Chapter 12: The Stubborn Filial Person
Cen Yan's words made Li feel helpless for a moment.
She looked at her stepdaughter in front of her. Although she was not her biological daughter, she had treated her sincerely since the first day she entered Lao Cen's house.
In the past, when Cen Yan was distant from her, she just thought that the child was shy and it would get better over time.
However, it was not until today that she found out that the child was instigated by the elders in the family!
Let’s not talk about the many misunderstandings and grievances that Li suffered as a result.
Just for a child like Cen Yan, who has been instigated and threatened by his elders for so many years, how scared and helpless must he feel?
She boasted that she must be a competent stepmother and treated Cen Yan better than her own daughter. But in the end, the child suffered endless grievances and she never knew it!
At this moment, Li felt deeply remorseful!
Although she was so weak that tears welled up in her eyes, she still hugged Cen Yan into her arms and said firmly: "Don't worry, Yan'er, I will never let anyone from the old Cen family bully you again!"
"Mom, I already know how sincere you are towards me, but if grandpa and grandma insist on bullying me, what can you do? They are the elders, and you and dad cannot disobey them, otherwise you will be unfilial and will be scolded..." Cen Yan sighed and said.
"Then, what should I do? Yan'er, don't worry! If your grandparents want to bully you, I will protect you at the risk of my life! Even if it means sacrificing my own life!"
"Mom, if you give up your life for me, Yangyang will hate me to death. Besides, if you leave, what will happen to Yangyang? He is only six years old this year..."
"this……"
When she thought of her son, Li was at a loss for words. On the other hand, she had a stepdaughter whom she truly loved. She felt so distressed that tears welled up in her eyes. "What should I do? Your grandparents are biased! They just don't treat our second-house relatives well!"
"Mom, have you ever thought about dividing the family?" Seeing that she had almost finished talking, Cen Yan directly pointed out her true intention.
"What? Split up the family?!"
This suggestion obviously frightened Li. As soon as she said it, she quickly covered her mouth and looked around. When she saw no one eavesdropping, she felt relieved and said cautiously, "Yan'er, you can't say this casually!"
"Mom, I'm not saying this casually. Only by dividing the family can our second branch live a good life without being looked down upon by others!"
Cen Yan's expression revealed an unprecedented determination, "If we don't split up the family, the second branch will only be able to work like a slave for the first branch and the entire Cen family for the rest of their lives, and won't get any benefits at all! Mom, I'm not talking nonsense. I believe you have seen clearly what the second branch's situation is like in the Cen family over the years!"
How can it not be clear?
After hearing this, Li couldn't help but sigh.
As soon as she entered the door, she found that the second branch was in a bad situation in Lao Cen's house.
The parents-in-law treat the first wife the best and the third wife pretty well too, but their attitude towards the second wife is very strange.
My father-in-law appears to be fair.
The mother-in-law hates the second wife and bullies her openly and secretly.
The father-in-law clearly knew everything, but he pretended not to know and allowed the mother-in-law to humiliate the second wife.
The elders are like this, and the first and third wives follow suit, thinking of ways to bully the second wife openly or secretly, not to mention that there are two younger sisters-in-law in the family.
No one in Lao Cen's family stood on the side of the second branch.
But her husband is a stubborn and filial man. No matter how he is beaten or scolded, he never says "no", let alone resists.
When Cen Dahai's ex-wife died of illness, Cen Dahai was unable to take care of his daughter by himself and lived a miserable life.
But no one in the old Cen family was willing to find a good marriage for him.
Her marriage was arranged by her father when he was dying. Because her father trusted Cen Dahai and gave away all the property of the Li family, the Cen family agreed to let her marry into the family as Cen Dahai's second wife.
After getting married, she did not fight or compete, but fulfilled her duties. She followed her husband in respecting her parents-in-law and working diligently.
But even though she encountered so much injustice, she didn't complain at all...
That is also impossible.
"Divide the family is too difficult. Let alone other things, just your father... he won't agree!" After thinking it over, Li still shook her head in despair.
She knows better than anyone how foolishly filial her man is.
"That's because Dad hasn't been hit hard enough to face reality!" Cen Yan's eyes flickered as he said, "If what Dad cares about most is going to be destroyed by grandpa and grandma, I don't believe he will remain indifferent!"
"Yan'er, what you mean is..." Li's heart moved, and she was a little uncertain.
"Mom, listen to me, this matter needs long-term consideration." Cen Yan paused slightly, and then repeated all the plans she had in her mind.
After listening to this, Li was still a little hesitant.
But thinking about letting her family live a stable and happy life from now on, she finally nodded firmly.
"Mom, but we have to be careful recently. After what I did today, grandma and Third Aunt will definitely hold a grudge against me. They will definitely cause trouble for our second branch to vent their anger." Cen Yan instructed again.
"Don't worry, I will tell your brother not to fight with the first and third wives for things." Li responded immediately.
The second house didn't work for a day, so Li had a rare chance to relax.
She works so hard every day that she actually suffers from back pain. A rest can relieve the pain.
Cen Yan was also a little dazed.
Everything that happened in the past life seems like yesterday.
She worked day and night to earn money to pay off Wei Zan's father's bottomless gambling debts, and to support herself and Fu'er. Her life was really too difficult.
Now this sudden day of leisure seems like it was stolen and feels very unreal.
But no matter how unreal it is, it is indeed reality.
This is God's way of compensating her. She must seize every opportunity to make a good life for herself and her family.
…
…
At noon, Old Man Cen and his three sons returned home.
Farmers usually don't eat lunch.
But this is just not like in the morning and evening, cooking, making soup and eating steamed buns, everything is complete, it is not really eating nothing.
This is the rule of Lao Cen’s family.
Breakfast and dinner are paid for by the public.
For lunch, each room is allowed to eat its own food and is not allowed to use the public food. Whether the food is good or bad, it does not affect other rooms.
That's fair.
Old Cen's family owned more than 20 acres of land. After selling the harvested crops, Old Man Cen took half, and the remaining half was divided equally among the three families, which meant that each family earned about four taels of silver a year.
Therefore, the first and third wives had money and naturally had enough to eat.
However, the money in the hands of the second wife, Cen Dahai, was always used by Old Lady Cen, saying that she was not feeling well and needed to buy medicine or supplements, or that Cen Yan's aunt wanted to buy some cloth to make clothes, or that she wanted to buy some snacks, or that Cen Yan's aunt came back and said that the family was having a hard time recently and asked Cen Dahai, the second brother, to borrow some money to spend...
What was taken or borrowed will never come back.
The younger sister-in-law asked for money to buy snacks, and never let the two younger generations, Cen Yan or Cen Yang, eat any of them.
Therefore, the second wife did not save a penny and had to starve.
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