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Chapter 550: Chapter 540 Lamb Meat Can’t Stick to a Dog’s Body
"So, as a daughter-in-law, she’s just supposed to endure being bullied by her mother-in-law? And after being bullied, there’s nowhere to reason it out." Mu Huazhen reflected on what her husband said and felt he was right, but thinking about Yunfang in such a situation, only able to suffer from her mother-in-law’s bullying, she still felt it was extremely unfair.
"That’s why I say this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship is difficult to handle. Since ancient times, it has always been a profound science," Ma Liguo, sounding like a pedantic scholar, chatted with the two daughters-in-law.
"Who doesn’t know what you’re saying, just hurry up and get to the point," Mu Huazhen couldn’t stand the dawdling even without Shen Yunfang urging her.
"Look at you, getting so hot-tempered so quickly. You’re just lucky to be married to me, having bagged a good mother-in-law. Otherwise, with your temper, you’d probably get scolded eight times a day," said Ma Liguo, playing with fire as he teased his wife.
Shen Yunfang really couldn’t take it anymore and tapped her chopsticks against the table, "Alright, you two, that’s enough, can’t you? If you want to show off your love, go home. Showing off in front of a lonely widow like me, don’t you feel any shame?"
Mu Huazhen originally wanted to argue with Ma Liguo some more but, after Shen Yunfang’s comment, she felt embarrassed and glared at her husband, saying, "We’re discussing Yunfang’s family issues now, so hurry up. If you have any ideas, just spit them out fast."
"What kind of ideas can there be for this? Didn’t I just say, if you encounter such unreasonable elderly, the most we, as their children, can do is not to behave the same as them, and there really isn’t much else we can do," Ma Liguo, having worked in the community for so many years, had seen more than a few mother-in-law and daughter-in-law issues.
At first, if the mother-in-law was unreasonable, most people would sympathize with the daughter-in-law, but if the daughter-in-law actually did something, public opinion would swing back in favor of the mother-in-law, criticizing the daughter-in-law for what she should not do. In the end, it all came down to: if the old person wants to make life difficult for you, then just suffer quietly. When the person’s gone, you’ll have your freedom.
Shen Yunfang understood this point but didn’t entirely see it the same way, "What’s happening with my mother-in-law is a bit different from what you described about other mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts. If there wasn’t someone stirring things up behind the scenes, my mother-in-law would not be like this." Shen Yunfang carefully recounted the incidents that Qiu Shuping had stirred up since she married Li Hongjun, and behind all of them, Li Hongqi’s shadow could be found. She would never believe that Li Hongqi wasn’t causing trouble behind the scenes.
"Oh my, now I get it. I haven’t heard Hongjun mention his mom causing any issues before, how come in these recent years there’s been one incident after another? So, there’s a reason for this," Ma Liguo said as if he had just seen the light.
Mu Huazhen, on the other hand, was gritting her teeth in anger as she detested such underhanded scoundrels the most.
"Exactly, there’s always someone plotting against us, how could our lives be peaceful?" Shen Yunfang said with a smile, "So, to deal with these people like my mother-in-law, we need to strike the snake at its vital point. If I can sort out Li Hongqi properly, make him stop showing off, then my mother-in-law would calm down too, wouldn’t she?"
"According to what you’re saying, you kicked your brother-in-law too little today. You should have kicked him until he couldn’t even take care of himself," Mu Huazhen said viciously.
"You really are ruthless," Ma Liguo felt that his wife was too violent, always ready to beat someone into a state where they couldn’t look after themselves. Perhaps only someone as easy-going as him could put up with her. Any other person, heh, would have been beaten into helplessness long ago.
"I think I’ve been very kind to Hongjun’s parents. Let’s not even mention how much money I earn each year; just with Li Hongjun’s salary alone, agreeing to give his parents a hundred yuan a year for their pensions should be considered quite generous." At the beginning when they were splitting the family assets, Shen Yunfang knew that a hundred yuan in pension money was indeed a lot. But she agreed anyway, first out of consideration for Li Hongjun’s face, and second because she really didn’t care much about money. And if her in-laws were really like that, she wouldn’t mind giving them a bit more, to let them live a bit more comfortably. Even if the old couple wanted to use that money to help out their children, she would not be petty about it.
"Definitely, it’s more than enough. We’re both working and we don’t even make as much as you give." Mu Huazhen spoke without any reservation.
She also gave her in-laws some money every year, but it wasn’t called pension money, and it amounted to about fifty to seventy yuan each year. After all, they still needed to live and raise children on their side, and money was needed everywhere. Back in her hometown, food didn’t cost money; only some small household items needed to be bought. Fifty yuan a year was already considered very generous.
Shen Yunfang nodded, "I give them a hundred yuan a year for pensions, and they can say that they can’t even spend it all. I’m really not a stingy person, and generally, if money can resolve an issue, I prefer not to make things complicated. But now I know there are people behind me, watching me like venomous snakes, eyeing my wallet. If I give in once, there will definitely be countless times waiting for me. How can I give them money under such circumstances? I can only tighten my own purse strings and give what we should, not a cent more." Shen Yunfang was also quite helpless.
"That’s right, you should not give them any extra with such a mother-in-law. Why should you give her more money?" Mu Huazhen felt anything more was excessive.
"I’m guessing that this time Li Hongqi brought my mother-in-law over, along with his wife and mother-in-law. They must be here to ask me for money." She didn’t need to think about anything else; those people could have only one purpose, and she suspected that they knew she was doing a small business on the side and guessed that she had some money. That’s why they were so eager to come over.
"You can’t give them any, absolutely not." Mu Huazhen followed Shen Yunfang’s statement immediately.
"Alright, Yunfang knows what to do. Just calm down and let’s listen to what Yunfang has to say," Ma Liguo held onto his wife, not letting her jump around any more.
"Given the current circumstances, my relationship with my mother-in-law will no longer be the same as before, and I don’t even want to pretend peace on the surface anymore." The slap from Qiu Shuping had really knocked all pretense of a good temper out of Shen Yunfang. She didn’t want to put herself through this anymore, to keep on yielding to the Li Family, "Ever since I married Li Hongjun, I have always been accommodating his family. To avoid making things difficult for him and to allow our small household to live more comfortably, I’ve been holding back my anger for years and yielding to these relatives from the Li Family. Now, with that slap from Hongjun’s mother, I’ve been awakened. Even if I keep yielding, she will never consider me as part of the family. Sooner or later, Hongjun and I will have to face this situation."
That slap from Qiu Shuping really brought out Shen Yunfang’s anger. She could have avoided that slap, but she just didn’t expect it and was too shocked. She knew that Qiu Shuping must not like her because she didn’t like her either. But both women, because of Li Hongjun, suppressed these feelings and tried to act as nice as possible. At least that’s what Shen Yunfang thought, so she never imagined that Qiu Shuping would actually hit her.
In a way, this slap wasn’t in vain; it woke her up and made her see many things more clearly.
She had thought before about just muddling through, thinking how she could not outlive the Li Family’s old couple. Once they were gone, she would be able to live her own life. But now it seemed, enduring was really unnecessary. There’s an old saying that sheepskin can’t stick on a dog; now she truly believed it.
