Chapter 2: The Letter of Severance

Sheng Wanqiu saw a round-faced old woman dressed in simple clothes rush out from the crowd, brandishing a broom and heading straight for the long-faced old woman’s face.

"What are you doing! Old Woman Sheng! Put that broom down right now!"

"Cuicui, Yanhong, are you dead? Why aren't you stopping this old hag!" Old Woman Jiang shouted while dodging and cursing, calling for her daughter and eldest daughter-in-law to help her fight Old Woman Sheng.

Sheng Wanqiu found the scene quite satisfying. The original owner’s grandmother was the daughter of a hunter and still had some real skills; she had Old Woman Jiang howling in pain.

However, age was a factor. No matter how good she was at fighting, she couldn't withstand two young women pinning her arms from either side. Seeing that her grandmother was about to be overwhelmed, Sheng Wanqiu stopped hesitating. She rushed into the kitchen and, with lightning speed, pressed a kitchen knife against the neck of Jiang Dazhu, who was standing to the side clutching his arm.

"Shut up, all of you! Say one more word, and I’ll chop his head off and send this dog to keep my father company!"

The two families, who had been brawling, instantly froze. The onlookers who had been watching the spectacle were also stunned, not daring to make a sound.

"Qiu-ya, don't do anything rash, don't scare Grandma!" Old Woman Sheng looked at her granddaughter, trembling.

The girl seemed to have been pushed to the brink. Although she was known as a little firecracker in the village, she had never brandished a knife before!

The Jiang family was also terrified. What would happen if Jiang Dazhu were killed?

Jiang Cui was so frightened that her legs went weak; she swayed, barely able to stand.

"Fight! Why aren't you fighting anymore?"

"Your Jiang family is truly something. And you, Jiang Cui, you are the most useless person I have ever seen. Aside from crying, you’re good for nothing, letting these vampires from your maiden family cling to you and suck your blood dry!"

"When the sky wants to rain, and a mother wants to remarry, I understand that!"

"But this is the first time I’ve seen someone so eager to remarry just after my father’s first seven days have passed!"

"Jiang-shi, since you’ve chosen to remarry, I won't stop you, but I have conditions!"

"You can leave, but return the pension money my father left behind. It’s ten taels in total. My grandmother is kind and didn't ask for a cent, giving it all to you."

"You, me, and my two younger brothers—the four of us should split it equally. You can only take two taels and five qian. The remaining seven taels and five qian is the life-saving money my father left for us to grow up; you must return it to me!"

"If you dare not return it, I will kill this beast first, then go to your Jiang family home and burn it to the ground. I, Sheng Wanqiu, mean what I say!"

After speaking, Sheng Wanqiu pressed down with the knife, and a streak of blood appeared on Jiang Dazhu’s neck.

"Mom, Wife, save me! I don't want to die, this crazy girl will really kill me!" Jiang Dazhu panicked, feeling the sharp sting on his neck clearly.

"Why should I give it to you? This money belongs to your mother!" Old Woman Jiang shouted.

"You old hag, shut your mouth! If she raised us, she gets her share, but if she remarries, she can only take what belongs to her. Otherwise, this beast won't see tomorrow morning's sun!"

Sheng Wanqiu reached out and pulled the bamboo skewer out of Jiang Dazhu’s wrist, and blood sprayed out instantly!

"Ah! It hurts! It hurts so much!" Jiang Dazhu wailed, but he didn't dare move an inch. After all, the knife was still pressed against his neck; if he moved, his throat would surely be slit.

"Mom, just give it to her! If you don't, Dazhu is going to die of pain!" Zhang Yanhong looked at her mother-in-law and pleaded in a low voice.

"See? Your wife cares about you more. You idiot, your mother just wants to use this money to subsidize your brother who is studying in town; she hasn't considered you at all!"

"Maybe once you die, your wife will be married off by your mother for a bride price, and your three children will be sold—the girls as child brides, the boys as servants. Hahaha! What a fool!"

It was clear that Sheng Wanqiu knew how to strike where it hurt.

"Mom, just give it to her!" Zhang Yanhong knelt down and hugged Old Woman Jiang’s leg.

Jiang Cui stood to the side, lips trembling, saying nothing, because her money had just been given to her mother.

"Mom, do you really want to watch your son die?" Jiang Dazhu wailed.

"I’m going to close my eyes and cut when I count to ten!" Sheng Wanqiu pressed down, and the bloodstain deepened!

"Eight... nine!"

"I'll give it, I'll give it!" Old Woman Jiang finally compromised. She opened her money pouch, took out the portion that should have gone to Jiang Cui, and threw the rest on the ground.

"Little Huaimu, go pick it up!" Sheng Wanqiu commanded the little boy.

The little boy looked at his mother, then at his sister, and trotted over to pick up the money pouch from the ground.

"Grandma, help me check if the silver is correct?" Sheng Wanqiu gave Old Woman Sheng a look.

Old Woman Sheng understood immediately, took the pouch from the boy, and checked it. "The amount is correct!"

"Can we go now?" Old Woman Jiang asked with a long face. Having the money she had already pocketed taken back was killing her!

"You can't leave yet. There is one more thing to finish!"

"Grandma, go call the village chief. Hurry!"

"Sister, I’m fast, I’ll go!" Sheng Huaimu shouted, then trotted off to fetch the village chief.

He felt that his sister seemed different today, yet the same—he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Since you are remarrying, from now on, your support is no longer our concern. Whether we are poor or rich in the future has nothing to do with you. I will write a severance agreement shortly; you will sign it, press your thumbprint, and have the village chief witness it before you can leave!"

"And that includes you Jiang family members—we don't recognize any of you!"

The onlookers looked at one another. This girl Wanqiu must have been truly heartbroken by her mother!

A severance agreement—it seemed they were really cutting ties.

"How can you do this? I am your mother!" Jiang Cui cried, and this time, it was genuine.

"If you marry out, you are no longer our mother!"

"And don't tell me you'll come back to take us with you once you're doing well. Do you think we're that easy to fool? Taking us with you is just so we can be your beasts of burden and continue to be sucked dry by the Jiang family. We aren't fools like you!"

Jiang Cui was stunned. Although her eldest daughter was usually sharp-tongued and unreasonable, she had never heard her speak with such clear logic.

In the end, Jiang Cui was a pitiful person, brainwashed by her parents since childhood to believe that as a girl, she should eat less and work more, and that anything good should be given to her brothers first—only then would she be a "good girl" and earn her parents' attention.