“What happened?” Jiang Wanting ran home, pushed the door open, and was met with a scene of devastation.

Flour was scattered all over the floor, pieces of pork had fallen and were covered in dirt, bowls were shattered, and chopsticks were broken.

The bedsheets were torn to shreds, and even Chen Meiling’s newly made blue cotton dress had been ripped apart.

Every day, after selling her lingzhi mushrooms in town, Jiang Wanting would bring back food from the supply cooperative for Chen Meiling—flour, meat, eggs—hoping her mother could eat well.

But Chen Meiling could never bring herself to eat those things. She saved them all for Jiang Wanting, continuing to subsist on cornmeal and coarse cornbread.

And now, all of it was ruined.

“Who did this? Where’s my mom?” Jiang Wanting couldn’t imagine anyone in the village still daring to bully them like this. After the last incident involving the police, nearly the entire village knew the village chief supported them. The only person who would dare defy the chief and get away with it was Niu Zi!

“Your father came back yesterday. By the time I found out, Auntie had already been dragged away!” Cuini wiped her tears. “I knocked on the door, but they kicked me. I couldn’t save her, so I went to wait for you…”

So it was her father, whom she hadn’t seen in this lifetime, who had returned! He wasn’t around during the family division last time, and now he’d come back and wrecked their home. She was going to find out what he thought he was doing!

Jiang Wanting grabbed a kitchen knife from the table and stormed out. “Cuini, go get the village chief now.”

“Okay!” Cuini wiped her tears and runny nose, splitting off from Jiang Wanting.

It turned out that the previous night, Jiang Erliang, who had been working at the mine, had returned early. This time, he had been away for three months. He brought back three months’ wages—210 yuan—plus 600 yuan in compensation for losing a finger in a work injury, totaling 810 yuan. He returned to the Jiang family home.

As soon as he arrived, he handed all 810 yuan to Old Lady Jiang. “Mom, here’s the money.” Actually, Jiang Erliang had returned this time to recuperate at home. If his hand healed within a month, he could return to the mine. If he couldn’t go back within a month or was unable to work, he’d have to stay home and farm.

Old Lady Jiang spat on her fingers and began counting the money one bill at a time. Jiang Erliang looked at his bandaged hand, still slightly stained with blood, and waited quietly for her to finish.

The part where his pinky finger had been was permanently sunken.

Jiang Daliang watched from the side. “Mom, Erzi brought back over 800 yuan. I think we should send some to Daya so she isn’t looked down on out there.”

“Money, money, money—is that all you think about? School just started, and she already took several hundred with her. There’s no way she could’ve spent it all so quickly.”

Jiang Daliang added, “Then we should save some for Zhuzi. He’ll need to find a wife in a few years.”

The old woman didn’t even look up, intently smoothing each bill. “What your wife earns outside is meant for Zhuzi. No one can touch this money. Just the other day, that little bastard swindled us out of our money, and we still don’t have the funds to repair the kitchen. This money will be used to fix the kitchen and prepare for winter and the New Year.”

“Jiang Wanting?” Jiang Erliang asked, his eyes widening.

“It’s all because of that outsider wife you married. After you left, she slacked off and refused to serve me. She even burned down the kitchen! Now she’s living outside with that little bastard, hiding away and enjoying herself. I bet it’s just to make it easier for her to sneak around with other men!” The old woman snarled, her face twisting as if she were about to devour someone. “They even want to divide the family now, and the village chief supported them. Listen, Erzi, you can’t agree to divide the family with them. We are one family, and we must work together to live a good life!”

Jiang Erliang shot to his feet. “Where… are they?”

“The old educated youth point. It’s been given to them to live in now,” Jiang Daliang replied.

Without another word, Jiang Erliang stormed out, heading straight for the educated youth point. He walked swiftly, breathing heavily with rage.

When he arrived, he pushed the door open and barged in.

He found Chen Meiling resting by the bed. Jiang Erliang’s anger flared, and he kicked over a nearby cabinet. “How dare you laze around!”

Chen Meiling screamed and scrambled to hide behind the bed, trembling uncontrollably. Twenty years of life with Jiang Erliang had etched a deep fear of him into her very bones.

“W-we’ve divided the family… Your mother wanted to sell Tingting. I had no choice but to hide here with her…”

Jiang Erliang spotted the bag of flour on the cabinet and the cut meat beside it. “You didn’t take this back for Mom to eat!”

He swung his arm, sending everything in the kitchen crashing to the ground.

“New clothes, and you didn’t give them to Mom!” He tore Chen Meiling’s clothes to shreds.

Chen Meiling had no way to escape his control. Her clothes fell to the floor in tatters. She pressed herself against the wall, reaching for an old dress hanging nearby.

“You… unfilial wretch!” Jiang Erliang went mad, smashing the few pieces of furniture in the house. He even pinned Chen Meiling to the ground and beat her.

This was a common occurrence for Chen Meiling. She knew that resisting would only make the beating worse, so she could only curl up on the ground, covering her head, waiting for Jiang Erliang to vent his rage.

Finally, Jiang Erliang stopped. Breathing heavily, he threw the unconscious Chen Meiling over his shoulder, spat on the ground, kicked the door open, and left.

Back at the Jiang family home, Jiang Erliang tossed Chen Meiling onto the hard wooden board in the dilapidated room she used to live in. Chen Meiling barely regained consciousness. “Please, let me go. I promise I’ll bring back food and fabric. Please, just let me return,” she begged weakly.

