Chapter 140: The Gossip Squad

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: The Gossip Squad

Fu Xiaoxiao nodded in agreement. "Isn’t that the truth! When we marry a man, we just want to live a good life, right? But Li Si, he just won’t cherish the good days and insists on nitpicking."

"If he helped out with chores, and looked after the kids, we wouldn’t say anything, but he comes home and lounges around like a lord, leaving everything to Sister Chen Xiu, not even caring about the kids’ homework. Who could tolerate that? Sister Chen Xiu said a few words to him, and he slapped the table and cursed," Fu Xiaoxiao continued.

"Well... A man has been out working all day, he’s definitely tired, you can’t just divorce him over this, right?" Granny Wang, having a son herself, naturally spoke up for the men, thinking it was just a small matter.

After all, every household has its issues; as long as they aren’t major, they can be minimized and the couple can continue living together. How can it end in divorce?

You have to know that if she divorces now, returning to the village will drown her in gossip.

Zhang Xiaomei glanced at her mother-in-law, not daring to voice agreement.

As a daughter-in-law, she naturally didn’t dare to say she, too, thought Li Si had gone too far while her mother-in-law was present.

"It’s not like that; living is living, and if two people want a good life, you can’t speak like this! Words with knives, sarcasm, and barbs—who can bear it? We’ve all seen how much work Chen Xiu does. It’s been ten years, anyone can have feelings!" Aunt Liu wasn’t afraid of Granny Wang and stood on Chen Xiu’s side, taking a shot at Li Si.

She’s been displeased with Li Si for a long time. Her husband was the same; he would come home and help look at the kids’ homework, play with his son for a while—the father and son have a bond like brothers.

But Li Si? With two sons, from little to big, not to mention homework, he barely even played with them.

She has heard Chen Xiu complain about this more than once.

Fu Xiaoxiao nodded. "We live next door, and I see Sister Chen Xiu cleaning up after them every day. She’s exhausted all day without resting, and then she has to serve him. He thinks all women should do the work, and it’s like that for every woman. His words are so unpleasant, I felt embarrassed to tell you, afraid you’d all get angry."

Fu Xiaoxiao shook her head, and Granny Wang felt uncomfortable listening to it.

"Granny Wang, I’ve seen your son sometimes helping you with chores; he never sits there doing nothing when he comes home. If he were criticizing you while you worked..." Fu Xiaoxiao was not finished with Granny Wang when Granny Wang angrily slapped her leg.

"Just like his old deadbeat father, when I used to support Wen Qiang, he would nag endlessly on the side, never lifting a finger, with more issues than he could ever manage to solve." Granny Wang couldn’t help but relate it to her husband, feeling very angry.

"Sister Chen Xiu was furious about wanting a divorce. Li Si even said she has given birth and, besides him, nobody would want her. When I heard that, I was so mad I wanted to confront him." Fu Xiaoxiao continued.

"What? He dared to say such a thing? If I were Chen Xiu, I’d slap him! Beat him to a pulp!" Aunt Liu couldn’t stand it upon hearing that. What kind of person says such a thing!

How can someone say such awful things, and a man no less?

Granny Wang frowned, and Zhang Xiaomei’s face turned red with anger. "Can a man really say something like this? She gave birth to two sons for him, and he says such hurtful things—no wonder Sister Chen Xiu wants to divorce him. If it were me, I couldn’t stand it either."

"Indeed, Li Si has gone too far." Granny Wang shook her head, agreeing with her daughter-in-law this time.

You have to know, for a woman, giving birth is like walking through the gates of hell. He doesn’t know the pain of lying in bed, suffering all night. When she gave birth to her son, she almost couldn’t do it, going through the gates of hell.

The son was delivered feet first and didn’t come out, and if it weren’t for the experienced midwife pushing his foot back in and correcting the fetal position, she would have been gone.

Since then, she dared not have any more children and placed all her attention on her son Wen Qiang.

She gritted her teeth, enduring all the hardship and fatigue to raise her son, and fortunately, he didn’t let her down. He joined the army, became a deputy platoon leader, and brought her over to enjoy life.

"Later, Sister Chen Xiu’s mother and brother came, and Li Si arrogantly asked the aunt to persuade Sister Chen Xiu. Instead, the aunt was there to support Sister Chen Xiu, got angry with him on the spot, and said they should get divorced and took her away," Fu Xiaoxiao nodded and continued.

"Then why weren’t the children taken? Was she willing to leave them?" Aunt Liu knew very well how much Chen Xiu always protected her two kids like they were treasures. How could she leave them alone?

"Yeah, Sister Chen Xiu loves Stone and Woody so much, how could she not want them?" Zhang Xiaomei also found it strange.

"It’s all because of Li Si! He said if Sister Chen Xiu dared to divorce him, she’d never see the two kids again; that they are the Li family’s bloodline, and he wouldn’t let her take a single one," Fu Xiaoxiao let out a heavy sigh, revealing the answer.

"My god, he even threatened Chen Xiu with the kids? Is he still a man? No, is he even a father? Too despicable!" Aunt Liu was furious. How could a father say such words?

Telling a child they can never see their mother again is so cruel.

"This is too heinous." Zhang Xiaomei gritted her teeth.

"This is... an animal!" Granny Wang’s eyes flared. Her deadbeat husband had also once tried to force her using Wen Qiang. She understood well—when it comes to children, mothers will endure all the hardships.

"Right! We’re pissed off listening to this, the aunt was even more outraged, saying straight up the kids were theirs, and didn’t take a single one, then Chen Hong showed up, they signed the divorce papers face to face, and the aunt took Sister Chen Xiu away, leaving the poor two kids without a mother since then." Fu Xiaoxiao wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Li Si took the children but doesn’t take care of them, now even treats them like they’re wild, doesn’t come back to take care either—is this a father? Here I thought he might have his reasons, but he just doesn’t want to take responsibility!" Aunt Liu was furious, pointing to Li Si’s house and yelling.

"The ones suffering are the two kids; what will happen to them in the future..." Granny Wang felt deeply for them, her past hardships resonating—afraid that it’s the children who’ll suffer...

"Should we try to help?" Zhang Xiaomei asked with a heartache.

After Zhang Xiaomei said it, there was an instant silence.

"We can only help temporarily, but we can’t for a lifetime." Fu Xiaoxiao understood they wouldn’t adopt the children; even now, every household was tight, with two boys eating them out of house and home—it was impractical.

Without any blood relation, their assistance would be limited; there’s no way they could take them home.

"Then what should we do?" Aunt Liu and others looked at Fu Xiaoxiao.

Fu Xiaoxiao had been waiting for this question and motioned them closer with her finger...