From then on, despite her young age, the original Shen Zhouzhou took on all the household chores. Every day she woke before the chickens and went to bed later than the dogs. Whenever she had a spare moment, she went out to find temporary work, yet her vicious stepmother spread rumors everywhere that she was lazy and unwilling to work, ruining her reputation far and wide.
Meanwhile, Shen Fangfang did absolutely nothing. Every day she simply went out to have fun. The contrast between the two sisters could not have been greater.
Shen Zhouzhou had a close friend named Li Xiaoning. Her parents both worked at the Machinery Factory, and she had learned that the factory was recruiting workers. However, applicants had to pass an examination before they could be hired.
The moment Li Xiaoning heard the news, she hurried to share it with Shen Zhouzhou. In those days, securing a job at the Machinery Factory meant obtaining an iron rice bowl, a stable job for life.
On the day of the exam, one hundred people showed up to compete for only ten positions. By twenty first century standards, it was no exaggeration to call it a narrow bridge crossed by thousands of soldiers. Wasn’t this practically the modern civil service examination all over again? After passing both the written examination and the interview, the original Shen Zhouzhou successfully secured the job and was scheduled to start work a week later.
Her best friend ranked eleventh, missing the cutoff by a single place and failing to get in.
When Shen Zhouzhou returned home, Li Hongxia and Shen Fangfang soon found out.
“Mom, that bitch Shen Zhouzhou already has a job while I still don’t. Think of a way to make her give it to me. Once I have a job, when I marry into the Zhao family, Zhao Peng’s parents won’t dare look down on me anymore.”
Zhao Peng was Shen Fangfang’s boyfriend, and his father was a supervisor at the Food Factory.
Shen Fangfang clung to Li Hongxia’s arm, acting spoiled, and Li Hongxia found her reasoning perfectly sound. If Fangfang got this job, Zhao Peng’s parents would certainly think more highly of her daughter. Naturally, any good opportunity should go to her own daughter first. As for that little bitch Shen Zhouzhou, wasn’t she someone Li Hongxia could manipulate however she pleased?
That very night, Li Hongxia used the excuse that Shen Fangfang, as the elder sister, still didn’t have a job and forced the original Shen Zhouzhou to hand over her position.
The sheer shamelessness of it was astounding. Their scheme was practically flying straight into her face.
When the original Shen Zhouzhou refused, she was brutally beaten by both mother and daughter together. During the assault, they accidentally knocked her unconscious.
Seeing that she had passed out, the two women dragged her back into her room, locked the door, and imprisoned her inside, planning to have Shen Fangfang simply take her place at work a week later.
Still worried that something unexpected might happen, Li Hongxia decided the safest solution was to marry Shen Zhouzhou off once and for all.
After discussing it with Shen Fangfang, they decided to marry her to Wang Popi, the local loafer from the eastern part of town.
Wang Popi was already over forty years old. Because he was ugly and his family was poor, he had never managed to find a wife. If he could marry Shen Zhouzhou, he would probably wake up laughing from his dreams.
Wang Popi asked Li Hongxia, “I’m taking a huge risk by helping you. What do I get out of it?”
He had assumed Li Hongxia wanted to pay him for his help.
Instead, Li Hongxia smiled at him.
“Don’t you want a wife? I’m delivering one right to your doorstep, and you’re turning her down?”
She then explained her plan in detail.
If he took Shen Zhouzhou tonight, her reputation would be completely destroyed. After that, no one would ever marry her. Then he could openly come to propose.
Once everyone believed she had slept around and disgraced herself, what respectable man would still want her? By then, when he came to ask for her hand, she would probably be desperate to accept. Perhaps he wouldn’t even have to pay a bride price to get himself a beautiful wife.
Li Hongxia’s words delighted Wang Popi beyond measure. He immediately agreed without hesitation. Only a fool would refuse such an opportunity.
Naturally, Shen Zhouzhou would never agree willingly, so extraordinary circumstances required extraordinary measures.
After some thought, Li Hongxia realized that carrying out the plan at home would be too risky. If Old Shen or the neighbors happened to see anything, she would never be able to explain it. Although Old Shen had largely been swayed by her pillow talk over the years, Shen Zhouzhou was still his biological daughter. No matter what, he surely still felt at least a little affection for her.
