The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 74 - The Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Battle
Chapter 74: Chapter 74: The Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Battle
Chapter 74 -74: The Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Battle
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Shen Mingzhu returned home after delivering beef pies to several moms in the residential compound and received a tattling phone call from Pei Wenping.
Learning that Pei Yang and Zhou Shuhuan had gobbled up all the beef pies meant for the Chen Family, she didn’t know whether to be angry or to laugh.
The two of them together were over fifty years old, yet they couldn’t handle things as reliably as a five-year-old child.
Shen Mingzhu soothed Pei Wenping over the phone, and after promising to bake some more beef pies to deliver in a few days, Pei Wenping’s anger subsided.
Back at the residential compound, Zhou Shuhuan said to Pei Yang, “Bro Yang, I’m heading back first, okay?”
Pei Yang looked at him, “Not going to stop by my place?”
“No, it’s already noon, time to go home for lunch.”
Pei Yang glanced at his belly, smiling but not quite, “After eating so many pies, can you still eat lunch?”
Zhou Shuhuan: “…”
Of course he couldn’t eat lunch, but now he had no face to go back to Pei’s Family, no face to confront Shen Mingzhu.
It was too embarrassing.
Zhou Shuhuan might have dusted off his behind and gone home, but Pei Yang had to brave it out and go home to face his wife.
“Mingzhu, I’m back.”
Looking at the guilty and awkward man, Shen Mingzhu could not be bothered to say anything.
What was eaten was eaten; it’s not like she could make him spit it out.
Having done wrong, Pei Yang very consciously dared not flit around in front of her and hid away in his son’s room to digest.
After scarfing down seven beef pies in the morning, they tasted good in the moment, but now he felt overwhelmingly greasy.
“Ziheng, go fetch me a glass of water.”
Pei Ziheng looked at him expressionlessly, “You know to call me when you want water, but when you were eating beef pies, why didn’t you think to save me one?”
Pei Yang: “…”
“Aren’t there more at home?”
“They’ve all been given away.
I only had one.”
He hadn’t had his fill, nor was he satisfied.
Just thinking about Pei Yang eating seven all by himself made him so mad.
“Be good, next time I’ll get your mom to bake more so you can slowly eat your fill.
But first, go get me a glass of water; I’m feeling so greasy I might throw up.”
Hearing this, Pei Ziheng finally jumped down from his chair and left the room, disgruntled.
After a while, footsteps approached, and Pei Yang opened his eyes to see his wife entering with a glass of water.
“This is hawthorn tea, good for digestion and cutting grease.”
“Thanks, wife.”
Shen Mingzhu gave him a glare and walked out.
Pei Yang picked up the cup, ready to take a sip, but then he realized that the cup looked familiar.
On closer inspection, wasn’t it the one his wife bought at the mall yesterday?
He knew it; his wife bought it for him!
His wife surely still loved him, joy!
Overjoyed, Pei Yang forgot himself and lifted the cup to take a big gulp, only to scald his mouth and “ow” spit the water back into the cup.
—
Zhou Family.
Ma Sufen had finished cooking and went to call Zhou Shuhuan to eat.
Zhou Shuhuan just lay there without moving, but Shen Baolan flipped out of bed, slipped on her shoes, and made a beeline for the dining table, afraid she’d miss out on the hot meal.
Ma Sufen shot daggers at Shen Baolan with her eyes and then called out to Zhou Shuhuan again, but Zhou Shuhuan said he wasn’t hungry and wouldn’t eat.
Masufen resentfully returned to the dining table and, upon seeing Shen Baolan wolfing down her food, immediately felt her anger bubble up without an outlet.
Her partner was out meeting friends, and her grandson had gone to his grandmother’s house; it was just her, her son, and her daughter-in-law at home.
If she’d known her son wasn’t going to eat, she wouldn’t have bothered cooking at all.
She had gone to all that effort to make a meal for her son, and it all just went to that gluttonous and lazy daughter-in-law.
The more Masufen thought about it, the angrier she became.
“What sin did I commit in my last life to encounter such a reincarnated starving ghost, a waste of space that only knows how to eat and sleep, eat and sleep.
Even pigs don’t eat as much as you do.”
Shen Baolan snapped back, “I’m the unlucky one here, dealing with an evil mother-in-law like you.