Old Lady Jiang called Jiang Erliang outside and locked the shed with a lock the size of a palm. “Lock her up for a few days, and she’ll behave. And that bastard child of yours—she must marry Niu Zi!”

“You’re right, Mom!” Jiang Erliang agreed.

The group returned to Old Lady Jiang’s kang.

“Erzi is the one who listens. As long as he obeys, things will go well, and our good days are within reach. Remember, a year ago, Erzi listened to Daya and went to work at the county mine. Now, every time he comes back, he brings plenty of money. Daya also said that the bastard must marry Niu Zi—then our family will prosper. Listening to her is always the right move!”

“Yeah! I’ll listen to you, Mom!” Jiang Erliang promised.

“Where’s the bastard?” Old Lady Jiang asked Jiang Erliang. “Why didn’t you bring the bastard back too?”

“I didn’t see her,” Jiang Erliang shook his head.

Just then, there was a loud banging on the door outside, and a young voice shouted, “Let my auntie out, or I’ll tell on you!”

“That slut must’ve hooked up with someone else as soon as she left. Is this kid here to demand her back? Erzi, chase her away!” Old Lady Jiang ordered.

Jiang Erliang immediately stood up, went outside, and without a word kicked Cuini. Cuini flew back and landed on the roadside, taking a long time to recover. Crying, she said, “I’m going to tell Sister!”

Cuini stayed guarding the educated youth point all night until morning, when she finally saw Jiang Wanting appear at the corner.

Now, she was running to the village chief’s house to fetch him, while Jiang Wanting rushed to the Jiang family with a kitchen knife.

When Jiang Wanting arrived at the Jiang family, she kicked the courtyard gate fiercely. The gate was bolted from the inside.

“Which wretched nuisance is making noise before the rooster crows? Do you want to die before dawn?!” Old Lady Jiang cursed as she came to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Jiang Wanting stepped forward. The old woman was so frightened she fell to the ground. “Oh, my heavens!”

“Where’s my mom?” Jiang Wanting stood over the old woman, looking down at her.

Seeing Jiang Wanting’s fierce expression and the kitchen knife in her hand, Old Lady Jiang’s legs went weak, and she couldn’t stand up.

Without wasting words, Jiang Wanting walked to the shed and saw the enormous lock. “Open it!” she commanded.

“Unfilial daughter!” Jiang Erliang strode over and shouted. “If you don’t obey, I’ll beat you to death!”

“Where’s my mom?” Jiang Wanting asked again.

Jiang Erliang glared fiercely. “Beaten to death!”

Jiang Wanting froze for a moment. The next second, she swung the kitchen knife at Jiang Erliang.

Jiang Erliang was caught off guard. He never expected Jiang Wanting to fight back one day, let alone with a knife. This was outright rebellion!

He instinctively dodged and blocked. His burly frame helped him avoid fatal injuries, but his shoulder was still wounded.

“I’m asking you one last time—where’s my mom?” Jiang Wanting’s eyes turned red. If anything had happened to Chen Meiling, she would go all out to avenge her. After all, this life was a bonus—every extra day was a profit. Living or dying sooner made no difference to her!

Jiang Erliang clutched his shoulder and pointed at Jiang Wanting. “Y-you unfilial daughter! Just wait till I teach you a lesson!”

As he spoke, he raised his fist—a fist that looked large and hard, capable of breaking bones or leaving someone incapacitated. As the fist swung down, Jiang Wanting didn’t back down either and raised her kitchen knife.

“Hey, hey, hey!!! Stop!!!” the village chief shouted from the gate. “Do you all have a death wish?!”

The village chief hurried over.

One of his shoes was missing, and his clothes were buttoned haphazardly. He first pulled Jiang Erliang away. “Can’t we talk this out? Why resort to violence?”

“Obedience comes from the fist! This unfilial daughter needs to be taught a lesson!” Jiang Erliang was unwilling to be pulled away, but since it was the village chief, he didn’t dare oppose him.

“You need to go to the village doctor immediately to treat that wound. Go now!” Jiang Erliang snorted but obediently walked away.

After pulling Jiang Erliang aside, the village chief turned to Jiang Wanting. “Why are you so impulsive? What if someone had died? Huh? Even I wouldn’t be able to protect you if that happened. Put the knife down now. Let’s talk this out properly!”

Seeing Jiang Wanting still holding the kitchen knife, the village chief didn’t dare intervene rashly and could only try to calm her with gentle words.

“Open the door. I need to make sure my mom is okay first. Otherwise, I’ll kill your entire family!” She raised the knife and pointed at Old Lady Jiang, who was hiding behind the village chief, and yelled.

The village chief turned to look at Old Lady Jiang, who was still standing there without moving—com oblivious to the situation—and frantically waved at her. “Hurry up! Did you lock her inside? Open it now before someone dies!”

Old Lady Jiang stiffened her neck. This time, she didn’t back down because Jiang Erliang, who could control both of them, had returned. She stubbornly said, “I’ll let her out only if she agrees not to divide the family.”

The days without Chen Meiling at home had been unbearable for Old Lady Jiang. Every day, they had to do the fieldwork, and the household chores were split between the old woman and the third daughter-in-law. Within days, both were complaining about backaches and sore muscles. The meals at home were also poorly cooked, and everyone blamed her for letting Chen Meiling go.

So, this time, while Jiang Erliang was back, she was determined to bring Chen Meiling back.

Jiang Wanting could see why the old woman was so confident. She swung the knife and struck the door. “Do you want to test whether I’ll chop you to death first or whether your son will save you in time?”

The village chief was frantic. He shouted sternly, “Open the door now! If you’re dead, what good will any of this do you?”