CHAPTER 32
A bottle of Coke caused a “bloody murder.” Many children started a tug-of-war with their families over this new thing. On Shen Hui’s side, Murong Danling was waiting for him at the school gate with this new thing after school. She rushed forward as soon as she saw it.
“Huihui, son, look what mom bought you.”
Huihua hasn’t finished yet today, and the teacher called her to the office. Shen Hui was waiting for his sister, but he left when he saw her. He knew she wouldn’t dare to hurt him, but he didn’t want to stay with her any longer. The rare things that women thought were not attractive to her son at all, so she opened her mouth and used her trump card.
“You injured the tendons in my palm. I won’t be able to do delicate work anymore. I didn’t make a fuss about it. Are you so cold-hearted as a son?”
As expected, Shen Hui stopped walking after hearing this: “Really?”
I knew this kid was soft-hearted, and he would feel guilty if I said that. “Of course I am. I just came to see you and bring you something good, nothing else; you don’t have to hide when you see me.”
“sorry.”
“It’s okay. How are your studies going recently?” There were people coming and going, and the two were talking at the school gate.
“good.”
“Recently, your dad and your stepmother have been buying houses everywhere. I heard that they exchanged your backyard for theirs. Where did your stepmother get the goods? What’s the base price? Is she making a lot of money?”
Shen Hui raised his head suddenly, and his eyes turned cold. “I don’t know.”
Murong Danling slapped him in anger and said, “You ungrateful boy, what secrets can you keep from your mother?”
“It’s not a secret; it’s just that I really don’t know. I’m just a child; how can adults tell me what they do?”
“Has she been very generous with her money recently? You should know that.”
“She has always been generous to us, buying us Coke every day. Winter is coming, so she made us new cotton-padded jackets and shoes. She also said that she would bring us new wind and snow jackets when she goes back to the south, saying that they are windproof and snowproof and very warm to wear in winter.”
This made Murong Danling very angry. The gentleness she had just shown disappeared all of a sudden. She raised her hand and slapped Shen Hui. But Shen Hui had been prepared for her and dodged to the side and ran away.
The apology he felt for her just now disappeared completely because of these questions and her raised hand. Her words of pity and concern for him were all fake. She just came to inquire about his family news. You are crazy. You envy my family for being rich, but you can’t earn it yourself.
Of course, Murong Danling came here to get information in order to make money. The information she got from everywhere was all mixed up. Some said she went to Shenzhen, some said she went to Guangzhou, and some said there were thieves and even robbers on the road. She was so nervous that she held the money she had collected and dared not move. She thought about asking her son for information, but she found out nothing.
Shen Hui went home alone in a daze, and Li Xia happened to be pushing her cart to close her stall, and the two met at the house gate. Li Xia saw that he looked a little upset, so she put down her cart and reached out to touch his forehead.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? You don’t have a fever. Why don’t we go see a doctor?”
With a gentle face and caring words, she watched him come back to his senses from his previous trance. He threw himself into Li Xia’s arms, tears rushing out of his eyes.
“Mother,”
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Tell mom if you’ve been wronged. You have a dad and a mom. If anyone bullies you, we can go find them.”
As she was talking, Shen Haiyang came out of the yard. The couple took the child home, and they comforted him with words. Shen Hui finally calmed down after crying for a while. But he kept silent about why he was like this. Shen Haiyang checked his body and found no injuries, so he could only let it go for now.
At night, the couple quietly asked Huihua, and Huihua said that she saw Murong Danling after school, but she didn’t know the details. The couple couldn’t guess what Murong Danling had done to the child to make him so sad, and asking didn’t seem to yield any results.
“The child’s heart has been hurt time and time again, and the mother and child are almost enemies.”
Shen Haiyang told his son to leave when he saw her, and the child nodded obediently. Murong Danling was so evil that she pushed her biological son further and further away again and again, which promoted the harmonious development of the relationship in their reconstituted family. Murong Danling did not appear again in the following days, and Li Xia was busy cleaning the backyard.
In less than ten days, all the houses in the backyard were replaced and soon moved out.
They started to buy putty, ceiling frames, paint, and other items. The busy scene made Murong Danling jealous. Fortunately, Fang Zhongcheng’s house was also allocated. Although they owed some debts for the house, the joy of the new house still diluted the resentment in their hearts.
Nowadays, the housing units in the company are all plastered with cement and putty, and you can move in after cleaning up. She was busy buying curtains and cleaning up the new house, and when she was shopping for curtains and bed sheets on the street, she ran into Li Xia, who was coming out of the Foreign Trade Mall.
Li Xia was carrying two large bundles, which looked like they were filled with cloth. One bundle was probably too full, and a corner of it was exposed. It was the most popular polyester curtain. It was royal blue and very dazzling in the sun.
