Second Uncle Shen was usually meek and submissive in front of his parents, but in front of his wife and daughters he always put on a tough front. Now that he was being pointed at and scolded by his normally obedient daughter, he was naturally furious.
“Shen Baizhi, don’t think that just because you’re married your wings have hardened! Remember this—I’m your father. It’s not your place to teach me how to do things!”
Shen Baizhi snorted coldly.
“Are you really my dad? From where I’m standing, you look more like Shen Baiwei’s dad. Whenever there’s something good, I never see you thinking of us sisters!”
“What do you know? All you ever do is compare yourself to Weiwei. Do you think you can even compare to her?”
“She’s a lucky star reincarnated—she can change our Shen family’s fate. If I treat her well now, she’ll remember the family’s kindness in the future. Then you sisters will be able to enjoy the good life too—fine food and drink…”
“If you think clinging to her will give you a good life, then go ahead. Just don’t drag us sisters into it!”
Shen Baizhi looked at him mockingly. Fine food and drink? Her sisters had nearly been devoured by Shen Baiwei already!
Even her parents, who had fawned over Shen Baiwei like this, ended up living in the grand, opulent Shen household that Shen Baiwei built—yet only in roles no different from nannies and servants.
Second Uncle Shen was so angry his chest heaved up and down. Their mother, Sun Min, seeing her husband in such a state, hurriedly reached out to soothe his breathing. Then she turned to Shen Baizhi and complained:
“Baizhi, your dad is doing all this for your own good. Why can’t you understand his good intentions? You sisters don’t have a brother. If Weiwei remembers the family’s kindness in the future, won’t she return it to you sisters?”
“Quickly apologize to your dad. Don’t make him any angrier!”
Shen Baizhi closed her eyes.
This was their mother. She did love the sisters—but that love was far too thin. Whenever their father or the Shen family was involved, she habitually made the sisters give way in exchange for a surface-level peace.
It really made it impossible to love her—yet impossible to hate her too.
Speaking of it, her maternal grandparents’ family was also rural, but they had plenty of laborers and lived relatively well. Her mother had been doted on while growing up—so how did she end up tolerating so much grievance after marrying into the Shen family?
Her uncles had come by several times because of her mother’s status in the Shen household, but each time her mother would undermine them. After a few times, the uncles grew disheartened and left her to it.
Even the silver bracelet on Shen Baizhi’s wrist had been given to her by her grandmother before she passed away—knowing that her mother was unreliable. The idea was that if the sisters ever truly couldn’t make ends meet, they could pawn it for emergency money.
She knew that if Shen Baiwei ever saw the bracelet, it would definitely be snatched away. So she had kept it hidden and told no one. She’d only worn it once—on her wedding day—and that was enough for Lin Ranran to notice it.
Not wanting to argue any further, Shen Baizhi pulled Shen Baisu into the room the sisters had partitioned for themselves.
She let Shen Baisu eat something on the side, while she lay down on the bed herself. Sleeping in that mountain cave the night before had been uncomfortable, and she hadn’t slept well at all.
Half-asleep, she heard Susu calling her. She opened her eyes, puzzled.
“Sis, the banquet outside ended ages ago. She and Third Aunt have already washed all the bowls and chopsticks. I figure Grandpa and Grandma are about to hold a full family meeting, so I’ll tell you what’s going on first…”
Shen Baisu then vividly described how, when the Shen family woke up that morning and discovered the house had been robbed—with heavy losses—everyone’s faces looked as they blamed one another. Each person felt it was someone else’s lack of vigilance that led to the house nearly being emptied without anyone noticing.
Especially Grandma—she didn’t even know exactly what had been lost, but Shen Baisu had never seen her face look so ugly.
But Fourth Uncle’s wedding was urgent. Gritting her teeth, Grandma Shen shakily took out a small cloth bundle from her room, counted out ten yuan, and handed it to Fourth Uncle, telling him to go buy some ingredients so they could muddle through today first.
Fourth Uncle naturally looked down on that ten yuan, but his mother absolutely refused to take out any more money. In the end, he had no choice but to slaughter two of the family’s egg-laying chickens. Grandma Shen was so distressed she kept cursing nonstop.
Shen Baizhi lowered her head to hide the smile on her face, but still asked with feigned concern,
“Then… our family didn’t lose anything important, right?”
Shen Baisu pointed around at the walls and said with schadenfreude,
“You know our situation—what is there worth stealing? Apart from a few pieces of old clothing, what else could they take?”
“Third Uncle’s family is even poorer than ours!”
“But Fourth Uncle’s room lost quite a lot of things he’d prepared for the wedding, and Eldest Uncle’s family also lost a lot.”
Lowering her voice mysteriously, she added,
“I heard that Shen Baiwei’s room even lost her wardrobe and desk! I have no idea how the thief managed to carry all that away. I heard Eldest Aunt say it might not have been done by a person—that they might have offended something unclean!”
Shen Baizhi grew interested.
“Then how did Shen Baiwei react?”
Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Shen Baiwei at all today. Normally, on an occasion like this—perfect for showing off—the family would have pushed her out front to perform.
At the mention of this, Shen Baisu covered her mouth and laughed, leaning close to Shen Baizhi’s ear and whispering,
“Oh, her? Her hair was full of cow dung. She refused to lie on the bed and just wore a hollow cotton jacket, waiting for hot water to bathe. It wasn’t until everyone had finished eating that Eldest Aunt finally had time to heat water for her.”
“Later she asked me for the black stone. I said I accidentally dropped it in the river. She scolded me and then went to the riverbank herself, searching for two whole hours. Her hair was still wet—no wonder she couldn’t get out of bed this morning!”
Before the sisters could continue gossiping, Grandma Shen’s voice indeed sounded outside, calling everyone from all branches of the family to gather in the main room for a meeting.
The two exchanged a glance, quickly reined in their smiles, and walked toward the main room with solemn expressions.
So many things had just been stolen from the house, and the noon banquet had already been a huge embarrassment. If either of them showed even the slightest hint of a smile now, the family’s firepower would all be directed at them—even though they hadn’t done anything wrong.
By the time they arrived at the main room, nearly everyone in the family was already there. Almost twenty people crowded the space, a sea of heads filling the room.
Grandma Shen and Grandpa Shen sat in the seats of honor. Once everyone had arrived, Grandpa Shen tapped his tobacco pipe and said painfully,
“About the burglary last night—what do you all think? The house has practically been emptied. Even half of our grain rations are gone. What do you think we should do?”
That morning they’d only had time for a rough inventory before rushing to deal with Fourth Son’s wedding. Only now did they have time to sit down together and discuss a solution.
Hearing this, Shen Baizhi frowned slightly. From the way he put it, it sounded like even the family’s grain rations were gone?
But she hadn’t taken any!
After Grandpa Shen finished speaking, the room fell silent. No one knew what to do. In the end, it was Shen Baizhi who spoke up:
“Report it to the police.”
She wanted to know what was really going on with the missing grain. If they could actually find the thief who stole it, even better—it would save her from taking the blame herself.