I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s
Chapter 78: I Want to Scream You to Death

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: I Want to Scream You to Death

Xie Jinghao finally gave birth to her child safely and her health was fine; at last, she could relax. After Mingyang’s three kids went off to school, she rode her bicycle with Xiao Kai for a visit to her maternal home.

Shen Fugui’s health had greatly improved. These days, as soon as Shen Yutian got off work, he was running around trying to find help to build the house. They had already hauled over a hundred mud bricks and were just waiting for a couple more days to tidy up the household goods and demolish the old house to lay the foundation!

When Shen Meng arrived home with Xiao Kai, Shen Xiaobin was huffing and puffing while mixing mud. Xiao Long and Xiao Hu, along with their little sister, were also lending a hand.

"Xiao Bin, what are you busy with?"

"Sister, how come you’re back? I’m hauling mud bricks. Aren’t we going to build a house? Everyone has gone to work, and I stayed at home to look after the kids, thinking I could get more work done." He sounded a bit embarrassed as he spoke; his mother had told him that his big sister had given the family so much money just so that he could marry into a good family when the time came.

Both his older brothers and their wives said that this might have drained the family’s savings, how could he not feel touched by this!

"Stop working for now and call Dad, Mom, and your brother back home. I’ve got some good news for you."

"Xiao Long, go call your grandparents."

Xiao Long’s dark, ruddy face was faintly excited as his eyes gleamed at the sight of the shiny new bicycle. Upon hearing his uncle’s instructions, he agreed several times and ran barefoot towards the fields.

"Sister, come inside and have some water. Hehe, does Xiao Kai miss his uncle?"

"I miss uncle, uncle takes me to catch little birds." Xiao Kai grabbed onto Shen Xiaobin and wouldn’t let go. The last time he visited, they went to the riverside to catch loaches and to catch birds, and even went up the mountains to pick wild fruit, which was so much fun.

Now his brother and sisters go to school every day, and Xiao Gang is too young; there’s no one to play with him.

"Okay, later your little uncle will take you to play."

Shen Meng gave a helpless smile and said, "Let’s go now, once I’ve shared the good news, I’ll take Xiao Kai back home. Mingyang and the others need to come home for lunch after school!"

"What, not staying for a meal?" Shen Xiaobin felt a bit disappointed; he had planned to go to the commune and get some meat for his sister and his nephew to eat!

"No need to stay. It would have been the same if I had told you, but since I came all this way, I wanted to see Dad and Mom. Now either take Xiao Kai and the others to play, or I’ll just wait at home."

Lu Mingkai was obviously frustrated; at home, he played with Xiao Gang and Yaoyao, looking forward to his brother and sister coming home from school to play with him every day. Unfortunately, once they returned from school, they had to do homework, and by the time they finished, it would be dark. After dinner, it was bedtime. Sigh, he felt he was the most pitiful little kid in the world.

"Alright, sister, take a seat, I’ll take them out for a run and be back soon."

Not long after Shen Xiaobin left, Shen Fugui and Wang Lianhua returned with their two sons. They hurried into the main house without even taking time to wash their hands, all the while, Xiao Long was rushing them, saying his little aunt had some extraordinary news to share with them.

Having received so much money from their daughter last time, the elderly couple was deeply worried. They were afraid that her in-laws might cause trouble and make life difficult for her. Seeing Xiao Long urging them so anxiously, they felt a sense of disquiet.

"Are Dad and Mom back?"

"Shen Meng, what’s the matter that you have to tell us? Xiao Long didn’t explain on the way here, what’s happened, has something gone wrong?"

Shen Meng shook her head and took out the items from her pocket, handing the note over to Shen Shoutian.

"It’s important, really good news. I made a trip to the brick and tile factory a few days ago. Luck was on my side; I met the factory manager. He said there was a batch of bricks and tiles that hadn’t been shipped out, and if we wanted them, we could just go and haul them. This is the chit. I’ve done the math, and the money we have at home is enough to cover the first batch. For the rest, I’ll think of something when I get back."

