Since Mu Jingzhe had already divorced Shao Qihai, she couldn’t follow them back to the Shao Residence anymore, so she went back with Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng. The house that Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng had been assigned to previously had become increasingly dilapidated because no one lived there anymore. Everyone enthusiastically invited them to stay at their respective homes.

  Old Lady Mu was very displeased. It wasn’t like there was no one left in the Mu Family, so why would they stay in someone else’s house? With a wave of her hand, she asked them to stay in the newly built house. Mu Jingzhe and the rest didn’t stand on ceremony.

  When Mu Jingzhe and the others returned, the village became lively. However, everyone tacitly didn’t mention Xiao Wu this time.

  Everyone in the village had heard that Xiao Wu had suddenly acknowledged Shao Qiyun as his biological mother and refused to acknowledge Jingzhe, so they tacitly didn’t mention it in front of Mu Jingzhe.

  They were quite considerate, but as soon as Mu Jingzhe and the others returned to Great Eastern Village, Shao Qiyun also brought Xiao Wu back.

  Shao Qiyun was doing it on purpose. When she’d heard that Mu Jingzhe and the others had returned, she had followed them back. The people of Great Eastern Village only flattered Mu Jingzhe. She had long found it an eyesore, so she had specifically brought Xiao Wu back to flaunt.

  She was already completely shameless. Now that she had Xiao Wu, she didn’t care about her reputation despite giving birth out of wedlock. She swaggered back in her car and was even dissatisfied when she got out.

  Under the gazes of the villagers, Shao Qiyun deliberately raised her voice and told Xiao Wu, “This vehicle won’t do. It’s not as comfortable as a sedan. Xiao Wu, when are you going to buy me a car too?”

  The fact that the children had bought a car for Mu Jingzhe had already become a legend in Great Eastern Village. How could Shao Qiyun fall behind Mu Jingzhe?

  Whatever Mu Jingzhe had, she had to have too. Whatever Mu Jingzhe didn’t have, she also had to have.

  “I’ll buy one for you later.” Xiao Wu agreed quickly.

  Only then was Shao Qiyun satisfied. “Alright, we can’t carry all these things either. Go get your eldest uncle and the rest to come and get them. I’ll guard the place.”

  \r \r \r

  Since Shao Qiyun had acknowledged Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu’s way of addressing Eldest Brother Shao and the others had changed accordingly.

  “Alright.” Xiao Wu nodded obediently. He was just about to leave when Shao Qiyun added, “If your second uncle and the rest are around too, you can have him come. We also bought him a gift. After all, he raised you for a few years previously.”

  Shao Qiyun spoke hypocritically, but Xiao Wu nodded anyway. “Okay.”

  Since Xiao Wu had acknowledged Shao Qiyun as his mother, it would be a little inappropriate for him to call Shao Qihai ‘Dad’ again. After all, they were siblings. Those who didn’t know would get the wrong idea.

  Shao Qiyun didn’t want Xiao Wu to call Shao Qihai ‘Daddy’ anymore, so she made Xiao Wu call him ‘Uncle’ instead, saying that he was a child of the Ji Family and could only call someone from the Ji Family ‘Daddy’.

  Therefore, since Xiao Wu hadn’t acknowledged Mu Jingzhe as his biological mother, he also changed the way he addressed Shao Qihai, even though he acknowledged him, from ‘Daddy’ to ‘Second Uncle’. In a way, he no longer acknowledged Shao Qihai as his father.

  Shao Qihai was furious when he heard him call him ‘Second Uncle’, so he simply asked him not to call him that. However, Shao Qiyun deliberately wanted Xiao Wu to call him ‘Second Uncle’.

  Shao Qiyun was very satisfied with the villagers’ expressions, as they looked as if they had seen a ghost. She didn’t care if the villagers listened or not and started chatting with them, telling them how good Xiao Wu had been to her after acknowledging her and how he had bought her a house, a colored television, and so on.

  While Xiao Wu was on his way back, people kept constantly greeting him. Many warm-hearted people also stopped him and asked if it was true that he no longer acknowledged Mu Jingzhe. Then, they said that he couldn’t be heartless, or he would suffer retribution.

  Some people helped Mu Jingzhe scold him, and others helped Shao Qihai scold him. Xiao Wu didn’t retort, but he didn’t accept it either. When he got tired of hearing them talk, he left directly. Then, he went to Eldest Brother Shao’s home and asked Eldest Brother Shao to help them carry their things.

