Chapter 554: Setting Sail, Finding Oneself
Chapter 554: Chapter 554: Setting Sail, Finding Oneself
Hearing her son’s words, Granny Cai’s eyes turned red.
Old Man Cai froze for a moment, then began to tremble with rage. "You... Are you all trying to tear this family apart?"
The veins on Cai Xueqin’s neck bulged with anger as he shot back, "Aren’t you the one who ran off with another woman? Aren’t you the one who’s done with this family?"
"That was just for show!" Old Man Cai said furiously. "Besides, she’s your little brother’s mother! It’s not like I abandoned you and your mom. Is this really worth all the drama and demanding a divorce?"
Cai Xueqin stared at Old Man Cai in disbelief. "Dad, this is the modern era, not the old days where you could have multiple wives and just sit back and enjoy the benefits. I was going to try and talk some sense into you, but now I see it’s useless. This family means nothing to you."
"Get a divorce. You have to. Mom, I support you. You’ve suffered for so many years, having to live with a man like him."
Old Man Cai cursed, "You think you’re some young couple? At your age, getting a divorce? Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves?"
Just then, Liang Xiaoyu appeared, carrying two large suitcases. She threw them down by the door. "Here’s your stuff. Get out. You’re not welcome in this house."
Normally, even though Liang Xiaoyu disliked her father-in-law, she still showed him respect, or at least kept up appearances.
But now, Liang Xiaoyu wished Old Man Cai would just drop dead on the spot; then she wouldn’t have to be so angry.
"Liang Xiaoyu! With an unfilial daughter-in-law like you, the Cai family is truly cursed!" Old Man Cai bellowed, pointing at her.
Liang Xiaoyu sneered. "You won’t be my father-in-law for much longer. You’re the one who ran off with someone else. If anyone’s bringing shame, it’s you bringing shame upon this family. My filial piety is for my mother-in-law, not for a morally corrupt man like you."
The scene Old Man Cai had imagined—where his family would welcome him with flattery and he could smooth everything over with a few nice words—never materialized.
Now, with his son, daughter-in-law, and wife all refusing to let him in, a bad feeling crept over Old Man Cai.
"Zhang Xiaohua, you know that if we divorce, I get to walk away with more than half of this family’s assets. Are you willing to part with that?"
Back when they were poor, the only thing to divide in a divorce would have been this house.
She hadn’t divorced him back then to keep the house, and she wouldn’t be willing to part with their assets now.
Granny Cai said, "I’ve already filed for divorce. Whatever the court awards you, you’ll get. I won’t give you a penny more, and I won’t take what isn’t mine."
Old Man Cai was stunned. "You’re really going to divorce me?"
"Yes, absolutely! Now get out," Granny Cai rolled her eyes, her heart filled with disgust for him. "I didn’t grant you your wish last time, but I will this time. Go be with your precious Chen Xiaoxiu, you two illicit lovers."
"This is a Cai family house! If anyone’s leaving, it’s you!" Old Man Cai was angry now, feeling he shouldn’t indulge her any longer.
Granny Cai sneered. "I’m living in my son and daughter-in-law’s house. What does that have to do with you? This isn’t your house anymore. Your son doesn’t want you, your daughter-in-law is disgusted by you, so of course you’re the one who needs to get lost."
"Huh?" A dormant memory finally surfaced in Old Man Cai’s mind. Right after he was caught cheating last time, his wife had made him sign a guarantee and transfer the house to their son, Cai Xueqin.
Now... now the house really wasn’t in his name, nor was it in Zhang Xiaohua’s.
"Huh? What ’huh’?! And I’ve got more good news for you: the house isn’t in your son’s name anymore, either. It’s all in Xiao Yu’s name now. You shameless man! You cheated, you’re getting a divorce, and you still have the nerve to think you can live in your *former* daughter-in-law’s house?"
"Forget you—even your own son, if he misbehaves, Xiao Yu could kick Xueqin out. Anyway, that’s where we stand. If you agree to the divorce, we can go to the Civil Affairs Bureau right now."
