The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 82: Different Thoughts

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Different Thoughts

After catching up with them, Qin Jinlian handed over the wild rabbit and fried fish balls to Pei Yang, then started to scold and complain to Shen Mingzhu.

"... Just leaving like that, so rare you come back and yet you don’t stay a few more days."

Shen Mingzhu retorted sarcastically, "I wouldn’t dare to stay longer. Who knows what schemes are waiting for me next."

Qin Jinlian hit her in frustration, "What nonsense are you spouting? Am I that bad?"

"Anyway, you’re not a good person."

Qin Jinlian choked up and glanced at her son-in-law beside her, her expression turning somewhat uneasy, "So, you’re just going to leave like this?"

Seeing Shen Mingzhu’s cold face unresponsive, Qin Jinlian made a motion of pinching money.

Pei Yang caught on and was about to put down what he was holding to take out the money when Shen Mingzhu glared at him.

Shen Mingzhu took out thirty yuan she had prepared and handed it over.

Qin Jinlian glared at her, "That’s all?"

"If you think it’s too little, you can refuse it."

Qin Jinlian then accepted the money with a pout.

Shen Mingzhu said irritably, "Mom, if you dare use the money I give you to buy gold chains for other women, don’t ever expect to get a single cent from me again."

Qin Jinlian was equally irritable, "What other women? She’s your second sister-in-law!"

"I don’t care who she is, I’m laying it out here. Don’t think I’m joking with you. The money I give you is to honor you and Dad, for you to improve your lives, to buy food, clothes, and daily necessities, not for gifting jewelry to people!"

Qin Jinlian waved her hand impatiently, "Alright, alright, I got it. Pei Yang, take care on your way back."

Pei Yang nodded in acknowledgment.

——

Seeing Qin Jinlian enter the house, Yang Xuezhen in the west room quickly kicked Shen Xiangnan.

"Go and ask, how much money did your sister bring back this time."

Shen Xiangnan was reluctant to go; his sister and brother-in-law had left angrily because of his business, and he felt very uncomfortable about it.

"Are you going or not?!"

Only after being kicked several more times by Yang Xuezhen did Shen Xiangnan reluctantly get up.

Soon, Shen Xiangnan came back to the room.

"How much?"

"Thirty."

Yang Xuezhen was greatly disappointed. With that amount of money, she couldn’t even buy a pair of earrings, let alone a gold necklace!

Shen Xiangnan knew what she was thinking and tried to console her, "Xuezhen, don’t make it hard for Mom. This time, because of my brother’s issue, you’ve even driven my sister away."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xuezhen flew into a rage, "Shen Xiangnan, make yourself clear. It was your family who agreed to help my brother with his job in the first place. Do you think with that meager dowry, you could have married me? Keep dreaming!

As for the gold chain, it was your mother who promised it herself, saying that if I gave birth to a chubby baby boy, she would buy me a gold chain! So now it’s all my fault? Let me tell you, Shen Xiangnan, don’t think that just because I married into your family, I can be bullied by the Shen Family.

And your little sister, what is she? Who is she to meddle in her maternal family’s affairs? Does she think she’s so capable? Isn’t it just luck that she married a city man and even became a stepmother? What’s she showing off for?

Shen Xiangnan, I must have been blind to fancy you back then. Otherwise, with my standards, I could have married no worse than your little sister!"

"Yes, yes, Xuezhen, please, lower your voice..."

Shen Xiangnan begged and pleaded for a long time before he finally managed to calm Yang Xuezhen down.

She calmed down, but her thoughts did not.

"We can separate our households as well. We’ll keep the house, and we should get half of the family’s savings and grain..."

Shen Xiangnan was overwhelmed, "How could that be possible? The eldest brother is the head, and I’m the second. If we were to split the family, we would be the ones moving out."

"I don’t care! Shen Xiangnan, if Dad and Mom want to split us from the household, then I’ll just go back to my maternal home, and you can live on your own!"

The east room.

Even though the door to the west room was closed, Qin Jinlian and Shen Jianguo could hear every word exchanged between the second oldest and his wife as if it were crystal clear, given the close proximity between the two rooms.

Shen Jianguo’s brows were so furrowed they looked like they were tied in knots.

