Shen Zhiyi rolled her eyes in exasperation. Those stubborn, old-fashioned women set in their outdated ways and completely unenlightened had the nerve to manipulate and brainwash their own granddaughters?
“Grandma was wrong. It doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl; going to school and learning is always a good thing. When you grow up, you’ll even go to university. Miaomiao, what kind of work do you want to do when you’re older?”
“…I don’t know,” Miaomiao shook her head. Her grandmother had always told her that when girls grew up, all they were meant to do was get married, have children, look after their families, and spend their whole lives doing endless housework, just like her mother.
“That’s alright. You don’t have to know right now you’ll figure it out as you get older. And Auntie will be here to help you every step of the way.”
“Thank you, Auntie.” Miaomiao nodded.
“You’re very welcome.”
After lunch, when Miaomiao had finished eating and gone to take her afternoon nap in her grandmother’s room, Shen Zhiyi spoke to Shen Zhilan about life in the Li family’s household.
The moment Shen Zhilan began talking about it, she was overcome with grievance and sadness. She had always been the kind of person who would put up with mistreatment for a while, but every so often, she would speak up and make her feelings clear, letting them know exactly where her boundaries lay.
It was three years ago, after Shen Zhiyi had been taken away and imprisoned, that her position and standing in her husband’s family had become far more difficult. Life for her and Miaomiao in those three years had truly been tough.
Apart from the people of Lihua Village who had watched both sisters grow up people from other villages all believed Shen Zhiyi had gotten what she deserved, claiming she was cruel and heartless.
Some troublemakers had even gone all the way to Lijia Gou, where her husband’s family lived, to warn Li Fei and his parents to be careful around Shen Zhilan. They said that since Shen Zhiyi was such a ruthless person, her older sister could very well turn cold and unfeeling one day too.
During that time, Li Fei had treated Shen Zhilan with great indifference and neglect. But because there was always so much work to be done at home, and he had to go out to earn money, he still needed a wife to manage the household and take care of everything. And so, despite all the tension and unhappiness, they had carried on with their lives as best they could.
The biggest source of conflict between them had always been the fact that Shen Zhilan had given birth to a daughter rather than a son.
Later on, she had fallen pregnant twice more. The first time, she had suffered a miscarriage naturally. The second time, when her mother-in-law noticed that her belly was round and protruding in exactly the same way it had been when she was carrying Miaomiao, she secretly slipped medicine to end the pregnancy into her porridge.
After that, Shen Zhilan found it very difficult to conceive again.
If she really could get that job at the supply and marketing cooperative, her whole situation would change completely. What’s more, if she wanted to send Miaomiao to school, she wouldn’t even need to ask for Li Fei’s permission she would have her own money to pay for everything.
“From what I can see, you have more than enough troubles with your husband’s family. Sister, why don’t we both just get divorced?”
No sooner had the words left Shen Zhiyi’s mouth than their mother walked into the room.
“What are you talking about? If you get a divorce now, I won’t say a word against it. Lu Yusheng is a terrible man, and leaving him would be just as much of a relief for you as it was for me when I left your father. But that’s not the case for your sister her life with Li Fei is perfectly fine.”
“Is it really fine, Sister?” Shen Zhiyi turned to look at Shen Zhilan.
Only then did Shen Zhilan pour out all the pain and suffering she had endured over the years.
Their mother had always known life with her in-laws was not easy, but since Shen Zhilan had never spoken up about it before, she had assumed things were manageable. Now she finally realized that Li Fei and his family were far from honest or kind people.
“Lanlan, you silly girl why didn’t you tell me all this sooner? Even if I couldn’t afford for us all to eat meat every single day, I would always have been able to make sure we had rice porridge to fill our bellies.”
“We don’t even need to worry about porridge anymore. We have a whole sack full of money now. Sister, Mom and I are your support and your strength you don’t need to be afraid of the Li family at all. If you want a divorce, both Mom and I are right behind you. Isn’t that right, Mom?”
“Getting a divorce isn’t that simple, you know. You haven’t even managed to finalize your own divorce from Lu Yusheng yet.”
“That’s only because I’ve told him I’ll only agree to it if he gets down on his knees and begs me for it,” Shen Zhiyi said firmly.
“A man’s pride and dignity are precious he would never lower himself to kneel before a woman,” Shen Zhilan reminded her. If she truly wanted to end the marriage, she should do it quickly and without unnecessary conditions.