"My son is grown; he doesn’t need your child support. Just agree to the divorce and move out. Don’t even think about getting anything else, because you’ll just be wasting your time."
Hearing this, Uncle Cai was not happy. "Forget the house for a minute. Half of all the money our family has earned over the years is mine. You have to give it to me. I won’t accept anything less."
"And all the houses and shops the family bought—there are so many—I get half of those too. Not one less."
Seeing that the gloves were off and that his son and daughter-in-law had no respect for him, Old Man Cai contrasted them with the gentle and filial Chen Xiaoxiu and Cai Xuejun, and quickly made his decision.
Just as Granny Cai had predicted, Old Man Cai had indeed started scheming for the family’s assets.
Granny Cai sneered. "The only reason this family has any savings is because Xiao Yu and Xiao Rui were out fishing at sea. The family’s entire fortune was built on that foundation."
"Did you think it was because of that pathetic salary of yours? Let me tell you the truth: our standard of living is high, and the little money you contributed was only enough to cover your own food and drink. Even your clothes—I bought them for you with the money Xiao Yu and Xueqin earned because I felt sorry for you."
"And now you have the nerve to demand half the family’s assets? Where is your shame? You’ve got some nerve! Even your ancestors weren’t as shameless as you! When my mother-in-law was on her deathbed, she asked me to raise the children well and protect this family."
"I gave you a chance, but you didn’t cherish it. The next time I burn joss paper for my mother-in-law, I’ll tell her everything, exactly as it happened. I’m sure she’ll forgive me."
Old Man Cai grew frantic. "No! Half of the assets are mine!"
Granny Cai sneered. "Everything’s in Xiao Yu’s name anyway, the houses and the shops. I don’t have the gall to claim my daughter-in-law’s property. In any case, I’m suing you for divorce."
With that, Granny Cai gave Old Man Cai a hard shove, pushing him out the door.
Then she slammed the door shut.
Old Man Cai stood blankly outside the door, unable to process what had just happened for a long time.
After a moment, Old Man Cai started pounding on the door. "I don’t want a divorce! I’m not getting divorced!"
’If I get divorced, I’ll get nothing. That’s a huge loss!’
The answer came in the form of two suitcases tossed over the top of the wall.
"Hurry up and get lost! Chen Xiaoxiu is waiting for you!" Granny Cai’s pent-up anger was finally released, and a sense of relief washed over her.
Surrounded by gawking neighbors, Old Man Cai’s face burned with humiliation. He quickly grabbed his suitcases and scurried away in disgrace.
The Cai family’s affairs were left for Lawyer Wang to handle.
Liang Xiaoyu took care of things at home, then went out to sea with Han Xiaorui.
Standing on the deck of the fishing boat, Han Xiaorui was in high spirits, as if she had returned to her element.
"Ahhh..." Han Xiaorui shouted toward the vast ocean, feeling pure joy in both body and soul.
For more than three years, Han Xiaorui hadn’t gone out to sea because her child was young.
She was a mother, but she was also herself. Now, she was finally herself again.
The boat’s catches hadn’t been the same since Han Xiaorui left, and everyone missed her dearly.
Han Xiaorui’s arrival reinvigorated the entire fleet.
The female crew members, especially Chen Yishui and Wu Mengyue, gave Han Xiaorui a warm welcome.
On the first day of the fishing season, Liu Huamei had specially made some pastries.
After they finished the pastries, Han Xiaorui gave the order to pull up the nets.
"Xiao Rui, it’s only been an hour. That’s a little short. Shouldn’t we wait a bit longer?" Chen Yishui asked. After all, casting and retrieving the nets was a time-consuming process.
If the time was too short and they didn’t catch any fish, it would be a huge waste of time.
Han Xiaorui smiled. "Trust me. This is going to be a good haul!"
Hearing Han Xiaorui’s confident words, everyone was instantly reminded of the good old days when she was on the boat, and they eagerly awaited to see what kind of great seafood this catch would bring.