At dawn.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
…
The village roosters crowed one after another as Shen Hehua lazily opened her eyes.
“Eat, eat, eat. All you do every day is eat, and you can’t even lay an egg.”
Meng Chunxing fed the chickens while clearly directing her complaints at someone else.
Hehua blinked sleepily and listened for a while.
It was probably either her eldest brother and sister-in-law or her third brother who had upset their mother again. In the family, only her second sister-in-law was soft-tempered. Her second brother had been stationed in the army for years and was rarely home, so of course her second sister-in-law ended up being the target.
Fortunately, their mother only complained with her mouth and never truly mistreated anyone. Besides, her second sister-in-law had grown up being scolded by her stepmother, so Meng Chunxing’s level of nagging barely affected her.
Hehua sat up and stretched lazily.
Thinking about what had happened yesterday, a wide grin spread across her face.
How wonderful.
Third Brother’s reputation had been saved, and Wu Laidi had failed to latch onto him.
Judging from how Third Brother and Xiaomei had acted last night, as long as nothing unexpected happened, the two of them should have no problem getting together.
Hehehe…
So nice.
Outside, her mother’s scolding continued, but if anyone listened carefully, they would realize she only repeated the same few lines over and over.
Hehua sighed helplessly.
My mom…
She got dressed, climbed out of bed, and walked out of her room with messy bed hair.
Leaning lazily against the doorframe, she pulled a handful of sunflower seeds from her pocket.
Looking at her mother, who was obviously scolding someone indirectly, and her second sister-in-law, who quietly washed clothes with her head lowered—
Crack.
Spit.
“Mom, are you complaining that our chickens can’t lay eggs, or are you complaining that Second Sister-in-law can’t give you a grandson?”
Meng Chunxing: “…”
This reckless daughter!
Could anyone say something like that so bluntly?
She glared fiercely at Hehua.
But Hehua wasn’t afraid of her mother at all. At worst, she’d get chased for a couple of miles again.
As long as she ran fast enough, her mother could never catch her.
Swinging her hips and walking with the swagger of a street punk, she cracked sunflower seeds as she strolled over.
“Can you really blame Second Sister-in-law?”
“My second brother only spent one night at home after the wedding before returning to the army the next day. If Second Sister-in-law suddenly gave you a grandson now, wouldn’t you have a heart attack?”
Besides, her second brother and sister-in-law hadn’t even consummated their marriage on their wedding night.
Xia Xiaohe’s face instantly turned red.
Meng Chunxing’s face turned red too.
One from embarrassment.
The other from anger.
Meng Chunxing grabbed a stick from the firewood pile and raised it to hit her unfilial daughter.
“You little rascal! Is that something an unmarried girl should be saying?”
Hehua nimbly dodged the stick while continuing to talk.
“Just tell me if it’s true or not.”
Meng Chunxing huffed.
“Then what about Shitou’s wife? They only had one night together too. How did she get pregnant?”
Hehua grinned.
“Mom… have you ever considered the possibility…”
“…that Second Brother just isn’t capable?”
Meng Chunxing: “…”
She froze for a moment before letting out an angry roar.
“Shen Hehua!”
Hehua burst into laughter and shouted back in the same tone.
“Yes?”
She even deliberately straightened up, stood on tiptoe, and threw her head back dramatically.
Meng Chunxing clutched her chest in exasperation.
This reckless daughter had come into the world just to collect a debt from her.
“You’ll be the death of me. Once I’m dead, your father will marry another woman. Then you’ll see if your life is still easy!”
Hehua leaned closer.
“Can you really bear to watch another woman sleep with your husband, beat your children, spend your money, and grow old comfortably?”
“When you think about it that way… doesn’t it make you feel alive again?”
“Hahaha…”
Meng Chunxing: “…”
This daughter was hopeless.
Watching her mother storm into the kitchen with a dark face, Hehua wasn’t worried. Her mother was already used to this.
She cheerfully followed her inside, helping light the stove.
In the courtyard, Xia Xiaohe desperately held back her laughter.
Little Sister was just too amusing.
When she noticed Second Sister-in-law carrying away the wash water, Hehua lowered her voice.
“Mom, stop picking on Second Sister-in-law all the time. Second Brother is away year-round. She’s already lonely staying here by herself and constantly worries about him. On top of that, Second Brother didn’t even leave her with a child after the wedding.”
“To put it bluntly, if anything ever happened to Second Brother, judging by how much they love each other, Second Sister-in-law would definitely stay faithful to him for the rest of her life.”
