The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 135: The Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Battle

Chapter 135: Chapter 135: The Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Battle

Qin Jinlian had just entered the village when she ran into a woman from the same village, who teased her with a smile, "Jinlian, you and Lizhen must have coordinated this, right? No sooner had she returned than you came back."

Heard that Yang Lizhen had come back, Qin Jinlian’s heart skipped a beat. She stood and chatted with the woman for quite a while before heading home, unruffled.

Upon entering the door, Yang Lizhen, carrying a basin of dirty laundry, headed towards the well. Seeing Jinlian, she called out indifferently, "Mom," and then continued toward the well.

Qin Jinlian watched her for a moment before turning and going back inside the house.

Hearing the door close, Yang Lizhen glanced towards the eastern room and sneered.

After finishing the laundry and drenched in sweat, Yang Lizhen prepared to go back to her room to cool off with a fan and lie down, but suddenly the door of the eastern room opened.

Qin Jinlian stood at the doorway and ordered her, "It’s noon already, go cook."

Yang Lizhen looked incredulous, "Why should I be the one to cook?"

"Why? Go ask around and see, which family doesn’t have the daughter-in-law do the cooking? What, are you too precious to cook? Are you the daughter of a wealthy family or nobility?"

Yang Lizhen, having been spoiled by Qin Jinlian, couldn’t accept it when her attitude suddenly shifted, as Qin Jinlian got tough on her and tried to establish rules.

"Heh, I don’t believe it. Without me, the house just won’t eat, will it?"

With that, Yang Lizhen went straight back to the western room, slamming the door with a bang.

Qin Jinlian let out a cold laugh and headed out of the courtyard.

Yang Lizhen, inside the house, feeling smug upon hearing the footsteps, suddenly heard Qin Jinlian’s wailing—

"Ah, why is my life so miserable, to have married a good-for-nothing, lazy daughter-in-law who never does any work? How will we survive the days to come..."

It was the peak of noon, and many villagers were coming home with their hoes, returning from work. Seeing that the Shen Family was making a scene again, a crowd quickly gathered to watch the commotion.

"Jinlian, you just got back, what’s the commotion about now?"

With snot and tears, Qin Jinlian complained in front of everyone that Yang Lizhen refused to cook.

Upon hearing this, the crowd couldn’t accept it.

As a daughter-in-law, cooking, doing laundry, and washing dishes was duty. The capable and industrious ones even helped with farm work.

What use was a daughter-in-law who wouldn’t cook? To be treated like an ancestor and served?

Shen Jianguo and his son Shen Xiangnan were also returning home from work. Seeing the crowd at the doorstep, they thought the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were at it again. But upon learning the reason, the faces of the father and son duo turned grim.

Though not tall, Shen Jianguo was known for his honest and sincere demeanor. He usually turned a blind eye to Yang Lizhen’s laziness, but it was now springtime and work on the farm was endless. He and his son worked exhaustingly every day, and to come home to no hot meal was unbearable.

Immediately, Shen Jianguo asked his son to call out Yang Lizhen.

"Xiangnan’s mother asked you to cook; why didn’t you?"

Faced with Shen Jianguo’s questioning, Yang Lizhen stubbornly kept silent.

Seeing this, some villagers who had come to watch began to criticize Yang Lizhen—

"You’re in the wrong here, Xiangnan’s wife. Which other daughter-in-law behaves like you? Always idle and eating well, expecting your mother-in-law to wait on you."

"Faking a pregnancy to dupe Jinlian into buying you a gold necklace, and old Shen didn’t hit or scold you, he has been more than kind to you. Don’t be ungrateful for the good life you have!"

"The old Shen couple has been longing for a grandchild so much their hair turned white, and you play with their feelings over such a matter. Isn’t your conscience bothering you?"

Villagers one after another, spitting nails with their words, left Yang Lizhen with no dignity to cling to.

For rural women, cooking is hardly a difficult task, but being forced to cook on command was unbearable humiliation for the proud Yang Lizhen.

What made Yang Lizhen even more intolerable was that, besides cooking, Qin Jinlian demanded her to do all the household chores. If she refused, Qin Jinlian would stand in the courtyard and curse at her.

Every time Qin Jinlian started cursing, the villagers would come over and talk about Yang Lizhen.

After enduring such days for two, on the third day, Yang Lizhen packed her bags and ran back to her parents’ home.

No sooner had she left the village than Qin Jinlian stepped out to gossip with others, and soon, the whole Shenjiagou was buzzing—

"Xiangnan’s wife, once again, ran back to her parental home!"

At the Yang Family’s place.

Seeing her daughter return with her bags, Yang’s mother’s forehead throbbed with vexation.

"Why have you run back here again?"

The moment Yang Lizhen saw her mother, she could no longer hold back the frustration she had bottled up for two days, and she immediately started venting to her, not even pausing to catch her breath.

However, the enormous grievances Yang Lizhen aired out were, in her mother’s view, utterly insignificant.

"You, you’re just too lazy, complaining bitterly at the smallest bit of work. Look at your cousin’s wife. She works in the fields with your cousin during the day and still has to cook and take care of the child and the elderly at night. You should be content. You’ve been married to the Shen Family for over half a year, and Xiangnan hasn’t made you lift a finger in the fields once."

Unconvinced, Yang Lizhen retorted, "What’s there to compare with my cousin’s wife? If I have to compare, it should be with Shen Mingzhu."

Her mother glared at her, "You want to compare yourself to Shen Mingzhu? She married into the city, and you’re in the countryside, how can you compare with her?"

"I’m not much less attractive than she is. If she can marry into the city to enjoy a good life, then even if I can’t marry into the city, I also want to enjoy a good life."

Yang’s mother found her daughter’s thoughts utterly absurd and since her daughter had never listened to her, all she could do was watch helplessly with frustration.

Yang Lizhen stayed at her parents’ home for half a month; her mother was so anxious she got canker sores from worrying, but Yang Lizhen remained as calm as an old dog, firmly believing that within a few days, Shen Xiangnan would surely come to take her back.

Qin Jinlian was hard to deal with, but she was absolutely confident in Shen Xiangnan.

Since they had started dating, Shen Xiangnan had been firmly under her thumb, always dutiful and obedient to her.

Another two days passed.

Yang Lizhen did not wait for Shen Xiangnan to come and take her back to the Shen Family, but her brother Yang Bo returned from the city instead.

Yang Bo wasn’t home for a family visit; he had been laid off by the textile factory.

Boiler room work is busy in the winter and idle in the summer; come summertime, most staff would be reassigned to other positions as temporary workers.

Yang Bo was slow and liked to cut corners. The temporary jobs assigned to him always resulted in mishaps. If it wasn’t for Pei Wenping’s influence, he would have been sent back long ago.

Upon returning home and learning that Yang Lizhen was in conflict with her in-laws, he immediately made excuses for himself.

"I was doing my job just fine, so how come I got fired? It must be the Shen Family’s doing. Sis, you have to stand up for me. They promised me a job, but now they’ve gone back on their word. We can’t just let this go!"

Yang Lizhen felt the same way, believing that the Shen Family was resorting to such despicable means to force her to submit.

Right away, Yang Lizhen led the Yang Family back to Shenjiagou, ready to kick up a storm.

Seeing Yang Lizhen advancing on the Shen Family’s home with a large group of people, looking fierce, the people of Shenjiagou dropped their hoes and ran to witness the commotion.

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