Lin Wanqiu had just seen Shen Tingzhou out the door when she turned around and saw Shen Nian'an clinging to the door frame, her little head peeking out, clutching half a piece of unfinished cured meat rice in her hand, her eyes sparkling as she stared at her: "Mom, is that Brother Shen a good person? He just helped us chase away Grandma and Auntie!"
"He's a good person." Lin Wanqiu walked over and wiped the rice grains from her son's mouth, but she was still thinking about Shen Tingzhou—he always appeared at the most crucial moment, as if he knew all along that the Shen family would come looking for trouble. It was too much of a coincidence. But now was not the time to think about these things. Old Mrs. Shen and Zhang Lan had suffered a loss, and they might come looking for trouble again. She had to quickly hide the remaining cured meat and rice.
She led Nian'an toward the woodshed. As soon as she opened the cellar door, she heard hurried footsteps outside the courtyard gate, mixed with Old Lady Shen's shrill cursing: "Lin Wanqiu, you little slut! Open the door! You think finding some random man will protect you? Today I'm going to find out all the meat you've hidden!"
Lin Wanqiu's heart tightened. Old Mrs. Shen had returned so quickly! She hurriedly covered the cellar, piled it up tightly with firewood, hid Nian'an behind her back, picked up the iron shovel next to her, held it in her hand, and walked to the gate of the courtyard, slowly opening the door.
Outside the door, Old Mrs. Shen stood at the front, hands on her hips, her face flushed red, spitting everywhere. Zhang Lan followed behind her, carrying a tattered basket, her eyes darting furtively into the yard, as if searching for something. Beside her stood Shen's eldest son, Shen Tingjun, his head drooping, looking unwilling; clearly, he had been dragged there by Old Mrs. Shen.
"Mother, what are you doing here again?" Lin Wanqiu deliberately hid the shovel behind her back and asked calmly, "Brother Shen just said that if word gets out that you are bullying my son and me, it will not be good for the Shen family's reputation."
"Reputation? You've ruined the reputation of the Shen family!" Old Mrs. Shen took two steps forward and reached out to shove Lin Wanqiu. "You barren widow, guarding the Shen family's gate while secretly eating meat and having affairs with other men, I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"
Lin Wanqiu was prepared and dodged Old Madam Shen's hand, saying coldly, "Mother, you have to be honest with yourself. When did I ever date a random man? Brother Shen is just an ordinary friend of mine, I was just passing by and helping out. Besides, I didn't hide any meat at all. If you don't believe me, come in and search. If you don't find it, you'll have to apologize to me."
"Search me then! I'm not afraid of you!" Old Mrs. Shen said, leading Zhang Lan and Shen Tingjun into the courtyard. She first ran to the kitchen, lifted the pot lid, and found only some leftover sweet potato porridge. She then searched the cupboard thoroughly but couldn't find even a scrap of meat. Next, she ran to the inner room, turning all the boxes and cabinets upside down, but still found nothing.
"Impossible!" Old Mrs. Shen refused to give up and ran back to the woodshed, reaching out to dig at the pile of firewood. "I clearly smelled the aroma of meat just now, you must be hiding in the woodshed!"
Lin Wanqiu quickly stepped forward to stop her: "Mother, the woodshed is full of firewood, where is there room to hide meat? If you keep rummaging around like this, I'll call the militia!" She knew that Old Lady Shen was most afraid of the militia, and last time she had scared her by threatening to call the police.
Sure enough, Old Lady Shen paused for a moment, but quickly became arrogant again: "Go ahead and shout! I'm your mother-in-law. I'm searching my own house. Even if the militia comes, they can't do anything about it!" As she spoke, she pushed Lin Wanqiu aside and continued to dig through the pile of firewood.
"Don't touch my firewood!" Suddenly, Shen Nian'an ran out from behind Lin Wanqiu, her little face full of anger. She was holding a few small stones in her hand and threw them at Old Lady Shen. Although the stones didn't have much force, they hit Old Lady Shen's hand and made her cry out in pain.
"You little bastard! You dare hit me?" Old Mrs. Shen was furious and turned to grab Nian'an.
Lin Wanqiu quickly shielded Nian'an behind her and raised the shovel: "Mother, if you dare to touch Nian'an, I'll fight you to the death today!" Her eyes were firm, and she gripped the shovel tightly in her hand, clearly serious.
Old Mrs. Shen was intimidated by Lin Wanqiu's imposing manner and took two steps back, but she was still unconvinced: "You...you little bitch, you dare to fight me? Tingjun, you quickly teach her a lesson!" She pushed Shen Tingjun next to her.
Shen Tingjun had long since given up on getting involved in this matter. He hung his head and said in a low voice, "Mother, I think Wanqiu has a point. Let's not cause trouble. If we really attract the militia, it will be a real problem."
"You useless piece of trash!" Old Mrs. Shen cursed angrily. "You married a wife who can't lay eggs, and now you won't even help your own mother! How did I raise such a good-for-nothing!"
Seeing that Shen Tingjun wasn't helping, Zhang Lan didn't dare to step forward either. After all, Lin Wanqiu was still holding a shovel, and if a fight broke out, she definitely wouldn't come out on top. She sidled up to Old Madam Shen and whispered, "Mother, why don't we go back first and find another opportunity to search next time? We're sure we'll find the meat she hid."
After thinking for a moment, Old Mrs. Shen felt that Zhang Lan's words made sense. She glared at Lin Wanqiu and said fiercely, "Lin Wanqiu, you just wait! I'll find the meat you've hidden sooner or later, and then we'll see what you have to say!" After saying that, she led Zhang Lan and Shen Tingjun away in a sorry state.
Watching the backs of Grandma Shen and the others, Lin Wanqiu breathed a sigh of relief, the shovel in her hand clattering to the ground. She squatted down, hugged Nian'an, her voice trembling slightly: "Nian'an, you scared your mother to death just now, are you alright? Were you frightened?"
Shen Nian'an shook his head, his little hands tightly hugging Lin Wanqiu's neck, and whispered, "Mom, I'm not afraid! I will protect you! Just like Brother Shen protects us!" He paused, then added, "Was it wrong of me to hit Grandma with a pebble just now?"
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