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Chapter 685: Chapter 675 Where Did I Drive People Away?
"Oh, dad, have you come back from enjoying your blessings?" Wang Dan started to taunt her father-in-law in a mocking tone as soon as she saw him.
Old Li glanced at his eldest daughter-in-law and then, without saying anything, turned his head and entered his own house.
"Hmph, eldest sister-in-law, you really are filial, aren’t you? Driving away our father and now you still talk sarcastically," Li Xianghe, who had a deep-seated grudge against this sister-in-law, couldn’t help but make a sarcastic comment.
"You can eat messily, but you can’t talk nonsense. When did I ever drive away the old man? Call dad over, I really want to ask him. Splashing dirty water shouldn’t be done like this, you might not want to act like a human being, but my elder brother and I still need to," Wang Dan was never a pushover and now that she was in charge, she was even less likely to give in.
Shen Yunfang didn’t want to stand outside in the cold with her kids and listen to their verbal sparring, so she took the opportunity to say, "Eldest sister-in-law, you guys continue chatting. The house is still a mess, I have to take the kids inside and start cleaning up." After speaking, she led the two children into the house.
"Hey, Yunfang, don’t leave. This is quite the situation, I came especially to see you," Wang Dan said, no longer paying attention to Li Xianghe, and followed into the old house.
Li Xianghe, seeing how one by one they all ignored her, felt unbearably angry, but couldn’t vent it and had to follow them into the house as well.
Only when they were inside the courtyard did she remember Niuniu, and turned back with an annoyed expression, shouting at the little girl who was still sitting in the horse-drawn carriage, "Are you dead or what? Didn’t you see everyone has gone inside? You idiot, hurry up and come inside."
Niuniu looked stunned and it was unclear if she even heard, but she just stared at Li Xianghe silently.
Li Xianghe, irritated by her daughter’s dumbfounded look, went up and dragged the child down, not caring that the girl stumbled as she was pulled along. This was how she dragged her daughter into the house.
As for Shen Yunfang, after she entered the house and took a look around, she led the children into the room where Li Hongqi used to live, letting them play there while she prepared to start cleaning.
The room clearly hadn’t been cleaned for a while, and if they wanted to live comfortably, it needed a good tidying up.
"Yunfang, we really haven’t seen each other in such a long time, did you arrive yesterday? Did you spend the night at big sister’s place?" Wang Dan approached Shen Yunfang to chitchat and catch up on family matters.
"Yes, eldest sister-in-law, we arrived yesterday." Shen Yunfang first sent Li Hongjun, who had finished unloading their things, to fetch water from the back, then she herself sat down by the stove and began to boil water.
"Oh dear, it’s not easy for you guys to come back once. My three little brats were even talking about going to the Capital to see you. You see, isn’t it a matter of blood relation? Those three scamps of mine are tough, just like how close you are to the second one," Wang Dan also pulled over a small stool to sit next to her and continue the gossip.
Shen Yunfang chuckled, "Don’t bother going to the Capital anymore, we don’t live there now."
"Hehe, I’ve heard about that too. I heard that you and Hongjun moved to Z Province? I mean, the Capital is such a good place, why would you relocate to that remote corner?" Wang Dan said with a face full of pity. She remembered the prestige she felt when bragging to others about her brother-in-law living in the Capital, not to mention the big department stores she had visited with her sister-in-law. 𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
"That’s not for us to decide; Li Hongjun’s job dictates where he goes, and I just follow him," Shen Yunfang said indifferently.
"I guess you’re right. Being in the military isn’t easy—today here, tomorrow there, nothing certain," Wang Dan sighed, glancing at Shen Yunfang who was tending the fire, before she tentatively asked, "Yunfang, how come you and Hongjun have time to come back for the New Year? Isn’t that when Hongjun is supposed to be the busiest?"
"Yes, Hongjun is indeed very busy during the New Year, but after receiving the call from Dad, even if he’s busy, we had to come back," Shen Yunfang directly attributed the call to Old Man Li, as she was worried that if she involved the eldest sister, it could lead to blame that wasn’t warranted.
After all, the more lice you have, the less you itch; the more debts, the less worry. Let Old Man Li take the blame.
Upon hearing this, Wang Dan’s face grew uncomfortable. "Oh, that old man, why does he enjoy making such a fuss? If there’s something going on, just tell us; why drag you two all the way back here?"
Shen Yunfang was keen on asking her sister-in-law what was really happening, since she couldn’t take only Old Man Li’s word on such matters, especially since she wasn’t feeling too confident about his integrity anymore.
"Sister-in-law, I was actually wanting to ask you, what’s really going on? How come I hear that you kicked Dad out? Didn’t we all agree before? We would take care of the finances, and you would look after Dad," she said.
Wang Dan immediately began to protest her innocence, "Oh dear, that’s such a miscarriage of justice." "Yunfang, you know what I’m like, tough maybe, but I’m soft-hearted like tofu. How could I possibly kick Father-in-law out? Who’s spreading such nonsense?" she protested.
"Sister-in-law, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but Dad did indeed move to live with our eldest sister. With our father moving in with his married daughter, people can’t help but assume the worst," Shen Yunfang really wanted to say that with the evidence right there before them, claiming innocence was pointless.
"Yunfang, it’s not what you think. Dad wasn’t comfortable living at our home; he insisted on staying with our eldest sister for a few days. As his daughter-in-law, I couldn’t stop him, could I?" Wang Dan was getting agitated.
"Heh, sister-in-law, we’re family, there’s no need for such pretense. Just tell me the truth, why is it that Dad ’wasn’t comfortable’ living with you?" Shen Yunfang decided it was time to get to the bottom of the issue, as that was the reason for her return anyway.
Wang Dan appeared somewhat sheepish but knowing her sister-in-law’s forthright nature, she related the situation.
"Honestly, it’s really not my fault. You know how your brother is, so lazy at home that he wouldn’t even pick up a fallen oil bottle. I’m always busy, inside and out, taking care of the three of them—your brother and his sons. And now with Father-in-law added to the mix, just think about it—my home’s a constant chaos.
Father-in-law and our Li Hongxing are exactly alike, always toiling in the fields with a hoe and doing nothing when they’re home. It falls on me to serve them, and you can imagine my resentment. On top of that, Li Xianghe, that shameless woman, has the gall to come for free meals every day, and Dad won’t let me send her packing. There I am, supposed to serve everyone, young and old, and yet also tend to a married daughter-in-law? No other family would stand for this.
And about Dad, he’s an old man, but still a man. It’s genuinely inconvenient for him to be lumped together with us," Wang Dan continued fearfully, worried that Shen Yunfang wouldn’t believe her, and recounted the incident that happened one day.
"I mean, Dad should be a bit more mindful; he’s an old man, after all. That day, while doing laundry, I found Dad’s underwear in the wash basin, if you can believe it. How embarrassing it is for a daughter-in-law to wash her father-in-law’s underwear. At that moment, I got quite angry and scolded Dad a bit. I didn’t say much—just told him to manage on his own with things he can do himself, like washing clothes, for example. There’s so much to do at home, I can’t do everything, can I, Yunfang? But the old man got angry, turned around, and walked out. And then Li Xianghe, that vile creature, came to the house to argue with me, accusing me of driving Dad away. It’s not as if I drove anyone away."
