Seeing Qin Xiangru made Liu Meiling feel nauseated. She called her “sister-in-law” repeatedly, but it was clear she was really thinking about her brother’s useless “old cucumber.”
Liu Meiling gulped down the porridge in her bowl, slammed it down heavily, and snapped: “If he won’t do it, you will? A freeloader living off someone else’s home, and you have the nerve to lecture me?”
Qin Xiangru’s face stiffened, but a surge of delight ran through her—her work situation must have been settled.
Otherwise, Liu Meiling wouldn’t be treating her like this.
Just one look from Liu Meiling, and she could tell what Qin Xiangru was thinking—simply about her work.
In the previous life, Qin Xiangru had returned to her hometown for two days around this time, waiting for Liu Meiling to come back.
Baomei went missing, the eldest son’s wedding required a bride price, and under Li Mingliang’s manipulation, Liu Meiling had given Qin Xiangru her work for free.
In exchange, she got an 800-yuan loan and spent the next three months working herself to exhaustion to repay it.
By the time she realized what happened, Liu Meiling wanted to slap herself 800 times—the work she gave away could have been sold for 800 yuan.
Suddenly, Liu Meiling realized something: Baomei’s disappearance might be connected to Qin Xiangru and Old Li.
Why else would Qin Xiangru return home exactly when the household was in chaos?
It was unnecessary and suspicious—like removing your pants just to fart.
Recalling some TV dramas she had seen in the future, Liu Meiling realized this was a classic “alibi”:
Qin Xiangru wasn’t home, so none of this could be blamed on her!
Thinking of what Li Mingliang had said, Liu Meiling felt as if her heart had dropped into an icy pit, sweat running down her back.
Li Mingliang seemed unconcerned about Baomei’s disappearance, even blaming her for worrying too much.
Later, when Baomei went missing, all he cared about was the eldest son’s bride price—and he insisted she give her job to Qin Xiangru!
Liu Meiling’s vision darkened, fists clenched tightly. She couldn’t understand it—she could accept that Li Mingliang didn’t love her, but Baomei was his own daughter!
Just to secure Qin Xiangru’s work, he was willing to scheme against his own daughter.
How could he be so cruel… so utterly cruel!
The more she thought about it, the more her heart ached. Suddenly, she coughed up a mouthful of blood and slumped. The third son, terrified, rushed to support her.
Qin Xiangru panicked, waving her hands: “It’s not my fault! It’s not my fault!”
The second son, clumsy with words, pushed her aside and carried Liu Meiling, tears streaming: “Help! Help! My mom is coughing up blood!”
Neighbors from the compound came out at the commotion. Qin Xiangru stepped back in fear: “It’s not my business!”
Li Baohai, not as impulsive as his brother, frantically searched for money in the house, so worried he burned his lips.
“Aunt Wu! Aunt Wu! My mom is coughing up blood. Do you have money? Lend me something for now!”
“What happened, third son? Why is your mom coughing up blood?”
Everyone in the compound knew Liu Meiling was generous and got along well with neighbors. No one looked away; they rummaged through their pockets and stuffed money into the third son’s arms.
The third son recalled the events and ran out: “Mom got angry because of Aunt Qin.”
Baomei ran alongside, wiping her tears, glaring fiercely at Qin Xiangru: “If anything happens to my mom, I won’t forgive you!”
Qin Xiangru felt her chest tighten—damn it, she had only tried to do good!
“It’s not like that! Sister Meiling asked the third son to cook, so I just…”
But with so many eyes on her, any explanation felt powerless. Wu Meihua slammed down a spatula: “I’ve never seen someone so shameless. You stay at relatives’ home for three months, and act like you own the place. Who cooks? You interfere. And at night, when your brother and sister-in-law are intimate… you push them from behind?”
Everyone burst out laughing. Wu Meihua’s words were crude but made sense.
“Qin sister, don’t blame everyone for speaking harshly. Meiling never said a word about you. Since you’re here, why don’t you tell us—how much did you pay her for meals each month?”
“Yeah, Qin sister, it’s not easy for anyone. Meiling supports six people alone, and you lived at the Li family for three months without paying a cent, right?”
This wasn’t a secret. Any reasonable person would complain if a country cousin stayed three months without paying.
Wu Meihua snorted: “Don’t talk about money. I even saw Li Gong buy this cousin a brand-new outfit. She didn’t spend a cent! Asking for meal money on top of that? Ridiculous. If she had any shame, she wouldn’t stay three months at a relative’s home.”
“Exactly. If it were me, I would have kicked her out. Meiling is too kind.”
“Li Gong too… all these years he never gave a penny. Where would the money even come from?”
Neighbor Zhao Chunmei, snacking on sunflower seeds, eyed Qin Xiangru’s new clothes.
Qin Xiangru’s face stiffened. She cursed silently in her heart and stammered: “My husband died. I have to take care of two kids alone. That’s why I stayed at my brother’s house for a while…”
“Ah, so because you’re ‘struggling,’ Meiling isn’t struggling? You live alone—fine—but you brought two kids with you?”
“You don’t know… those kids only come back in the evenings. I only saw them twice. They’re fragile, wearing rags. At first, I thought they were beggars.”
Qin Xiangru didn’t like the kids and was trying to protect her reputation, making them return home at night. Yet, they were seen.
Now, she felt exposed, as if stripped bare in front of everyone.
Zhao Chunmei clicked her tongue: “The real mother dresses nicely, but the kids live in misery. And here they are, annoying the host family.”
“Exactly. And that woman, widowed, still flaunts herself. I saw her walking back the other day, wiggling her hips.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha!”
Zhang Dongyu, living across from Liu Meiling, saw the scene.
She twirled her fingers like orchids, moving her feet to mock Qin Xiangru’s posture.
“Just like that,” she winked. “Liang-ge, thanks for the clothes!”
Her voice twisted in a mocking curve. The compound erupted in laughter.
Qin Xiangru pinched her palm, feeling no pain, and tried to leave, but her steps froze. Meanwhile, the two unlucky kids returned under the night sky.
Qin Xiangru’s anger boiled over. She grabbed one and lashed out: “You know how to come back! Why didn’t you stay outside and die? Don’t you know everyone is watching and disdains us? Why come back?”
“Mom, stop! Brother is hurt!”
She chased them home, slamming the door behind her.
Recalling the humiliation she suffered today, she furiously kicked Qian Feng in the stomach several times.
“I told you—come back only when no one’s around. Did you do this on purpose to see your mother humiliated? How dare you give me such trouble?”
She grabbed a firewood stick from the kitchen and hit Qian Feng. He staggered, blood running down his neck and back.
“Mom, stop! Brother’s going to die!”
Qian Mianmian cried to intervene but got struck on the arm by Qin Xiangru’s stick.