Meng Chunxing sighed.
“You think I don’t know that?”
“Do you think I’m scolding her for no reason?”
“I’m trying to force her to visit him at the military base. If she goes, won’t they share a room? Once she gets pregnant and comes back, at least she’ll have something to look forward to.”
“Your second brother wants to become a company commander as soon as possible so she can move there with him. If something happens to him before he reaches that rank, then at least without children she won’t be tied down.”
“But your second brother told her not to visit him, and she obediently listened. I don’t know what goes on in that girl’s head. I’ve scolded her so harshly, yet she still hasn’t even thought about visiting the army.”
Hehua curled her lips.
Harsh?
Mom, do you have no self-awareness?
Your level of scolding is as shallow as a tiny puddle where an earthworm could take a bath. How could it possibly intimidate Second Sister-in-law, who’s already survived an ocean of abuse?
“That’s because Second Sister-in-law only listens to Second Brother.”
Not wanting to continue such a heavy topic, Hehua changed the subject.
“Mom, have we gathered almost everything we need to build the new house? When are we starting construction?”
The moment the new house was mentioned, Meng Chunxing smiled.
“Yes. Your father said construction will start the day after tomorrow. We’ve already found all the workers.”
“But everyone’s busy these next few months, so it’ll probably be October before it’s finished. We likely won’t be able to move in until the end of October.”
Meng Chunxing enthusiastically began talking about all her plans for their future home while Hehua quietly listened.
Just last month, their family had officially separated from their eldest uncle’s household.
Their grandmother stayed with the eldest uncle.
Originally, both families had agreed to remain in the same courtyard until the second branch finished building their own house. At that point, the eldest branch would pay some compensation, and the old family home would belong entirely to them.
Everything had sounded fine at first.
But after the separation, Eldest Aunt constantly slammed things around while complaining loudly, or deliberately occupied the large kitchen stove so their family couldn’t cook.
She did everything she could to force them out.
Most things they could tolerate since they’d be moving soon anyway.
But then Eldest Aunt started using Grandmother as a weapon. Ever since Grandmother lost control of the household, Eldest Aunt had become the one in charge of the eldest branch and constantly made life difficult for the old woman while pretending it was because the second branch refused to move out.
Eldest Uncle simply tried to smooth things over.
Seeing his own mother suffer, Hehua’s father couldn’t bear it. He eventually asked the village chief for permission to rent the house they were temporarily living in now.
Now that all the building materials were prepared, construction was finally about to begin.
Once her mother had finished talking, Hehua looked at the sweet potato porridge simmering in the pot before casually asking,
“Mom… do we have enough money?”
She knew the family’s situation well.
Over the years, several of her brothers—and even her cousins—had gotten married, so there hadn’t been much money left when the family divided.
All of the eldest branch’s children were already married, and their youngest grandson was already two years old.
For the past two years, her second and third brothers had contributed to the family fund according to the same amount as their older cousins. The eldest branch could no longer benefit from them.
Now that Third Brother would soon marry and she herself would eventually marry too, two major expenses were approaching.
Wanting a larger share of the family assets, the eldest branch had deliberately pushed for dividing the household while Grandmother was still alive.
Her parents weren’t the type to secretly save money.
Her eldest brother was even more honest.
Most likely, her second and third brothers had already contributed a large portion of their savings.
“Your third brother put in some money, and your second brother covered the rest. Once the new house is finished, everything will get better.”
“Now that we’ve separated from the eldest branch, our lives will only improve from here.”
Hehua agreed with her mother’s words.
Because Grandmother knew she’d eventually live with the eldest branch in her old age, even when they all lived together and the eldest branch treated the second branch unfairly, both grandparents usually turned a blind eye despite knowing the second branch suffered.
After Grandfather passed away, Grandmother became even more so.
Hehua didn’t resent her grandmother.
It was only human nature.
Besides, she knew Grandmother had secretly given her father money before.
“The youngest son and eldest grandson are a grandmother’s treasures.”
Deep down, Grandmother had always loved her youngest son—Hehua’s father—the most.
Thinking of how Grandmother had died in her previous life, Hehua’s heart suddenly tightened.
In that life, her father had died first and never witnessed everything Grandmother later endured.
If he had seen it…
How heartbroken he would have been.
But in this life, she would protect her family.
Her father would be safe.
And she would take care of Grandmother as well.
Hehua began thinking about how to bring Grandmother to live with them.
Just as she was thinking—
A voice suddenly echoed inside her mind.
【No!】