NOVPUB
Chapter 452: Chapter 442: Conversation Between Sisters-in-law
"I don’t even dare tell anyone what my brother-in-law does for a living, for fear they might despise me and kick me out. Yet our dear mother, she parades it around like it’s something to be proud of, completely oblivious to how repulsed people are by her," said Wang Dan, who couldn’t stand her mother-in-law and would blame her for anything and everything. 𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝒎
"Big sister, what’s the real deal with mom saying that Li Hongqi is buying a house?" The details weren’t clear back in their hometown, and all she knew was that Li Hongqi had found a partner and wanted to buy a house in the county for marriage. His parents couldn’t afford it, so they wanted her to chip in. Later, when they saw she wasn’t going to give them money, they even suggested borrowing it, claiming it could count toward their elder care.
"What else could it be? Li Hongqi is just causing trouble. I heard his partner is the daughter of his boss—I don’t know how he managed to charm her. But all I’ve heard are his tales; I’ve never seen him bring a girl home," said Wang Dan, quite curious herself.
Shen Yunfang guessed there must be such a person, but since she never visited their home, probably Li Hongqi’s pride was at play, not wanting her to look down on him. That’s why he was so desperate to buy a house in the county, to boost his own status.
"So none of us gave him the money. What happened with that in the end?" Shen Yunfang was curious about this.
"What can happen? Without the money, he just won’t buy it," said Wang Dan matter-of-factly. "However, I did hear that on the night you came back home, Li Hongqi cried when he heard the news. My goodness, can you imagine? A grown man crying, isn’t that embarrassing?"
Shen Yunfang pursed her lips. She wasn’t one to mock Li Hongqi; instead, she thought his cunning was quite formidable—flexible yet adept at identifying and exploiting people’s weaknesses.
With his crying, Qiu Shuping would have no choice but to give her all to him, wouldn’t promise him the moon if he asked for the stars. She bet Qiu Shuping was probably sitting on the kang bed right now, pondering how to make her daughter-in-law cough up the money.
Alas, the Li Family only had their branch to turn to for money, so whenever Qiu Shuping was short on cash, she always thought of her daughter-in-law first.
"It’s not embarrassing at all, sister. Think about it, with the character of our mother-in-law, if her beloved youngest son cries over not being able to afford a house, what do you think she would do?" said Shen Yunfang indifferently.
"What else, she’ll find the money," Wang Dan replied instinctively.
"But where can our mother-in-law get the money?" pressed Shen Yunfang further.
"She’ll definitely turn to you, of course. Right now, in the Li Family, only your husband and Li Hongqi earn a salary, and I certainly don’t have a penny," said Wang Dan, who also foresaw what their mother-in-law would do next. But she made a point to emphasize her own lack of funds, hoping no one would have any expectations.
Shen Yunfang laughed. Sometimes, being like Wang Dan was quite good. Someone like Qiu Shuping, even when she needed money, never thought of asking her eldest daughter-in-law for it. That was where Wang Dan was most successful.
Seeing Shen Yunfang laughing in silence, Wang Dan grew anxious and asked, "Hey, if they ask you for money again, what will you do?"
"Just like you, not a penny to spare," Shen Yunfang replied bluntly. Li Hongqi should not be indulged at all. If he succeeded this time, he would keep stirring up trouble, pressuring them to pay up.
Shen Yunfang wasn’t working hard to fill the bottomless pit that was Li Hongqi, so she had to nip it in the bud from the very beginning.
"Pssh, no one’s going to believe that from you. Look, you’ve only been out of our old hometown for a few years and you’re already living in an apartment building," Wang Dan clicked her tongue disapprovingly as she looked around the kitchen. "And don’t even get me started—these apartment buildings are indeed more comfortable than our family homes. Cooking with a gas canister beats the smoke and flames back home, and you don’t have to get dressed to go outside to the toilet. Definitely won’t freeze your butt off in the winter."
Hearing Wang Dan list all the advantages, Shen Yunfang couldn’t help but snort with laughter; those were indeed the few benefits of living in an apartment building.
"Hey, don’t laugh—just think, if our mother-in-law found out about this place, she’d be jumping for joy to move in. This is only because the apartment isn’t located in our county; otherwise, she’d somehow manage to hand your apartment over to her younger son." Wang Dan saw things quite clearly, their mother-in-law was incredibly biased, always thinking of her younger son first when it came to anything good.
"Well, I’m actually relieved about that. But you’ve given me a reminder—when we go back, make sure not to tell our mother-in-law about me living in an apartment or how comfortable it is, okay? If she decides to come over, I’ll have to move my entire family into your place," Shen Yunfang joked.
"Ouch, don’t worry, my lips are sealed. Nothing’s getting past me," Wang Dan promised.
As for how tight-lipped she actually was, Shen Yunfang wasn’t really sure—she just knew Wang Dan was a tough one.
Once they had finished talking about their old hometown, the sisters-in-law discussed their plans for the next few days.
"Big sis, since you’ve brought the children with you, you can’t leave without doing something fun. I’ve taken two days off from school, plus the weekend, so I can show you around the Capital and let you see the sights," Shen Yunfang said, as she had requested additional leave from the headteacher in the afternoon once they knew her family was visiting, and her request had been readily approved.
"That’s great, but I hope it won’t inconvenience you," Wang Dan said, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of exploring the city.
"It’s fine. If you were staying for a longer time, I really wouldn’t have the time to accompany you. But since you’re here for just a week, I have to take a couple of days off to show you around," Shen Yunfang expressed her feelings rather tactfully.
If you’re planning to stay for a long while, I’m sorry, but I can’t accompany you. But if it’s just a short visit, as the host, I’m definitely going to make sure you enjoy your stay.
Wang Dan could easily read between the lines. She knew the life of day-to-day struggles, and getting a week to stroll around the Capital was already the limit. Not to mention that construction back home was about to begin, Li Hongxing had to return to earn money, and she didn’t trust leaving her pigs and chickens in someone else’s care for too long. So, she never had the intention to stay for a long time.
The next day, early in the morning, Shen Yunfang dropped her child off at the daycare and then headed home to pick up Li Hongxing’s family of five, taking them to some of the Capital’s more famous spots for a tour.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to take her own kids along for the tour, but the two little ones had pretty much seen all there was to see in the Capital already. When they heard they were going to those places again, they refused to go. So Shen Yunfang had no choice but to continue taking them to daycare.
Seeing a hawker selling candied haw on a stick, Shen Yunfang wasn’t stingy and bought one for each of the three children, instantly winning them over. With cries of "Auntie" this and "Auntie" that, they followed her around gleefully. Shen Yunfang kept quiet, thinking these children were really easy to bribe, just give them something to eat and they’ll follow you anywhere.
