“If you don’t want that foul mouth of yours anymore, Liu Xianghua, I can help you tear it off.”
Old Mrs. Su’s voice was icy, and to Liu Xianghua’s ears, it felt like accidentally falling into an ice cave when going out, sending chills down her spine.
She quickly shook her head, realizing she had spoken out of turn, and wisely kept her mouth shut.
Nowadays, the family couldn’t afford even the slightest mistake, whether it was Su Wen’s marriage or… that matter.
Old Mrs. Su’s eyes were filled with disdain. This eldest daughter-in-law had never been educated, was narrow-minded, and only knew how to make a mess of things when trouble arose. On top of that, she had a bunch of messy relatives.
Back then, marrying off her eldest son to such a daughter-in-law had been a last resort.
In truth, she was quite satisfied with Wang Lihua, the younger daughter-in-law. Her family background was simple—just an old mother and an older brother. Especially after the marriage, Old Mrs. Su had used some tricks to cut off Wang Lihua’s ties with her natal family, making her very easy to control.
It was just a pity that Wang Lihua had bad luck. No matter how satisfied Old Mrs. Su was, there was nothing she could do. After all, what mother wouldn’t want the best for her child?
Meanwhile, Wang Lihua was also thinking about the future.
She understood Old Mrs. Su and the eldest branch’s temperament—they would never give up until they got their hands on the pension.
What she had learned from Su Erbao about the future indicated that if she didn’t cut ties with that family once and for all, there would be a series of troubles ahead.
She looked at her two daughters reading on the small bed and sighed.
If she used the pension as a condition to sever ties with the Su family, the two children would likely have to endure a long period of hardship with her.
She then looked around the room, her frown deepening.
Su Erbao had said that after borrowing the pension for Su Wen’s wedding, the eldest branch had forcibly taken over their house under the pretext that Su Wen’s wife was pregnant.
In other words, this house was also something the eldest branch had long coveted.
After much thought, Wang Lihua still couldn’t make up her mind. She decided to speak softly, “Dabao, Erbao, Mom has something to discuss with you.”
After taking her medicine, she felt much better. She had even eaten a small bowl of rice soaked in pig trotter soup for dinner, and now her voice no longer sounded as weak as before.
Su Dabao and Su Erbao put down their books and listened attentively.
The expressions on the sisters’ faces were identical. They had both inherited the best features of Su Dagui and Wang Lihua, surpassing their parents in looks.
Wang Lihua was very beautiful, with an oval face, almond-shaped eyes, and fair skin.
Su Dagui, on the other hand, had a tall nose bridge and a pair of Ruifeng eyes. If he dressed up a bit, he could look like a nobleman—no wonder a wealthy city girl had taken a liking to him at first sight.
Su Dabao had inherited Wang Lihua’s almond-shaped eyes, which made her look very spirited, though her appearance and temperament didn’t quite match her personality.
As for Su Erbao, she had inherited the Su family’s ancestral Ruifeng eyes. When she wasn’t smiling, they looked slightly gloomy, giving off an inexplicable sense of pressure.
When she was still a genuine five-year-old child, these eyes weren’t very noticeable. But now, having been reborn from the age of 45, this sense of pressure was very pronounced.
“Mom, what is it?” Su Erbao asked with a smile, softening the gloom on her face.
Wang Lihua then shared everything she had been thinking about.
“I want to use the pension money to sever ties with the Su family, but they’re definitely eyeing the house too. If we don’t give them the house, there will surely be endless trouble later.”
“And if we continue living here, we’ll have to be cautious even when eating, just like tonight—having to stuff the door cracks when we eat meat.”
“If we move to the village entrance, where there are no neighbors around, we can live more freely, and we won’t have to worry about Erbao’s situation being discovered.”
“However, Mom still wants to hear your opinions. If you’re unwilling about that 300 yuan pension money…”
Before she could finish, Su Erbao nodded, “Mom, I have no objections.”
She felt the same way—to sever ties with the Su family and move to the village entrance.
If she didn’t have Pin-Xi-Xi, she would never give up that 300 yuan no matter what.
But now that she had this Golden Finger, the 300 yuan didn’t matter anymore.
Su Dabao thought for a moment and looked at Wang Lihua, “Mom, do we really have to give them the money?”
Wang Lihua hummed in agreement, her expression gradually darkening, “They’re a pack of wolves that devour people without spitting out the bones. If we don’t give it to them, there will surely be endless trouble.”
“And if we don’t give it, we definitely won’t be able to sever ties.”
Su Dabao nodded, not fully understanding but accepting it, “Alright, I’ll listen to you, Mom.”
Su Erbao spoke up at the right moment, “We can give it to them, but not privately. We should do it in front of everyone, so they can bear witness for us and prevent them from pestering us later.”
Most importantly, she had already thought of how to give them a big “gift.”
This was certain, and Wang Lihua naturally understood, “When they come to borrow money again, I’ll talk to them.”
Wang Lihua guessed correctly. With her holding onto that 300 yuan, how could the eldest branch give up? Early the next morning, Su Wen came over.
Su Dabao didn’t go out to gather firewood today because Su Erbao had bought charcoal from Pin-Xi-Xi, so she no longer had to suffer the cold outside.
As soon as she opened the door, Su Wen knelt down with a thud.
Through the half-open door, he met Wang Lihua’s gaze as she leaned against the bed inside. Su Wen choked up, “Aunt, Juanzi is pregnant.”
Su Erbao jumped down from her small bed and immediately retorted, “Is it my mom’s child?”
Her words nearly left Su Wen speechless, unsure how to continue.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the anger and humiliation in his heart, and kowtowed heavily toward Wang Lihua inside the room.
“Aunt, Juanzi said the betrothal gift is just for show, to appease her relatives. Once we’re married, I’ll return it immediately. It won’t delay your medical treatment at all.”
“You’ve always been good to me since I was little, and I’ve always regarded you as my second mother, treating Dabao and Erbao as my own sisters. When they grow up, I, as their older brother, will definitely support them…”
The underlying meaning in his words was clear to Su Erbao as soon as she heard it.
It was nothing more than implying that Wang Lihua only had two daughters, with no future support, and could only rely on him, her nephew. When the sisters married in the future, they would also need their natal family’s backing.
Pah! This was nothing but a blatant threat!
Su Erbao sneered at his words. Why would Mom need to rely on him? She had only lost a scumbag husband—it wasn’t like she couldn’t remarry…
Wait! Remarry!
That’s right, Mom is still so young, only 32 this year!
If this were in later times, plenty of people at this age wouldn’t even be married yet!
Su Erbao made up her mind—once they completely broke free from the Su family pack of jackals, she would do everything she could to persuade Mom to find a second chance at love. As for that scumbag Su Dagui, he didn’t deserve Mom staying a widow for him!