I’m carrying a child of your Zhou family, and even eating a little bit more leads to your nagging.
If you can’t afford a daughter-in-law, you should have said so earlier.
There are plenty who can provide for me!”
Masufen almost passed out in her anger.
Zhou Shuhuan, who was in the room, heard the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law at it again and felt an unspeakable irritation.
He covered his head with a blanket, wishing his family could be as warm as Pei Yang’s.
——
After lunch, Masufen went out to enjoy her leisure time.
As soon as she descended the stairs, she saw several old ladies sitting together, chatting away with enthusiasm.
Words like “shameless” and “flirtatious” could be faintly heard, seemingly badmouthing someone’s daughter-in-law.
Filled with gossip and curiosity, Masufen leaned in, eager to eavesdrop.
But as soon as they saw her, everyone stopped talking.
Masufen was anxious.
“Go on, keep talking.
I’ve just arrived and haven’t heard anything yet.
Who are you talking about?”
“Hehe, we’re not talking about anyone, just rambling on.”
Seeing that no one was willing to fill her in, Masufen was even more displeased.
“What, is there some gossip you can’t share with me?
Am I an outsider or something?”
The group exchanged looks, and finally, one braver old lady spoke up.
“Sufen, there are some things I don’t even want to say because they’re so embarrassing.
You really should keep an eye on your daughter-in-law.
Her belly is so big, and she still doesn’t know to avoid suspicion.
Whenever she sees Pei Yang, she goes up to him; it’s just not proper.”
“Exactly.
She doesn’t restrain herself at all in public, and who knows what she’s like when no one’s looking.
What is she thinking?
It’s not possible she’s regretting things now that Pei Yang is back, is it?”
Masufen never imagined that the juicy gossip would turn out to be about her own household; she felt fury enough to explode.
She immediately scurried back home with tiny, agitated steps and called her son into her room to exaggerate the gossip she’d heard downstairs.
“…This vile woman, I was blind to marry her, an unrestful piece of work!
Causing trouble every day, and now she’s gone and sparked such a scandal, I can’t even show my face!”
“Mom, don’t jump to conclusions without knowing the whole story.
Yesterday, I asked Baolan to deliver some vegetables to Pei Yang.
People in the residential compound just love to make up nonsense, and you actually believe it.”
Masufen, crying with indignation, said, “What use is my disbelief when everyone in the residential compound is spreading rumors and laughing at our Zhou family?
You should never have married her in the first place, if you had married Shen Mingzhu, how good that would have been!”
These words struck right at Zhou Shuhuan’s heart.
If he hadn’t made such a hasty decision back then, if he had gone with Pei Yang to visit Shen Mingzhu’s house…
But there were no ifs.
“Bang!”
The door was kicked open from the outside.
Shen Baolan stood in the doorway, hands on her hips and sneering continuously, “Oh, so mother and son are hiding here, scheming against me?
Regretting that you took me as a daughter-in-law?
Masufen, you should take a look at what your son is like—a twice-divorced convict, with neither looks nor a job.
I, Shen Baolan, at least, was a decent, innocent woman, yet you have the nerve to disdain me?
You can’t even take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror.
Pah!”
“Don’t think just because I’m pregnant I’m afraid of your Zhou family.
Even if I were to give birth and get divorced, I could marry someone better!
On the other hand, your son, thrice-divorced with two burdens, can forget about ever finding another wife.
He might as well stay a bachelor for life!”
“Baolan, calm down.
Mom didn’t mean that.
She was just upset because she heard some idle talk and ran it by me.”
Despite his many grievances and complaints about Shen Baolan, Zhou Shuhuan had never considered divorce.
A wife was like a rice bowl.
Though it might have chips and could hurt your mouth, until you find a new one that suits you, you’d have to keep using the broken one to eat.
But Masufen didn’t see it that way.
The conflict between her and Shen Baolan had escalated from mere disagreements to deep hatred through their daily arguments; she would be happier seeing her gone for good.
She’d rather have her son remain a bachelor than to continue tolerating a gluttonous and lazy daughter-in-law causing trouble under her nose.
“Fine, then go back to your rural hometown.
I’d like to see what kind of branch you manage to climb!”
