Liu Chunlan's smile froze on her face.
She didn't see the eldest grandson she had been yearning for day and night; she only saw Wang Kai and Chen Qingxiu.
They came empty-handed, carrying nothing.
Wang Hao went to greet them: Big brother, sister-in-law, Mom has been waiting for you for a long time.
Liu Chunlan held the car door and looked inside for a long while before finally asking in disappointment:
Where is the child? Where is my eldest grandson? Didn't we agree you would bring him back together?
Chen Qingxiu remained silent, while Wang Kai explained:
The child isn't used to it here, so we didn't let him come.
Wang Jianguo lost his temper: What do you mean he isn't used to it here? It's all the same place, what's there not to be used to?
Wang Kai, how did I raise such a useless thing like you?
Zhang Cuihua was holding her own grandson and laughed loudly:
Wang Kai, it's been years since you came back. Do you carry the surname Wang or Chen now?
Liu Chunlan almost slapped her across the face, forcefully pushing her out of the courtyard:
Get out! Get back to your own house and stay out of my family's business!
Zhang Cuihua laughed uproariously outside the courtyard, deliberately teasing her grandson to make him giggle:
Oh, my grandson, my dear eldest grandson!
Her laughter pierced Liu Chunlan's heart with pain.
However, since Wang Kai hadn't been back in years, she was still joyful deep down.
She brought out the various delicious dishes she had spent the whole morning preparing and pulled Wang Kai to the table.
But Wang Kai first pulled out a chair for Chen Qingxiu:
Honey, you sit here.
Chen Qingxiu hadn't said a single word, let alone called Liu Chunlan Mom.
Liu Chunlan felt displeased, but she didn't dare say anything.
Chen Qingxiu was not like Lin Wanyi; she was a local, and a city girl at that.
More importantly, she had her maiden family backing her.
She never took Liu Chunlan seriously.
Actually, Liu Chunlan herself didn't know why they had suddenly come back this year.
She enthusiastically served food to Wang Kai, but didn't spare Chen Qingxiu a second glance.
She was angry with Chen Qingxiu.
When Lin Wanyi came down with Wang Keke, Liu Chunlan vented all her anger on her:
Are you the empress? The food has been ready for ages, everyone is at the table, and we still have to wait for you?
You have absolutely no manners or decency, you're a total disgrace to the Wang family.
Hurry up and pour a drink for your sister-in-law!
Lin Wanyi was quite obedient this time, immediately pouring a glass of orange juice for Chen Qingxiu.
Chen Qingxiu spoke her first words since coming back:
Thank you!
Liu Chunlan took a sip of liquor:
Why are you thanking her? It's only right for an outsider like her to serve you tea and water.
Qingxiu, don't go back today. Let Wang Kai bring the eldest grandson back.
Just stay and celebrate the New Year at home. You've been married for ten years and haven't spent a single New Year at our house. You have no idea how the villagers laugh at me.
Bring the grandson back this year, and I'll have this outsider serve you well.
It was rare to see her eldest son, so she became more talkative:
Son, at the end of the day, your surname is Wang, and your child should also be surnamed Wang. It's tradition.
After the New Year, go and change the child's surname back. Otherwise, your dad and I really can't hold our heads up in this village!
Wang Kai coughed:
Mom, let's not bring this up. The child's surname won't be changed; his surname is Chen!
Wang Jianguo slammed his chopsticks onto the table with a smack:
What do you mean it won't be changed? No matter what anyone says, he is the seed of my Wang family.
Change it, you must change it!
Before Wang Kai could speak, Chen Qingxiu spoke up first:
Sure, I'll say the same thing. Give me a bride price of six hundred thousand, and the child's surname will be changed immediately.
Will you pay it or not? Six hundred thousand. This bride price is also a tradition.
Why don't you go rob a bank?
Wang Jianguo was burning with rage:
Chen Qingxiu, you've been married for over a decade, and the child is already ten years old. How do you have the nerve to bring up a bride price?
How thick-skinned are you?
Seeing him getting angrier by the second, Liu Chunlan quickly tugged at his clothes:
What are you going crazy for during the New Year? It's rare for the kids to come back, don't be foolish.
Wang Jianguo threw his head back, downed a mouthful of liquor, and ate his food in silence.
Lin Wanyi suddenly chimed in:
Oh my god, sister-in-law, did you really not ask for a bride price when you got married? That's impossible, right?
I'm an outsider, so I was tricked, but you're a local, how could they not give you a bride price?
Sister-in-law, do you know how much bride price the eldest sister asked for when she got married? Three hundred and eighty-eight thousand.
You got married around the same time, how come they didn't give you a bride price either?
Shut up!
Liu Chunlan hurriedly stopped her from continuing:
What the hell do you know? Don't open your mouth and spout nonsense.
How am I spouting nonsense?
It was impossible for Lin Wanyi to shut up. She continued:
Sister-in-law, Mom said that when locals here marry a wife, it costs hundreds of thousands. She said that people like you and me who don't ask for a bride price are cheap goods, we are sluts.
I had it a bit better, but especially you. She curses you every day as a freebie who paid to marry in. The things she says are so awful that I'm too embarrassed to tell you.
You!
Liu Chunlan was furious:
What nonsense are you spouting? When did I ever curse her? Don't try to sow discord here.
Without another word, Lin Wanyi directly opened her phone and played a video.
In the video, Liu Chunlan was cracking melon seeds while cursing Chen Qingxiu:
That dead slut seduced my son. She was desperate and even offered five hundred thousand to marry him. My son was just kind-hearted; otherwise, if they didn't get married, that Chen Qingxiu would have killed herself.
I shouldn't have agreed to their marriage in the first place. Who knew she was so vicious, making my son marry into her family and changing my grandson's surname.
This is the thing I'm most angry about in my life. Slut! Fucking slut!
I will never acknowledge her as my daughter-in-law. She isn't worthy!
Liu Chunlan was terrified. She panicked and tried to grab Lin Wanyi's phone:
What are you doing? Lin Wanyi, what are you trying to do?
Qingxiu, don't listen to her nonsense. It's fake, these are all fake.
There's no such thing. I never said those words.
Lin Wanyi held the phone high and played another clip:
Damn it, once my grandson's surname is changed back, I'll immediately have my son divorce her.
She even paid out of her own pocket to marry my son back then, heh, what a piece of trash!
What's she so arrogant about? Just because she's from the city? So what, she's still been ruined by my son.
I don't believe anyone would want a piece of trash like her now! Trash, utterly rotten!
Chen Qingxiu's face turned livid, and Wang Kai erupted in anger:
Mom, what do you mean by this? How could you say such things about Qingxiu?
Apologize to her, apologize to her right now!
Liu Chunlan's eyes turned red:
Son, no matter what, I am her mother-in-law. How can you ask me to apologize to her?
Wang Kai wanted to say more, but Chen Qingxiu suddenly took a document out of her bag:
Auntie, since you look down on me so much, I won't lower myself to seek your approval.
Take a look at this document. If there are no issues, sign it.
Liu Chunlan couldn't understand it. She suspiciously took it and handed it to Wang Hao:
Haohao, take a look, what does it say?
Wang Hao merely glanced at it before looking at Wang Kai:
Big brother, what is the meaning of this? You're not going to provide for Mom and Dad in their old age?
You are their son, on what grounds are you ignoring them?
Liu Chunlan understood, and her tears immediately fell:
Son, you didn't come back today to reunite with me; you came to cut ties with me, right? Do you no longer want your dad and me?
