Xiao Yueyue instinctively looked at her mother, afraid that Mother might be hit by Uncle. Actually, it didn’t matter much if she didn’t eat the chicken leg.
“Eat it.”
Shen Jiaojiao was very calm, as if she hadn’t heard her nephew’s crying and fussing. She even picked a large piece of meat from the fish belly and ate it slowly. Shen’s mother’s cooking skills were excellent; this steamed pomfret was extremely delicious.
Little Fatty wailed for a long time but still didn’t get the chicken leg. All the grievances he had suffered today erupted at once, and he burst into loud, unrestrained crying.
“I want to eat the chicken leg! Don’t give it to the worthless girl! The chicken leg is mine…”
Little Fatty plopped down on the floor, flailing his arms and legs, throwing a tantrum without a care. The Shen family’s expressions turned ugly. Yang Ling went to help her son up, but Little Fatty refused to stand and even kicked her a few times.
“I want the chicken leg! Kick them out! The chicken leg is mine!”
Yang Ling was both hurt and angry, glaring fiercely at her husband, Shen Qiang.
“Yueyue, your little brother Xiao Bao is young. Give in to him and let him have the chicken leg, okay?” Shen Qiang tried to soften his tone as he coaxed Xiao Yueyue.
“I want to eat it too.”
Xiao Yueyue took a big bite, tearing off a large chunk of meat. The chicken leg was given to her by Mother, and she absolutely refused to share it with that stinky Xiao Bao.
The expressions on the Shen family’s faces grew even uglier. Shen’s mother said angrily, “Jiaojiao, how did you teach Yueyue? As an older sister, she doesn’t even know how to give in to her younger brother.”
“Wasn’t it always me giving in to Shen Qiang since we were young? He’s several years older than me.”
Shen Jiaojiao snorted lightly and continued to serve dishes to Xiao Yueyue, not forgetting to eat herself. After all, it wasn’t easy to take advantage of the Shen family—this was probably the last meal she’d have here.
“How can you compare yourself to your brother?” Shen’s mother blurted out.
Thud!
Shen Jiaojiao slammed her chopsticks and bowl on the table, her willow-like eyebrows furrowing in anger. “Why can’t I compare? Just because he’s a son? He’s nothing but a good-for-nothing who has to sell his sister to marry a wife. Hmph! When you die in the future, you won’t even be able to afford cremation. You’ll have to be chopped into pieces, salted, and sold to raise the money for it!”
Shen Qiang, who had been suppressing his anger all along, suddenly stood up and lunged at Shen Jiaojiao.
“You, a worthless girl, dare to compare yourself to me? I’m the eldest son who carries the family’s burden! What are you, a nobody? Mom and Dad raised you all these years—what’s wrong with taking a little bride price? Who are you to come home and boss everyone around?”
In his rage, Shen Qiang showed no mercy. He had never agreed with his parents’ approach in the first place. Why should he lower himself to Shen Jiaojiao?
If Shen Jiaojiao refused to hand over the 48,000 yuan, he’d beat her until she obediently gave it up.
Anticipating this, Shen Jiaojiao nimbly dodged and, without missing a beat, grabbed a large bowl of soup and splashed it toward Shen Qiang.
The soup had just been served and was still steaming hot. It splashed all over Shen Qiang’s face, eliciting agonized screams that sounded like ghosts wailing and wolves howling. Shen Jiaojiao sneered coldly and gave Xiao Yueyue a meaningful look.
Xiao Yueyue had already finished gnawing on the chicken leg. She picked up a plate of white cut chicken and happily ran outside.
Shen Jiaojiao thought for a moment and also took the plate of braised beef. Money, after all, should be saved whenever possible.
“I actually thought you had really changed for the better and even considered giving you half the money. Hmph, I was being too sentimental. From now on, we go our separate ways and have nothing to do with each other!”
Shen Jiaojiao summoned a touch of sadness, her expression sorrowful and her eyes misty, as if on the verge of tears. After delivering her final words, she resolutely left with Xiao Yueyue.
Once outside the residential building, Shen Jiaojiao wiped her eyes and declared boldly, “Back to the hotel!”
“Mom, let’s eat chicken!”Xiao Yueyue grabbed a piece of chicken and stood on tiptoe to feed it to her.
“Eat some beef.”
Shen Jiaojiao ate the chicken and also fed Xiao Yueyue a piece of beef. The chicken and beef were both delicious now, free from any artificial additives or harmful processing.
