife, yet he won’t give her a dime. He wants to cut off her means of support. You think the old secretary knows nothing? Hmph, he’s just disgusted that Jiang Kexin only gave birth to Chen Yue and wants a daughter-in-law to carry on the family line for Chen Wensong. Some people want it all without fear of bursting their own bubble!”

Zhou Xiangxiang didn’t hold back her loud voice, and everyone gathered around could hear her clearly. With the new ancestral hall about to be built, graves to be moved, and the need to refund tenants, most of the villagers had returned, and now about ninety percent of them were present.

After hearing Zhou Xiangxiang’s words, the sympathetic glances that the villagers had previously directed at the old secretary changed. He used to frequently claim that having a daughter was good, saying that his daughter Chen Yue was comparable to several boys from other families.

“Zhou Xiangxiang! Stop spouting nonsense!” The old secretary was so furious that his chest hurt even more.

Had she said anything else, it might have made Zhou Xiangxiang shut up, but accusing her of talking nonsense only gave her more to say!

“Am I really talking nonsense? You know in your heart that we ran into Chen Wensong and his little mistress a few days ago while buying a house in beautiful Community. Your family is really something! When you needed Jiang Kexin’s family to run that fish pond, you pampered her. Now that you’re rich, you want a divorce?! Fine, get divorced, but it’s not like finding a man on the street is hard. Jiang Kexin isn’t going to wither away without that Chen Wensong! Your family is so despicable, cutting off the bloodline like this!”

“What are you staring at me for? Am I wrong? If you can do it, you shouldn’t be afraid of what people say!” Zhou Xiangxiang sneered. “Let’s see how noble your family’s values really are!”

Chen Jin and the others looked at Zhou Xiangxiang like she was a hero: she was incredible!

What was even more incredible was that as Zhou Xiangxiang scolded the old secretary, not a single person stepped up to defend him? That was unreasonable!

Soon, Chen Jin got the answer from Tian Miao, “When Aunt Zhou split the family, the village head, old secretary, and other village leaders went to mediate. The old secretary scolded Aunt Zhou for being uncaring and ungrateful. If he hadn’t stepped in to speak for Old Man Chen, Aunt Zhou would have been able to get hundreds of thousands more.”

Chen Jin was genuinely surprised. She had previously thought of the old secretary as kind and easy to talk to, but she didn’t realize he had such unreasonable, feudal sides. No wonder Aunt Zhou scolded him so fiercely—cutting off someone’s financial means is like killing their parents. Besides, the old secretary not only caused her financial loss but also went to her home to scold her.

The retribution came too quickly.

And then there was Chen Wensong. The other day, he had said he wanted to buy a villa while coming back on the bus. God, was he buying it just to appease his mistress? As she glanced again at the fierce Jiang Kexin, she suddenly didn’t find her so scary anymore.

What was truly terrifying were the kind of people who took advantage of you and then stabbed you in the back, rather than those who were merely aggressive.

Now she worried whether this commotion from Jiang Kexin would turn her just cause into an unjust one, giving Chen Wensong the opportunity to withhold money from her.

The most pitiful one was Chen Yue, who stood to the side with a pale face, terrified. The once happy and harmonious family had shattered overnight. She and Chen Yongan were classmates, excelling in their studies and about to face the gaokao next year. This family turmoil would undoubtedly have a significant impact on her life.

The village head arrived last, and Chen Jin began to suspect he was deliberately delaying his arrival. Once he was there, he stayed silent. Usually, he would have stopped Aunt Zhou from crying out, asked about the details, and tried to mediate.

This time was different. As soon as the village head arrived, he had his oldest grandson bring out a chair, and he sat directly opposite the old secretary’s family, quietly observing their miserable situation. The villagers respected the village head, and seeing him silent, no one dared to speak up.

An ambulance roared into the village, followed closely by the wailing of a police car.

The doctors and nurses who came with the ambulance began to assess the situation. They determined that the cuts weren’t serious enough to warrant a trip to the hospital and proceeded to treat the wounds on the spot. As for the elderly woman curled up on the ground, the doctor checked her and confirmed she wasn’t seriously injured, but she continued to cry out in pain, claiming she would sue Jiang Kexin for elder abuse.

Hey! Those in the know looked towards Zhou Xiangxiang. When she had caused a scene about splitting the family, Chen Sanpo had also threatened to sue Zhou Xiangxiang for abusing the elderly, claiming she would hit and scold them. But Zhou Xiangxiang had been fierce at the time, directly declaring that if they didn’t divide the family properly, she wouldn’t be afraid to take two old folks and make Chen Wensong’s family pay a lot of money.

Even though everyone knew Zhou Xiangxiang was just talking out of anger, she had genuinely frightened them.

