Xu Ziyan showed no consideration for the Xu family’s dignity. She directly sent Fang Nan running to fetch the village chief to preside over the family division. Neighbors nearby heard the commotion and naturally came over to watch.
Everyone knew it was Xu Grandmother’s birthday today. They also knew Xu Ziyan had bought gifts and run into fellow villagers on her way back. Although she had asked them not to tell outsiders, everyone had a different interpretation of the word “outsiders.” Some told relatives, others told friends—in any case, they weren’t “outsiders” to them. This led to many people knowing what Xu Ziyan had bought.
Especially today, as Xu Ziyan walked over with both hands full of items, quite a few people had seen her.
Just as everyone was envying Xu Grandmother for raising such a good granddaughter, how could a quarrel break out? And over splitting the family? Who splits a family on an elder’s birthday? Something big must have happened. So more and more curious onlookers gathered, soon crowding around Xu Ziyan outside the Xu family gate to ask questions.
Xu Ziyan thought to herself, ‘I should look wronged here and let them imagine the worst, but that’s Xu Xiuyun’s personality, not mine. So I should act more furious.’
She wore an expression of outrage. “Isn’t this all because of that incident last time when Xu Xiuyun took my child? My grandma thought I was making a scene outside and embarrassing the family. I figured I’m part of the Fang family now, so how could I possibly embarrass the Xu family? Who knew the entire family would start scolding me, blaming me for making Xu Xiuyun lose face?
Everyone, judge for yourselves, was that incident my fault? Taking a child right from their own doorstep, how could I not be anxious and angry? Was I not even allowed to say a few words to her? If it were a stranger, I would’ve definitely asked the village chief to give me justice!”
The crowd nodded one after another. Many of them had been there that day, exhausted from helping search for the child. It was all Xu Xiuyun’s fault for being so thoughtless. For the Xu family to scold Xu Ziyan over this? Wasn’t that too biased? But still, was it serious enough to split the family?
Xu Ziyan pondered, ‘It wouldn’t be good for me to keep talking. It’ll make me, a junior, look like I’m pushing my advantage too far, bullying the elders of my maiden family just because I married an officer. Why haven’t Mom and Dad come out yet? Once they’re out, I can mention the old man trying to hit me.’
Fang Bei, recalling that scene, felt a little scared. He moved closer to Xu Ziyan, tugged on her sleeve, and choked up, “Great-Grandpa hit Mom… He hit Mom on the head with that hard tobacco pipe rod…”
The crowd gasped. “He hit her too? That’s going too far. How could Old Man Xu be so unreasonable?”
Xu Ziyan was somewhat surprised by her younger son’s perfect assist. She lowered her head to pat his, comforting him, “It’s okay now, don’t be afraid.” Then she sighed helplessly. “I’ve never been liked in my maiden family since I was little, all because my parents only had me, a daughter. My parents were looked down on too, worked harder than anyone, never got a decent meal. Now they’re telling me to get lost and never come back.
But I can’t just abandon my parents. They work from dawn till dusk, toiling themselves to death. What will they do if they ruin their health later? So in the heat of the argument, I brought up splitting the family. Well, that did it. An married-out daughter suggesting a family split—they were furious, scolded me all over again. My parents couldn’t bear to see me so wronged, so they agreed to the split.
So that’s that. They’re old anyway. If they can’t stand the sight of each other, they might as well live separately.”
Everyone began to feel sympathy for the Xu family’s Second Branch. It seemed their previous understanding of the situation was quite inaccurate. The Eldest and Third Branches, because they had sons, already held an advantage within the family. So how did all the bad reputation end up on the Second Branch’s daughter? It must have been them spreading rumors. At the very least, the Second Branch had genuinely been doing all the work—their faces were the most worn.
The seed of doubt takes root and sprouts quickly. Once they decided the Xu family bullied the Second Branch, they indirectly confirmed that Xu Ziyan’s bad reputation was all a misunderstanding, that she had been framed by the Xu family. Feeling indignant, they started speaking up for Xu Ziyan.
By now, the village chief had gone inside to understand the whole story. Xu Father and Xu Mother were uncharacteristically firm about leaving. The rest of the Xu family was also fuming. The family division agreement was written up with astonishing speed. The Xu family members, watching Xu Ziyan talk who-knows-what at the front gate, were especially terrified she might blabber nonsense and spill something about widows or other scandals. That would turn the Xu family into the laughingstock of the whole village.
