Zhao Yaoyao grabbed his hand and said with utmost sincerity, “Even if we get divorced, it has to be a month from now.”
Shen Xingshu asked, “Why?”
Zhao Yaoyao nimbly hopped down from the bed, patted her stomach, and began spouting serious nonsense: “We only shared a bed last night, and we didn’t use any protection. What if I’m already pregnant? Do you expect me to become a single mother?”
Shen Xingshu hesitated. He had already given up hope of having children. Having been injured while carrying out a mission and having visited a doctor some time ago, he knew it would be very difficult for him to ever have a child of his own.
“If I’m not pregnant after a month, I’ll walk away quietly, how about that?”
A month’s time would be more than enough for her to find a new place to land her feet and adapt to this unfamiliar world.
Of course, managing to pocket this handsome hunk was the best-case scenario. After all, he wasn’t bad-looking, was great in bed to boot, and had decent genes. Even if she ultimately went the route of “keeping the child and dumping the father,” she would still come out ahead with a guaranteed profit.
Worn down by her nagging and sweet talk, Shen Xingshu finally agreed to give her one more chance.
This time, Shen Shuxing had only taken a few days of leave from the military and would have to head back in three or four days. She had to seize these next few days to put on a good performance and rack up some favorable impressions.
“Xingshu, tell your wife to come out and eat.”
Li Mei finished making breakfast and stood at the doorway calling them to the table.
Zhao Yaoyao opened the door and walked out to see a few small bowls placed on a square little table. Inside the bowls was thin, watery porridge, and in the middle sat a small plate of dry, shriveled pickles. This was the family’s breakfast.
In truth, given Shen Shuxing’s monthly military allowance, the family’s life shouldn’t have been this bitter, but unfortunately, all the family’s money had been funneled away in various ways to subsidize others.
“Yo, are you waiting for my mom to feed you right into your mouth? You sure have a high-and-mighty attitude. You’re nowhere to be seen when there’s work to do, but you’re awfully enthusiastic when it’s time to eat.”
Standing next to the dining table was a young girl around seventeen or eighteen years old, her gaze filled with hostility and disgust toward her.
This should be Shen Shuxing’s youngest sister, Shen Shuyu. She was kind-hearted, sincere to others, and quite naive—it was just a pity that her ultimate ending wouldn’t be good; she would be cheated of her money and heart by a scumbag, and after falling into despair, she would jump into a river and commit suicide.
“Shuyu, don’t talk to your sister-in-law like that. Hurry up and sit down to eat,” Li Mei tugged at her clothes, signaling her not to run her mouth.
It wasn’t that she was afraid of Zhao Yaoyao, but rather that her physical condition was truly too poor. She was afraid that if her daughter said a few extra words, it would make the woman angry enough to land back at the health clinic, which would cost money all over again.
Over the past three years, whenever this daughter-in-law was unhappy or displeased, it was either a pain in her chest or shortness of breath, meaning she was the only one allowed to curse others while nobody else was allowed to utter a single bad word to her. Even when she funneled all their money to her natal family, they didn’t dare say a peep; if they did, the woman would dare to go commit suicide, or throw a massive, screaming tantrum. To avoid damaging her son’s reputation, they always swallowed their bitterness and ground their teeth down to the stumps, tortured to absolute misery by her.
Despite cringing and playing the submissive role, the other party still constantly stirred up trouble, greeting their ancestors every couple of days.
When sick and weak, she looked like she could drop dead at any moment; when frantic and crazy, she acted just like a rabid dog.
Shen Shuyu pouted, but ultimately didn’t say anything more.
Because she was genuinely afraid that the woman would just suddenly pop and die right in their house, which would ruin her older brother’s career prospects.
“You guys sit here and eat first; I’ll take a bowl in to your dad.”
Li Mei picked up a bit of pickled vegetable with her chopsticks and walked into the inner room.
Shen Hai had been paralyzed even longer than Zhao Yaoyao had been married into the family. It was an accident that happened back at the coal mine where three people died. Shen Hai managed to survive by a stroke of luck, but his spine was injured, his lower body lost all sensation, and he was permanently bedridden. The coal mine boss still hadn’t been caught to this day.
