Chapter 2: The Ultimate Thought
Grandma started to curse, and the eldest sister Shen Mei's face turned pale when she heard it. After all these years of accumulated power, she was still a little afraid. She still suppressed her fear and stood in front of Shen Qingyue.
Shen Qingyue felt warm in her heart and her eyes turned red again.
In her previous life, the eldest sister was the one who was cheated the most by the Shen family. She worked for the Shen family like a workhorse all her life. In the end, she got dysentery!
It was obvious that a small pill could save her, but the Shen family was unwilling to pay even for a single pill.
Shen Tianci, the third wife of the Shen family, had a dog. When it got sick, he spent twenty yuan to hire a veterinarian. A human life is not as valuable as a dog's.
Shen Qingyue is no longer the little girl who just wants to hide behind her sister when encountering problems.
Since God has given her a chance to be reborn, she wants to settle all the old and new grudges with the Shen family.
We must protect our eldest sister and third sister so that they don’t fall into the painful cycle of our previous life.
In just a blink of an eye, Shen Qingyue's eyes became firm.
Chen Mei didn't know that her sister had the adventure of being reborn. When she saw her grandmother Xu Xiuzhi crying and screaming over there, she felt that something bad was going to happen!
The eldest wife's situation is currently dire. Grandpa and grandma are both son-centric and always find fault with her, especially now.
Shen Mei wanted to go out and get help, but she was afraid that if she left, her grandmother and her third aunt would do something bad and force Shen Qingyue to admit her mistakes and get married.
The second sister was starved for three days and was pulled back from the brink of death. If grandma and third aunt were not humane, Shen Qingyue would probably have no chance of survival.
The more she thought about Shen Mei, the more scared she became. She held Shen Qingyue's hand tightly, and Shen Mei's fingertips were cold.
The grandmother on the other end said, "You are such a heartless bastard! You actually hit your own grandmother! May the heavens strike you down! You shall not die a good death."
Xu Xiuzhi was a king-like figure at home, and no one ever contradicted her. But now, being contradicted by her despised granddaughter, she was almost mad with anger!
Liu Yu next to him changed his clothes and gave his favorite clothes to Shen Zhaodi to wash.
Liu Yu came over with a gloating look on his face and said, "Mom, ouch. What happened?"
Then he glanced at Shen Qingyue smugly and said, "It's okay that the second girl in my eldest brother's family doesn't have me as her third aunt. But how come she doesn't even recognize her grandmother?"
Liu Yu fanned the flames, making Xu Xiuzhi even angrier.
Chen Mei took a look and said, "That's not the case. Grandma was about to hit me, but Yueyue tried to stop her. Grandma fell down on her own, it has nothing to do with Yueyue."
Liu Yu usually tried to please her mother-in-law, but she didn't wait for the old lady to say anything. She exploded: "Listen, that's your real grandmother. If she hits you, she will hit you. You dare to hide? That's called unreasonable defense!"
Xu Xiuzhi, who was standing nearby, couldn't even stop howling. She said, "A few days ago, she was still pretending to be sick and not working. Who are you trying to scare by not eating? A little girl can't even make a fuss."
Liu Yu was standing nearby, and said in an exaggerated tone, "Mom, there are some things you don't know. This little girl didn't suffer at all. Shen Mei secretly gave her food. They were the ones who cooked anyway. Oh, no wonder the food in the house went down so quickly. It turns out that there were thieves."
This is complete nonsense.
The old lady kept all the rice, flour, grain and oil in her own cupboard, and she scooped them out for every meal, fearing that she would take too much.
The eldest sister was responsible for feeding so many people in the family. Now she was being labeled a thief.
Shen Qingyue couldn't hold it in any longer, so she shook off her elder sister's hand and rushed over.
"You don't need to fan the flames. Everything requires evidence nowadays. You said my eldest sister is a thief. I also said you are a thief! All the money in my grandmother's kang hole was stolen by your Shen Tianci. A thief mother supports a thief, and the thief cries "stop thief". How shameless."
This matter was exposed a few years later. Shen Tianci was Mrs. Shen's beloved son. Although she knew that he was the one who stole it, she still protected him.
Liu Yu even wanted to blame it on the sisters.
Xu Xiuzhi was startled. Hiding the money in the kang hole was her secret, and no one else knew about it. She immediately looked at Liu Yu.
Liu Yu's face also turned pale.
Her son Shen Tianci always had a few cents to buy popsicles and candies. Her son got the benefits and didn't care where the money came from.
Later, when we asked, we found out that it was his son who found where his grandmother hid the money and did not take more than one dollar.
How did Shen Qingyue know about this?
Liu Yu was completely unprepared for her son's theft. She was completely stunned when she suddenly discovered that he had stolen money.
Xu Xiuzhi was anxious because there were 350 yuan in the kang hole, which was the family's money.