This fabric is not cheap. Murong Danling was confused again. Humph, don’t be arrogant. I don’t believe your luck has always been so good. Now Shen Haiyang has retired to the second line due to illness, and his career is over. When Fang Zhongcheng becomes a high-ranking official, we will definitely be better than you two.
Li Xia didn’t even look at her; she just put her things on the tricycle and rode away. Not long after she got home, her father and brothers arrived, followed by three young men, including the second son, whose legs were still not very good. The old man was full of apologies when he faced his daughter. He was about to say something, but the second son’s wife spoke first.
“Sister, your house is really nice. Your second brother can’t do manual labor now, and my family has paid the public grain tax this year…”
“That’s enough.” The old man was so angry with his daughter-in-law after saying this in front of her. I told you that I would give you food to live on, but you insisted on coming with me. Come on, we will share some of the food, which will be enough for you two to eat, but why are you saying this?
“Xia, we all have a place to stay once we get here, right? Your third brother doesn’t know how to do carpentry, and I thought you’d need to rebuild the doors, windows, and ceiling, so I called your eldest cousin over and let him do all the carpentry work. We’ll do the demolition work.”
The eldest cousin said to Li Xia cheerfully, “Just tell me what you want, boss.”
Li Xia smiled and patted him without saying anything. This guy is still so lively after not seeing him for so many years. In her previous life, he seemed to be a small contractor, and she even went to the construction site to cook to earn money.
The man changed the subject, and Li Xia smiled and ignored her second sister-in-law, talking to her old father and the others. “Yes, the backyard needs to be renovated. It’s such a big place that you can live anywhere.”
“That’s good.”
Li Xia went into the house to cook, while her third brother fetched water for everyone to wash up. She opened the door of the west wing and let her second brother go inside to rest. While she was cooking, she chatted with her old father and the other two brothers about family matters.
“Is the harvest in the fields bad?”
The third brother replied, “It’s good. The harvest is higher when you take care of the crops yourself than when you were in the collective. Don’t listen to that woman’s nonsense; she just wants to take advantage of it. You said in the letter that you would pay her according to the construction team’s monthly salary, and she was immediately tempted. It’s hard to find work in the winter, and she would rather drag your second brother’s lame leg to make some money. Your third sister-in-law wanted to come to see you and help with cooking, but she didn’t come because she and her husband came.”
“My second brother’s leg doesn’t seem to be recovering well.”
The old man sighed. “I told him not to rush to the fields and to help him after you’re done with this. But that woman was so anxious that your second brother went to the fields early, carrying the things, isn’t it?”
“Go to the hospital for a checkup to see if his bones are in any way damaged.” It’s winter now, so come and stay here and take good care of yourself.”
“How can that be possible? We are here to work. If you let him recover here, how will your son-in-law look at you and our family?”
“It’s okay, Dad; don’t worry about it. Shen Haiyang is a good person, not the kind of person who would find fault with others.” Seeing that her father still disagreed, she continued, “I am making money from my small business now, and I am not entirely dependent on him for support. I have a say at home.”
“Really? A small business isn’t bad, is it?”
“More than Shen Haiyang earns.”
“Well, well, well.”
Money is a person’s courage and a person’s backbone. When they heard that their daughter earned more than their son-in-law in business, the three of them burst into laughter. Although they knew that she lived a good life, they still stopped her from having pancakes for dinner.
“No, it’s too late to eat dry food at night. Just make soup noodles; don’t make dry rice.”
After a big pot of noodles was made, Shen Haiyang came back and saw that there were guests, and he immediately asked the children to go out and buy cooked food and steamed buns.
It was a very luxurious dinner for them. The three brothers-in-law tried to please their brother-in-law, but Shen Haiyang didn’t put on airs with his family and quickly got to know them.
They were arranged to sleep in the backyard at night. When they arrived, they were worried that Li Xia didn’t have enough bedding, so they brought it with them and just spread the kang mat on the kang to sleep.
The next morning, Li Xia cooked rice and ate the leftover steamed buns from last night. After Shen Haiyang and the children left, she arranged work for everyone.
“Dad, go to the backyard and dismantle the sheds, kitchens, and other things that have been built. Then remove the kangs in the main hall and the west wing. You and my third brother will be in charge of the dismantling work. My eldest cousin and I will go buy wood and come back to make the ceiling frames and other things that need to be replaced. My second brother can’t do anything since his legs and feet are not in good condition. My second sister-in-law will help with the cooking at home.”
Several men can do these jobs, and they nodded immediately. In the morning, they went to buy the necessary tools, such as pickaxes, shovels, and carts. Seeing everyone working, the second brother was eager to do it but was stopped by Li Xia.
“Your legs are a little lame. If you continue to do this kind of heavy physical work and you can’t recover well, what will happen if you become disabled? Don’t be impatient. Sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood. It’s not too late to do it after you have recovered.”
