Chapter 83: Divorce by Mutual Consent
The mother and daughter, Su Yaoguang, did not respond to the provocation, so no matter how much Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Hua caused a scene, they could do nothing but slink back.
However, Su Yaoguang had promised to send them back, and despite how ugly things got, she still kept her promise.
Zhang Zhaodi said she would take the opportunity to check on Zhang Pandi, so she tagged along on the ox cart to visit the Jia Family.
When they returned to the Jia Family, piercing screams could be heard from inside.
Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Hua heard these unsettling sounds and tried to push the courtyard gate open, but it was bolted from the inside and wouldn’t budge.
"Jishui... Jishui... Jizong, oh Jizong... the father of my child..." Mrs. Xu pounded on the door, shouting loudly inside, "What’s happening inside? Open the door quickly."
"Step aside!" Su Yaoguang shouted at Mrs. Xu.
Mrs. Xu saw her lift a big stone beside the door to smash it and glared at her, saying, "What are you doing?"
"If you don’t move, and if something happens to your son and grandson, don’t blame others," Su Yaoguang said coldly.
Mrs. Hua pulled Mrs. Xu away: "Mother, step aside quickly, nothing must happen to Jizong."
Once Mrs. Xu moved, Su Yaoguang struck the door three times, making a hole in it. She reached in to unbolt it, and the door opened from inside.
In the courtyard, Jia Jizong was sitting on the ground wailing loudly.
Jia Jishui ran out from inside, his clothes in tatters, unable to cover his body.
Mrs. Hua screamed at the sight and turned her head away, not daring to look at him.
Jia Jishui seemed completely unaware of his disgraceful state, and upon seeing Mrs. Xu return, he clung to her leg, crying: "Mother, Zhang Pandi has gone mad, she wants to kill someone."
Zhang Pandi rushed out from inside, disheveled and with bloodshot eyes, her expression as menacing as a demon from beneath the earth.
She was holding a kitchen knife, looking fiercely at Mrs. Xu, suddenly grinned, and then charged at her.
"Ah ah ah..." Mrs. Xu screamed, hiding behind Mrs. Hua.
Mrs. Hua’s face changed dramatically, and she picked up Jia Jizong, running outside.
"Crazy woman, what are you doing?" Mrs. Xu watched in horror as Zhang Pandi swung the kitchen knife towards her.
"Mother... Mother..." Jia Chunni leaned against the door, struggling to stand, anxiously watching Zhang Pandi, "Come to your senses, Mother..."
Zhang Zhaodi clicked her tongue: "She really has gone mad."
Su Yaoguang grabbed Zhang Pandi’s wrist and snatched the kitchen knife from her hand.
Seeing this, Mrs. Xu’s legs went weak, and she sat down on the ground.
"Hold her down; don’t let her go crazy."
"We just came to see Second Aunt, and now that we see her, we should be on our way," Su Yaoguang said, "After all, this is your family matter, and it’s not our place to intervene."
"What family matter? This crazy woman is trying to kill someone. I definitely won’t keep her. I want to divorce her; you are her maternal family, so take her back quickly." Jia Jishui loudly declared, pointing at Zhang Pandi.
"There has never been a divorced woman in our family," Zhang Zhaodi snorted coldly, "If you divorce her and I take her back, who could possibly handle her in this state?"
"In any case, I absolutely won’t keep her."
"She is your daughter’s mother, your daughter is still here, so aren’t you afraid of hurting her feelings when you say such things?"
Jia Chunni looked at Jia Jishui with sadness: "Dad, Mother is just sick. As long as you find a doctor to check on her, she will get better. Dad, find a doctor for Mother! I’m resigned to my illness, as long as you get Mother treated."
"You both are incurable - one is mad, the other has consumption; even immortals couldn’t help. My son is right; we can’t keep these two burdens, they all have to go."
"My sister has slaved away for your family for so many years and even bore you a daughter. If not for her achievements, at least her hard work should count for something, right? Now that she has a minor illness, you want to divorce her just like that. On what grounds?" Zhang Zhaodi said, moving to the courtyard gate and shouting towards the village, "Everyone, come and see, this family is shameless. They ignore my sister and niece’s lives as soon as they fall sick. A few days ago, they just received the wages my sister and niece earned. Now that they’re sick, they don’t even want to call a doctor."
"You’re talking nonsense. If we keep a madwoman in the house, who knows if she’ll kill us all one day. We’re not tired of living and dare not keep her around."
"Mother, I told you we shouldn’t have come. Look how shameless they are, trying to dump this mess on us," Su Yaoguang said angrily, "Let’s go."
"Cousin, Aunt, I’m begging you, save my mother..." Jia Chunni knelt and kowtowed to them. "If you save my mother, as long as I’m alive, I’ll be at your service for the rest of my life. I’m begging you..."
"You are from the Jia Family..." Su Yaoguang hesitated.
"My father doesn’t want my mother anymore, nor does he want me, we’re not from the Jia Family anymore, now we can only rely on you. Grandma and Grandpa won’t care about us at all."
"Right, they are no longer from the Jia Family," Jia Jishui said, "I’ll find someone to write the divorce papers right away."
"Daughter, your second aunt and cousin are truly pitiful. I’m ultimately their family; if we leave them like this, they’ll really have no choice but to wait for death." Zhang Zhaodi softened, beginning to hesitate.
"Right, right, if you don’t care, these two have no option but to wait for death at home," Mrs. Xu viciously said, "One is a consumptive ghost, the other a madwoman; we will definitely drive them out. Not only our family but also the village won’t allow them to stay. Villagers, you don’t want to see them either, right?"
"Even a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs, you’re worse than animals." Su Yaoguang said angrily, "Clearly you could find a doctor to treat them, why won’t you? You can do something so heartless, but I can’t. I can take them with me, but we can’t write a divorce paper, only a separation paper. Also, the separation paper must state that my second aunt is taking cousin Chunni with her, and henceforth, they have no relationship with your Jia Family. You Jia Family must not disturb their lives again."
"Fine, I’ll find someone to write it immediately." Jia Jishui rushed outside into the village to find someone literate to write the separation paper.
The village head’s son had attended private school for two years and, although he couldn’t produce articles, he could write things for the villagers without issue.
"Besides the separation paper, the wages my second aunt and cousin earned recently must also be returned to them," Su Yaoguang said.
"No way. That’s the Jia Family’s property; these two dying people have no right to take it." Mrs. Xu flatly refused.
"Then forget it! We’re not that interested in taking them away anyway." Su Yaoguang snorted coldly, "You calculate well, wanting us to clear up this mess without paying anything."
"At most, we will give half." Jia Jishui said.
Mrs. Xu was distressed, unwilling to give it. Jia Jishui whispered a few words to her, and after looking at Zhang Pandi, who was like a fierce beast, Mrs. Xu could only grit her teeth and agree.