Qin Jinlian was counting the money in her hand while incessantly complaining to Shen Mingzhu.

"It’s all because of that damn girl, insisting on separating the family; she’s completely torn apart a good home. What sin did I commit in my last life to give birth to such a debt-collector ghost this life? She’s been married off for so long and has only sent back a total of sixty yuan, what can that amount of money even do..."

Shen Jianguo, growing impatient, scolded in a low voice, "Can’t you take a break? People have left, what’s the use of saying all this now?"

In the northern kitchen, Du Juan, wearing an apron, was busy preparing lunch for the family, while Shen Chaobei helped tend the fire.

Daya sat on a small stool, diligently passing bean stalks and tree branches to Shen Chaobei for him to burn in the stove.

Although the couple in the north side could not clearly hear the commotion in the west room, they could guess that it surely had something to do with the family splitting up.

Glancing at her husband, Du Juan asked, "Chaobei, what do you think about the family splitting up?"

Without lifting his head, Shen Chaobei replied, "I haven’t really thought about it."

There was silence for two seconds before Du Juan uttered, "It might be for the best if we did split."

Shen Chaobei looked up, "My dear, you want to split the family?"

"Yeah, I do. After we split, we can live our own lives behind closed doors. No matter how hard or poor it gets, I’ll be happy."

While Shen Chaobei may have been simple and inarticulate, he was not heartless. Even his younger sister, Shen Mingzhu, felt sorry for him and his wife, speaking out and taking charge for them. If he still didn’t seize the opportunity and let his wife suffer in silence in this family, he would be far from a man.

"Alright, after we eat, I’ll go talk to Mom and Dad."

Finally, a smile appeared on Du Juan’s face. Glancing at her daughter playing beside the stove, her expression softened with a touch of regret.

"If only our Daya were a boy."

Daya looked up in confusion, seemingly unaware of what her parents were discussing.

Shen Chaobei scooped her up in one move, his rough palms lovingly stroking her soft hair, his simple face beaming with smiles.

"A girl is also good. She will surely grow up to be as beautiful as her aunt. We’ll let her go to school, and one day she’ll go to the city to do great things."

Du Juan gave a bitter smile.

It wasn’t that she didn’t love her daughter; it was just that the world was too harsh on girls. Girls were looked down upon, and wives who hadn’t given birth to sons were regarded even more lightly.

Just like her.

Now that the family planning policy was in place, permitting only one child per family, she had failed to produce a son. Without a male heir for the Shen Family, her mother-in-law, Qin Jinlian, had pinned all her hopes on Yang Xuezhen’s belly, which led to her neglect and coldness towards Du Juan.

——

By the time Shen Mingzhu got home, the sky was almost dark.

There was no bus from Shenjiagou back to Fengcheng today, so the family of three first went to the township for a simple lunch. After Pei Yang called Pei Wenping, Chen Yi managed to borrow a car to pick them up and bring them back to the city.

After being tossed around all day, Shen Mingzhu was exhausted and didn’t feel like making dinner. Pei Yang then made a pot of meatball and noodle soup with the fried meatballs that Qin Jinlian had given, and the family of three made do with that for the meal.

The next day, Shen Mingzhu made roasted whole rabbit from the hare Qin Jinlian had given her.

After the rabbit was cooked, she kept half for herself and prepared the other half to send to Pei Wenping as thanks for Chen Yi driving them back the day before.

To avoid another incident of "stealing" the food, Shen Mingzhu personally delivered it to Pei Wenping this time.

After sending the roasted rabbit and heading home, she suddenly remembered that the self-study exam results were out today. So, she decided to take a detour to the self-study examination center.

Today was the eighth day of the lunar month, the first working day after the New Year, and there were quite a few students at the center checking their results.

When Shen Mingzhu arrived, there was already a long line outside the office.(Working)

To pass the time, the waiting students chatted with each other, discussing their jobs, educational backgrounds, and so forth.

Shen Mingzhu had no intention of striking up a conversation with anyone, but the young woman in front of her turned around and asked, "Classmate, what degree do you have? You look quite young, you must’ve just graduated from high school, right?"

"No, I stopped studying after junior high school."

As soon as she finished speaking, the surrounding students suddenly fell silent.

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