Old Man Tang commanded, "Eldest, go help your sister. Leave this to me."
*Damn it,* he thought, *I haven't been in a fight for most of my life, but I never expected to find a use for my fists today.*
Old Man Bai covered his cheek, momentarily stunned. "You... what are you doing?"
Old Man Tang spat on the ground. "What am I doing? Giving you the beating you deserve!" He swung his fist, slamming it into Old Man Bai’s nose.
"Ah!" Old Man Bai howled, clutching his bleeding nose. "You... you dare strike me? This is too much!"
"Smack!"
"Too much? What if it is? You, the Bai family, have mistreated Youyou for all these years. Today, you’ll see if my Tang family’s fists are hard enough!" Old Man Tang and his wife began a tag-team beatdown.
"Bah! You dog, if your eldest son saw you tormenting his wife and children like this, do you think he’d come knocking on your door in the middle of the night?"
At the mention of his eldest son, a glimmer of cunning flashed in Old Man Bai’s eyes, but he remained silent.
Nearby, Bai Ruoer and Bai Ruoshan stepped forward to check on the children.
"Wah... Third Brother, they said Grandpa sold us. I’m so scared, waah..." Six-year-old Bai Ruosi was terrified, clinging tightly to his third brother.
"It’s okay, it’s alright now. Good boy, Fourth Brother..."
Lin Huahua pinched Bai Ruoyi’s philtrum, and as he began to stir, she let out a sigh of relief. "Dulang, are you alright?"
Bai Ruoyi shook his head and scanned the yard, looking for Tang Youyou. He saw her kick a man flying, then grab another by the throat and lift him into the air.
"Did you think I was just a helpless widow? Hmm? You human traffickers are absolutely vile."
The man’s face turned blue; he beat his hands against hers, struggling frantically in mid-air. "Let... go..." he wheezed, barely able to make a sound.
Tang Wen stood behind her, stunned by his sister’s actions. *Since when did she have such strength?*
Old Man Bai’s howling snapped him back to reality. He rushed forward and grabbed Tang Youyou’s arm. "Sister, let him go! You’re going to kill him!"
Only then did she loosen her grip, tossing the man aside like a ragdoll. She looked at the three of them. "Leave the money for my children’s medical expenses!"
The trio scrambled up from the ground, trembling as they pulled silver from their sleeves. Not daring to hand it to her, they placed it on the ground and fled.
"Wait!" Tang Youyou’s voice stopped them in their tracks. Their bodies shuddered.
The three turned and knelt. "My lady, we didn't know who we were dealing with. Please, spare us!"
"Tell your master that my family and his Bai family are two different houses now. If you don't believe me, ask anyone in the village! Get out!"
The trio glanced at the bruised and swollen Old Man Bai on the ground and sprinted away. Tang Youyou squatted down, picked up the silver fragments, and weighed them. *Looks like three taels.*
"Bai family head," Old Man Tang spoke up, "write the severance agreement today!"
Old Man Bai had lost his four front teeth, so his speech was slurred. "Fine! Break the ties then. As for those little wolf cubs, my Bai family doesn't claim them!"
Tang Youyou raised an eyebrow. *He doesn't want the four children? Could there be something going on? If they took the children back, given their nature, they would definitely sell them off, and I wouldn't be able to stop them.* She shook her head. *Whatever, it suits me just fine.*
"Second, go invite the clan leader and the Village Chief!"
Bai Ruoer sprinted off like a gust of wind. After today, Grandma and Grandpa wouldn't be able to scheme against their family again.
When the Village Chief and the Bai clan leader arrived, they saw Old Man Bai’s bruised and battered state and looked at the Tang family with hesitation.
"Uncle Village Chief, Uncle Clan Leader, we’ve asked you here today because we wish to sever ties with the Bai family."
The Village Chief frowned. "Tang, this isn't a game. Are you sure about this?"
She nodded slightly. "Uncle, I’ve thought it through. Old Man Bai said his family doesn't recognize the children, so they will all stay with me."
The two men were dumbfounded, their eyes turning toward Old Man Bai.
The clan leader rebuked him, "Old Man Bai, you grow more foolish with age! These children are Hantang’s own flesh and blood. Are you trying to make Hantang die with regrets?"
The Village Chief was equally furious. "You’ve done many absurd things lately, and I’ve turned a blind eye, but I advise you not to push your luck. Otherwise, don't be surprised if the Bai family is cast out of the village." *This idiot isn't fit to be an elder. Huzi is already married, and the other kids are nearly grown. You’re nearly fifty, Old Man Bai—how many years do you have left? Your second and third branches are full of lazy freeloaders; the Bai family is finished.*
Old Man Bai sighed and looked at Tang Youyou. "I have no choice. Tang is insisting on the severance. Who knows if she has a lover on the side? Look, she beat me half to death just because I wouldn't agree!" He held out his hand, showing the four front teeth he had lost.
"That’s a load of bull!"
"You shameless old man, haven't you been beaten enough? Still spouting nonsense!" Mother Tang and Old Man Tang shouted simultaneously.
Tang Youyou sneered internally. *Good grief, even now, he’s trying to smear me.* She pinched herself, squeezed out two tears, and wailed:
"He’s lying! I hit him because he sold all six of us for eighty taels. If we hadn't returned in time, the consequences would have been unthinkable. Uncle Village Chief, Uncle Bai, I had no choice but to ask for the severance."
"Dulang passed away five years ago, and I was grief-stricken. They knocked me out and tried to sell me into a ghost marriage for Member Liu’s son. When that was exposed, they turned their sights on selling our whole family. If we don't sever ties, how can we go on living? Wuu, wuu..."
Lin Huahua was stunned. She had watched her mother-in-law pinch herself. *When did she become so calculating?* She copied the motion, pinching her own arm, and couldn't help but let out a cry. "Ah!"
The two elders, already in shock, turned to see Lin Huahua’s eyes were also red.
"Grandfathers, please just sever the ties. Even after the family split, they won't let us be. It’s too much bullying! Wuu, wuu..." She sobbed uncontrollably, secretly checking her arm—it was red from having pinched too hard.
Old Man Tang sighed. "You two are respected figures in Wanfu Village. Think of this as saving a life, which is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Otherwise, there’s no telling how much more they’ll be bullied."
The Bai clan leader looked at the four boys standing in a row. "What do you think?"
The children replied in unison, "We want to sever ties and stay with Mother!"
The clan leader sighed. "Very well. Now that Huzi is married, he is the head of his own household."
Tang Youyou took the opportunity to say, "Uncle Bai, I’ve renamed the children: Bai Ruoyi, Bai Ruoer, Bai Ruoshan, and Bai Ruosi. Could you please update that as well?"
The clan leader’s mouth twitched. *One, two, three, four?*
"Write the severance agreement today. We’ll go to the county office to register it first thing tomorrow. Let Huzi go with the Village Chief."
"Could we go today?" She was worried that delays might lead to more trouble. It was just past noon, and she remembered it only took an hour by ox cart to reach the county town. There was still time.
The clan leader glanced at her but said nothing. He took the paper and brush from his sleeve and looked at Bai Ruoyi. "Huzi, go call everyone from the Bai Family Old Residence. We need their fingerprints."
The Village Chief sighed. "Forget it, he’s just a child; he won't be able to make them come. I’ll go!"
Bai Ruoyi quickly reached out to support the Village Chief, who glared at him. "I’m still sturdy enough, I don't need you supporting me."
*Bai Ruoyi thought: It’s a downhill path, I’m just worried you’ll fall, you stubborn old man.*