Father Chen confessed everything in detail.

The onlookers were utterly speechless.

Bai Nansheng, enraged to the point of laughter, asked again, “Now that this matter is already out in the open and the hospital has confirmed that Chen Lanfen’s child has nothing to do with me, Uncle, what do you plan to do about it?”

Father Chen was silent for a long time.

“Hmm?”

Seeing Father Chen remain silent, Bai Nansheng grabbed Chen Daniu’s leg and, with a crisp “crack,” snapped it cleanly.

Father Chen: ……

“Take Lanfen back home!” Father Chen said, trembling with fear. “We… we can’t let you raise our Chen family’s child…”

“That’s it?” Bai Nansheng wasn’t satisfied. He reached for Chen Daniu’s other leg.

Father Chen screamed, “Spare him…”

Too late—Bai Nansheng had already snapped Chen Daniu’s last intact leg.

Then he walked over to the unconscious Chen Erniu.

This time, Father Chen didn’t hesitate. Crying, he said, “We’ll return the eight hundred yuan bride price to you…”

Bai Nansheng, like snapping radishes, broke Chen Erniu’s leg without hesitation.

“One thousand yuan!”

“Crack!” The sound of bones snapping echoed.

One after another, the cries of Chen Erniu, who had fainted only to be jolted awake by pain, rang out across the sky. “Ahhh! Help! Dad!”

“One thousand five hundred!” Father Chen cried out in despair. “We’ll give you one thousand five hundred! Please don’t kill my sons…”

Bai Nansheng grinned at him like a scoundrel and, without a word, snapped another of Chen Erniu’s legs.

“Three thousand yuan! We’ll compensate you three thousand yuan!” Father Chen began trembling all over.

Bai Nansheng smiled. “Alright, three thousand yuan… Lizi? Lizi, bring a paper and pen over here so Uncle Chen can write an IOU!”

Bai Lili, looking pale, stiffly walked over and handed her second brother a notebook and pen that Hongdou and Huangdou used for homework. Then she shuffled to the corner of the wall, leaning most of her weight against it to avoid collapsing in fear.

Bai Nansheng said, “Uncle Chen, start writing… Since you owe money, you’ll use your house as collateral. Then write ten IOUs for one hundred yuan each, ten for fifty yuan each, and fifty for twenty yuan each… Your house is so broken down, I’ll count it—house and land—for five hundred yuan. That’s fair, right?”

By the end, Bai Nansheng sounded particularly friendly and polite.

Father Chen: ……

He felt scared.

And unwilling.

—Why did he have to give up both the house and the land?

Seeing Father Chen hesitate and remain silent, Bai Nansheng turned to look at Chen Sanniu.

Terrified, Chen Sanniu lost control of his bladder and shouted, “Dad! Agree to it! Agree to it!”

Father Chen broke down, crying with snot and tears, “Alright! I’ll agree! I’ll agree!”

He picked up the paper and pen and started writing—

Just then, Chen Juxiang was pinched hard on the philtrum by Li Cui’er and finally regained consciousness.

“Mom, the five hundred yuan you hid in the drawer—was two hundred of it from Nansheng’s bride price?” Li Cui’er asked curiously. “No way! You’re so capable that you can supress my sister-in-law… You’ve only saved three hundred yuan your whole life?”

Chen Juxiang’s eyebrows twitched violently. Hoarse, she scolded, “What nonsense are you spouting!” But inside, she was suspicious—how did Li Cui’er guess that two hundred of the five hundred yuan she hid came from Nansheng’s bride price?

When she looked up again—

The Chen family members were still lying on the ground, sprawled out in all directions?

Chen Juxiang exploded with rage. She stood up and pointed at Bai Nansheng, cursing, “Bai Nansheng, you bastard with no father and no mother! Do you have any respect for the law? Huh? Do you think I’m already dead? Let me tell you—even your parents wouldn’t dare talk to me like that, you—”

Father Chen, sneakily noticing Chen Juxiang stirring up trouble, slowed down his writing.

Bai Nansheng lazily glanced at Chen Juxiang. “What did you just say?”

Then he grabbed the only unbroken leg Chen Erniu had left and snapped it with a “crack.”

Poor Chen Erniu twitched a few times but didn’t wake up.

Chen Juxiang was utterly shocked.

Bai Nansheng then strolled over to Chen Sanniu, who was crying and desperately trying to crawl away despite his broken leg. Bai Nansheng sat down on Chen Sanniu’s waist and turned to ask Chen Juxiang, “What did you say just now? I didn’t hear it clearly. Say it again?”

Chen Sanniu wailed, “Chen Juxiang, you wicked old hag! If it weren’t for your idea to trick him out of money, make him wear a green hat, and even raise our family’s child, would we be suffering like this? Why don’t you just die, you old witch!”

Hearing this, Chen Juxiang was even more stunned—so while she was unconscious, the Chen family had confessed everything to Bai Nansheng?

Chen Juxiang’s face turned deathly pale.

Bai Nansheng urged Father Chen, “Hurry up! I’ve got other matters to deal with!”

Father Chen flinched, lowered his head, and continued writing the IOUs.

