Chapter 10: Mediating Divorce is Her Old Line of Work

“Duo Jin, if your parents separated, who would you go with?” Jiang An’an asked her little nephew, looking down.

The little guy tilted his head, his dark, grape-like eyes filled with confusion. Then, shaking his small fist, he complained in a baby voice: “Dad is bad; he secretly pinches Duo Bao.”

“Zhou Kang, you heartless bastard!” Jiang Shulan erupted into tears, rushing forward to hit her husband: “No wonder Duo Bao always has bruises; I thought he was bullied outside, but it turns out it’s you, you bastard.”

Zhou Kang pushed her away fiercely, his face showing undisguised disgust: “Are you done making a scene?”

He hated Jiang Shulan so much that his teeth itched. Thinking about how he had been forced to share a bed with her all these years while pretending to be nice made his stomach churn, and his eyes were bloodshot with rage: “You’re just like your mother, a disgrace.”

Jiang Shulan fell to the ground, her arm scraped and bleeding, her chest aching dully. In that moment, she realized her husband was determined to abandon her and their two children.

Becoming a widow at a young age was not a big deal; she had her family to rely on. But just thinking about how Duo Bao and the child in her belly would suffer from gossip in the future made the anger in her chest boil over, and she finally exploded: “Want to go back to the city? Dream on!”

Jiang Shulan, in a frenzy, grabbed the sickle from the corner of the wall, planning to take Zhou Kang down with her.

“Jiang Shulan, are you crazy!”

“Shulan, stop!”

“Eldest sister!”

The yard was in chaos, and Zhou Kang turned pale with fear. Just as the sickle was raised above her head, at the critical moment, Jiang Shulan’s arm was grabbed.

Jiang An’an spoke seriously: “Eldest sister, do you really want a divorce?”

Zhou Kang: ???

Jiang Shulan: ???

“If you do, then listen to me and put down the sickle. If you don’t want to, go ahead and kill him. You can continue being a couple in the underworld, and I’ll help you raise Duo Bao.”

“!!!!” Zhou Kang’s heart nearly exploded; what the hell were these wolfish words? Jiang An’an’s mother was a devil!

Jiang Shulan: “…I do.”

Help! Why does my little sister’s gaze seem so sharp?!

Jiang An’an took the sickle from her hand and threw it back into the corner.

Clang! The sound of metal hitting the ground struck everyone’s hearts, making them catch their breath.

Jiang An’an stood on a stool, her voice firm: “From now on, I represent Comrade Jiang Shulan and formally propose a divorce to Comrade Zhou Kang. Please cooperate to complete the division of marital property and pay sufficient alimony.”

Marital property division?

Alimony?

The people present were hearing these two new terms for the first time, all staring in shock.

“Why should my property be divided with Jiang Shulan?” Zhou Kang scoffed as if he had heard the biggest joke, his lips curling in sarcasm.

He had a poor impression of Jiang An’an, finding her pretentious. To be precise, the entire Jiang family was in cahoots, each one eager to peel off his skin, and not a single one was easy to deal with!

“Jiang Shulan hasn’t earned a single point and has been using my Zhou family’s grain tickets to support her family. Now she wants to take my property after the divorce? Where in the world does such a good thing happen? Besides, with Jiang Shulan being just a country bumpkin, does she even deserve it?”

Exposing his petty nature, Zhou Kang ruthlessly trampled on his wife’s dignity, and his handsome face twisted with resentment, making him look particularly sinister.

“Wow!”

Duo Bao cried out in fear.

“Duo Bao, don’t be afraid, Mom is here.” Jiang Shulan felt both heartache for her son and a burning desire to tear Zhou Kang apart right then, her eyes seeming to blaze with fire.

“It definitely isn’t because of your wolfish heart, shallow knowledge, or your ingratitude!”

Jiang An’an, calm and composed, educated him: “Marital property refers to the assets acquired by you and my sister during your two-and-a-half-year marriage, and both parties have equal ownership.”

“According to Article 23 of the Marriage Law: At the time of divorce, except for the woman’s premarital property, the focus is on the interests of the woman and children. This means my sister’s dowry must be returned in full, and the marital property should be divided equally. As the party at fault, you will also need to pay additional child support for the two children until they reach adulthood at eighteen, as well as education expenses.”

Jiang An’an sighed lightly: “If you lack knowledge, you should read more.”

“……” Zhou Kang was so furious he was about to explode, feeling like a fishbone was stuck in his throat, being mocked by a girl who had only graduated from middle school for lacking culture as a high school graduate from the capital?!

Yet, Jiang An’an’s arguments were sound, and he had no idea what the Marriage Law stated. It felt like punching a pillow—extremely frustrating.

Zhou Kang was at a loss, and the crowd reacted differently.

Jiang Zhizhi looked at her beautiful cousin for the first time, finding her incredibly spoiled, never doing any work, and dedicated to living off her parents, sister, and brother-in-law. She liked eating ribs but not fatty meat, and insisted on wearing cotton clothes—both lazy and dramatic.

But today, she spoke confidently about knowledge that Jiang Zhizhi didn’t understand and had never even heard of. Was it possible that she couldn’t even match Jiang An’an in her proudest area of expertise?

Jiang Zhizhi clenched her fists tightly, feeling indignant.

“My daughter is really impressive!” Jiang Degui clapped loudly, not caring about the situation.

Lin Meiru stood proudly with her chest out: “An’an takes after me—smart! If it weren’t for the college entrance exam being canceled, she might have been the first college student from the entire brigade, no, from the Hongqi Commune!”

Jiang Shulan: “Mom, our little sister is so impressive. Next time the county recruits workers, she will definitely get hired on the spot. Then she can work for the government and marry into the city to enjoy a good life.”

Duo Bao: “Auntie is awesome!”

Faced with the increasingly exaggerated praise from the family, Jiang An’an suddenly felt her cheeks heat up, her heart swelling with pride.

So she pressed on: “The reason my sister doesn’t work is that you’re lecherous and patriarchal. Ever since my sister got pregnant with Duo Bao in the first month of your marriage, you made her quit her job and stay home as a housewife. What’s this? After serving you like a slave for two and a half years, you just pull up your pants and refuse to acknowledge her?”

Zhou Kang’s face turned pale and then flushed: “……”

Lecherous?

Pulling up pants?

Is that a word a single comrade should be using?

Before he could catch his breath, Jiang An’an’s tone suddenly turned severe: “Comrade Zhou Kang, I must seriously criticize your feudal and erroneous thoughts. What do you take Comrade Jiang Shulan for? A servant from the old society?”

“You not only need to apologize to Comrade Jiang Shulan, but you also need to write a self-criticism and reflection. Otherwise, I will write a report to the capital and ask Comrade Zhou’s father-in-law how he managed to raise a comrade with such a corrupt personal style!”

Every word Jiang An’an spoke was firm and resounding.

“!!!”

Zhou Kang’s head buzzed, and the resentment in his eyes was almost palpable.

He suddenly raised his hand to touch the corner of his mouth, realizing he was so angry he had almost spat blood.

It was truly hitting the nail on the head! Zhou Kang wasn’t afraid of the Jiang family making a scene, but he was indeed afraid of them escalating things to the capital.

Just then, there was a loud knocking at the door.

Captain Luo shouted angrily: “Jiang La’er, open the door quickly, the police are here!”