Qin Huairu forcefully suppressed the unhappiness in her heart, returned to the room, and lowered her voice to explain, "Mom, I just wanted to go to Shazhu's place... to help him wash and fold the clothes he collected the last couple of days... and I'll be back in a moment to make dinner..." She tried to maintain the posture of "earning money for the family."
"Go to Shazhu's place?" Mrs. Jia spoke as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world, her sneer sharp enough to cut glass. "What else are you going there for? Going to put on your virtuous act for people to see? Have you not heard enough of that little bastard Su Changshun's bullshit? Shazhu's little bit of grease has been completely squeezed dry by Su Changshun in exchange for that broken bicycle of his. Shazhu is nothing more than an empty shell and a pauper right now, his trouser pockets cleaner than his face, without a single fart to his name. What are you running over there for? To do free labor for someone?"
Mrs. Jia's voice grew louder and higher, spraying spittle as she spoke, "Even when begging for food, you have to wait until there's something in other people's bowls. If you go over there now, even if you wash ten pieces of clothes, he won't be able to squeeze out a single cent. Are you stupid? Huh?"
Chapter 35