  At first, Eldest Brother Shao and Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao had wished that Shao Qiyun was dead. After all, she was a complete disgrace and had even borrowed money from a loan shark. However, when they heard that she had paid off the loan sharks and even acknowledged Xiao Wu, they went without hesitation upon hearing that she had bought them gifts for the New Year. They were so warm to Xiao Wu that it was as if calling Xiao Wu a mute in the past had been nothing but a dream.

  Shao Qiyun and Xiao Wu stayed at Eldest Brother Shao’s house. Because the New Year goods they had prepared were plentiful, they had a bountiful New Year.

  Shao Qiyun even took Xiao Wu to see Shao Qihai next door. She said that she had also brought New Year goods for Shao Qihai, but Shao Qihai and the others ignored them.

  They stood outside the door and shouted for a long time. When the door was opened, the duo was greeted with a basin of dirty water that was filled with chicken feathers and gave off a fishy stench. The water was splashed on Shao Qiyun’s head and face, and quite a bit of it also splashed Xiao Wu.

  Shao Qiyun shrieked. Xiao Wu’s expression changed, and he quickly wiped her dry. He glared at Shao Xi, who was at the door. “What are you doing!”

  “I’m not doing anything. I’m just pouring water.” Shao Xi had done this on purpose, for he found them too noisy, thus deliberately taking revenge.

  Chicken tasted very fragrant when cooked, but it had a very fishy smell while one removed the chicken feathers. The hot water in which the raw chicken was submerged couldn’t be underestimated.

  “Apologize to my mother quickly!” Xiao Wu said immediately, as he could tell that Shao Xi had done this on purpose.

  “Apologize? How about I fart for you?” Shao Xi didn’t want to argue with anyone during the New Year. After achieving his goal and seeing Shao Qiyun with a smelly face, he closed the door with a grin.

  Shao Qiyun was furious. “How dare you treat me like this! I…”

  “Mom, don’t be angry. I’ll avenge you!” Xiao Wu picked up cow dung from the side and threw it in without caring about the dirt.

  Shao Xi’s exasperated voice quickly came from inside. Xiao Wu urged Shao Qiyun, “Let’s go, Mom. Hurry up and go change. Don’t be angry anymore. It’s not good to be angry during the New Year.”

  Shao Qiyun glanced at Xiao Wu. “Alright, but only for you.”

  “I know. Coincidentally, you’ve worn these clothes twice already. Mom, I’ll buy you a few more sets of new clothes later.” Xiao Wu coaxed Shao Qiyun, who was now satisfied.

  Shao Qiyun had just returned when Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao and the others frowned. However, they quickly poured hot water so Shao Qiyun could clean up.

  Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao and the others hadn’t expected Xiao Wu to acknowledge Shao Qiyun, but they were happy to make Mu Jingzhe unhappy. They simply said that nothing beat blood ties and were extremely enthusiastic around Xiao Wu.

  Shao Qiyun rarely came back, so it was impossible for her not to see Zhao Lan. However, the place where Zhao Lan stayed was so dirty that it was impossible for anyone to get close to her.

  Zhao Lan had originally lived in a nice room, but that room had turned smelly, making it difficult to even live next to it. The entire family was affected, and they had long been dissatisfied.

  In addition, Fu, Lu, and Shou had also grown up and now found it difficult to stay in the same room. Shao Fu was already 16 years old and wanted to have his own room, so in the end, he had set his sights on Zhao Lan’s room.

  Although it was very smelly, the room was fine and only had to be cleaned up so the smell would go away. Therefore, he had moved her out of the room and into the place previously used as a sheep pen. It was freezing in the winter, but because it was cold and the sheep pen was spacious, it didn’t stink as much anymore.

  Finally, the house wasn’t affected and was now clean. The family was very satisfied, but the villagers couldn’t stand by and watch silently anymore.

  They naturally gossiped about him kicking their biological mother to the sheep pen. The village chief also came to their door and said that they couldn’t treat the elderly like this. However, Eldest Brother Shao and the rest no longer had an ounce of shame left. They simply didn’t care about being criticized. They only said that they had never beaten Zhao Lan or starved her. They fed her two meals a day without fail, so this wasn’t considered abuse.