“Everyone, come look! This woman Lin Qiuman is truly shameless—she even interferes in other people’s family affairs!”
Meng Xia didn’t dare let Lin Qiuman take Shen Lingkang away and wait to complain to Shen Linghua. Just now she had acted out of anger without thinking about the consequences.
Now that she had calmed down, she figured that after washing Shen Lingkang up later, he wouldn’t dare complain to Shen Linghua anyway.
At most, the villagers were just watching for entertainment. They all knew Shen Linghua had always been grateful to his eldest sister-in-law, so they wouldn’t gossip.
But Lin Qiuman was different—she might really talk. Since she was eager to marry Shen Linghua, she might use this opportunity to show him how righteous and kind she was by treating Shen Lingkang well.
“Meng Xia, that’s enough.” The old village chief pushed through the crowd with a stern face and called out to her. “Let Teacher Lin take Kang Kang away. Look how frightened the child is.”
“Village chief, this is our family’s business. We’ll settle it behind closed doors. Why are you letting outsiders interfere?” Meng Xia said as she reached out to grab Shen Lingkang’s arm.
Seeing that Meng Xia wouldn’t even give him this little bit of face, the old village chief’s expression grew darker.
He had heard villagers say that Meng Xia usually didn’t let Shen Lingkang eat his fill, and that any good food always went to Shen Zhichun.
But she was Shen Zhichun’s mother—favoring her own child was understandable.
What he hadn’t expected was that Meng Xia would be so unreasonable. Every month she took so much money and ration tickets from Shen Linghua, yet not only did she fail to feed Shen Lingkang properly, she even beat and kicked him. It was truly excessive.
“You’re slandering Teacher Lin now. This is no longer just your family matter.”
The village chief’s face remained dark as he nodded to Lin Qiuman.
“Kang Kang will trouble you for now. We don’t know when Linghua will return.”
Lin Qiuman tightly held Shen Lingkang’s hand and slowly led him toward the primary school.
“Teacher Lin… don’t tell my third brother.”
Shen Lingkang remained silent the whole way. Only after they had left the crowd did he timidly look up at her.
“Are you afraid that if your third brother stands up for you, then when he leaves for work again, your sister-in-law will bully you even more?”
Lin Qiuman choked up and wiped the dirt from his face.
Shen Lingkang only looked at her quietly without speaking.
“Kang Kang, I promise you that your third brother will stay in the village from now on. And I will never let Meng Xia bully you again.”
Lin Qiuman brought him back to the dormitory and said gently:
“When your third brother comes back, I’ll talk to him about letting you stay here at the school. I’ll tutor you every day.”
Over the past two days, she had already figured out most of the students’ academic situations.
Shen Lingkang was one of those who would have to repeat the grade when the new semester started after summer vacation—but it wasn’t because he wasn’t smart or because he studied poorly.
It was because Meng Xia constantly exploited him. Sometimes he couldn’t come to school for several days.
After school, while other students did homework, he had to go cut pig fodder.
Over time, the previous teacher had simply given up on him—a student who rarely attended class and never completed homework.
“Teacher Lin… I should go back,” Shen Lingkang said softly.
He thought of his elder brother, Shen Lingguang—who was even harsher than Meng Xia.
If he stayed here, his sister-in-law would definitely send his elder brother to cause trouble for Teacher Lin.
“Kang Kang, don’t you trust me?” Lin Qiuman shook her head. “Your third brother will definitely agree to let me tutor you. As for your sister-in-law…”
Originally, she hadn’t wanted to argue with Meng Xia.
But she hadn’t even married Shen Linghua yet, and it seemed she couldn’t avoid confronting Meng Xia head-on.
She would definitely make Meng Xia learn what the word “lesson” meant.
She quickly stood up and poured a basin of warm water.
“Kang Kang, come wash your face first.”
Then she grabbed some cut pieces of fabric and hurried outside. She had originally planned to sew clothes for the two brothers stitch by stitch herself.
But there was no time now—Kang Kang’s clothes were already dirty and needed to be changed.
She took the fabric to a secluded place and entered her space.
In the clothing mall there was a sewing room specifically for altering clothes.
The electric sewing machine worked quickly. Besides, back in prison she had spent every day using a foot-powered sewing machine to make schoolbags, so she was very skilled.
Before long, she had finished sewing two full sets of clothes.
“Kang Kang, change into these new clothes.”
Lin Qiuman hurried back to the dormitory and handed the clothes to Shen Lingkang before closing the door and waiting quietly in the yard.
In her mind, she was already thinking about how to deal with Meng Xia.
Although Shen Lingkang’s second sister-in-law Liu Aiping wasn’t exactly a good person, compared with Meng Xia she still had some conscience.
Soon, a perfect plan formed in Lin Qiuman’s mind.
Inside the dormitory, Shen Lingkang held his new clothes tightly in his arms as silent tears fell onto them.
He carefully put on the clothes. Before going out, he wiped his face with a towel, then opened the door.
“Teacher Lin…”
Lin Qiuman turned around when she heard his voice. Seeing him standing at the door, she looked him up and down.
“They fit perfectly. Lift your head and let me see how handsome you look.”
Shen Lingkang clutched the hem of his shirt and only raised his head slightly, not daring to meet her eyes.
Lin Qiuman saw his reddened eyes and knew he had just cried.
When Meng Xia pulled her hair, kicked him, and beat him with a broom, he hadn’t shed a single tear…
But just because of a little warmth from her, he had hidden away and cried quietly.
“Kang Kang looks very handsome.”
Lin Qiuman pretended not to notice he had cried, giving him some dignity as a boy.
“I’ll give you some homework. I’ll go cook.”
A few minutes later, Lin Qiuman was busy tending the stove while Shen Lingkang sat nearby doing his homework.
From time to time she turned around to check on him, making sure he stayed within her sight.
“Kang Kang, watch the fire for me. I’m going out for a bit.”
She was making bamboo tube rice, which needed to simmer over a low flame.
Before Shen Linghua returned, she needed to settle things with Liu Aiping first, so she had to leave Shen Lingkang alone for a while.
Still worried that Meng Xia and her husband might come looking for trouble, she stopped by Su Zhen’s house and asked her to come to the school to keep Shen Lingkang company—and stay for dinner.
Meanwhile, the Shen household was in complete chaos. From far away, Shen Zhichun could be heard shouting curses.
Fortunately, Liu Aiping and her two daughters had brought their bowls outside to eat in the street for some peace and quiet. When they saw Lin Qiuman approaching, they quickly moved aside.
They were afraid that if Lin Qiuman started arguing with Meng Xia, they might get dragged into it.
After all, they had never beaten Shen Lingkang.
“I want to talk to you.”
Lin Qiuman walked straight up to Liu Aiping and got to the point.
“Your two daughters look thin and malnourished, while Shen Zhichun and Shen Zhicun are plump and well-fed.”
“Teacher Lin, we would never dare bully Kang Kang,” Liu Aiping quickly said, afraid Lin Qiuman might treat her children unfairly at school.
“When Shen Linghua comes back, he’ll definitely confront Meng Xia. If he suggests splitting the family, that’s when you should agree—and demand to move out.”
Lin Qiuman looked at her seriously.
“This will be your only chance to live separately from Meng Xia.”