Otherwise, once the Lu family found out how much money her younger sister was earning every month, they might very well refuse to let her go at all.
“Don’t worry. He’ll do exactly as I say. I have proof and evidence against both him and that other woman.”
What Shen Zhiyi didn’t know was that, at that very moment, those two unfaithful people were doing everything in their power to make sure that evidence hidden inside Jiang Ruochu’s body was removed for good.
Shen Zhiyi spent the next two days resting and relaxing at home.
By the afternoon of the second day, however, her mother had finally learned the truth about what had happened that night how Zhou Muchuan had escorted her daughter home, and how on the way they had run into the most reckless, daring, and dangerous gang of robbers operating in and around Jitian Town.
When she heard the villagers talking about the terrifying events of that night, she was so shocked and frightened that she felt as though her soul had nearly left her body.
It had happened exactly at the time when Officer Zhou had brought Zhiyi home. She remembered that she had been asleep, but she had woken up feeling a heavy weight on her chest and having a terrible nightmare, after which she had been unable to sleep again. And not long after that, Officer Zhou and Zhiyi had arrived.
Realizing there was no way to keep it a secret any longer, Shen Zhiyi told her mother the whole story, even claiming that she had single-handedly taken down four of the attackers. To make herself sound even more impressive and brave, she added that Zhou Muchuan had only managed to defeat two men, meaning she was clearly far more capable than he was.
Her mother thought she was just boasting and making things up, so Shen Zhiyi took out the pepper spray she carried with her. “Mom, I’m telling you the truth. This stuff is really effective and easy to use. I’ve left several bottles here at home for you too if you ever run into thieves or troublemakers, you can use it to protect yourself.”
She had also given several bottles to Shen Zhilan the day before, when her sister had returned to her husband’s home, telling her to keep them for her own safety.
“What exactly is this thing?” Her mother found it hard to believe that such a small bottle of liquid could be so powerful.
Shen Zhiyi decided to give her a demonstration. “Mom, hold your nose tight and keep your mouth closed, alright?”
She then sprayed a little bit of the liquid into the air.
Cough… cough… cough… The sharp, strong scent immediately made her mother cough and splutter uncontrollably.
Now she was convinced. “Is this made from chili water or something?”
“Something like that, but it also has other special ingredients mixed in,” Shen Zhiyi nodded.
“Imagine how much easier things would have been if our soldiers had had things like this to help them when they were fighting the invaders years ago!”
“Where did you get this from anyway?”
“Um… I made it myself. And I can even sell it for money too.”
This time, her mother truly believed her.
She had never imagined her daughter would grow up to be so capable and resourceful, with so many ways of earning a living and taking care of herself.
If Lu Yusheng ever found out just how talented and successful she had become, he would be filled with regret and misery, so much so that he would probably wish he could turn back time.
But by then, it would already be far too late for him.
After breakfast and lunch the next day, her mother insisted that Shen Zhiyi return to town immediately. Even though she had all kinds of clever tools and methods to protect herself, the criminals they had encountered were ruthless and dangerous. If they ever met people who were willing to risk everything and fight to the death, Shen Zhiyi’s slight frame would be no match for them at all.
Finding it impossible to argue or reason with her mother, Shen Zhiyi packed her belongings, took her case Ruyi, and set off back to town.
She arrived at Fumanlou Restaurant very early it was not even two o’clock in the afternoon.
The two chefs had just finished their work and were taking their afternoon break. Boss Wei was not there, but Sister Li was managing the restaurant. Seeing Shen Zhiyi return so early, she greeted her with a wide, excited smile.
News of what had happened that night had spread throughout the entire town.
Everyone was talking about how brave and heroic Captain Zhou had been, leading his team to capture the whole gang of more than ten dangerous criminals who had been terrorizing the local area for so long.
Countless people had suffered at their hands over the years. Director Meng of the police station had also found this group particularly difficult to deal with. They appeared and disappeared without warning, carrying out large-scale robberies and then vanishing completely. Even when the police did manage to catch some of them, they remained fiercely loyal to one another, refusing to say a word or give up any information that might help the authorities track down their accomplices.
Now that Zhou Muchuan had brought the whole gang to justice, he had become something of a legend in the town.
Recently, people had been visiting the police station constantly to check on Zhou Muchuan, who was still recovering from his injuries, and he had become busier than ever.
Now that the other key person involved in the incident had returned, Sister Li was absolutely delighted at last, she could hear all the thrilling, first-hand details of what had really happened that night.