Before they even reached the hotel, the mother and daughter had finished a whole plate of chicken and another of beef. They tossed the plates into the trash, bought a large watermelon, and carried it back to the hotel.
In the hotel room, each of them held half a watermelon, eating contentedly, happier than immortals.
Meanwhile, the Shen family didn’t return home until evening. Shen Qiang’s face was scalded, costing them a considerable amount of money, and it was now smeared with ointment. The entire family returned home exhausted, only to find the dishes on the table had already spoiled, swarmed with green-headed flies.
Shen’s mother was heartbroken. They had left in such a hurry at noon that she’d forgotten to cover the food.
“Several dozen yuan worth of dishes, not a single bite eaten. Where has that wretched girl gone?”
Shen’s mother glared fiercely, wanting to settle accounts with Shen Jiaojiao, but she had long since run off. Shen’s mother then clamored about going to the hotel to teach her a lesson.
“Calm down. A little impatience spoils great plans. None of you should interfere with this. I’ll go find Jiaojiao.”
Shen’s father said with a grim face, his heart burning with anger, but he had to restrain himself.
Once he got his hands on the forty-eight thousand yuan, he would definitely marry that wretched girl off to some remote, deep mountain forest, never to let her out again. Such a disobedient and unfilial daughter disgusted him just to look at.
The next day, Shen Jiaojiao didn’t go out, staying in the hotel instead.
She lay on the bed pretending to nap, while Xiao Yueyue did her homework. The mother and daughter didn’t disturb each other. Then, there was a knock on the door. A staff member politely asked, “Miss Shen, a Mr. Shen claims to be your father. Should I let him come up?”
“Let him come up.”
Shen Jiaojiao sneered. They were even more impatient than she’d expected—this family couldn’t even wait a single day.
Shen’s father came up and looked around the room, his eyes filled with envy. He had never stayed in such a luxurious hotel in his life.
“Jiaojiao, you’ve really made it now. This room must be expensive, right?”
“Not too bad, just fifty yuan.”
Shen Jiaojiao’s tone was indifferent, as if she were talking about five yuan. A flicker of greed passed through Shen’s father’s eyes. Once he got the forty-eight thousand yuan, he would come to this fancy hotel and stay for a few nights, enjoying himself thoroughly.
“Jiaojiao, your temper has grown worse lately. Your brother’s face was almost disfigured…”
“So it wasn’t disfigured, then. Why are you in such a hurry?”
Shen Jiaojiao scoffed, putting on an expression that showed she didn’t want to talk about Shen Qiang. Shen’s father gritted his teeth and changed the subject, playing the family card.
“The palm and the back of the hand are both flesh. You, your brother, and your younger brother are all dear to my heart. When you’re doing well, I’m happy. When you suffer, it hurts me more than if I suffered myself. Jiaojiao, now that you’re a mother yourself, you can understand your father’s heart, can’t you?”
Shen’s father forced out a few old tears, and while wiping his eyes, he stole glances to observe Shen Jiaojiao’s reaction.
Shen Jiaojiao sighed and also feigned a bit of sadness, choking up as she said, “Dad, I know you care about me.”
“Good girl, it’s good that you know.”
Shen’s father secretly rejoiced. He knew this wretched girl was easy to coax—just a few sweet words would do the trick.
Father and daughter reconciled, chatting about warm memories from the past. In reality, it was mostly Shen’s father talking while Shen Jiaojiao listened.
“You’ve all grown up now, but the burden on my shoulders hasn’t lightened. Sigh, your younger brother’s girlfriend wants to buy an apartment in the city, or else she won’t marry him. An apartment costs tens of thousands of yuan.”
“How much money do you have on hand, Dad?” Shen Jiaojiao asked without showing any emotion.
Shen’s father hesitated for a few seconds before saying, “I don’t have much, just six thousand. It’s not even enough for a down payment.”It wouldn’t be believable to say there’s none at all—that dead girl definitely wouldn’t buy it.
Shen Jiaojiao furrowed her brows tightly. This amount of money was far too little, truly useless.
“Dad, how about this: Xiaoming is my own younger brother, so I have to lend a hand. Didn’t the Xi Family compensate me with forty-eight thousand? I’ll lend Xiaoming twenty thousand, and he can pay me back once he earns some money.” Shen Jiaojiao put on the appearance of a caring, devoted older sister, hitting exactly what Shen’s father had in mind.