Shen Chunfen's face turned livid. "She even raised a hand against me just now! If she dares to hit her own mother-in-law, what won't she do? These past few years, our family has been completely dragged down by her."
Shen Yuchu just stood there watching Shen Chunfen fabricate stories about her right in front of Lin Xuan.
Her calm face remained utterly devoid of ripples.
It was now the late 1980s, and some families had already installed telephones—like the Lin family.
The household phone rang, and Shen Chunfen picked it up to find it was the in-law calling.
Shen Chunfen knew it was from the canning factory director Wu's household. The reason for the call was that Lin Hui had come home soaked to the bone carrying her child; now Lin Hui was sick and hooked up to an IV, and the child was ill as well.
The entire blame for this incident was pinned squarely on Shen Yuchu. Judging by the tone of Director Wu's wife, Mother Wu, on the other end of the line, Shen Chunfen was expected to pay for the medical expenses of both Lin Hui and her child.
The moment Shen Chunfen heard about money, she hurriedly began apologizing to her in-law, spouting one ingratiating pleasantry after another.
What money could she possibly have? She relied entirely on going to the street to sell some vegetables grown at home to make a little pocket change, and even these earnings were periodically scooped up and carried off by Lin Hui whenever she came home.
Now that Shen Yuchu had drenched Lin Hui with river water, both mother and child had fallen ill.
After hanging up the phone, Shen Chunfen turned to Shen Yuchu and snapped, "You troublemaking pest, your older sister is sick, and it's all your fault! You had to go and splash her with river water for no reason, landing her in the hospital on an IV—you're paying for this!"
Shen Yuchu replied, "Mom, isn't all our family's money with you? Including your son's military allowance—I haven't even laid eyes on a single cent of it."
Hearing this, Lin Xuan turned his head to look at Shen Yuchu. "You—say..."
Hearing those words, Shen Chunfen took two strides over, pinned her son's arm down, and said to him, "Son, don't argue with her, she's always been like this. Ever since she married into our family, she's never been satisfied, she doesn't know how to show filial piety to her elders, and she's always stirring up trouble—just like a stinking stir-stick!"
Shen Yuchu knew that the original owner had lived a life of grievance and repression ever since she married in.
And now, she was even being falsely accused by this partial mother-in-law.
Shen Yuchu retorted to Lin Xuan, "Are you just going to believe whatever your mother says? Anyway, you're nothing more than an unweaned baby yourself!"
Lin Xuan's dark, thick brows drew together as he raised a finger and pointed toward the inner rooms. "Go back to your room!"
"I am not going back to my room!"
Lin Xuan stared at Shen Yuchu. "I told you to go back to your room."
"What right do you have to order me back to my room? I want you to go back instead! Not showing up early, not showing up late, but suddenly coming back three years after our wedding—fine, let's go down to the village brigade and get a certificate drawn up, because I want a divorce!"
Shen Chunfen pointed a finger straight at Shen Yuchu. "You said it yourself! Once our son leaves you, he can easily find someone much better than you.
My son is so handsome, so tall, and an army officer to boot; he is bound to find someone better than you—someone from the city. Just look at yourself, what are you?"
"Shen Yuchu, apart from a face that's barely passable, there isn't a single part of you worth looking at! You have no height, no education, and no strength. What makes you think you're a match for my son?"
Shen Yuchu clicked her tongue. "Shen Chunfen, have you lost your mind? Back in the hayloft, if your son hadn't grabbed me and begged and pleaded like a desperate dog to marry him,
while also tearing my clothes and getting a crowd of people to watch so my reputation was completely ruined, would I ever have married into this family?"
At these words, Lin Xuan's stern, sharp gaze flickered, and his lips trembled slightly. "No, you... Shen Yuchu..." Wasn't she getting this completely backward?
Wasn't this the Shen family's own idea?
Wasn't this something her own family members did? Back then, because of this stunt, they stubbornly demanded two thousand yuan in betrothal gifts from his family.
That thousand yuan had even been scraped together by Lin Hui from her in-laws' place—all to get him married.
How could she turn around and spin things like this now?
Shen Yuchu didn't even bat an eyelid as she finished. "What? Want to renege now? Oh, that's right, that's right... the betrothal money is still with my natal family!"
At the time, she had listened to her mother, who claimed that the betrothal money needed to be [saved] for her.
Yet it had been sitting there in savings for three full years, and she hadn't touched a single hair of it!
Thinking of this, Shen Yuchu rolled her eyes and turned her head to look straight at Lin Xuan's vehicle.
She said to Shen Chunfen, "Don't you want to pay for Big Sister's medical care? I don't have any money on hand either. Here's an idea: have your son drive me back so we can demand my betrothal money back from my family.
Wouldn't that give us cash? And not just the betrothal money, but all the dowry items your family sent over back then are sitting right there at my parents' house."
When she, Shen Yuchu, had gotten married, she had only had a single clean set of clothes on her back.
Not a single piece of the dowry items the Lin family had sent over was given to her by the Shen family.
Shen Yuchu's mother, Lü Chunhuan, had said: "Little Chu, you're the older sister, and you have a younger brother below you. He isn't small anymore and should be getting married.
You're the elder sister; in this world, which older sister doesn't cherish her own younger brother?
In the future, if you're ever mistreated in the Lin family, you'll still have your brother to back you up. Don't worry and just go on with the marriage!"
Yet precisely because she had married empty-handed, she was forever looked down upon by the Lin family.
After all, the Lin family had provided two thousand yuan in betrothal gifts, the "three rounds and one sound," and festive quilts—a grand wedding set of six mattresses and six quilts.
Shen Yuchu's mother had kept every single piece of it. In the end, when Shen Yuchu arrived as a bride, Lin Hui looked at the bridal bed and saw only old bedding; feeling that she was losing face, Lin Hui had dipped into her own pocket to buy a new set of bedding for her younger brother to serve as the bridal chamber setup.
As for Lin Xuan, who knew what was going through his mind on their wedding night—he had gotten roaring drunk, staggered back, collapsed onto the bed, and fallen fast asleep without touching her at all.
The next day, claiming he had a mission, he packed his duffel and walked right out the door.
That departure lasted for more than three years.
And now, he had finally returned.
Before her marriage, Shen Yuchu had been utterly obedient at her natal family's home. When Lü Chunhuan told her to do the laundry, Shen Yuchu wouldn't dare resist even when her hands bled.
In the bitter depths of winter, Shen Yuchu had to wash clothes for the entire household while Lü Chunhuan simply watched without adding a single drop of warm water, leaving her hands covered in painful chilblains.
Lü Chunhuan would say: "A girl is nothing more than losing goods. We might as well make use of her while she's home these few years, and once she grows up, marry her off to rake in a hefty betrothal bride-price so we can get a wife for her brother."
That was the only value of giving birth to a daughter!
And now, both the betrothal gifts and the dowry had all been pocketed and saved by her.
Because of this, the original Shen Yuchu had never dared to defy her mother, firmly believing that obedience to her mother equaled [filial piety]!
Yet the returned Shen Yuchu of today considered the original owner's stance to be nothing short of foolish filial piety!
What was the point of showing filial piety to a mother like that?
With that, she raised her voice and declared, "Shen Chunfen, have your son drive the car and go to my parents' house to demand the betrothal money back!
Oh, and bring along your fireplace poker. If my mother refuses to hand it over, beat her for me! You don't need to spare my feelings!"
Shen Chunfen froze on the spot, her scolding coming to an abrupt halt as she stared blankly at Lin Xuan. "Has she... completely lost her mind?"