Chapter 195

Tang Ying, who came with her own built-in popularity and traffic, had just joined the department under Chai Xinhui’s management, and Chai was practically over the moon.

The other women in the department welcomed Tang Ying like fans greeting their idol at the airport. To them, she was nothing short of a heroine.

Even if it had been them, facing the monstrous members of the Chu family, they might not have made it out unscathed.

But Tang Ying not only escaped with her son intact, she also managed to dig out a third of the Chu family’s fortune. It was the ultimate revenge!

“Sister Tang, have some tea!”

“Sister Tang, here, have some candy!”

“Sister Tang, I have a friend who wants to watch your livestream on how to deal with scumbags…”

“That ‘friend’ wouldn’t happen to be you, would it?”

“Heehee, so what if it is? Don’t tell me you’re not interested in learning!”

The office instantly buzzed with laughter and chatter.

“Alright, alright, we’re all colleagues now. There’ll be plenty of time to share life tips. Tang Ying, come with me first. Let’s go over your work assignment,” Chai Xinhui quickly stepped in and led her away.

Wei Sheng had made it clear that the guests’ jobs needed to be meaningful—either something with emotional impact or something that showcased the tough, grinding reality of working-class women, the kind of content that could really move people.

Chai Xinhui had already made plans, but she hadn’t expected to land Tang Ying. With her on board, the role she had in mind was even more fitting.

“Here’s the situation. Ever since our company set up a factory in Yuan Stream Township and established a traditional Chinese medicinal herb cooperative, many families in the area have seen a rise in annual income. And you know how it is—once people have a bit of money, some of them start acting out.”

Chai Xinhui sneered. “Some scummy men, just because they’re earning a few extra tens of thousands a year, sneak off to the county to get foot massages from young girls. Others spend their money tipping pretty livestreamers online, but won’t even buy their own wives a decent outfit.”

“Then there are families with multiple sons. Once one son starts making money, the parents pressure him to support the others—like they want to split his earnings among the rest of the brothers.”

“And the most ridiculous ones? They see their son making money, but the daughter-in-law hasn’t given them a grandson, so they start encouraging the son to divorce and find a new wife.”

This kind of thing wasn’t just limited to rural areas—it happened in cities too.

Tang Ying couldn’t help but scoff. “Some people are just born rotten to the core. Doesn’t matter where they live.”

“The township’s noticed the issue too. If people want to escape poverty and get rich, they also need to improve their moral and cultural standards. So the township plans to set up a Family Dispute Mediation Office. Each village and workplace has to assign at least one rotating mediator… You get what I’m saying, right?”

Tang Ying blinked.

She had a pretty good idea of what this new job would entail.

“Are we really going through with this? Won’t the netizens come after us?” Director Zou Chunli looked anxiously at the family case lined up for the first episode.

Their show had been roasted by netizens so many times over the years, they were practically traumatized.

These days, netizens were ruthless. They didn’t just criticize—they’d turn old footage into meme videos, mock them across the internet, and even sarcastically suggest that if the mediators liked the problematic husbands or mothers-in-law so much, they should just take them home themselves.

Zou Chunli had expected Wei Sheng to offer some reassurance. Instead, the guy just smiled and said, “If we don’t get scolded, how will we go viral? The old version of the show got dragged for years and still didn’t get canceled. Why? Because the more people cursed it, the more people watched.”

If it weren’t for concerns about Y Province TV Station’s public image, the higher-ups wouldn’t have agreed to revamp the show at all.

Zou Chunli: “…”

Still, after the revamp, the ones complaining weren’t young people anymore, but narrow-minded old folks and men who wanted to exploit their wives.

Two weeks later, The Rebirth of Housewives officially premiered!

On the very first night, audiences got a taste of Tang Ying’s presence.

The first person to seek justice from the township was Bai Xiuting, wife of Wei Juncai from Wei Family Village.

The moment Tang Ying saw Bai Xiuting, she was startled and instinctively pulled out her phone to double-check.

The info was correct—Bai Xiuting was born in 1998, same age as Tang Ying. But she looked like she was at least a full decade older.

It wasn’t until they heard Bai Xiuting’s tearful story that Tang Ying and the rest of the mediation team understood why she looked so worn down.

The Wei family had two sons. Bai Xiuting had married the elder, Wei Juncai. The younger was Wei Junxian. Their parents, the Wei elders, were still around.

Five years ago, when Bai Xiuting and Wei Juncai got married, they moved out and split from the main family. The Wei matriarch favored her younger son and played a trick during the division of assets. She claimed that she and her husband would live with the younger son in their old age, so the newly built house and most of the family savings went to him. The elder son only got a few acres of farmland, a dozen acres of forest, and 20,000 yuan.

That money wasn’t even enough to buy a plot of land for a house. So the couple had no choice but to move to the city for work. The husband worked construction, while Bai Xiuting collected recyclables. To save money, she’d buy a bag of steamed buns for five yuan in the morning, and the two of them would eat that with pickles all day.

After years of saving, they finally built a house. Then the township launched the cooperative. Bai Xiuting and her husband planted medicinal herbs on their land and took on part-time work at the factory. Just when things were starting to look up, the in-laws stirred up trouble.

The Wei matriarch claimed the younger son’s family was under too much financial pressure and couldn’t afford to care for the elderly. So the parents wanted to move in with the elder son’s family, saying they could help look after the kids so the couple could focus on work. But in exchange, they wanted Bai Xiuting and her husband to give the younger son’s family 20,000 yuan a year—as if they were hiring a nanny.

