Shen Zhouzhou stepped forward, her voice suddenly rising as every word rang out with crystal clarity.
“You think she’s genuinely good to Shen Jianjun? She only treats him as a tool to keep you under her thumb! All these years, she’s been taking your wages to support her own family, dressing Shen Fangfang in new clothes and feeding her refined grain, while I couldn’t even get a full meal. This is the wonderful wife you married, the ‘virtuous and devoted wife’ you’ve been protecting!”
“The way you’ve ignored me all these years has completely disappointed me. Since things have already come to this, let’s sever our family ties once and for all!”
The more Shen Zhouzhou spoke, the more she felt sorry for the original owner. Some things, if you cannot have them when you long for them the most, become meaningless when they are finally offered later. After all, affection that comes too late is worth less than grass.
Shen Yong staggered back half a step, stunned by her words. His tobacco pipe clattered to the ground, the brass bowl striking the bluestone pavement and sending out a shower of sparks. His mouth opened and closed, but it felt as though a wad of rotten cotton had lodged in his throat. After a long moment, he finally forced out a sentence.
“Y… What kind of nonsense are you talking about? I’m your father!”
“If you keep talking such nonsense, don’t blame me if I beat you!”
Having had the last shred of his dignity ripped away by Shen Zhouzhou, Shen Yong flew into a rage.
“Shen Zhouzhou, you’ve truly gone insane to say something like that! Today I’ll teach you a proper lesson!”
Humiliated by having his dirty secrets exposed, Shen Yong raised his hand as though to strike her.
“Bang!”
Shen Zhouzhou flipped the table over with a single motion.
The teacups on top shattered across the floor with a loud crash, cutting off the rest of Shen Yong’s words before they could leave his mouth.
Fragments of porcelain flew through the air, slashing across Shen Yong’s face and leaving several thin cuts.
Everyone was so shocked by Shen Zhouzhou’s sudden outburst that an eerie silence filled the room.
A moment later, Shen Zhouzhou was the first to break it.
“From now on, you walk your sunny road, and I’ll cross my own single plank bridge. I won’t ever come back to be an eyesore to your family again.”
Shen Yong shouted at the top of his lungs, fury blazing in his eyes.
“If you leave this family, where else can you possibly go?”
Looking at his furious expression, Shen Zhouzhou remained completely unmoved.
“Where I go is none of your concern.”
She had long planned to sever ties with this family. They had treated the original owner so cruelly that she had no intention of ever returning after she left. Besides, every member of this family lacked even the most basic moral principles. Sooner or later, they might drag her into their troubles. It was better to cut all ties completely.
Just then, Shen Fangfang returned home.
The moment she learned that Shen Zhouzhou intended to sever family ties, she was so delighted she could barely contain herself. If that wretched girl left, everything in the house would belong to her and Shen Jianjun.
Her eyes flickered with excitement. She had never imagined Shen Zhouzhou would be foolish enough to cut off her own path of retreat, and inwardly she was overjoyed.
Shen Zhouzhou had no idea what Shen Fangfang was thinking. If she had known, she would have slapped her without hesitation. She was ugly enough already, yet she still dared to dream so beautifully.
“You’d better think this through. Once you leave the Shen family, where are you going to transfer your household registration? Everything you eat, wear, and use comes from this family. Once you leave, you’ll be nothing.”
Shen Yong’s face was dark as he spoke each word deliberately.
Shen Zhouzhou curled her lips into a mocking smile.
“You make it sound as though I’ve lived a life of luxury here. What I eat every day and what I wear, don’t you all know perfectly well?”
“Don’t worry. Even if I end up begging on the streets, I’ll never come back. Since we’re cutting ties, let’s do it properly. Three copies of the severance agreement. Once we’ve signed them, we’ll have them notarized at the neighborhood office, and one copy will stay there on file.”
Shen Yong’s expression shifted repeatedly.
Only then did it dawn on him that this unfilial daughter had probably planned to sever their relationship long ago. Thinking about all the recent turmoil she had caused only filled him with even greater resentment.
