Chapter 129: Yang Wenguang’s Background
On July 6th, just as the Li family was bustling with preparations for the wedding, Yang Wenguang arrived!
When he appeared at the Li household carrying a bundle of bedding on his back, everyone was stunned.
Li Mei immediately jogged over to him and asked anxiously, “What’s going on? Why did you bring your bedding?”
Yang Wenguang smiled and said, “I’ve split from the old family home. From now on, we’ll be living on our own!”
Li Mei said, her eyes brimming with tears, “You… I’m sorry… I…”
Li Mei’s heart was filled with guilt over having forced her husband to sever ties with his parents.
As a traditional woman, she had never imagined she would follow her younger brother and parents’ advice and force him to break ties with the family.
Although she had indeed suffered her share of hardships over the years, what daughter-in-law these days doesn’t endure her mother-in-law’s trials? Otherwise, there wouldn’t be the saying: “A thousand-year-old road erodes into a river; a daughter-in-law, after many years, becomes a mother-in-law herself.”
Life as a daughter-in-law could never be as comfortable as life as a daughter in one’s own home, and she had grown accustomed to it over the years.
The reason she returned with her younger brother that day was, on the one hand, that her in-laws and her younger brother and sister-in-law had gone too far, and she was angry.
On the other hand, her younger brother had gone too far that day—he’d beaten both her in-laws and offended everyone in Orange Hollow.
She feared that if she didn’t get her brother back to Nianzi Mountain quickly, the men, women, and children of Orange Hollow would swarm him and beat him to a pulp!
She knew full well just how formidable the villagers of Juziwa were. Two years ago, a ne’er-do-well from the neighboring village had been caught stealing corn cobs in the village; he was cornered by the village men in a dilapidated temple behind the mountain and had his legs broken.
Afterward, when that good-for-nothing’s family came to the village to cause trouble, they were beaten until they were bloodied and bruised.
Her brother might be a good fighter, but two fists can’t beat four hands!
Under those circumstances, she had no choice but to coax her brother back home first.
As for what happened next, it was completely unexpected.
Yang Wenguang saw the guilt in his wife’s eyes and immediately said, “I’m the one who should be saying I’m sorry. I never imagined they’d bully you like that and put you through such a hard time!”
Yang Wenguang continued, “Don’t worry. From now on, you’ll have the final say on every matter in this household, big or small. We won’t have to kowtow to them anymore!”
“But… but they are your parents, after all!”
Yang Wenguang opened his mouth to speak, but then saw his mother-in-law, Zhang Yuehong, coming out. Upon seeing him, she hurriedly said, “What are you doing standing out in the yard? Come inside and talk!”
“Okay!”
Yang Wenguang immediately swallowed the words he’d been about to say and followed Li Mei into the house.
Inside, there were not only the sisters Li Mei and Li Lan, but also several women in their thirties and forties.
They were making quilts on the kang!
The large kang was covered with fluffed cotton and quilt covers, and the women were busily sewing them together with needle and thread.
A young bride sat at a sewing machine by the edge of the kang, furiously pumping the pedal. The whole house was a hive of activity.
Seeing this scene, Yang Wenguang asked in surprise, “Mother, is Xiao Yi getting married?”
“Yes, the date is set for May 23rd!” Zhang Yuehong replied immediately.
Yang Wenguang immediately pulled Li Mei outside, then pulled a stack of banknotes from his inner pocket and pressed them into her hand, saying, “Meizi, take this money. See if you can help Xiao Yi out a bit!”
Li Mei stared at the thick stack of 100-yuan notes in her hand, completely dumbfounded.
There was so much money—at least four or five hundred yuan.
It took her a while before she managed to say in astonishment, “Where did this money come from? You… you…”
“Don’t worry, it’s all mine.”
“Yours?”
“Right. It’s my disability compensation—over five hundred yuan in total. When I came back from the army, my parents said they were worried I’d squander it, so they kept it safe for me!”
“Then what about this…”
“Since we’re dividing the family property, I’m naturally taking this money back!” Yang Wenguang said.
“Will Mom agree to give it to you?”
Li Mei knew her stingy mother-in-law all too well. She was the kind of person who loved money more than life itself—there was no way she’d willingly give that much money back to her own husband.
Not even for her own son—that would be impossible!
Yang Wenguang said calmly, “Of course she wouldn’t agree. I went to see my eldest uncle and the clan elders to ask them to settle this for me!”
“Your mother must be furious with you…”
“Let her be furious. I’m not her biological son anyway!” Yang Wenguang said calmly.
“Wh—what? You’re saying you’re not your parents’ biological son?”
Li Mei looked utterly shocked; she had never heard of this before!
Yang Wenguang sighed and said, “My father is my biological father, but my mother is my stepmother!”
At that moment, Yang Wenguang recounted his family history to Li Mei.
It turned out that his biological mother had died of illness when he was just over a year old. Subsequently, at his grandfather’s behest, his father, Yang Zhong, had married a woman from a neighboring village as his second wife—this woman was his current mother, Yang Liushi.
Yang Liushi was a very calculating woman. As soon as she entered the family, she took it upon herself to care for Yang Wenguang, and quickly earned the approval of the Yang family for doing so.
To protect Yang Liushi and prevent others from discriminating against Yang Wenguang, Yang Zhong went door to door speaking with the villagers, asking them not to spread rumors about Yang Liushi being a stepmother—especially not in front of his son.
Consequently, Yang Wenguang always believed she was his biological mother, until his younger brother and sister were born one after another.
After his younger siblings were born, Yang Wenguang sensed that his mother had changed. She reserved all the best food and clothes for them, and often reminded Yang Wenguang that, as the eldest son, he should give way to his younger siblings.
Although Yang Wenguang felt a bit uneasy about this, he didn’t make a big fuss about it.
After all, that was how most families in the village operated—the eldest child was expected to look after his younger siblings.
But when Yang Wenguang was nine years old, his beloved grandmother fell seriously ill. On her deathbed, she revealed a secret to him: Yang Liushi was not his biological mother; his real mother had passed away long ago.
Yang Wenguang didn’t believe her at first, but when he followed the directions she had given him and found his mother’s grave in the small grove behind the mountain, he believed her!
After learning the truth, Yang Wenguang began to secretly observe Yang Liushi’s behavior.
The more he watched, the more his heart grew cold. She might still care for him, but she cared even more for her own biological children.
In front of others, she certainly stood up for Yang Wenguang.
But when it came to his younger brother, Yang Wenxi, and his younger sister, Yang Wenjuan, he was nothing to her.
She was willing to make Yang Wenguang drop out of school so her own son and daughter could attend, and even sent him to the military just to save on a mouth to feed.
After he was discharged due to injury, she didn’t even ask how his injury was, but instead took all his compensation money, claiming she was holding it in trust for him.
After he got married, he had to send 18 yuan to the family every month, yet she allowed her own children to bully his wife, completely disregarding the fact that she was carrying his child.
This was the last straw, so this time he lost his temper.
Not only did he demand a division of assets, but he also reclaimed the majority of his money.
Although this caused a rift with his family, he has no regrets.
It wasn’t that he had wronged them; it was that they had never treated him as family. With parents like that, it made no difference whether he had them or not.