Only the three of them were left at the dining table. Shen Shuyu kept her head down eating without speaking, while Shen Shuxing wore a cold expression, making Zhao Yaoyao feel somewhat at a loss.
The rice grains in the bowl were distinct and separate. Calling it a meal was more like filling up on water. In just two or three bites, she finished the rice soup in her hand, but her stomach still felt hollow, and her mouth tasted completely bland and flavorless.
Back in the modern world, she only had two hobbies: reading novels and eating delicious food. The two of them were her spiritual pillars.
As soon as he finished eating, Shen Shuxing stood up and left. Zhao Yaoyao called out to his retreating back, “Where are you going?”
The other party didn’t answer her, leaving behind only a desolate and resolute silhouette.
“My brother is completely angered by you. Sooner or later, my brother’s going to be pissed to death by you.”
Shen Shuyu muttered while clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, unable to resist shooting her a sideways glare.
No matter which angle you looked at it, this sister-in-law of hers was exceptionally pretty. No wonder her brother was so utterly bewitched by her that he refused to get a divorce even after she wrecked the family like this.
Zhao Yaoyao stepped up to help clear the table, startling Shen Shuyu so much that she froze in place, taking quite a while to react.
Even a lazy bum who refused to lift a finger was starting to become diligent now?
Wait!
Could it be that she was planning to sell off the few remaining bowls they had left too?!
“Zhao Yaoyao, I’m warning you! If you dare to sell the things in this house again, I’ll fight you to the death!”
Shen Shuyu blocked the doorway with the posture of someone risking it all.
Because she despised her, she had never once called her sister-in-law.
To her surprise, Zhao Yaoyao simply picked up the bowls and walked straight into the kitchen, starting to wash and scrub away.
After washing the dishes, Zhao Yaoyao searched the kitchen from top to bottom. The rice jar had hit rock bottom, and not a single thing related to food could be found anywhere. Even the firewood was down to just a few scraps. It looked like the meager bowl of rice soup from the morning must have been their very last meal.
Zhao Yaoyao let out a silent sigh.
It looked like she was going to have to clean up the rotten mess left behind by the original owner.
The only problem was she didn’t have a single penny on her—what was she supposed to use to buy groceries?
Just as she was worrying, she caught sight of the medicine jar nearby.
That’s right! Living near the mountains, you eat from the mountains; living near the sea, you eat from the sea. She could go up into the mountain and dig up some herbs to sell, or at the very least forage some wild vegetables to bring back and eat for a few meals.
As long as she dragged it out until next month when Shen Shuxing received his military allowance, she wouldn’t have to worry about starving to death.
No sooner said than done, Zhao Yaoyao found a small back-basket in the kitchen, strapped it onto her back, and stepped out the door in high spirits.
She was happy to have solved her livelihood crisis, but that glaring smile tasted completely different in Shen Shuyu’s eyes.
“Mom, I’m heading out for a bit. I’ll come back later to wash Dad’s clothes.” Dropping those words, Shen Shuyu tiptoed along behind her.
Zhao Yaoyao hadn’t walked very far before she noticed the person trailing behind her. Knowing it was Shen Shuyu, she didn’t pay her any mind and simply made her own way up the mountain.
The wild vegetables along the roadside had already been dug up pretty much clean, and there weren’t many medicinal herbs left either, so she headed deeper inward, finding a small path to try her luck.
It had rained just yesterday, and a lot of mushrooms had popped up in the mountain, though people around here didn’t dare eat them easily—after all, during the famine years, some people had eaten them and been escorted straight off to meet their ancestors on the very same day.
Zhao Yaoyao’s target was medicinal herbs that could be sold for money. Scanning her eyes around, she spotted what she was looking for.
Common herbs like half-herb (Scutellaria barbata), pale bamboo leaves, self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), and dandelions were all scattered about.
Zhao Yaoyao had strong hands-on skills and worked at an extremely fast pace without damaging the integrity of the herbs themselves. In no time at all, she had packed a full basket.
Seeing this situation from her hiding spot not far away, Shen Shuyu couldn’t help muttering under her breath, “What time even is this? We don’t even have enough food to eat, and she still has the mood to mess around with these useless flowers and plants.”
She turned around, intending to leave, but stumbled with her footing and tumbled down a slope.
“Ah! My leg!”