Bai Xiuting didn’t dare say much in front of her husband, but in front of the mediators, she was seething with rage.

“They make it sound so nice—coming to help with the kids—and still have the nerve to ask us to give the younger son’s family 20,000 yuan a year? Pah! Then what about all those years they helped raise his kids? Why didn’t he pay us 20,000 a year?”

“Besides, both my kids are in school. I don’t need anyone to watch them!”

“They say they’ll live with us in old age, but don’t mention the house or the money! Back when they chose to live with the younger son, they brought all the savings and the new house with them. Now the money’s gone, the house is still with the younger son, and they show up sick and broke, demanding to live with us. What kind of parents are this biased?”

No wonder Bai Xiuting, a woman born in 1998, looked older than some stay-at-home moms in their thirties.

She’d raised two kids on her own, collected trash to save money, and built a house. How could she not age prematurely?

“So what do you plan to do now?” Tang Ying asked.

She wanted to say, “Let those two old leeches rot. Hold onto your money. Don’t give them a cent. Make them earn their keep, and they’ll run off within a year.”

But glancing at the cameras, she thought better of it. Boss Wei had invested in this show, after all. She couldn’t let him get flamed online.

She didn’t expect Bai Xiuting to be even more ruthless.

“They want to live with the eldest son? Fine. Let Wei Juncai take care of them in their old age!”

Tang Ying soon realized what she meant.

Wei Juncai really had a short memory. The moment he heard that his parents didn’t want to live with his younger brother anymore and wanted to move in with him, he was overjoyed. He didn’t even consider that his wife might object.

Seeing Bai Xiuting’s displeased face, he was still confused.

“Xiuting, things are getting better in our village. We’re still young. We make at least 100,000 yuan a year now. Can’t we afford to support two elders?”

As for giving his younger brother’s family 20,000 yuan a year? He didn’t see the problem. Their parents would be helping out—cooking, raising pigs and chickens. It’s not like they’d be freeloading. They used to work for the younger brother’s family. Now they’d be working for his. It made sense to give the younger brother a little compensation. Maybe not 20,000, but 10,000 a year seemed fair.

Tang Ying: …This man is a lost cause.

Coincidentally, Bai Xiuting thought the same.

When she returned from the township, Wei Juncai had been on edge all day. Seeing her come back, he finally relaxed, thinking she’d come around.

He had no idea that Bai Xiuting would open the bedroom door, and moments later, drag out a suitcase and drop it at his feet.

“I’ve agreed. Now go home and take care of your parents in their old age!”

What? Wei Juncai was stunned.

“Didn’t we agree to bring my parents here so they could live with us?”

“Get lost! This house was built with every cent I earned from collecting scraps. Why should they get to live here? If you want to take care of your parents, fine, go ahead! Your family’s old house is huge. There’s plenty of room for one more.”

Right in front of the production crew, Wei Juncai’s face darkened with embarrassment. “Have you made enough of a scene? You think you’re the only one who put money into this house? Didn’t I contribute too?”

Hearing this, Bai Xiuting’s expression turned even colder. “Wei Juncai, do you really want to split hairs with me like this? Fine! You want to settle accounts? Then let’s settle them. Let’s divide this household right now. We’re getting a divorce!”

The word “divorce” hit like a thunderclap. Wei Juncai looked as if he’d been struck by lightning.

At this point, the veteran viewers couldn’t hold back anymore—they started recording the screen.

Here we go, here we go! The “peacemakers” were definitely about to start persuading Bai Xiuting. Lines like “There’s no such thing as bad parents,” or “An elder in the house is a treasure,” or “Young couples grow old together”—they knew all the clichés by heart.

But to everyone’s surprise, after a brief silence, the “peacemakers” sprang into action—just not in the way anyone expected.

The others invited the couple to sit down on the living room sofa. Tang Ying pulled out her phone’s calculator, grabbed a pen and paper, spread everything out on the coffee table, and said in a businesslike tone, “Since we’re talking about dividing the household and getting a divorce, let’s settle the accounts first, shall we?”

Wei Juncai: “…”

“Aren’t you here to help us reconcile?” His voice cracked with disbelief.

Tang Ying rolled her eyes and began her rapid-fire breakdown.

“First of all, let’s be clear—we’re family conflict mediators, not peacemaking pushovers.”

“Second, if we’re going to resolve the conflict, we have to identify the root of the conflict, right? So, let’s start with some numbers.”

“Your parents have two sons. Logically, the cost of caring for them in old age should be shared equally between you and your brother. The wife has no objection to that, right?”

Bai Xiuting shook her head. She had never stopped her husband from fulfilling his filial duties. During holidays and festivals, the gifts and red envelopes they gave were always more generous than what his younger brother’s family offered.

“Great. Since the responsibility is shared, then any assets your parents leave behind should also be split equally between the two brothers. Now, husband, you said your parents want to live with you. So let me ask:

“First, did your parents’ house and savings—the portion that belongs to your side of the family—get divided between you and your brother?

“Second, since your parents are living with you, has your brother agreed on how much support money he should contribute each year?

“Third, you mentioned your parents are helping out around your place. You think your brother’s family should be compensated for the help they received in the past. So, when your parents were living with your brother and helping raise their kids, when exactly is his family planning to pay you and your wife back for that?”

Wei Juncai: “…”

The viewers: Hahahahahaha!

As expected of you, Queen Tang—the undisputed “Strongest Mouthpiece in the Universe”!

(End of chapter)