“Dad, just let her leave!” Shen Fangfang urged, wearing the smug expression of a petty victor. Combined with her face, still swollen like a pig’s head, the sight was utterly ridiculous.
“Throw this unfilial daughter out! Don’t give her a single cent, or she’ll just keep ruining our family.”
“Fine! If you want to sever ties, then so be it.” Seeing how stubborn she was, Shen Yong actually began to feel a trace of malicious satisfaction.
“But once we’ve cut ties, everything in this house will have nothing to do with you anymore. You’re not taking a single thing with you.”
He wanted to see just what she could accomplish once she left this family. In the end, he was certain she would come crawling back to beg him.
“Hold on. I have conditions too.”
Shen Zhouzhou looked at him coldly, without the slightest trace of warmth in her eyes.
The moment she spoke, Shen Yong was dumbfounded.
She actually had conditions?
“Ever since I dropped out of school, I’ve been the one cooking every meal for this family. I’ve washed everyone’s clothes too. I’ve waited on this entire household. Even if you don’t acknowledge my contributions, you can’t deny my hard work. You owe me wages for all those years of labor, and no matter how you calculate it, it comes to well over three hundred yuan.”
“On top of that, every penny I earned from odd jobs over the years was taken away by Li Hongxia. That’s a total of two hundred yuan, along with all my ration coupons and other vouchers. Every bit of it must be returned.”
“There’s more. All the gold jewelry my mother left me was stolen by Li Hongxia. Those were my mother’s keepsakes, and they must be returned. And because of your selfishness, I’ve suffered hunger, cold, and emotional trauma all these years. Shouldn’t I receive at least one thousand yuan in compensation for emotional damages?”
“Adding it all together, it comes to roughly one thousand five hundred yuan, plus the various coupons. Please settle the money as soon as possible. The moment I receive it, I’ll leave immediately.”
She calmly calculated the amount as she spoke.
Shen Zhouzhou knew perfectly well that Shen Yong’s savings were worth much more than that, but she only intended to take what rightfully belonged to her.
The moment Shen Yong heard the words “one thousand five hundred yuan,” the tobacco pipe slipped from his hand with another loud clatter. The brass bowl struck the bluestone floor, sending sparks flying.
He jerked his head up, his cloudy eyes bulging like bronze bells, and even his voice changed.
“Y… You said how much? Fifteen hundred? Shen Zhouzhou, have you lost your mind? That’s enough money to buy half a brick house!”
He staggered backward and knocked over the bench behind him.
“My monthly salary is only fifty seven yuan and five jiao! You’re trying to drive me to my death! Where am I supposed to find that much money?”
Shen Fangfang reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She shrieked as she lunged at Shen Zhouzhou.
“You bitch! Have you gone crazy over money? You already sent my mother to jail, and now you’re trying to squeeze every last drop out of our family!”
She reached out to grab Shen Zhouzhou by the hair, but Shen Zhouzhou caught her wrist with one hand and slapped her twice with the other.
The stinging blows brought tears streaming down Shen Fangfang’s face.
“Dad! Look at her! She actually dared to hit me!”
Shen Yong trembled with rage as he pointed at Shen Zhouzhou.
“You unfilial daughter! I wasted eighteen years raising you! If I’d known you would grow up so heartless, I should’ve drowned you in the piss bucket when you were born!”
Panting heavily, his chest rose and fell violently.
“I’m telling you right now, you’re not getting a single cent! Go ahead and report to me wherever you like!”
“Fine! If you won’t pay, then forget it.”
Shen Zhouzhou nodded casually.
“With all the commotion in the house today, I’m sure the neighbors are already curious about what’s going on. I’ll just go outside and tell everyone how Shen Jianjun was born not long after my mother died. What do you think will happen if the whole neighborhood finds out you were carrying on an illicit affair? Do you suppose the news might spread to your Textile Factory?”
She looked at him with feigned curiosity, her expression calm and thoughtful.