The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 560 - 559: Neither Forgiveness Nor Reconciliation

Chapter 560: Chapter 559: Neither Forgiveness Nor Reconciliation

"Shen Hongmei."

When she heard someone calling her name, Shen Hongmei looked up, and her smile instantly faded as she recognized it was Liang Kean.

Bad luck!

Zhao Dafa had never seen Liang Kean, but his male intuition allowed him to guess the identity of the man.

"Don’t worry, I’m here."

After he spoke, he was about to stand up and meet Liang Kean.

Shen Hongmei pressed down on his hand, "Don’t bother with him, let’s just focus on our meal."

Zhao Dafa listened to her and picked up a slice of slippery pork with his chopsticks for her, "Okay, let’s eat quickly before the food gets cold."

Seeing that Shen Hongmei ignored him, Liang Kean could not help but call out again: "Shen Hongmei, come out for a moment."

Shen Hongmei slapped her chopsticks on the table with a "snap," "Can’t you see I’m not free to deal with you?!"

Not to mention Liang Kean, even Zhao Dafa was startled by Shen Hongmei’s sudden outburst.

Being publicly rebuked by a woman in a crowded place, Liang Kean’s face burned with embarrassment, and he would have turned and walked away if it were not for his mother’s sake.

Seeing that Shen Hongmei refused to come out, he had to harden his face and walk into the restaurant, approaching the dining table.

"Shen Hongmei, my mother said some excessive things, please forgive her for the sake of her old age and muddled mind," he pleaded.

Shen Hongmei scoffed coldly, "Can’t you Liang Family people understand human speech? Fine, I’ll answer one last time: I don’t forgive, and there will be no reconciliation. Did you get that?"

Liang Kean’s expression became ugly, and it was evident he was forcefully suppressing his anger.

"What do you want before you will let my mother go?"

Shen Hongmei was completely enraged, "Who exactly is not letting go of whom? How long has it been since our blind date? I’ve forgotten someone like you, but what about you Liang Family? Coming over again and again to harass me, shamelessly jabbing knives into my wounds. Did I desecrate your family graves or kill your parents? Why should I have to keep enduring this?"

Liang Kean’s face turned red with embarrassment, knowing he was in the wrong, his attitude took on a more pleading tone.

"Just spare my mother, will you? She’s old now..."

Shen Hongmei interrupted, "When you insulted me and tarnished my reputation, did you ever think of giving me a way out?"

"If we were to roll back ten years, or if I were a little more fragile mentally, your family would have driven me to death by now!"

"If I had really hung myself with a rope, your Liang Family wouldn’t feel the slightest bit of guilt. You would just curse me and say I deserved it, thinking it was my own indecency."

Liang Kean was left speechless.

Because he knew that everything Shen Hongmei said was right.

In the past, a woman’s reputation was more important than her life.

"Liang Kean, you Liang Family have messed with the wrong person! If you have anything to say, go talk to the police and the judge directly. Don’t come looking for me again, or else I will go to your workplace and have a good talk with your leaders!"

Seeing that there was no chance for reconciliation, Liang Kean had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

...

After the Liang Family paid four hundred and forty yuan in compensation, the Liang mother and daughter were finally able to head home.

All along the way, the Liang Family members grumbled and complained to each other about the mother.

Especially the two daughters-in-law, who hadn’t suffered little from the mother’s moods, now saw the opportunity to return all the grievances they had endured.

Having lost a large sum of money for nothing, the Liang mother was also frustrated and felt wronged.

"It’s all because of that girl Xiling, if it weren’t for thinking Shen Hongmei could secure a job for [Kean], I wouldn’t have bothered with her."

As all the blameful looks from the family fell upon her, Liang Xiling couldn’t help but retort defensively.

"How can you blame me for this? It was Shen Hongmei who first reached out to us, and I thought she still had feelings for Third Brother and wanted to please Mom. That’s why I took Mom to the restaurant."

The mother and daughter both believed it wasn’t their fault.

But in the eyes of the Liang Family, both mother and daughter were terribly wrong!

"Mom, our family lost so much money this time, all of which we borrowed from others."

Shen Hongmei’s mother’s lips moved, but she did not speak of taking out money to pay off the debt.

The three sons only handed over half of their salaries each month for living expenses.

The other half of their wages, along with the money earned by the two daughters-in-law, were kept by each family individually.

Although she had her own secret stash of money, it was saved from a lifetime of frugality. It was her coffin fund, and she was reluctant to use it to pay the debt.

But it was different for her sons and daughters-in-law — they were still young, making money was easy for them.

Four hundred and forty yuan, divided among the three sons, meant a little over a hundred each.

The two daughters-in-law could clearly see through Shen Hongmei’s mother’s calculations.

Usually guarding against them like guarding against thieves, and now that she had caused a mess, she expected them to help clean it up — no way!

But they couldn’t just outright say they wouldn’t help Shen Hongmei’s mother with the debt.

Firstly, it would provide material for gossip; secondly, their husbands wouldn’t agree to it.

Regarding this, the two daughters-in-law had already thought of a strategy.

"Mom, Xiling can’t keep on like this, messing up every other day. If she had started working right after graduation, by now she would have earned more than four hundred yuan already."

Liang Kean’s wife agreed, "Exactly, Xiling, we’re not speaking poorly of you, but you really are not behaving. You make your own messes, and now you’ve even dragged mom into it. If something had happened to mom today, could you take responsibility?"

This speech won the unanimous approval of the Liang Family’s three sons.

Shen Hongmei was their birth mother, even if she committed a grave sin, they could not criticize her.

Although they also doted on their sister Liang Xiling, her status and importance couldn’t compare to Shen Hongmei’s.

Besides, they also needed an outlet for today’s frustrations.

And so, Liang Xiling became the target of the entire Liang Family’s criticism.

After a barrage of condemnations, Liang Family’s eldest sister-in-law took the opportunity to propose two solutions.

One was to send Liang Xiling to the factory to screw bolts, to pay back the debt from today; the other was to find her a husband and use the dowry to offset the debt.

Liang Xiling was only nineteen this year. Naturally, she didn’t want to get married so soon, so she agreed to go to the factory to screw bolts.

Meanwhile, Shen Hongmei and Zhao Dafa had already had dinner and were on their way home.

Although Shen Hongmei enjoyed cursing Liang Kean in the restaurant, she felt some regret afterward.

It wasn’t regret for cursing Liang Kean, but for doing it in front of Zhao Dafa.

A woman in love always hopes to maintain a good image in front of her partner.

With this in mind, she looked toward Zhao Dafa, who was driving, "Zhao Ge, do you think I was too unreasonable in how I dealt with the Liangs?"

"Not at all."

Zhao Dafa said with a smile, "I think you did nothing wrong in this matter. You were decisive and firm, which really impressed me."

He admired strong, smart, and decisive women more than the delicate and fragile ones. He needed such a woman as a partner in life.

"To tell you the truth, when that Liang guy came to you, I was actually worried that his sweet talk would charm you into confusion, and you’d mess up the case."

Unexpectedly, Shen Hongmei detected a hint of jealousy in those words.

She couldn’t help but let her lips curve upwards, "He might wish, but wishing is all it will ever be!"

"Then I’m relieved."

The two exchanged a smile, and everything was understood without words.

After a brief silence, Zhao Dafa broke it, "Hongmei."

"Hmm?"

"I was serious about what I said before."