Although Shen Tianci is her grandson, she has more than just this one grandson. The old lady raised her hand and slapped Liu Yu: "Bitch, if you don't have enough money, I will peel off your skin."
Xu Xiuzhi hurried into the house.
Liu Yu was slapped, her face burning and her ears buzzing. She couldn't care less at this moment. "Mom, that's not true. Shen Qingyue is just talking nonsense. Tianci is your grandson. He's watched her grow up. How could he do such a thing?"
No matter how much Shen Qingyue screamed, Xu Xiuzhi didn't stop. She was anxious to go back and find the money, fearing that Shen Tianci would take all the 350 yuan.
Liu Yu was terrified and looked at Shen Qingyue fiercely and said, "You bitch."
Shen Qingyue knew that Liu Yu had five daughters but none of them could compare to this precious son, so she said, "You can shout it out loud! You gave birth to a thief. He even stole his own grandmother."
Third Aunt Liu Yu shuddered all over, then calmed herself down and said, "You stole it, blame it on my son."
Her not-so-bright little head knew to move under pressure.
The old lady hid her money so secretly that even she, her daughter-in-law, didn't know about it. How could Shen Qingyue know?
Shen Qingyue wasn't afraid of her. She said, "Sister, there's a thief in our house. Call the police right away. Let them find out who stole the money!"
This sentence directly hit Liu Yu's vital point. Liu Yu was speechless.
If they resolve this matter internally, it will be a family matter at most. But if the police find out and it gets out, they will lose all their face for the rest of their lives.
People in the village would also talk behind your back.
When Xu Xiuzhi came out and heard Shen Qingyue's words, she said with an unhappy face: "Alright, what are you making such a fuss about? Don't you think it's embarrassing enough?"
She went to look for her money. She only lost one dollar. It was obvious it was a child's doing. Although she lost money, it wasn't a big loss.
Xu Xiuzhi was about to explode when she heard Shen Qingyue's words. Even if she was very unhappy, she had to suppress this matter first!
She also felt that her granddaughter Shen Qingyue was different from before. She took a deep note of her in her heart. She didn't force her this time.
Instead, he said to Liu Yu, "You've been so bored all day. I think you've been too idle. Go to the fields and work tomorrow."
Liu Yu suffered a loss, but since his son was involved in this matter, he could only swallow his anger.
Seeing that they had all dispersed, Chen Mei finally felt relieved and said, "You are too reckless. Third Aunt is the most prudent. If you offend her, in the future..."
I'm afraid there will be no good days ahead.
Shen Qingyue said: "I didn't dare to offend them before. But how did they treat me? They even wanted to sell me for a bigger house.
I've come to terms with it now. So what if I offended them? Besides, rumors are already circulating about them buying a house. They'll probably talk about it soon. "There's a hint of sarcasm on her lips," she said.
Chen Mei had completely lost her focus and said, "What should we do? If it doesn't work, just run!"
"No!" It was 1985. Although reform and opening up had begun, one still needed a temporary residence permit and a certificate from the village to travel outside the village.
Otherwise, you'd be an illegal immigrant. For pretty women, going out would be even more dangerous.
It was Shen Qingyue's own problem that was imminent, but at this moment she was comforting her sister and said, "I know what to do."
Chen Mei's eyes turned red, tears fell, and she said, "I'm useless."
Shen Qingyue said: "Nonsense, thanks to you for protecting me and my third sister, I will protect you from now on."
The eldest sister is virtuous and has fair skin. When she reached a certain age, many young men in the village came to her for marriage, but she wanted to take care of her two younger sisters after getting married.
As soon as these words were spoken, those who wanted to marry her backed off.
Later, she got older. In the village, she was still unmarried at the age of 24, as girls in the village usually married early. She became an "old maid."
Later, the matchmakers who introduced her to potential partners became worse and worse. One even wanted to introduce her to a second-married woman with children, so that she would become a stepmother right away. But the eldest sister disagreed!
Because the eldest sister "stuck" the Shen family in their hands and they failed to successfully exchange it for a betrothal gift, they have been gossiped about a lot by the so-called elders of the Shen family over the years.
Gossip can be devastating!
What Shen Qingyue wants to do most now is: "Separate the family." Set up a new family and live independently.
With her being reborn and her skill in cooking delicious food, their lives will surely be prosperous as long as they are separated.
Shen Mei frowned and said, “Impossible.”
When grandparents reach old age, they like to have all the younger generations around them. They are the absolute authority. Even if the family doesn't divide up the property for them alone, the family won't agree.
Besides, Shen Qingyue is twenty years old this year and is very beautiful. The third child, Shen Xiu, is seventeen years old and studying in the county. She will be able to get married in a few years. This is one of the ways for the Shen family to get rich.
Even if grandpa and grandma were crazy, they would never separate the people.
Shen Qingyue said: "Everything depends on human effort."