“But I’m just having a meal here; I can’t stay here. Why don’t we go home? There’s a train in the evening.”
The second sister-in-law curled her lips in disapproval. “Why go back home now? It would be a waste of time to go back now, and I even spent money on the trip. The doctor said it’s not a big deal. A country man is lame, so what? I don’t mind anyway.”
Li Xia turned around and glared at her. “He’s about to collapse in bed from exhaustion, and you don’t mind. Are you going to support him?”
“I’m a woman; how can I support him? A man gets food and clothing, and I’m marrying him so he can support me.”
“Feng Gaixiang, your shamelessness has really pushed my bottom line. Husbands and wives have the obligation to help each other, but you only distinguish between usefulness and ineffectiveness? My brother is lame and earns money, but when something goes wrong, you just walk away? Have you ever thought about it? with a cold-hearted woman like you, which man would dare to want you?”
The woman was a little embarrassed after being scolded by her sister-in-law. “Then isn’t it natural for him, a grown man, to earn money for the family?”
“May I ask if you have no food at home? Now that you are all here with me, I will take care of your meals. There is no need to force my brother to work with his limping legs, right?”
“The family still has debts, the children are in school, and daily expenses all require money…”
“We can slowly get through this difficult time. But let me ask you: If my brother is forced by you like this and he really collapses from exhaustion and lies on the kang, what will you do then?”
“I,”
“He is the pillar of the family. If he falls, you will all be doomed.”
“I, I just want to pay off my debts as soon as possible. I need to save some money to build a house. I can’t always live in that leaky house.”
“Take your time and don’t push too hard. You help with the cooking here, and I’ll pay you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“How much?”
When it comes to money, the woman is as happy as a flower. The embarrassment of being scolded before has long been thrown aside, and the fine lines on her face are like scratches on paper, full of the hardships of life.
Li Xia’s anger deflated like a deflated balloon, all because of the pressure of life. If she had to start over again to change her fate, she would have to find a way to help her parents and brothers, who had once cared for her.
“It’s the same as working in a bun shop.”
The work intensity in the steamed bun shop was higher, and she was just cooking for a few people at home. After a moment of disappointment, the woman quickly nodded, smiled, and promised that she would definitely do a good job.
She worked very efficiently. Not only did she cook in the morning, she also cleaned the house and tidied the yard and the house. The second brother sat in the yard with nothing to do and helped peel potatoes for the bun shop.
“I’m so sorry.” Xu Xifeng smiled and felt that Li Xia’s family was honest and kind.
“Nothing. My legs aren’t very strong, but it doesn’t affect my work. I’m idle anyway, so I might as well do something.”
They are all people who can’t sit still, so they work hard when they arrive. The illegally built houses in the backyard are being demolished bit by bit, and Li Xia’s business is also busy.
At night, when the third brother was washing up in the kitchen, the two siblings had time to chat alone.
” Your sister-in-law really liked the things you sent back, so I want to thank you for that.”
Li Xia smiled at her third brother. “Why are you being so polite to me? When I left home and came to the provincial capital to find Fang Zhongcheng, you gave me all that money. Third brother, you don’t know; when I saw that, I burst into tears.”
“Ah, it’s all because your third brother is incompetent. He couldn’t give you more, even if he wanted to. Fortunately, you are living so well now. If you had taken the two children back to the countryside, I would have had to lead the animals( her brothers ) to plow the fields for you now.”
“Haha!” Li Xia laughed so hard that tears came out. In her previous life, her brothers helped her do the work that women couldn’t do. In the days without machines, a woman who farmed the land would rely on the help of her brothers.
“You are helping me with my work now.”
“That’s different. You’re living a good life now, and if we come to work, it will help us. I know that.”
Third brother, thank you. Selling clothes is not suitable for you now. We are isolated, so it is not the right time to do this business. Wait, wait until society develops, and I will see what we can do to make money.
While her father and his friends were helping with the work, Li Xia heard from Xu Xifeng that Fang Zhongcheng had borrowed money from outsiders. “It’s just a house, but those two are so proud of it. Humph, what’s so great about it? They’re still in debt, just like me.”
Li Xia suddenly felt that the time had come, and she talked to Shen Haiyang about it in the evening. The man immediately nodded and agreed with her.
“Find some time to look for Fang Zhongcheng. Find a time when all his neighbors are around. That way, there will be more witnesses.”
“I know I will make this known to all the neighbors.”
T/N:- Hello guys I have made a schedule. I will be posting updates on Mon, Wed and Thrus each week. Thank You for supporting me. Lots of love <3
If you want to read advance chapters then please visit my Ko-fi page. https://ko-fi.com/cupcaketsl
Tks for your hard work!❤️