Witty Wife, Better Life
Chapter 344 - 334: Venting Discontent

Chapter 344: Chapter 334: Venting Discontent

Shen Yunfang didn’t conceal anything; she told him about the visit from Qiu Shuping and Old Man Li to the military area to find Li Hongjun after she returned to her hometown. Of course, she emphasized how they acted on their own and borrowed two hundred yuan from someone, then simply left. People came knocking on the door to collect the debt by the time she got back. Of course, she didn’t hide how she handled the situation either.

"Forget about the money for a second. When I went back home and then returned, almost everything was a disaster. Not to mention that the vegetables I worked hard to grow all summer were practically gone. Just take our quails - when I left, we had about five hundred, but by the time I came back, there were only about seventy left. Sister Wu said, ’Your mom knows how to deal with people. Whoever she borrows money from, she gives them a few quails.’ The family she borrowed the most from, she just handed over fifty quails to them, just like that." Shen Yunfang cast a sidelong glance at Li Hongjun, "she’s just a bit too harsh with her daughter-in-law."

Li Hongjun hugged his wife tighter in his arms, clear in his mind that his mother favored his wife less. It wasn’t that his wife wasn’t good enough, but as a son, he couldn’t speak ill of his mother; he could only say that the two of them naturally did not get along.

At that moment, he suddenly sighed internally, realizing how difficult it is to be a man, even harder to be a good man, and the hardest to be a man who loves his wife dearly and is still filial to his parents.

"My mother’s getting on in years. Let’s not be too hard on her, okay? I know my wife is the best - beautiful and filial, that’s enough for me." Li Hongjun sweet-talked his wife with honeyed words.

"Don’t try to sweet-talk me. In the end, I didn’t give your mother face and just demanded the money back." She wanted to see Li Hongjun’s reaction, after all, Qiu Shuping was his mother, and although he knew of his mother’s favoritism and unreasonableness, it was rare for a son to stand up for justice between his mother and wife.

Li Hongjun looked down at his wife, gazing into her sparkling eyes and gave her a kiss before he spoke, "To tell you the truth, I’m not very satisfied with your handling of the situation... Hey, don’t get upset, let me finish." He hastily restrained his wife who was about to react.

"First of all, my wife, you need to believe that I trust you. You are not an unfilial daughter-in-law, so whatever happens, I’ll definitely be on your side. What my mother did this time was indeed too much, and I’m very angry after hearing about it. But I still feel that your approach was not perfect, it was a bit too extreme," Li Hongjun looked into his wife’s eyes with determination, wanting her to see his sincerity.

Shen Yunfang stared back at him for a few seconds before glaring and asking with annoyance, "Then tell me, what would have been the right way to handle it."

Li Hongjun rested his chin on the top of his wife’s head and said, "In the end, you did get the money back, but it was a Pyrrhic victory. You’ve only moved to the family area a few months ago, and something like this happening will surely make others speak ill of you."

"I know, but I really can’t swallow this insult if I just accept it. Just look at the kind of person your brother Hongqi is. It was generous enough of me not to report the dirty tricks he pulled and have him sent back home to farm. And now your parents need money to visit him, and they expect me, the second sister-in-law, to pay. That’s not right at all. We’ve already separated our households," Shen Yunfang grumbled in his arms.

"No," Li Hongjun decisively sided with his wife. He genuinely felt his parents had gone too far. When he had gone home and beaten up Li Hongqi, he had told his dad everything Li Hongqi had done. How could they ask Yunfang for money now just because they wanted to visit Li Hongqi? That was just blatantly taking advantage of his wife, thinking she couldn’t count.

Shen Yunfang was very pleased with Li Hongjun’s attitude, her lips curling into a smile as she said, "Let’s set aside the matter of splitting the family assets. Just consider the two hundred yuan your parents borrowed to visit your brother. What, are they going to the moon to see him? Asking for so much all at once. Li Hongjun, do the math yourself. It’s only a small amount for their travel expenses from the countryside to your brother’s place. Even if they eat on the train the whole way, it won’t cost much. Your mother borrowed two hundred yuan all at once. What is she up to?"

What else could they be up to but planning to give the rest to Li Hongqi? Li Hongjun sighed inwardly. In his parents’ eyes, Li Hongqi must be the most important now.

"Don’t be angry, the money is going to be returned, isn’t it?" Li Hongjun soothed his wife’s back with his large hand, hoping to calm her down. She couldn’t afford to be upset now; she was carrying their second child, Erpang, in her belly.

"Hmph, of course, I have to get it back. No one is going to take advantage of me," Shen Yunfang snorted through her nose, "Your family thinks I’m easy to bully. Before we got married, when I suggested splitting up the household, your parents didn’t allow it. But not three days after I married into your family, your mother started scheming to split. What was she implying? Without mentioning other things, outsiders would definitely think poorly of me as a daughter-in-law. But since I wanted to split, I’m not going to fuss about it. Whatever they split and give to us, I’ll take it. If they don’t, I won’t make a fuss. I think I’ve done quite well as a daughter-in-law."

Li Hongjun nodded. This was the first time he had heard his wife talk about these matters. Back then, it was he who had been upset, and his wife always seemed indifferent, comforting him. It turns out she did harbor some resentment; she just suppressed it for his sake at the time. It was good she could express it now.

"Later, when your brother needed money for college, I still gave fifty yuan for your sake, even though we’d split the family and it wasn’t my responsibility. But even after giving the money, I didn’t receive any gratitude, and your brother ended up holding a grudge against me, almost dragging me down too." Thinking of her helplessness in the dark room, Shen Yunfang’s eyes reddened a bit.

No, that’s not right, she wasn’t such a weak person. She hadn’t cried even while in the dark room, so why was she struggling with the thought of it now? Shen Yunfang couldn’t quite understand and eventually attributed her current hypersensitivity to her pregnancy and the associated hormonal imbalances.

"Then when your sister got married, I also gave twenty yuan, which wasn’t a small sum. Look around at our neighbors, which sister-in-law gives so much money to a younger sister-in-law for her wedding?" Shen Yunfang truly felt she had done her duty as a sister-in-law. As for her mother-in-law and sister-in-law’s demands for a sewing machine, they were simply unreasonable.

"Despite all this, I don’t receive any benefits from your mother; she simply looks down on me, and I’ve accepted that. I married you and live life with you, not with your mother. But look, ever since we got married, it’s always been her asking for money or things, as if I print money or something." Shen Yunfang glared angrily at Li Hongjun. "I’ve realized that being kind to your mother just makes her treat me like dough, to be kneaded however she pleases. From now on, I won’t take on such ungrateful tasks. I’ll give every penny that I should, but I won’t give a cent more for things I shouldn’t. If you’re not satisfied, you can go live with your mother. I’ll take care of Pangpang by myself."