So they went as fast as possible. The agreement even specified giving the Second Branch one hundred yuan. From now on, in life and death, they would have nothing to do with each other. The Second Branch wouldn’t need to support the elders, and the Second Branch shouldn’t come to them for help.
Writing these terms made their hearts bleed. They had to remember, Xu Ziyan’s husband was a battalion commander! They had been counting on Fang Lihai to help promote their family members. How did a heated argument escalate into a complete rupture? But as elders, they had face to maintain. After being relentlessly rebutted by Xu Ziyan, none of them could swallow their pride to smooth things over. Now they were just stewing in anger.
Xu Father and Xu Mother came out with the division agreement. The village chief said, “Where are you planning to live? The village doesn’t have many empty houses. There’s one at the village end, but it’s so broken it leaks…”
Xu Father and Xu Mother looked utterly lost. Xu Ziyan spoke up, “A broken house is unlivable. My parents will come back with me for now. We’ll manage for a couple of days and figure something out later.”
A married daughter taking her parents, freshly split from their family, to live at her in-laws’ place—this was unprecedented. Everyone looked at each other, unable to think of a better solution. The village chief could only nod. “Then you should head back quickly. Everyone, disperse now. It is, after all, Xu Grandmother’s birthday. Don’t go gossiping.”
Xu Ziyan bid farewell to everyone and left with the children and her parents. Xu Father and Xu Mother carried their pitifully few belongings, their backs bent, their retreating figures a heartbreaking sight. Many people sighed as they watched them walk away, thinking the Xu family really knew how to bully honest folk.
They suddenly understood why Xu Ziyan had such a fiery temper. Could she afford not to be fiery? Otherwise, wouldn’t she have ended up toiling like a beast of burden like her parents? How could she have married an officer then?
Regardless of how she managed to marry him, seeing how close her two stepsons were to her and how well she got along with her in-laws, as long as she lived well from now on, that was fine. She had escaped the fiery pit, after all.
They didn’t notice their own change in perspective. In just a few days, they had already come to see the Xu family as a fiery pit. Their impression of Xu Xiuyun had also plummeted, while they now felt Xu Ziyan’s actions were understandable. This slight shift alone meant life in the village would be much easier for Xu Ziyan and her family.
After all, seeing fellow villagers every day, whether greeted with cold stares or warm smiles, made quite a difference.
Xu Ziyan brought her parents home, still thinking, ‘How should I settle them? Private stalls are allowed now. I should find them a small business. Then they can earn money and support themselves.’
Fang Father and Fang Mother could hear her inner thoughts and knew her plan. Naturally, they had no objections. They even enthusiastically helped their in-laws clean and settle into a room.
Seeing this, Xu Ziyan was quite satisfied. ‘The importance of unity. Not a single person in my little team holds me back. This feeling is really relaxing.’
001 was surprised. ‘It seems the Fu family and Ding Yao from the last world never held you back either. Sometimes they even assisted.’
Xu Ziyan thought about it and smiled. ‘Looks like my luck has always been pretty good.’
From that perspective, it was true. How many people could retain their memories after death and travel through worlds? Although she initially wanted to be reincarnated, if she were reborn, she wouldn’t be herself anymore. Actually, she didn’t desire that so much. Now, being able to travel through worlds again and again, living this much longer, and finding it all so interesting—that was very lucky.
She had also added so many points to her luck attribute, which was why everything had been going smoothly in this world. Considering that, she didn’t want to add more luck points. After careful thought, she said, ‘Add all future rewards to intelligence. Who knows what world I’ll travel to next? I hope to learn more skills, remember more formulas and such. Insufficient intelligence won’t do. Let’s go with that.’
001 immediately agreed. Several saved skill points were added to intelligence all at once. Actually, Xu Ziyan’s original intelligence was quite good. Otherwise, she couldn’t have tested into such a prestigious university, escaped her detestable family, bought an apartment, and gotten promoted within just a few years of working.
After the intelligence boost, Xu Ziyan instantly felt her mind clear up a bit. She wondered why the effect was so noticeable? But then again, she had added several points. Moving from an IQ of 125 to 130 could mean crossing a whole tier.
In any case, the feeling of higher intelligence was excellent. Xu Ziyan quickly thought of a suitable business for her parents: selling breakfast.