Chen Juxiang turned to Li Cui’er and asked, “What did they say earlier?”

“They said everything!” Li Cui’er said gleefully, staring at Chen Juxiang. “For example, Chen Lanfen’s chubby ten-pound baby is Chen Daniu’s! And how you came up with the idea to trick my sister-in-law out of one thousand yuan in bride price, forcing Lanfen to seduce Nansheng and make him wear a green hat…”

“Mom, is there anything else you did that they haven’t exposed?” Li Cui’er asked slyly.

Chen Juxiang immediately slapped her.

Smack!

Li Cui’er froze, covered her face, and cried, “Why are you hitting me? I wasn’t the one who said those things…”

Coming back to her senses, Chen Juxiang glared at her nephew (Father Chen), thinking—when there was money to be made and benefits to share, this bunch had called her “Aunt” so sweetly. Now that their schemes were exposed, they were cursing her as an old witch and even telling her to die?

Meanwhile, Father Chen had finished writing the IOUs and handed them respectfully to Bai Nansheng.

Bai Nansheng carefully checked them one by one, counting the documents, including the property transfer and the IOUs—ten for one hundred yuan, ten for fifty yuan, and fifty for twenty yuan. Only then did he finally look satisfied.

He stood up and said to Father Chen, “Alright, now you need to write a statement dissolving my marriage with Chen Lanfen… Hmm, once it’s done, take it to the hospital for her to sign. The village head and the Party secretary are there, so once you get it done, you can go back home.”

Chen Sanniu cried out, “Nansheng, please take us to the hospital first!”

Father Chen begged, “Ah Nansheng, I’ll write the dissolution materials right away, but saving lives is more important!”

Bai Nansheng raised an eyebrow. “What did you say?”

Father Chen froze.

He struggled to swallow and said, “I’ll write it! I’ll write it right now!” He quickly took pen and paper and wrote it down, then handed it to Bai Nansheng respectfully. “Nansheng, please check…”

Bai Nansheng glanced at it, grabbed the pen, signed his name on the document, and then called out, “Lizi, come over here!”

Bai Lili, trembling, walked over.

Bai Nansheng handed the signed divorce document to Lizi. “Take this to the hospital and get Chen Lanfen to sign it! Tell her that if she doesn’t sign, she can just watch her son’s biological father die!”

Bai Lili sniffled and wiped her tears as she hurried off.

“Mom!” Bai Nansheng shouted.

Before long, Tang Liren came out of the courtyard, her face grim.

By this time, Bai Nansheng had realized that his impulsiveness had disrupted his mother’s entire plan again. He smiled sheepishly at her and said, “Mom, the divorce papers are done. Now, what about the division of the family?”

Li Cui’er looked at her. Is there such a good thing?

“Yes! This family must be divided!” Li Cui’er shouted loudly. “The older brother is like a father, the older sister-in-law is like a mother. No matter how the property is divided, the eldest son should always show respect and take care of the elders…”

Chen Juxiang snapped, “You’re talking nonsense!”

With a sudden slap, Li Cui’er received another ear-piercing strike. She whimpered and ran to find her husband, Fourth Uncle Bai. “Look at how your mom treats me! If we divide the family, I won’t live with her! If you let her stay, we’ll divorce!”

Chen Juxiang, furious, was ready to explode.

But she didn’t want to argue with Li Cui’er right now. She turned to look at Bai Nansheng and then at Tang Liren, her gaze colder than a viper’s. Raising her chin, she declared, “Stop your nonsense! I’ll never agree to a division of the family!”

“The greatest virtue is filial piety!” Chen Juxiang barked. “So what if I’m a stepmother? So what if I married your dead father midway? I was legally married to him! As long as I’m alive, you all will have to take care of me!”

Chen Juxiang glared at Bai Nansheng and sneered at Tang Liren, “You can hate me all you want, but you will serve me! You’ll make sure I eat and drink well, and all the money you earn will go to me. From now on, you’ll kneel and beg me… Not just you, but your descendants too, always kneeling in front of me—hahaha…”

After saying this, Chen Juxiang felt a sense of satisfaction, imagining how she would torment Tang Liren in the future, causing her to laugh triumphantly.

Chen Juxiang knew very well the traditional rural saying, “As long as the parents are alive, the family must stay united.”

She would never back down on this issue.

Furthermore, of the four branches of the Bai family, the second branch was useless, the third branch had no male heir, and the fourth branch had a troublesome wife and unreliable relatives.

Chen Juxiang had to think of her precious grandsons.

Her grandsons had been spoiled over the years. At sixteen, the eldest was already plump and lazy, demanding to eat meat and drink alcohol, all while yelling at her to find him a wife. Though they still had Fugui and Guicai, they would need money for their future marriage.

Could she rely on the fourth branch for this?

Absolutely not!

But Chen Juxiang had little money. Over the years, she had secretly supported the fourth branch, and her savings were nearly depleted.

The only way to get money now was from the first branch.

If the first branch wanted to divide the family…

Hmph, over her dead body!

Bai Nansheng, seeing how arrogantly Chen Juxiang acted, grew impatient. “Mom—”