Chen Mei said, "You should go back to your room first. Your body hasn't recovered from the hunger strike a few days ago. You need to take some more rest."
…
At dinner time at the Shen family's house, the large round table was packed. Uncle Two and Aunt Three, along with their two sons, were there. Uncle Three and Aunt Three had a family of eight, along with Shen Mei and Shen Qingyue. Shen Xiu was in town attending junior high school and hadn't returned.
If everyone came to sit down, there wouldn't be enough space at the big table.
The Shen family favors boys over girls, so all males have to sit at the table. Only a few women can sit at the table, like the girls from my third uncle and aunt's families.
Chen Mei prepared a large table of food, but never served it.
In the past, Shen Qingyue would not sit at the table in order to accompany her elder sister.
As time went by, they were happily waiting to eat the food that was ready. In contrast, the eldest family looked like servants.
They eat everyone else's leftovers and live in a leaky straw hut. Not satisfied with just gnawing on the last bit of flesh and blood from the big wife, they now want to squeeze every last drop of blood out of her and sell her off to buy a bigger house.
As for the fact that Shen Qingyue hadn't eaten for the past few days, it didn't bother them at all.
Everyone knew about Shen Qingyue's rebellion today before the evening. Grandfather Shen Daniu frowned in dissatisfaction. The Shen family had never allowed a girl to bully them.
Grandma Xu Xiuzhi was holding her breath in the afternoon and also wanted to settle the score with Shen Qingyue.
Third Aunt Liu Yu has been in a bad mood because her son's theft was exposed.
There's a feeling of impending storm.
There was a low pressure around the dinner table.
Only Shen Qingyue, who was at the center of the storm, seemed to be unaware of the situation. She placed the food on the table and pulled her eldest sister Shen Mei to sit down.
Second Uncle Shen Jiancheng remained silent, leaving Second Aunt somewhat displeased. The Shen family had long prioritised boys over girls, and girls were not taken seriously, especially since both the first wife and her husband had passed away.
There were only a few girls left, and the masters hadn't come to the table yet, but they got to the table first.
Third uncle Shen Daye was dissatisfied when he heard some exaggerated words from his daughter-in-law Liu Yu.
When Shen Qingyue pulled her elder sister to the table, everyone else was stunned.
Grandma Xu Xiuzhi said angrily, "You are becoming more and more unruly as you grow older. You have no right to sit at the table."
Shen Qingyue said: "Why can't I sit at the table? This table full of food was all cooked by my sister. You eat the good ones and leave the leftovers for others to eat. Aren't you ashamed? If you don't know, you might think you are a landlord in feudal society."
When this hat was put on, everyone present gasped.
In those early years, the ideological situation was serious. If this word got out, they would have been in big trouble. This memory is like it's ingrained in them.
Grandpa Shen Daniu slammed the table heavily: "What nonsense are you talking about."
Second Aunt was cheering on the side: "Hey, look at what you're saying. Who would want a woman like that in the future? Even if she gets married, she'll be beaten eight times a day!"
Xu Xiuzhi continued, "What a disgrace! Aren't you going to die if you don't eat? Who are you trying to scare? If you have the guts, it would be better if you actually died. I'm just afraid you won't be able to let go!"
When Liu Yu saw so many people attacking Shen Qingyue, she felt as if someone was venting her anger, and she felt secretly happy: "You went to the table to eat without the permission of the elders. You have never seen a meal in your eight hundred lifetimes."
Third uncle Shen Daye scolded from the side: "Shen Qingyue, Shen Mei, get off the table quickly. Look at you and your grandpa being so angry."
Then he said with a sense of superiority: "This is not a place for you to stay."
Chen Mei's face flushed red with embarrassment. Tears of grievance welled up in her eyes. She was clearly in her own home, doing the most work, yet she couldn't even sit at the dinner table.
Shen Qingyue had long known that they were of this nature, so she wasn't afraid of it. She said, "My sister made all of this. If you don't let us eat it, then no one else should eat it."
He flipped the table. A bowl of soup on the table shattered, spilling the soup all over the floor. The steamed bread sizzled and rolled.
The whole family was dumbfounded.
Grandpa Shen Daniu was shaking with anger: "Rebellion, rebellion."
When grandma saw that so many porcelain pieces in the house were broken into pieces, she was shocked and hadn't even eaten a bite of dinner.
Her cheeks twitched with heartache: "Ouch. My bowl, my food." She didn't care that the ground was dirty, she fell to the ground with a plop, crying loudly.
The second and third uncles also turned pale and were very angry, but the second uncle saw that there were so many people in the family, so he was not afraid that he could not deal with this dead boy. It would be a joke for an uncle to deal with his niece.
Instead of taking action, he quickly left with his two sons, Shen Chaoxiong and Shen Chaohu, leaving behind a single sentence: "What a misfortune for our family."
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