“You… are way too much!”
Yang Shufen was so angry that she wanted to rush forward and hit someone.
Aunt Wang saw this and immediately stepped in, holding Yang Shufen back.
“Yang Shufen, what are you trying to do? You’d dare hit someone with all these eyes watching?”
Yang Shufen’s anger surged; she no longer cared about appearances.
She looked at Aunt Wang in disbelief and shouted, “What business is my family’s matter to you?!”
Aunt Wang lifted her head proudly. “Xia Wan asked us to watch over things. How is that not our business? If we agreed, then we should see it through properly!”
The other onlookers didn’t quite understand why Aunt Wang was so invested, but they stepped forward to hold Yang Shufen back as well.
“Xia Wan already said it’s her money. Let her take it. One flower pot isn’t expensive.”
Yang Shufen gritted her teeth in fury.
The flowers weren’t valuable, but she cared for them deeply every day. They were about to bloom, and now someone wanted to dig them up.
Even worse, the flowers were liked by Lijuan!
Yang Shufen clenched her teeth and shouted, “I’ll pay! Leave the flowers for me!”
The people digging hesitated, glancing at Xia Wan.
Xia Wan didn’t even look up. “Not for sale. Take them. Go water them when you get home.”
Receiving Xia Wan’s reply, Chen Jianjun immediately started digging the flowers out.
Yang Shufen grew even angrier.
Her face flushed red. “Xia Wan, you despicable woman! You knew Lijuan liked these flowers, and you did this on purpose!”
Xia Wan looked at her calmly. “Yes, I did it on purpose. I learned this trick of annoying people from you. Just wondering if it’s effective on someone as shameless as you.”
Yang Shufen tried to rush forward again, but Aunt Wang held her back.
Yang Shufen glared at Aunt Wang. “What’s this? Xia Wan sleeping with your son or something? Is that why you’re protecting her?”
Aunt Wang stammered, “Anyway, I won’t let you hurt Xia Wan!”
Her son hadn’t officially gotten the job yet; it was only a notification.
If Xia Wan got hurt and couldn’t take the exam, what would happen to her work?
No matter what, Yang Shufen could not touch Xia Wan today.
Right now, Xia Wan was their family’s treasure.
Seeing Aunt Wang’s efforts, Xia Wan could roughly guess why.
She stood a short distance away, arms crossed, looking completely calm.
“Yang Shufen, what’s your relation to Su Lijuan that you’re so protective of her?”
At Xia Wan’s words, Yang Shufen immediately stopped her tantrum.
Her eyes panicked. Facing Xia Wan’s seemingly all-seeing gaze, she became even more flustered.
She feigned calm. “I consider her my daughter!”
“Even Lu Hongmei isn’t spoiled as much as you spoil her. It’s as if Su Lijuan were your real daughter.”
Hearing Xia Wan’s words, the surrounding people agreed enthusiastically.
“Yes! That daughter-in-law lost her good office job, and now you want to give that good job to Su Lijuan. What’s Su Lijuan to you? A daughter-in-law can’t be closer than someone else’s daughter!”
“Even an adopted daughter has no blood relation. But Xia Wan is your daughter-in-law—at least she’s on the same household registry!”
“Come to think of it, Lijuan does resemble her a bit. Could it really be…”
Yang Shufen’s face turned red with anger as she cursed them. “What nonsense are you talking? You think a woman could have another child outside and we wouldn’t know?”
A nearby villager chuckled. “Right. If a man goes cheating and a woman gets pregnant, no one knows. But for a woman to secretly have a child, that’s harder.”
Seeing everyone no longer doubting, Yang Shufen breathed a sigh of relief.
She hurriedly added, “I just couldn’t help wanting to help Lijuan because she looks like me when I was young, is that so wrong? Besides, she’s a good kid so much better than that Xia Wan! She knows how to care for me, while Xia Wan just makes me angry all the time!”
Xia Wan smirked. “Yes, I used to only bring you tea, serve meals, and deliver foot baths. I never fussed over you like Su Lijuan, who knows exactly when to be warm or cold toward you every day.”
Yang Shufen, not realizing the deeper meaning, quickly responded, “Of course! Lijuan is much more sensible than you! If she weren’t unlucky enough to dislike my dead fool of a son, we’d already be family. You wouldn’t even have a chance!”
As soon as she spoke, Su Lijuan, who had just arrived nearby, overheard everything.
The previous marriage rejection was supposed to be known only to the people involved; it couldn’t be made public.
If Lu Jingxing heard, he’d definitely be upset!
Su Lijuan quickly ran over, holding Yang Shufen’s hand affectionately.
“Aunt Yang, it was my mistake before. Only after Jingxing left did I realize I liked him. It’s a pity… if he were still alive, I would have married him!”
The surrounding people looked at the two disdainfully.
Aunt Wang couldn’t help mocking. “When he was alive, you rejected him for being poor. Now he’s dead, and you come here crying at his grave what good does that do?”
Su Lijuan said anxiously, “If he were alive, I wouldn’t hesitate!”
Aunt Wang snorted. “But he’s dead now!”
Xia Wan rolled her eyes and looked at her with surprise. “Lijuan, how can you act like this? Even if my husband weren’t dead, he’s still my husband. How can you keep staring at someone else’s husband?”
Aunt Wang quickly chimed in, “Exactly! Shameless! He was a soldier. Marriage requires reporting to the authorities. The name on the report is Xia Wan! Until the divorce is official, he’s Xia Wan’s husband! Who do you think you are to interfere?”
Chen Yuling also linked arms with Xia Wan and teased Su Lijuan.
“You’re really interesting. You didn’t like him before, but now that my cousin married in, you like him.”
“When the factory had the office job exam, you didn’t like him either. The moment my cousin got the job, you wanted it.”
“Are you after my cousin’s husband or my cousin herself?”
Su Lijuan’s expression darkened. She glanced resentfully at Chen Yuling and sulked, “Xia Wan, your cousin has a sharp tongue. Girls shouldn’t be so harsh in speech, or no one will want to marry you.”
Xia Wan turned to Chen Yuling. “Did you hear that? If you have no real skills like her and can only snatch from others, speak sweetly. Otherwise, you’ll end up like her always eyeing someone else’s husband, with no one to marry you.”
Chen Yuling giggled. “Oh no, cousin, my mouth is like it’s poisoned. I can’t help it!”
Xia Wan patted her hand seriously. “It’s fine. After I finish my exam, I’ll help you study. Work hard, go to college, and earn your own living. You won’t need to rely on a man.”
Chen Zhiqiang nodded. “Exactly. Great people say women can hold up half the sky! Don’t take by force or beg for charity. You shouldn’t beg to marry into a family; others should compete to marry you!”
Chen Jianjun patted his chest loudly. “Little sister, don’t worry. Even if you can’t marry, Second Brother will take care of you! No matter what, we won’t let our precious girl marry into another family and be at someone else’s mercy!”