Chapter 672: A Bowl of Clear Soup with Vermicelli

"What are you crying for? Dad brought this on himself. If you feel so bad for him, go back with him and don’t come here again!" Amanda Chapman chided in a low voice. ’Such a big boy, always whimpering and crying. So pathetic.’

Gentry Chapman sobbed, "I... I miss you all too."

"Then stop crying. If you cry again, I’ll have Grandma kick you out!"

Amanda Chapman was getting impatient. ’So indecisive. There’s no such thing as a perfect solution in this world. When you choose one side, you have to give up the other. You can’t be too greedy.’

Gentry Chapman didn’t dare to cry anymore and wiped his tears, still sniffling. Although Tang Xiaonan sympathized with her cousin, it was inevitable for a child to get hurt in these situations. Only time could heal the wounds in Gentry Chapman’s heart.

If anyone was to blame, it was Brian Chapman for digging his own grave.

"Don’t ever come back. I’ll beat you every time you show your face!" Phoebe Thorne said, looking at Brian Chapman with disgust. ’To think I lived with such a pathetic loser for thirteen years. It makes me sick just thinking about it.’

Lying on the ground, Brian Chapman’s expression was one of utter despair. The twenty yuan he had borrowed wouldn’t last more than a few days. ’What can I even do?’

"Phoebe Thorne, you’re deliberately trying to drive my family to their deaths!"

Brian Chapman shouted resentfully, dropping the "prodigal son returns" act. He made no effort to hide his anger, revealing his true colors.

Phoebe Thorne sneered. "You’ve got hands and feet. You could survive just by picking through the trash. Don’t tell me a grown man like you can’t even measure up to a woman like me. I have three children to raise!"

"Ignore that pathetic loser. If he starves to death, he deserves it!"

Phoebe Huxley spat on the ground. ’A grown man who can’t even feed himself? He’d be better off jumping into a manure pit to rot with the maggots!’

"I’ll go find some warm clothes for Gentry to change into. Look at the poor kid, he’s freezing."

Phoebe Huxley briskly pulled Gentry Chapman along and hurried home. She found some of Jim Thorne’s clothes for him to wear. Jim was half a head taller than Gentry, so the clothes were a bit big, but it was better than freezing.

Juliana Rhodes and the other women went back to their work. They all looked down on Brian Chapman, too. Had they been stuck with such a pathetic loser, they would have divorced him as well. This was a new era, after all; women had been liberated, so why should they still suffer exploitation and oppression at the hands of men!

"Hurry up and get lost! When my Felix gets back, he’ll skin you alive!"

Raina yelled at Brian Chapman, who was lying on the ground like a corpse. Just looking at him was infuriating.

Brian Chapman struggled a few times, but he had no strength. His body ached, and he had been starving for days. Even though he had eaten a full meal today, he still felt weak. Seeing stars, Brian Chapman pleaded, "Please, give me some food. I can’t walk!"

Phoebe Thorne frowned, her disdain for the man growing. ’Even without a job, he shouldn’t be starving to the point where he can’t get a single meal. It’s just because he’s too lazy.’

"You want some shit to eat? I’d give it to a beggar before I gave it to you!" Raina cursed.

Phoebe Thorne interjected, "Forget it. Let’s just get him something to eat. It would be bad luck if he died in our village. I’ll go cook a bowl of vermicelli!"

Before long, Phoebe Thorne returned with a steaming bowl of boiled vermicelli. There was no egg in it, just a thin, clear broth with a sprinkle of chopped scallions and a bit of lard. Even so, Brian Chapman wolfed it down. As he ate, his eyes suddenly filled with hot tears. ’How did I sink to the level of a beggar? Just a month ago, I was a cadre, and now I can’t even get a proper meal.’

Phoebe Thorne didn’t feel good about it either. After all, they had lived together for thirteen years, and he was the biological father of her three children. If Brian Chapman ended up destitute, it would bring shame upon the children as well.

"Finish eating and go. Don’t come back here again. You don’t have to worry about Gentry staying with me; I’ll make sure he’s never cold or hungry. When Gentry is older, if he wants to return to the Chapman family, I won’t stop him."

Phoebe Thorne said this calmly. She had no intention of keeping her son all to herself. She just didn’t want to miss out on his childhood, nor did she want him to suffer from hunger and hardship.