NOVPUB
Chapter 702: Chapter 692: The Brother-In-Law with Many Schemes
The two of them were enjoying their meal and having a good time, with their laughter faintly reaching the ears of Old Man Li in the other room—his face darkened. Suddenly, he began to regret his past decisions. Perhaps he really should have listened to his wife and not married this second daughter-in-law just to repay a favor.
Meanwhile, the young couple had no idea of the tumultuous thoughts churning inside Old Man Li’s head. They laughed and joked as they finished their breakfast. In the midst of it, Li Hongjun finally remembered to report to his wife the information he had gathered the day before.
This Xue Dame was not a native of Taoshu Village; she had remarried and moved here a few years ago. At that time, she brought along two sons and a daughter, and married into a family that also had two sons. After she arrived, the children from both sides did not see eye to eye, and while they managed to keep up appearances, they fought fiercely in secret.
Fortunately, Xue Dame was able to have another son after she arrived, which helped life carry on.
But it seemed Xue Dame might just have tough luck, for not many years after the birth of her youngest son, her husband passed away, leaving her a widow once again.
The conflicts among the children then moved from behind the scenes to the open as they fought over their father’s inheritance.
During that time, the villagers of Taoshu Village were truly entertained by the spectacle for many days. In the end, because of her youngest son, Xue Dame managed to keep the house and secured a place to stay in Taoshu Village.
The villagers of Taoshu Village had more good things than bad to say about Xue Dame. They praised her as a gentle woman who understood matters clearly. Unlike the village women who would cry, make a scene, or threaten to hang themselves at the drop of a hat, she was organized and efficient in her work.
They say that whatever she cooked turned out to be more delicious than when others made the same dish.
This was why Old Man Li wanted to hire Xue Dame as a housekeeper to cook for him.
Li Hongxing and Wang Dan had no objections to Old Man Li’s proposal. For Wang Dan, she was quite drawn to the one hundred yuan. However, if it meant she had to take care of Old Man Li and her sister-in-law at the same time, she felt it would be a loss, and she was certainly not willing to do anything where she felt shortchanged.
So, when she heard from Li Hongjun that Old Man Li wanted to hire a housekeeper, she might have scoffed dismissively, but ultimately she didn’t voice any other objections.
Wang Dan had also met Xue Dame and had a good impression of her, so she agreed to have Xue Dame come help.
"How old is this Xue Dame?" Shen Yunfang asked.
"I heard she’s over forty, but I didn’t ask for the exact age," Li Hongjun replied, not considering this detail to be important.
Shen Yunfang frowned. For a woman, being over forty was an age of half-old flirtatiousness and it was also an age of restlessness. Could it be safe to place such a person by Old Man Li’s side?
"Is it safe for her to be with your father all day at that age?" Shen Yunfang hinted with concern.
Li Hongjun, with his simple mind, immediately grasped the "unsafe" implication his wife was alluding to. He began to seriously ponder over the issue.
"It should be fine. My dad is over sixty, and she’s just over forty," implying that she wasn’t blind and would hardly be attracted to an old man like that. It wasn’t as if she was looking to marry his father.
With her modern perspective, Shen Yunfang felt that such matters were unpredictable—the more one thought something was impossible, the riskier it became. However, she couldn’t voice such opinions based on the contemporary mindset of the era. In the end, she could only instruct Li Hongjun that it was fine to seek out help, but they had to sign a labor contract in the end, and it had to be signed by Old Man Li himself on behalf of the Li Family.
This was to prevent potential future disputes and to have something to show Qiu Shuping if necessary.
On the first day of the month, besides distributing a few red envelopes, there wasn’t much else to do.
Wang Dan didn’t come over to take advantage anymore, so it was just the five members of the Li Family eating together.
On the second day of the new year, Shen Yunfang couldn’t sleep in any longer. Knowing that they had returned to their hometown for the celebration, it was obvious that Li Xianglian and her family would certainly visit her maternal home today. As for Li Xianghe, the couple deduced that she would also come, not for anything else but at least for the red envelopes, so Yunfang had to get up early to prepare.
Indeed, not long after they had finished breakfast, Li Xianghe, her husband, and their child arrived first.
This was also the first time Li Hongjun and his wife met Sun Chengbin, their brother-in-law.
"Second brother, this is your brother-in-law, Sun Chengbin, who is also a regimental commander. He came back on the 29th and, knowing you were back too, he hurried over to see you," Li Xianghe said, pulling her second brother into an endless stream of chatter as soon as she saw him.
She used to feel very insecure in front of her second brother, afraid of him because he was the most accomplished one in the Li Family. But now, with her husband back, and him also being a regimental commander, no less than her brother, she felt she stood taller. Hence, on the second day of the new year, she excitedly dragged her husband over to show off.
"Second brother," Sun Chengbin was perceptive and promptly followed with a greeting.
Li Hongjun’s keen gaze swept over him from head to toe before he responded indifferently, "Hmm, you’ve arrived. Please, take a seat inside." After saying this, he didn’t look at the couple standing by his side again and sat down on a small stool in the living room, helping his wife with the cooking fire.
"Second brother, what’s the matter with you? It’s the first time you’re meeting my Chengbin, why are you acting this way?" Isn’t Li Xianghe foolish? Li Hongjun’s attitude was clear to anyone who understood the situation. Someone who knew how to read the room would quickly do whatever else needed doing and not bother crowding around. But she just blurted it out brazenly right to his face.
Sun Chengbin’s face flashed with embarrassment for a moment, but it was soon replaced by a smile.
"Xianghe, what are you doing? Don’t you see that your second brother is helping your second sister-in-law with chores? It is the second sister-in-law, right?" It was only then that he noticed Shen Yunfang.
Li Hongjun glanced at him and said, "My wife, Shen Yunfang."
"Second sister-in-law, it’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I apologize, Xianghe is a bit impulsive. Please, go ahead with your work; we’ll go in and visit father for a while and come back out to help later."
"Haha, no need, there isn’t much to do; we’ll be done in a bit. It’s rare for you to visit, so you better spend some quality time with the old man inside," Shen Yunfang said with a chuckle.
"Since the second sister-in-law has said so, let’s quickly go inside," Li Xianghe said contemptuously. She never liked her second sister-in-law, and now even more so, so she promptly went into the house.
Sun Chengbin maintained his smile throughout. After watching Li Xianghe enter the house, he subtly expressed an apology to Li Hongjun and his wife and followed inside.
Once the two had gone in, Shen Yunfang whispered to Li Hongjun, "I think this Sun Chengbin is quite cunning." From what she had just seen, her sister-in-law was nothing but a plaything in his hands.
"Whether he is cunning or not, we won’t have much contact with him, so let’s not worry about it." Although Li Hongjun was the elder brother, he knew all too well his sister’s inability to appreciate kindness, so he had no desire to involve himself in matters he could avoid.
Besides, if he had to worry about anything, it would be his own children. As for Li Xianghe’s well-being, let the elder Lis take care of it.
As Li Hongjun and his wife were busy preparing in the living room, occasional laughter from old Mr. Li and a man could be heard, indicating that Sun Chengbin not only had a cunning mind but was also good at ingratiating himself.
"Mom, Mom, Auntie is here, Uncle is here, my sister is here, and my brother is here too," a child called out.