As for how much of that affection counted as fatherly love, that was another matter entirely.
It would be much easier to carry out the scheme elsewhere. All she had to do was wait for the right moment and then lead people over to catch them in bed.
Even if someone discovered the truth, she could simply claim that Shen Zhouzhou had seduced Wang Popi. By then, the rice would already be cooked. Shen Zhouzhou’s innocence would be gone, and whether she wanted to or not, she would have no choice but to marry him. No one would ever suspect Li Hongxia’s involvement.
Li Hongxia first rented a house outside, then arranged the timing with Wang Popi, telling him to hide there in advance. She would bring Shen Zhouzhou over, and once the drug took effect, he could come out.
She even bought an animal breeding drug used for impregnating sows. Afraid Shen Zhouzhou might refuse to eat it, she went so far as to buy half a kilogram of meat, spending more than she normally ever would.
She mixed the entire packet of the drug into the meat, showing absolutely no concern for Shen Zhouzhou’s life.
After setting the food on the table, Li Hongxia unlocked Shen Zhouzhou’s room and let her out.
Afraid Shen Zhouzhou would become suspicious, she deliberately cursed at her.
“Hurry up and eat. After you’re done, go clean the house at Number XX. If you don’t do a good job, forget about working at the Machinery Factory.”
At first, the original Shen Zhouzhou found it strange that Li Hongxia was suddenly treating her so well and was even willing to let her eat meat. But after hearing those harsh words, all her suspicions disappeared.
While she was eating, Li Hongxia and Shen Fangfang stared at her without blinking. Only after they saw her eat the drugged meat did they finally relax.
Their constant staring made the original Shen Zhouzhou uneasy. She wondered whether eating the meat would earn her another beating. Normally, she never even got a taste of it. But seeing that neither of them made a move, she quickly finished the meal. After all, she rarely even got to eat a few scraps of meat, and she had been craving it for a long time. As soon as she was done, she hurried toward House Number XX.
“Mom, what if something goes wrong?”
Both Li Hongxia and Shen Fangfang worried that their plan might fail, so they secretly followed Shen Zhouzhou all the way there. Only after seeing her enter the house did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“Don’t worry, my daughter. This time she’s finished for good. Her job will be yours, and everything in this family will belong to you and your younger brother. Once she’s married off, no one will ever threaten your happiness again.”
Li Hongxia smiled so broadly that every wrinkle on her face seemed to smooth out.
“Let’s head home first. If your father asks, just tell him someone saw her fooling around with a hoodlum. Tonight we’ll bring the neighbors over to catch them together. I gave her enough of that drug to keep it working for quite a while. Besides, I’ve already looked into it. That Wang Popi is a complete pervert. He has all kinds of cruel ways of abusing women, and who knows how many women he’s tormented to death. That little bitch will lose at least half her life before he’s through with her.”
“Alright.”
The thought of Shen Zhouzhou’s miserable state filled Shen Fangfang with excitement. Better yet, she hoped Wang Popi would slash that bitch’s beautiful face, so she could never use those seductive looks to entice men ever again.
The original Shen Zhouzhou had inherited her mother’s beauty. Her skin was astonishingly fair, the kind that stood out instantly in a crowd.
People in those days had little awareness of sun protection, and most spent their days earning work points outdoors, so their complexions were generally quite dark. The original Shen Zhouzhou, however, was different. Her skin was so pale that it almost seemed to glow, and no matter how much sun she got, she simply refused to tan. Describing her skin as smooth and delicate as congealed cream was hardly an exaggeration.
She had a delicate, petite face and skin as soft and supple as fresh water. Her phoenix eyes shimmered with the gentle ripples of a lake, while the natural charm hidden beneath her lowered lashes made her effortlessly captivating. She was tall, and although slender, her graceful curves remained impossible to ignore, giving her an irresistibly alluring figure.
As people often said, she looked just like a fox spirit.
It could only be said that beauty itself was a gift from heaven.
In those days, being too beautiful was practically a crime. Don’t ask why. If you have to ask, it’s because you’re simply not beautiful enough to understand. Perhaps you should reflect on yourself instead.