Chapter 657: Coming for His Job Too

Phoebe Thorne and Brian Chapman were divorced. She got custody of Amanda Chapman and Allister, and Brian was to give her ten yuan a month for child support. Phoebe just wanted to get the divorce over with quickly; she didn’t care if it was ten yuan or twenty.

All that mattered was that she got the children. As for her eldest son, Phoebe had to make the painful decision to let him go.

However, Phoebe wasn’t completely unprepared. Before leaving, she had a long heart-to-heart talk with Gentry Chapman one night. She told her eldest son that if he ever went hungry, he should come find her at Millstone Peak.

But Raina was far from satisfied. Disappointed, she scolded her, "Are you stupid? Only ten yuan a month? What good is that little bit of money? You... you’re hopeless!"

"Mom, I’ll only get this ten yuan for a month at most. After that, the money will stop."

There was a hidden meaning in Phoebe’s words. Raina froze, not understanding what her daughter meant, but Byron Thorne figured it out. "Did you put up accusatory posters about that son of a bitch?"

That sounded just like something his fiery daughter would do.

It might be satisfying, but it was a very bad idea.

"You didn’t even come back to talk it over with us," Byron said disapprovingly. "Putting up posters might feel good, but have you thought about Gentry? With his father being shamed like that, everyone will be gossiping. It’s going to be hard on the boy."

Raina was worried too. "If Brian Chapman loses his job, he won’t have a salary. Then you won’t even get the ten yuan! What will you and the children do? Starve?"

"I didn’t put up any posters," Phoebe said. "I mailed the photos to Brian’s boss. He should get them in a few days. Even if they discipline him, it’ll be handled internally. It won’t be made public."

"That’s still not a good idea! If Brian loses his salary, you won’t get any child support. And you have two children to raise," Raina said, growing frantic.

Allister is so little, and Amanda has to go to school. That all costs money. Raising children isn’t easy!

Phoebe said firmly, "I can provide for them. I’ve already spoken to my third brother. I’m borrowing two hundred yuan from him to buy a sewing machine and do piecework for the Hawthorne family. I don’t need that son of a bitch’s money. I can support three children on my own."

"Three? What do you mean, three?" Raina’s brows knitted together. "Are you planning on raising Gentry, too?"

"Mhm. If Brian loses his job, Gentry is bound to go hungry. I told him before I left that if he ever runs out of food at home, he should run back to me."

Raina sighed again and again, at a loss for words. Three children... ’It’s easy enough to say, but actually raising them is another story entirely.’

"You... honestly! You’ll learn your lesson the hard way. Your father and I can still help you out for now, but what will you do when we’re gone? Who will you count on then? Once your third brother gets married, he won’t be able to help you much either. You can only rely on yourself, you silly girl!"

Phoebe grinned. "Dad and you are both going to live to be a hundred. By the time you’re gone, I’ll be old myself and the kids will be all grown up. It’ll be my turn to relax and enjoy life."

Raina laughed with exasperation and tapped Phoebe on the forehead a few times. But then her expression clouded over with worry again. She was worried about her daughter’s future, and her heart ached at the thought of the hardships she would face. ’Sigh!’

Tang Xiaonan, on the other hand, was thrilled. She could play with Amanda again! Without Amanda around these past few days, she had been terribly lonely and bored. Even just playing games in the fields with her cousin would be better than being all by herself.

That weekend, Tang Xiaonan and Jim Thorne went to the little river by the village entrance to catch crabs. There were lots of them under the rocks—tiny little things that were crispy and fragrant when coated in batter and deep-fried. Amanda went with them. Tang Xiaonan stayed on the bank while Jim and Amanda waded into the water to search for crabs, unafraid of the cold.

Jim lifted the rocks and Amanda was in charge of catching the crabs. Before long, their bucket was almost half full. Tang Xiaonan stood guard over the bucket, gazing around. Suddenly, on the distant bridge, she thought she saw Jacqueline Spann with another woman. The woman’s back looked vaguely familiar.