Chapter 175 I can't just let you raise my child for free, can I?
Xia Qianqian gently brushed away Daya's damp hair with her fingertips, her voice soft and gentle: "Don't cry, leave this to Mom. Mom promises, I will never let that bad woman take you away."
Daya clutched Xia Qianqian's clothes tightly with her small hands, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, like a frightened fledgling: "Really? But she's still my own mother. If I don't go with her, will she go outside and talk badly about you? Say that you're preventing us from recognizing each other..."
"She dares!" Lu Zheng slammed his fist on the table, making the oil lamp on the table shake.
"Who does she think she is! She ran off with your father's pension money back then, and now she has the nerve to come back and boss people around? I haven't settled that score with her yet!"
Daya was startled by his sudden roar, but also felt inexplicably at ease.
She sniffed and asked timidly, "Mom, can I...can I really stay?"
Xia Qianqian pulled her into her arms, resting her chin on the top of her head, and said each word with unwavering certainty: "Of course you can stay. Mommy Qianqian not only wants you to stay, but also wants her to know that our Lu family's child is not someone she can just take away!"
She wiped away Daya's tears and ran her fingertips along Daya's cheek: "Alright, it's getting late. You can sleep here with Mommy tonight, okay?"
Looking into Xia Qianqian's gentle eyes, and then at Lu Zheng's stern face but concerned expression, Da Ya finally felt relieved.
She nodded emphatically, like a small boat that had found its harbor, and snuggled closer to Xia Qianqian, her voice thick with nasal tone but incredibly clear: "Mmm!"
In the west wing, Lin Guizhi waited until her feet were frozen, but Daya still hadn't returned with water.
She paced back and forth in the room, muttering under her breath: "You brat! You dawdle over boiling water, are you trying to freeze your old mother to death? Before, you would bring me the foot bath water the moment I snorted, but now you think you're all grown up? You're such a useless thing!"
As I continued cursing, drowsiness washed over me like a tide.
She yawned, not even bothering to wait for the foot bath water, and sprawled on the kang (a heated brick bed), pulling the new cotton quilt over her head without even taking off her shoes.
Not long after, a deafening snore came from under the covers. She dreamt that she was standing with her hands on her hips blocking the main room of the Lu family, and Xia Qianqian handed her a thick wad of cash with a mournful face, a full hundred yuan!
Lin Guizhi was laughing so hard in her dream that her mouth stretched all the way to her ears, and she even drooled onto her pillow.
The next day, when the sun was already high in the sky, Lin Guizhi finally got up from the kang (a heated brick bed) with a yawn.
"Da Ya! Where did you run off to, you brat? Where's breakfast?" she shouted in a shrill voice.
Lin Guizhi didn't see Daya, so she slipped on her shoes, grumbling as she pushed open the door and went out.
As soon as she reached the center of the courtyard, the aroma of scrambled eggs wafted into her nostrils on the breeze, instantly awakening the cravings in her stomach.
"Tsk tsk, the Lu family is really extravagant!" Her throat bobbed violently, and her feet moved toward the kitchen as if drawn by a magnet.
"I thought it was a coincidence that we had hot pot yesterday, but I never expected to be eating scrambled eggs so early in the morning... How much are all these eggs worth? What a wasteful person who doesn't know how to manage money!"
As she grumbled sourly, she quickened her pace, already plotting how to throw a tantrum and extort more "wages" from Xia Qianqian.
As soon as Lin Guizhi stepped into the kitchen, her eyes widened instantly. On the table, steaming millet porridge was served, and a pile of glistening scrambled eggs looked like a small mountain. Several round hard-boiled eggs lay beside it, and the pickled radishes in the earthenware jar were bright red, making it look incredibly appetizing.
Her throat bobbed violently; her earlier anger had long been extinguished by the sight of the greasy food on the table. She rushed over as if on air, picked up her bowl and chopsticks, and sat down at the table. With a flick of her chopsticks, she shoveled half a plate of scrambled eggs into her own bowl.
"Smack!"
Xia Qianqian slammed her hand heavily on the table, making the bowls and plates rattle.
Lin Guizhi was so startled that her hand trembled, and the egg on her chopsticks fell back onto the plate with a "plop".
"What are you doing!" Lin Guizhi's face contorted with heartache as she pointed at the eggs on the plate. "What a waste!"
In her heart, she cursed: "That vixen is just greedy. If it weren't for her constantly urging Lu Zheng to squander money, the Lu family would definitely be living a better life than they are now!"
Lin Guizhi wanted to put on the airs of a "sister-in-law" and give her a lecture, but when she looked up and met Xia Qianqian's gaze, all the rest of her words got stuck in her throat.
The woman who was all smiles yesterday now had a face as cold as ice, and the chill in her eyes made my skin tingle.
"Lin Guizhi," Xia Qianqian's voice wasn't loud, but it carried immense force, "Who gave you permission to pick up your chopsticks?"
Lin Guizhi was taken aback by her imposing manner. After a long while, she stiffened her neck and snorted, "What? Is it illegal to eat two eggs from your house? Da Ya has worked for your house for so many years. Isn't it okay for her to eat a few eggs as compensation?"
As Lin Guizhi spoke, she glanced at Lu Zheng, thinking to herself: "A grown man like this, just stands by and watches his wife bully him like this? What kind of family is this where the woman is in charge!"
She even deliberately cleared her throat, putting on the airs of an elder, waiting for Lu Zheng to "uphold justice".
Xia Qianqian could easily see through her thoughts, and sneered, "What? You want Lu Zheng to speak for you? Lin Guizhi, you want to take Daya away? Fine. But we need to figure things out first!"
"In the past two years, Daya has had everything she needs at the Lu family's house—three winter coats alone, and eggs and meat every month without fail. And you, her biological mother, haven't contributed a single penny. Now you want to take her away? Shouldn't you pay back all the child support you've provided over the years?"
"Child support?" Lin Guizhi's voice suddenly rose eight octaves, spitting saliva all over the table.
"Xia Qianqian, have you no shame! Da Ya is my daughter! She does your laundry and cooks for you for free, it's only right that we feed and clothe her! You dare to ask for child support after feeding her a couple of meals? I haven't even asked you for her wages yet! She's worked for your family for so many years, and you're turning around and trying to get free labor, aren't you!"
She slapped her thigh and threw a tantrum, but her eyes secretly glanced at Lu Zheng. However, Lu Zheng didn't look at her at all and just lowered his eyes to peel eggs for Daya.
"Free labor?" Xia Qianqian's laughter was sharp. "Lin Guizhi, you've worked in the production team before, you should know how many work points a teenager can earn in a day, right? When Daya was at your house, she was washing clothes at three and taking care of children at five. Did you ever give her a single work point or half a piece of dry food?"
She took a step forward, her imposing aura forcing Lin Guizhi to involuntarily retreat: "Now look what's happened, you're coming to me to settle my wages."
Okay! Let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative right now and ask how much a foot of polyester costs, how much a pound of brown sugar costs, and how much the cotton and cloth coupons for a cotton-padded jacket are worth!
Let's settle these accounts one by one and see if you should pay me child support or if I should give you 'wages'!
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