Now, Jiang Kexin wasn’t slamming her hands on the table like Zhou Xiangxiang had. She looked quite calm, glancing lightly at her mother-in-law and saying nonchalantly, “Go ahead and sue. It would be best if they locked me up for life; otherwise, you three better watch yourselves. Who knows when someone might just up and die for no reason?”

A cold wind seemed to rise under the blazing sun, causing Chen Jin to shiver and rub her arms.

Zhao Dahua’s face turned even paler, and she dared not speak, glancing at Chen Wensong, who was ashen from blood loss, and began to cry softly. But not a single person came to help her up.

After the doctor finished treating the wounds and left, the police came over to understand the situation.

It was unclear who reported the incident, but after Chen Jin listened around, everyone claimed it wasn’t them. He glanced at the village head, who had yet to speak.

The two policemen who responded to the call included Chen Wenhao, the village head’s youngest son. The village head had divided his two sons into separate households; the eldest managed a fruit orchard at home, while the youngest worked as a neighborhood policeman in the southern district, covering the area from Qiaoxi Village to Mutang Village.

Before arriving, Chen Wenhao had already understood the situation. He stood to one side with another officer, watching as his father had called him to maintain order. When it came to the village’s petty squabbles, having the police intervene was often less effective than having village leaders mediate.

The elderly woman noticed no one was paying attention to her, so she got up and moved beside Chen Wensong, glaring fiercely at Jiang Kexin.

After another ten minutes or so, Jiang Kexin’s relatives arrived—not just her parents and brothers, but also her cousins, all of whom rushed over, furious. Upon seeing the situation, they praised Jiang Kexin for her actions and then began hurling insults at the Chen family, cursing their ancestors for good measure.

Chen Jin thought that if the ancestors of the Chen family could hear this, they wouldn’t need their descendants to move their graves; they would jump up out of anger themselves.

Of course, some villagers were unhappy with this. The ones at fault were Chen Wensong’s family; why should their ancestors be dragged into it? But the village head wore a grim expression and said nothing, so it wasn’t their place to speak.

“You want a divorce? Fine, but half of the compensation from the relocation belongs to my sister!” Jiang’s elder brother spat angrily. “Chen Wensong, you bastard, now that you have money, you think you can just abandon your family? Either share the money, and include Yueyue, or you can go to prison and eat bullets!”

“Half?!” the old woman shrieked. “Why should I give half? The land belongs to the Chen family, you—ah!”

Jiang’s mother was no longer in the mood to listen to her. Upon hearing that Chen Wensong had cheated and still wanted to kick her daughter out without a cent, she had wanted to slap the Chen family into the ground. She swung her hand with all her might, hitting the old woman so hard that she lost her voice, her head buzzing.

“Chen Wensong, you decide—how do you want to choose?” Jiang’s mother glared at him, wishing she could stab him a few times.

This animal, who used to appear as a good husband and son-in-law when they helped him sell fish, now wanted to kick them aside just because he had money? No way!

Chen Wensong didn’t dare to look up. He hadn’t expected the woman he was seeing outside would call home. When Jiang Kexin received the call, she went crazy at home, cursing him out. He had retaliated by saying he wanted a divorce and that she would leave with nothing. That had sent Jiang Kexin into a real frenzy, grabbing a chopping knife from the storage room, intending to follow Zhou Xiangxiang’s lead and make their family pay for it.

Damn! This was truly insane!

When the knife came down, he really thought it was the end for him.

He wanted to get up but was so scared his legs felt weak, and no one came to help him!

In his mind, he considered the two options his brother-in-law had suggested. There was no way he would share half the money; he had just bought a building, was planning to buy a villa, and had even put down a deposit on a luxury car… But if he didn’t give anything, he genuinely believed the Jiang family would send him to jail.

Even if the current laws wouldn’t put him behind bars, the Jiang family wouldn’t let him off the hook, just as Jiang Kexin had said: one day, for no reason at all, someone might just die.

Jiang Kexin’s elder brother had been involved with gangs before…

At that moment, Chen Wensong wanted to slap himself. He shouldn’t have recklessly gone outside, and even if he did, he should have been better prepared. And that woman actually had the audacity to call home today… Damn it! What a mess!

“Nothing to say? If you have nothing to say, then let me say a few words.”

Finally, the village head spoke.

Although Qiaodong Village was being redeveloped, and each family was supposed to move to new homes or temporary housing, the old Chen family’s ancestral hall and tombs were still there. Even though Chen Guangman was no longer their village head, he was still the patriarch of the old Chen family. Once he spoke, the other elders had to listen. The younger folks were managed by their parents, so naturally, they would follow the elders’ attitude.

Chen Guangman stood up, glancing at the old secretary’s family as he walked back and forth with his hands behind his back.

He had come with suppressed anger. Upon seeing Chen Yongqiang nervously laughing and Chen Sanpo pointing angrily at Jiang Kexin, it was clear they had lumped her together with Zhou Xiangxiang.

