Wang Hao disagreed; he would never divorce.
He had loved Lin Wanyi, and he knew all too well that without her, it would be hard to find another woman as good as her.
In eight years of marriage, Lin Wanyi had rarely argued with him, and she had even been kind and pleasant to every member of the Wang family before.
Her material desires weren't high either. All his friends' wives had big gold bracelets, but Lin Wanyi had never asked for one.
She didn't ask for gifts for New Year's, holidays, or birthdays either.
His friends all envied him for finding such a good woman, so he absolutely would not divorce.
Whether it was love or a calculated weighing of pros and cons.
He wouldn't leave.
Where would he find another like Lin Wanyi if they divorced?
Where would he get another several hundred thousand in bride price to remarry?
But Lin Wanyi was determined.
Seeing Wang Hao remain silent, she pressed him:
"Don't pretend to be silent, Wang Hao. You know we can't go on like this."
Wang Hao shook his head, shaking it urgently:
"No, honey, we can make it work, we definitely can.
"At worst, we'll do as I said, we'll live on our own.
"You, me, and Keke, we'll live together, starting today, and never go back to the village, okay?
"I promise you, from now on, I'll hand over all the household money to you, I'll listen to you in everything, okay? Honey, okay?
"I'll give you my salary every month as soon as I get it, I won't keep a single cent for myself, okay?"
Before Lin Wanyi could speak, Liu Chunlan lost her temper first:
"No! I disagree, I absolutely will not agree.
"Son, how can you be so foolish? That's your salary, money you worked hard for, why give it to that slut?
"What right does she have to take it? She..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Lin Jiajun suddenly raised his hand and stood in front of her:
"Old hag, if you dare call my sister a slut again, believe me, I'll smash your mouth.
"My sister is kind, but I'm not.
"Want a beating? Then keep on cursing, go on, curse!"
Lin Jiajun was too fierce; Liu Chunlan shut her mouth.
She desperately signaled Liu Dabing with her eyes, and finally, Liu Dabing spoke up:
"That's right, Wang Hao, you're a man, the head of the household. How can you listen to a woman in everything?
"Listen to your uncle, you must keep the money in your own hands, understand?
"Once women have money, they get restless. You must never give them money. Just like your aunt, she never had money her whole life, stayed obedient. See where she dares to go? She's never even been to the city."
"Nonsense."
Wang Hao pushed Liu Dabing away:
"You're such a hypocrite. You tell my mom that women should run the household, and you tell me women shouldn't manage money. Don't you see the contradiction yourself?"
"Go, Uncle, take my mom and go, okay? I'll handle my own affairs. Don't any of you interfere, okay?"
He pushed Liu Dabing and Liu Chunlan:
"Go, both of you, go!"
Liu Chunlan refused to leave. She simply sat down at the front door, slapping her thighs and wailing:
"Heaven strike down..."
Before the next line of her wail could come out, Wang Hao dragged her to the elevator:
"Mom, go wail somewhere else. I'm begging you, go, just go.
"Leave me a way out, please."
Liu Chunlan watched helplessly as the elevator descended floor by floor.
She grabbed Liu Dabing's hand:
"Brother, big brother, why is my fate so bitter? Tell me, why is my fate so bitter?
"My daughter-in-law is no good, but why won't my son listen to me either!"
Liu Dabing's face darkened:
"Don't worry, there will be a way, there definitely will be a way."
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered:
"Earlier you said you gave her that medicine. It's been over half a month now, any effect?
"Counting the time, it should be about right. Does Wang Hao have an idea?"
Liu Chunlan suddenly remembered:
"Yes, over half a month, it should be about time. Wang Hao has been trying hard every night, and they haven't used contraception. It's impossible she's not pregnant."
Thinking of this, she felt much better:
"Hmph! Let's see if she still runs when she's pregnant. For a woman, children are her life, children are everything.
"I don't believe two children won't be enough to tie her down."
She suddenly felt a weight lift off her.
Remembering it was rare to come to the city, she wanted to go see her eldest grandson.
She thought about it and made a decision:
"Big brother, let's go see Kaikai, and see my eldest grandson too.
"It's been a year since I last saw him, I wonder how tall he's grown.
"They didn't come see me once during the New Year, not even a phone call. Brother, my heart is truly cold."
Liu Dabing hadn't seen Wang Kai for over a year either.
In his mind, Wang Kai was even more of a good-for-nothing and ungrateful than Wang Hao.
Having just been snubbed at Wang Hao's place, he was determined to go to Wang Kai's and throw his weight around as the eldest uncle.
So he immediately agreed with Liu Chunlan:
"Let's go, go see that unfilial son Wang Kai."
Liu Chunlan bought a bunch of bananas from a roadside stall. Without calling Wang Kai, she went straight to his home.
From far outside, she could hear laughter and cheerful voices inside.
The home was on the first floor. Through the window, she saw Wang Kai peeling an apple for Chen Qingxiu's mother.
She also saw her long-missed eldest grandson, Haohao, affectionately calling "Grandma."
She was furious, muttering complaints to herself:
"What grandma? That's the maternal grandmother, the maternal grandmother.
"I am the paternal grandmother."
As she spoke, she knocked on the door, banging hard with anger.
Chen Qingxiu opened the door. Seeing Liu Chunlan, she was somewhat surprised:
"You... how did you get here?"
Liu Chunlan snapped back: "What, you've forgotten how to address people?"
Wang Kai's voice came from inside:
"Honey, who is it?"
Chen Qingxiu moved aside with annoyance:
"See for yourself who it is."
Wang Kai was also taken aback:
"Mom, why did you come so suddenly?"
Liu Chunlan didn't speak, but Liu Dabing spoke up first:
"Wang Kai, have you forgotten your eldest uncle already?
"The mother's brother is the greatest, the mother's brother is the greatest!
"You didn't even pay New Year's respects to your eldest uncle. It's utterly disgraceful. Did your eldest uncle have to come see you in person?"
As he spoke, he walked straight into the house.
Wang Kai quickly called out to him: "Uncle, change your shoes, change your shoes."
Liu Dabing acted as if he didn't hear:
"Change what shoes? Stop putting on airs. Your uncle never changes shoes anywhere."
He didn't change, and neither did Liu Chunlan.
The two of them walked on the clean wooden floor in their dirty shoes.
Leaving behind a trail of filthy footprints.
Chen Qingxiu's face darkened. She pushed Wang Kai:
"Aren't you going to get the mop and clean the floor? Look at what my mom just cleaned has become!"
Wang Kai immediately fetched the mop and started mopping behind them.
Liu Dabing flared up instantly:
Wang Kai, what do you mean by that? Are you looking down on your uncle and your mother?
"What are you putting on airs for? Who didn't come from the countryside? Go back three generations, which family wasn't from the countryside?
"Can't even stand a little dirt now? Pah!"
As he spoke, he deliberately rubbed his shoes a few times on the rug under the coffee table:
"Hah, gotta say, the rug you picked is pretty good for wiping shoes.
"Wang Kai, aren't you going to pour tea for your uncle and your mom?"
