Witty Wife, Better Life

Chapter 342: Chapter 332 Resolved Issue

The issue seemed to be resolved satisfactorily, but within the family quarters, Shen Yunfang’s reputation had taken a hit with some people.

Especially Wang Guifen, who went around saying that Shen Yunfang’s character was no good. First, she was unfilial because she, as a daughter-in-law, should have repaid the money her mother-in-law borrowed, but instead, she didn’t repay and pressured her brother-in-law to do so, which was despicable. Moreover, her family had been unable to make ends meet for several months because of it; Shen Yunfang truly owed Wang Guifen for her kindness, and she emphasized that had she known what kind of person Shen Yunfang was, she would never have lent money to her mother-in-law. Second, they said Shen Yunfang was unprincipled—after all, they were neighbors and had lent money for the sake of Li Hongjun’s face, yet she acted as if nothing had happened upon her return, never even stopping by to show her gratitude, apparently not satisfied with them lending money to her mother-in-law. Sigh, no use talking about it anymore—it was their mistake to be meddlesome, and they certainly wouldn’t be lending money to her family again.

Of course, some people understood the whole situation and knew that Shen Yunfang was the most innocent, and they empathized with her feelings. After all, everyone was a daughter-in-law, and no one wanted to be saddled with debt out of the blue. They greatly admired Shen Yunfang for having the courage to stand up against malicious forces. As a result, over these days, Shen Yunfang received several sisters-in-law at her home for casual chats. From their words and actions, Shen Yunfang could feel their goodwill and was delighted to have such neighbors.

By the end of September, Shen Yunfang finally received the remittance slip from Li Hongqi—two hundred yuan, not a cent more, not a cent less.

It seemed Li Hongqi had realized that Shen Yunfang intended not to give him another penny, so even if he didn’t repay the money now, he still had to pay it back in the future, which is why he promptly repaid the entire two hundred yuan that Qiu Shuping had borrowed here.

This just showed that Qiu Shuping’s attempts to scrounge were purely bullying; she wasn’t short of money when she went south to visit her son, she was just taking advantage of Shen Yunfang’s vulnerability, trying to squeeze whatever she could.

With the remittance slip in hand, Shen Yunfang went directly to the organization department leader, asking the leader to help her withdraw the money. It was quite difficult for her to make a trip to the city while taking care of children, so she could only trouble the leader.

After getting the two hundred yuan, she once again pleaded with the leader to find someone to accompany her as she went from house to house to repay the money, explaining that she didn’t recognize many of the sisters-in-law who lent the money as she hadn’t been there long; she feared making mistakes and thought it safer to have someone with her.

Of course, the attitudes of the sisters-in-law she encountered while repaying the money were not uniform. Most welcomed her with a smile, took the money, and bemoaned Shen Yunfang’s over-politeness, claiming such a small amount could be repaid whenever possible and that there was no hurry since their families didn’t need it urgently. However, one or two sisters-in-law were not so warm, sparing no acidic remarks towards Shen Yunfang about how unprincipled her family was for not acknowledging the debt. Throughout all of it, Shen Yunfang remained smiling, but her message was unmistakably clear.

From now on, she would neither manage nor repay the debts she hadn’t personally incurred. If they wished to repeat this situation, they were welcome to try.

In the end, the two hundred yuan was repaid in full, and the matter was satisfactorily concluded.

Nobody gained or lost in the process because everyone had a difficult time during this period.

Firstly, Shen Yunfang. Though she didn’t pay a cent, she became famous in the family quarters after this incident, and not in a good way for some. To put it politely, many people considered her unfilial and spiteful. Furthermore, the vegetable garden she worked hard on all summer was damaged by others, and not many of the fifty quails her family owned survived, resulting in a substantial financial loss. Of course, the silver lining was that no one would dare borrow money from her family from now on, fearing she wouldn’t repay.

Then there were the military wives who loaned money to Qiu Shuping. They spent many anxious days fearing Shen Yunfang would deny the debt and delay repayment. So everyone agreed that they shouldn’t lend money to Shen Yunfang’s family in the future. On the bright side, they had enjoyed several of her quails for free, which served as interest of sorts.

Finally, there were Li Hongqi and Qiu Shuping, who had groveled around borrowing money, thinking they could trick Li Hongjun, only to find themselves having to fill the hole they had dug. They didn’t gain any advantage, and their actions caused an uproar at the school, with all sorts of rumors spreading and catching Li Hongqi off guard. Fortunately, he acted decisively and quickly transferred the money, quelling the storm. Besides harboring resentment towards Li Hongjun and his wife, he also felt displeased with Qiu Shuping for her unreliable handling of matters, thinking her unfit for significant responsibilities—though he kept these thoughts to himself, outwardly keeping Qiu Shuping’s spirits high. Meanwhile, Qiu Shuping detested her daughter-in-law for undermining her, holding deep resentment.

Time flew, and it was November already. Shen Yunfang was five months pregnant, and Li Hongjun finally returned with his troops.

"Yunfang, Yunfang?" Mrs. Wu jogged all the way to her own house, her face brimming with a smile. When she reached Shen Yunfang’s house, she didn’t forget to call out loudly twice.

"Yeah, I’m here, what’s up, sister-in-law?" Shen Yunfang’s belly had already swelled, and these days she couldn’t be bothered to move around much at home. At that moment, she was lying on the kang bed playing with Pangpang.

Hearing Mrs. Wu calling her, she sat up and pushed open the window to call out and ask.

"Nothing serious, just letting you know, Hongjun and the others have returned," said Mrs. Wu, beaming, as her own man had returned as well.

Shen Yunfang’s eyes instantly brightened when she heard this. "Really? Sister-in-law, they’re really back?" It had been four months since he left, and she didn’t even know what kind of mission he had been on; he was gone for such a long time.

"Indeed, I just saw them; the troops have already entered the military district. I suppose they’ll be home in a while. You should hurry up and boil some water; they’ll definitely need a good wash when they get back," said Mrs. Wu, who had also hurried home to get ready.

"Okay, I got it, thanks, sister-in-law," said Shen Yunfang with a smile.

"Why be so polite." Mrs. Wu finished speaking and entered her own home.

Shen Yunfang watched Mrs. Wu go inside her house and did not move.

It was just after one in the afternoon. From her experience, Li Hongjun wouldn’t be able to return until dinner time; he would have to finish reporting to his superiors before he could come home.

She played with the child until three in the afternoon. Pangpang, perhaps knowing his dad was coming home, didn’t feel like sleeping even though it was his usual naptime. He crawled around the kang bed with wide-open eyes.

Shen Yunfang glanced at the time, realizing that if she didn’t start cooking, she wouldn’t make it. Looking at her son bouncing around on the kang, she had no choice but to let him play on his own.

She pulled the blankets over to one side to blockade the edge and let him crawl around inside the kang. Then, without any worry, she went to the main room to boil water for Li Hongjun.