“Laugh, laugh, laugh, huh? I told you to laugh! A damn gambler! From now on, don’t say you’re from Qiaodong Village!” Chen Guangman was so furious that he picked up a thin branch and pointed it at Chen Yongqiang, scaring him into instantly stopping his laughter and shrinking behind his mother, Chen Bagu.

Chen Guangman’s high status in the village was not solely due to his position as the clan leader. From the early days of the founding of the country until the 1970s, it was his father and him, spanning two generations, who fought for food and policies, helping everyone move past those difficult times. Everyone owed him a debt of gratitude. Thus, even if Chen Bagu was dissatisfied with his public criticism of Chen Yongqiang, she dared not say a word.

Chen Guangman’s gaze swept over the crowd, and Chen Sanpo instinctively pressed her lips together, not daring to make eye contact.

“One or two of you, as soon as you have a little money, you forget who you are. You’ve forgotten the hard days when you had to split a cent in half. Now that you’re rich, gambling away hundreds of thousands, acting all high and mighty with your son and daughter-in-law, and some even shamelessly kicking their wives aside! Damn it! What the hell! Every day it’s just some nonsense!”

Unable to hold back, Chen Guangman cursed, not caring what the old secretary thought. He pointed at Chen Wensong and scolded, “Now that you have money, you’re all powerful, buying villas and keeping mistresses, yet you won’t even give your wife a penny. You’re not the same person who used to beg your father-in-law for help, right?”

Chen Wensong’s expression changed, and he stammered, “With such a large family business, it doesn’t make sense not to have a son.”

Chen Guangman spat, “You can fool ghosts and yourself with that kind of talk, but don’t try to deceive others. Deep down, you know whether you want a son or just to replace your wife with a younger one.”

“Enough said. Just one thing: the Jiang family has given two choices; you choose,” Chen Guangman said to the Jiang family members. “You all discuss it. I’ll say it again: no trouble in our village. Once you’re outside the village, do whatever you want; I won’t intervene. As for others—”

Chen Guangman glanced at the villagers behind him. “If you still recognize me as your village chief, don’t get involved. If someone insists on doing something immoral, no one can help them; getting involved will only bring unnecessary trouble!”

“In the future, if anyone in your family is getting divorced or splitting property, don’t come looking for me. Find the door to the law office yourself! And another thing, if anyone dares to bring gambling, drugs, or anything illegal into the village, and I find out, I’ll be the first to report it.”

“Damn it, it’s all immoral stuff. Even our ancestors would find it ominous!”

Chen Guangman cursed as he walked away, leaving Chen Wenhao and his colleagues to maintain order. They mainly were on guard against Jiang Kexin attacking someone again.

Chen Jin whispered, “This is the first time I’ve seen the village chief so irritable.” She suspected that if there were a few more such incidents, the village chief might go crazy right on the spot.

However, she completely agreed with the village chief: it was all immoral stuff.

The old secretary might have been shamed by the village chief’s scolding or was putting on a show for the Jiang family; he stepped up and slapped Chen Wensong twice.

The onlookers who understood just smiled without speaking: he’s quite the actor. At first, he didn’t hit anyone, but now, to quell the Jiang family’s anger, he slaps Chen Wensong to show his stance. He really knows how to calculate.

The old secretary, looking pained, clasped his fists towards everyone and said, “I apologize for letting everyone see the joke; our family still has some matters to deal with. Everyone can go back to their own business.”

No one wanted to leave: what business did they have at home? They were quite free!

In the end, it was still Chen Wenhao who sent the unrelated people away, leaving himself and his colleagues behind. The old secretary’s family and the Jiang family all went inside the house.

Chen Yongan tugged at Chen Jin’s sleeve and said, “Third Sister, do you want to listen to what they are discussing?”

Chen Jin felt tempted. Watching half the commotion and not knowing what would happen next really made her anxious. Of course, she wanted to know what they were discussing! But looking at the distance to the main house and courtyard, it was impossible to hear anything unless someone inside was using a loudspeaker.

“Hehe.” Chen Yongan smiled awkwardly. “There’s a dog hole in their backyard; we can crawl in.”

Chen Jin: “……”

“If you want to go home and get scolded, then go ahead. I’m not going.”

Just as the excitement at the old secretary’s house was on pause, someone started asking whether marital property could be divided. It was evident that Chen Wensong’s actions had sounded an alarm for the village’s aunties and sisters-in-law. What if a man spends all the money on someone else and suddenly demands that they leave with nothing? Wouldn’t they suffer a huge loss?!

No, they needed to find a professional lawyer to help them figure it out.

Chen Jin thought about her net worth being nearly ten million now, and she felt a bit of a crisis awareness. After all, her only close relative was Liu Shisheng. There have been many cases throughout history where people have lost everything; she also had questions to consult a lawyer about!