"What is it?" Aunt Zhang asked.
"Why did Mr. Su divorce his ex-wife?" Gu Zi was genuinely curious.
Upon hearing Gu Zi's question, Aunt Zhang's face darkened, and she spoke with a serious tone, "You're new here, so you probably don't know about this!"
Gu Zi's expression also turned serious. She remembered the villagers' cold and disdainful attitude when they mentioned Su Shen's ex-wife, and even Su Shen's eyes had grown cold.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Gu Zi asked.
Because Su Shen was not the main character, the novel didn't provide details about this.
Aunt Zhang paused her sewing work, sighed, and said with a grave expression, "Actually, this matter is no longer a secret. It caused quite a stir when they divorced."
"It's not really Su Shen's fault; it's mainly because of that woman. She was truly wicked, worse than an animal!"
"You know the situation with Su Shen. He doesn't plan to have any more children. They had already discussed this matter properly, and that woman also agreed back then.
"As you know, Su Shen's financial situation is pretty good. The house is large and in good condition. Although he is not very talkative, he is generous with his family. Even though the pig farm is in the village, people from both the town and the county come here to buy pork!
"When that woman first came here, she was well-behaved and kind to the children. Everyone liked her initially and thought she was a good person.
"But later, she found out that Su Shen had earned a lot of money. She became obsessed with having her own child and wanted to secure all the wealth for her child.
"I can't say her desire was wrong. If she wanted a child, she should have just lived peacefully at home. Perhaps Su Shen would have changed his mind in the future.
"But no one expected her to poison the three children. The second child was particularly gluttonous, and after just one bite, he started foaming at the mouth. If the eldest hadn't noticed the second child's condition and rushed him to the hospital, all three children might have been killed.
"But that woman refused to admit that she did it. Later, the person who sold her the poison personally came to testify against her. It was only then that she admitted it.
"Su Shen immediately reported her to the police, and they got divorced. She's still in prison.
"After that woman left, some people were interested in Su Shen, but they all changed their minds after finding out that Su Shen didn't want any more children. No one wanted to raise someone else's children."
Aunt Zhang couldn't help but sigh and say, "The three children are really pitiful. At that time, they trusted that woman, but she almost killed them.
"Gu Zi, I'm telling you this because I think that if you treat the three children better, Su Shen will definitely treat you especially well."
Gu Zi really did not expect the three children to encounter such a terrifying thing. Her eyes were filled with shock.
The previous night, when she had prepared dinner for them, the eldest and the second child had been wary of her.
She had initially thought they were overly cautious, but now she realized that she had underestimated the trauma they had experienced.
It seemed that their transformation into villains and antagonists was related to their experiences growing up.
She would work hard to improve her relationship with them in the future. She did not expect them to treat her well in the future. As long as they did not treat her as an enemy, that would be enough. After all, they would be villains in the future, according to the novel!
Gu Zi nodded earnestly and said, "Aunt Zhang, rest assured, I will take good care of them."
Aunt Zhang heaved a sigh of relief. She sincerely hoped that the three children would have a better life.
...
Aunt Chu was lying on the straw mat in the courtyard, preparing to take an afternoon nap. When she heard the door open, she looked up and saw that her daughter had returned. She slowly sat up.
She was now a big contributor to the family. Since she started helping out at Su's house, she could earn fifty yuan a month. Of course, this money also included the money for grocery shopping.
In the countryside, everyone grew vegetables in their yards, so there was no need to spend money on buying them.
Moreover, every time Su Shen sent meat back home, she would steal all of them back to her own home. So her in-laws treated her like a deity now.
Her only worry was that Gu Zi might ask Su Shen to dismiss her. If she really lost this well-paying and easy job, she wouldn't be able to find anything remotely close to this ever again.