She paused, her eyes slightly reddening, but not from crying. It was from remembering how Nian'an had been so thin, just skin and bones, her hands and feet chapped and festering in the winter, and her heart ached. "Later, I made money by making fermented bean curd. Every day I got up before dawn to soak soybeans and grind tofu. Aunt Li and the others saw how many blisters I got on my hands and how many nights I stayed up. I earned that money penny by penny. The quota for building the house was approved by the commune; what did it have to do with the Shen family? Now they want to take it from me and accuse me of being ungrateful. What kind of logic is that?"
The surrounding villagers started talking. Grandpa Wang, puffing on his pipe, said slowly, "Wanqiu is telling the truth. Old Mrs. Shen was really cruel to her and her daughter. I even saw Nian'an crying in the street from hunger." Aunt Li nodded in agreement, "That's right! Wanqiu works so hard making fermented bean curd; we help her every day, we know that. This money doesn't come easily, why should it be given to Dabao?"
Seeing the villagers siding with Lin Wanqiu, Old Lady Shen turned pale with anger, slamming her cane on the ground. "What do you know? This is a family matter of the Shen family, it's none of your business!" She turned to Lin Wanqiu, her eyes full of threat. "Lin Wanqiu, I'll ask you one last time, are you going to give this house to Dabao or not? If you don't, I'll go to the commune and make a scene, saying you're unfaithful and that you made your money dishonestly! Let's see how you stay in the village after this!"
These words struck a nerve with Lin Wanqiu—in this era, the reputation of being "unfaithful" could ruin a woman's life. But she wasn't afraid. She straightened her back, her eyes blazing like fire: "Go ahead and make trouble! Secretary Zhou of the commune and Tingzhou's father are old comrades-in-arms. I earn my money by selling fermented bean curd. The supply and marketing cooperative has records, and the villagers can testify. If you dare to spread rumors, I'll report you for defamation to the commune! Then it won't be me who loses face, it will be your Shen family!"
She took a step forward, getting closer to Old Mrs. Shen, her voice laced with malice: "And don't think I don't know, when I was pushed into the river, Zhang Lan was right there watching and even helped pull the person away! If you dare to cause trouble again, I'll expose this and let everyone see what kind of people your Shen family are!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Lan's face turned pale instantly. She shrank back and tugged at Old Lady Shen's sleeve, saying, "Mother, let's... let's go first. We can talk about this later..." She was genuinely afraid that Lin Wanqiu would reveal what happened in the river. She had indeed seen someone push Lin Wanqiu, but Old Lady Shen had told her not to get involved, saying, "It's better if she dies." If this got out, she would be unable to face anyone in the village.
Old Mrs. Shen was also intimidated by Lin Wanqiu's imposing manner. She hadn't expected her once submissive daughter-in-law to become so formidable, not only daring to talk back but also threatening her! Yet, she was unwilling to accept this. Looking at Lin Wanqiu's new padded jacket and the pottery jar in the yard, greed overwhelmed her fear. She simply sat down on the ground, slapped her thigh, and wailed, "Why is my life so miserable! My son is dead, and my daughter-in-law is unfilial, hoarding the Shen family's property and refusing to give it to her eldest grandson! What's the point of my life?! Come quick, everyone come and see this unfilial daughter-in-law!"
She cried so hard her face was covered in snot and tears, attracting more villagers to gather around. Zhang Lan pretended to comfort her from the side, but her eyes kept glancing at Lin Wanqiu, waiting to see her give in.
Lin Wanqiu stood there, coldly watching Old Lady Shen's tantrum. She knew that with this kind of person, the more you backed down, the more they would take advantage. She turned and went back into the house, taking out an iron box—the one that held the banknotes. She opened it, and the banknotes inside were neatly stacked, gleaming faintly in the sunlight. She walked up to Old Lady Shen and placed the iron box on the ground: "There's one hundred and twenty yuan in here, my savings for building a house. If you can give me a reason why this money should go to Da Bao, I'll give it to you. If you can't, then stop making a scene and get out of here!"
Old Mrs. Shen was crying when she saw the money in the iron box. Her eyes widened, and her sobs subsided. But she couldn't articulate her reasoning, only stammering, "Because...because Da Bao is a member of the Shen family, and you're an outsider..."
"What's wrong with outsiders?" Lin Wanqiu interrupted her, her voice loud. "Tingzhou is my man, Nian'an is my son, and we are also members of the Shen family! This money was earned by my son and me, and we live in the house we built. It has nothing to do with Dabao! If you don't leave, I'll call the brigade cadres to settle this. Not only will you not get away with it, but when Dabao gets married, if people know how unreasonable his grandmother is, who will want to marry him?"
These words struck a nerve with Old Mrs. Shen—her most precious possession in this life was Da Bao, and if this matter affected his chances of getting married, she would suffer a great loss. She slowly stopped crying, got up from the ground, dusted herself off, and glared fiercely at Lin Wanqiu: "You wait! This isn't over!" With that, she grabbed Zhang Lan and left, walking very quickly, as if afraid that Lin Wanqiu would really call the brigade cadres.
Watching their retreating figures, Lin Wanqiu breathed a sigh of relief, her back soaked with sweat. She squatted down and picked up the banknotes one by one from the tin box, her fingertips still trembling—she had been genuinely afraid that Old Lady Shen would cause trouble at the commune. Although she was in the right, it was better to avoid trouble. Fortunately, she managed to calm her down in the end.
"Wanqiu, are you alright?" Aunt Li came over and handed her a dry cloth. "Old Mrs. Shen's outburst just now was really frightening. You managed to hold on."
Lin Wanqiu took the cloth, wiped her hands, and smiled, "It's alright, she's just a paper tiger, easily broken." But she wasn't so relieved—although Old Lady Shen was gone, she could clearly see the resentment in her eyes, and she would definitely come back to cause trouble in the future. What worried her even more was that Old Lady Shen was a distant relative of Zhao Jianjun's mother, the wife of the brigade secretary. If Old Lady Shen went to complain to Zhao Jianjun, it would probably cause trouble again.
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