Chapter 105

Chapter 105

After Zhao Guifen shouted, there was no response.

Inside the house, Wang Qinghe had just taken out the steamed buns and meat he bought from the state-owned restaurant in the city, carefully preserved in lunch boxes.

Bai Xiuxiu found a small amount of soybean oil she had procured a few months ago.

She greased the pan, preparing to fry the steamed buns.

The family of four gathered around the stove, all waiting for their special meal. Hearing the shouting outside, Bai Xiuxiu frowned: "It must be Old Fifth's wife coming back. I'll go take a look."

"I'll go with you." Wang Qinghe put down the pot and covered the stove.

Bai Xiuxiu did not refuse him. She left the children on the bed and prepared to go out.

Outside, Zhao Guifen felt humiliated after receiving no response for so long.

"Where is everyone? Are you deaf? You two eat inside and steal outside, bullying your sister-in-law, and you dare not even admit it?" Zhao Guifen continued her tirade.

Just as Bai Xiuxiu and Wang Qinghe came out of the house, Wang Laosan’s wife, Zhao Cuihua, seeing her eldest sister-in-law come out, felt reassured and emerged as well.

As soon as Zhao Cuihua came out, she joined the crowd: "Mom, what do you want with me and my eldest sister-in-law? It's not our turn to cook, and it's not time for a meal yet."

"Do you still have the face to think about eating? If I were you, I would kill myself. What did you do today? Why didn't you help Old Fifth's wife, causing her to have to write a self-criticism?" Zhao Guifen pointed at Zhao Cuihua and launched into a series of questions.

These questions infuriated Zhao Cuihua.

What nonsense?

Is Zhou Jiaojiao the only human here?

"Mom, how can you say that? Old Fifth's wife claimed everything in the mountains was hers and then got into a fight. After things escalated, she blamed me, saying I misunderstood. Isn’t this trying to make me lose face?

If someone has to lose face, who cares who it is?

She did it herself!"

Zhao Cuihua was so agitated she wanted to scratch her mother-in-law's face.

This family never spoke reasonably lately!

"Can you compare yourself to Old Fifth's wife? Old Fifth will become a worker, and his wife needs to maintain her reputation. Even if not for her, you should think about the family's reputation and Old Fifth's future. How can you be so heartless?"

Zhao Guifen thought about how Old Fifth's wife cried, telling her this would affect Old Fifth's reputation, and wished she could strangle both her daughter-in-law and her eldest daughter-in-law.

"Why should I care about them? Don't they think about me? Old Fifth and his wife are going to live a good life, but I still have to survive in the village." Zhao Cuihua was equally defiant.

"You!"

Zhao Guifen, angered by her third daughter-in-law, turned to Bai Xiuxiu: "And you, why are you also causing trouble with the third daughter-in-law? Asking for witnesses, are you trying to drive Jiaojiao to death?"

Bai Xiuxiu almost laughed: "Mom, you can't say such things. If she wants to die, it's not because of me; I can't control others' lives.

As for witnesses?

If she didn't do it, there wouldn't be any problem.

She admitted it herself; isn't losing face natural?

Did I force her to say it?"

Compared to Zhao Cuihua, who got angry over the family's favoritism, Bai Xiuxiu wasn't upset at all. After all, how could one treat people like animals?

"Mom, look at them. They're clearly bullying my wife and won't even apologize." Wang Qingqi had just secured a job, albeit a simple one of stocking shelves in a warehouse, arranged by his uncle early on.

In two years, when the warehouse manager retires, he would take over.

This was a canned food factory; wouldn't he have access to plenty of good stuff in the future?

Leaving the factory, he felt like a winner. Compared to his second brother, who was sent directly to work on the production line, his job was much better.

But before he could bask in his success, he ran into Jiaojiao.

She was crying pitifully, and after explaining what happened, his elation vanished.

His eldest sister-in-law and her family were truly annoying.

They always opposed him and Jiaojiao.

He had planned to demand compensation for Jiaojiao from his eldest and third sisters-in-law, but they acted as if they deserved it.

What a bunch of hags!

They couldn't compare to the people at the commune.

Wang Qingqi began to despise his family from the bottom of his heart.

Wang Shoucheng, hearing Wang Qingqi's demand for an apology, frowned: "Alright, let's leave it at that. Old Fifth, although your two sisters-in-law were wrong, your wife shouldn't have said those things. We have a good day today, and we'll be distributing grain tomorrow.

No more talk about this."

"Dad, Xiuxiu did nothing wrong." Wang Qinghe genuinely began to loathe this family.

Suddenly, they caused a commotion and then tried to blame his wife in a few words.

Wang Shoucheng's next words instantly stuck in his throat.

"You wife how could she..."

"My wife gave a fair opinion from her professional standpoint. Where did she go wrong? If Xiuxiu is wrong, does that mean everything she does at the Women's Federation, mediating conflicts, is also wrong?" Wang Qinghe was always emotionally stable and clear-headed.

As long as it didn't involve Bai Xiuxiu, he was perfectly normal.

Wang Shoucheng's face changed.

Who dared to say that the legitimate work of the Women's Federation was wrong? That would just be asking for trouble.

With this accusation, he immediately fell silent.

"Father, Qinghe is right. Don't stay quiet; you should say I'm not wrong." Bai Xiuxiu urged him to take a stance.

This old man wanted her and Zhao Cuihua to passively admit fault and also wanted to suppress Zhou Jiaojiao a bit. He didn't want Zhou Jiaojiao to become arrogant because of Old Fifth's job, making her harder to manage.

If he wanted to manage Zhou Jiaojiao, that was his business, but he shouldn't expect her to admit any wrongdoing.

Wang Shoucheng truly wished he could kick them both out right now.

He was even more anxious, thinking, why couldn't the old woman avoid provoking others?

"If you don't speak up, Father, I'll have Qinghe go to the captain's house and let them judge for me. I think it's necessary for you to have the right understanding. The captain should be willing to educate you."

After Bai Xiuxiu finished speaking, Wang Qinghe started walking out directly.

"Stop right there!"

How could Wang Shoucheng dare let the captain's family know about their family drama?

Tomorrow, Old Fifth's wife had to go apologize and admit fault. More drama would make living in this village impossible.

Wang Qinghe completely ignored Wang Shoucheng.

Seeing him almost out the door, Wang Shoucheng had no choice but to shout, "Alright, alright, your wife is not wrong. It was a slip of the tongue on my part. The ones who were wrong are Old Fifth's wife and Old Third's wife. Go back inside quickly. Tomorrow is the grain distribution; don't cause trouble."

Wang Shoucheng had no choice but to admit his mistake.

Only then did Wang Qinghe return, leading his wife back into the house.

Just before entering, Bai Xiuxiu turned to look at them, "By the way, Father, Mother's shout just now made me uncomfortable. I might have been scared. I need to drink a bowl of egg water to calm down, with two eggs."