"What, bricks and tiles? You’ve really struck it rich. Without some connections, it’s not easy to get those from the brick and tile plant. Usually, you’d have to wait in line to haul bricks. Oh Lord, red bricks and large tiles for the house!" Shen Yutian also leaned in to look at the list.

Wang Lianhua, however, had mixed feelings. Her own family’s house had to rely on her married daughter who hustled back and forth busily, and from the looks of it, she was afraid her daughter would have to help by borrowing money. How could that be acceptable?

"Red bricks and black tiles are hard to get, and since Xiao Meng helped us get this chit, from now on, whether it’s for lumber or cement labor, our family will handle it. If we always rely on your sister for our house, her own family will surely be disrupted. Xiao Meng, listen to your mother, don’t worry about our house from now on. We still have some money at home, we’ll make do. If really necessary, going hungry a bit is no issue, we can always pay it off."

"Yes, your mother is right, Xiao Meng. You’ve already given the family over three hundred yuan, food, cloth, and even the chit from the brick factory—it’s too much. If you give more, your parents will have no face to accept it. Let’s leave it at that; we’ll figure out something by ourselves."

After their excitement subsided, Shen Shoutian and Shen Yutian also became more clear-headed. The parents were right; as men, they couldn’t always be leeching off their married sister—that would be ridiculous.

"Yes, Xiao Meng, you don’t need to worry. We’ll figure something out ourselves."

Seeing their insistence, Shen Meng couldn’t say much else. Besides, she didn’t have much cash on hand herself. She was planning to make a trip to the county soon to sell some grain or other things to make some money to keep on hand—after all, having money in hand keeps one from panicking.

Lu Family Village.

Zhu Juying sat on the ground, crying her heart out, wailing about the family’s misfortune of having a daughter-in-law with sticky fingers. On the opposite side, Huang Maochun stood with disheveled hair and hands on her hips, looking fiercely angry.

The eight jin of cotton tickets Zhu Juying had stashed were missing when she checked for them. In three months’ time, her daughter was getting married, and she had been hoping to have her husband take some fabric from the county to make a new cotton dress for the wedding, adding a five-jin thick quilt, along with the more than four jin of cotton she had saved, so the marriage could be warm and dignified.

But her well-hidden treasures had vanished just like that. After thinking hard and searching everywhere, she finally remembered a shadow flashing by the window the day she hid the items. It didn’t take much thinking to know who in their house always lurked around the corners.

That’s why she rummaged through Huang Maochun’s room and indeed found the eight jin of cotton tickets under her kang bed.

"How could you be so heartless? Those are Xiangxiang’s cotton tickets, and she’s about to get married. You even took her things; what kind of sister-in-law are you?"

"Tch, just because you say it’s yours doesn’t make it so. What’s in my room is mine; that’s what my family prepared for me. I’ve never seen such a shameless old woman, snooping through your daughter-in-law’s belongings, taking any good thing you find, you black-hearted old hag."

Lu Xingchang just watched his own mother and wife trade insults, shivering and standing there, opening and closing his mouth, but ultimately saying nothing.

The farce didn’t end until Lu Xiangxiang and others returned; the cotton tickets were not retrieved. Lu Xingchang sat crouched at the doorstep of his parents’ room, covering his head in silence, while his wife Huang Maochun, carrying the child, went out for a walk. Before she left, she said: "Hurry up and cook. If there’s no hot meal when I get back, I’m going to my mother’s home."

"Brother, how can you be so spineless? Even if you don’t side with our mother, you can’t just watch your wife quarrel with her like that. Can’t you intervene, say a few words?"

"I, what can I do? Your sister-in-law is just like that, there’s no use in me saying anything, sigh."

Lu Xiangxiang: "....."

Sigh your sighs, I feel like beating you to death!!!

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