Fu Baoer was called back to the Shen family by a phone call.
Zhao Lingxin sat on the sofa, feeling uneasy. Her right cheek was swollen and her eyes were red. It was obvious that she had been crying. When she saw Fu Baoer appear, she swayed noticeably. It was hard to tell whether she was relieved or even more nervous.
"Bao'er is back. This girl just keeps crying and won't say anything when asked," Jiang Fengxia said, pulling her granddaughter to sit down. "You two can chat. I'll go see your aunt."
Fu Baoer raised an eyebrow, but was in no hurry to speak. Zhao Lingxin couldn't wait for her to speak, so she couldn't help herself. She covered her red and swollen face and said with difficulty: "This was a beating from Zhao Lingrou. I didn't expect that she could have such great strength."
It was indeed unexpected. Fu Baoer asked Mrs. Wu to bring the medicine box over and gently applied the ointment to her. "If I'm not mistaken, you went home and told Zhao Lingrou about our conversation that day. She asked if you were using this as a threat to get more benefits?"
Zhao Lingxin was stunned. Fu Baoer guessed right.
Today she went to her uncle's house to ask about the work arrangements, but she didn't expect Zhao Lingrou to be there too. Zhao Lingxin knew that she would be ridiculed again and her uncle would not respond to her directly.
Sure enough, although Zhao Lingrou's tone was gentle and pleasant, her words were extremely hurtful: "Bringing you back from the countryside is already very worthy of you. Xinxin, you've got the money and you're back, but you can't be greedy anymore. Our house is not a relief center. How long are we going to have to take care of you guys every day?"
The color drained away from Zhao Lingxin's face in an instant. Although Zhao Jian had helped them before, he always gave them leftover, expired, or moldy food. Every time he gave them money, Zhao Lingxin would take the initiative to come to their house and take care of all the housework.
From childhood to adulthood, Zhao Lingxin has lost count of how many clothes she has washed or how many floors she has mopped for them. Not to mention that she has not owed them much, even if she has, it should be repaid. What's more, Zhao Lingxin has always known that after her father's death, the work that should have fallen on her mother was given to her wife by Zhao Jian using his connections.
At that time, she was still young, and her mother was too weak to be bullied. She endured it blindly, but in return, Zhao Jian's family treated her even more harshly. Zhao Lingxin tried hard to suppress her anger and tried to reason with her uncle: "Uncle, we agreed that you would help me find a job. I don't ask for a good position, I just need a salary that can make a living. Is that not enough?"
Zhao Jian is the director of a factory. Such things are not difficult for him, even if it is just washing dishes in the factory canteen. Zhao Lingxin doesn't ask for much.
In the past, Zhao Jian would not have failed to fulfill this promise, but the factory was in a critical period of restructuring, and Zhao Jian was fighting with many factory cadres to the death. He really didn't want to worry about his niece.
"Xinxin, you need to be sensible when you grow up. The factory is in a recession right now and there's no profit. We can barely guarantee the workers' wages. It's useless for you to come here," Zhao Jian said, feeling that he still cared about his niece. "You happened to be sick and missed the college entrance examination this year, but you still have a chance next year, right? Look at your sister. It would be great if she could go to college. Why does she have to work?"
Zhao Lingxin also wants to go to college, but there is still a long time before the exam, and their family has to make a living!
"Xinxin, didn't I give you money before? How come you spent it all so quickly?" Zhao Lingrou frowned, very dissatisfied. In her mind, Zhao Lingxin should have helped her for free, so how could he accept money?
Zhao Lingxin pinched her fingers. Her illness had cost her a lot of money, and Zhao Lingrou knew this, yet she still asked knowingly, "Cousin, I'm not here to ask for money today. I want my uncle to fulfill his promise. This is the deal we made, isn't it?"
Zhao Lingrou was impatient, "Are you blackmailing us?"
"That's not what I meant," Zhao Lingxin mustered up the courage to look directly into Zhao Lingrou's deceptive face. "I just wanted to tell you that there's no such thing as a completely impenetrable wall. A few days ago, I was helping out at the Shen family and ran into a classmate of my cousin's. She was very curious about our relationship..."
Zhao Lingrou sat up abruptly, feeling dizzy for a moment. She calmed down before asking, "The Shen family? Was it Fu Baoer? What did she say?"
Zhao Lingxin did not hide anything and told everyone everything that happened that day. Unexpectedly, after listening to it, Zhao Lingrou not only did not choose to comfort Zhao Lingxin, but suddenly reached out and slapped her hard.
"Don't you have a brain? You can work at anyone else's house, but they have to work there. Are you so short of money?" Zhao Lingrou took a few breaths. "If Fu Baoer finds out, she'll definitely report me! What if I get fired then?"
Zhao Lingxin covered her face in disbelief. Although she was used to all kinds of sarcasm, this was the first time she'd been beaten. "What gives you the right to hit me? Zhao Lingrou, if you dare to do it, you must dare to take responsibility! If you had studied hard in college, you wouldn't be suspected of cheating on your grades! I told you not to apply to Capital University. It's not a place you can stay just because you get in, but you refused to listen. Now, you've let people see right through your brain that you didn't go to Capital University!"
"Pa!" Mother Zhao stood up and slapped Zhao Lingxin twice, knocking her head sideways. "Who do you think you are? How dare you say bad things about our Rourou? If it weren't for your uncle, you would have married that village scoundrel by now. Zhao Lingxin, I'm warning you, if you dare say anything you shouldn't, I'll be rude to you!"
Zhao Lingrou was already stroking her chest, her face pale, and she lay in her mother's arms, crying non-stop. Zhao Lingxin was just a dog raised by her family, and he dared to bark loudly at his owner, "Dad, Mom, I feel so sad..."
Zhao Jian couldn't bring himself to attack his niece, but his expression was fierce and he was clearly furious. "Get out of here! If it weren't for your father, do you think I would care about your family? You ungrateful bastard, don't come to our house anymore!"
In fact, Zhao Lingxin had already begun to regret her words. The reason for her careless words just now was because of the dissatisfaction and resentment accumulated over too many years. She blurted out those words in shock and anger after being beaten. She wanted to apologize, but Zhao Jian and his wife had already hugged their daughter and returned to the house. Zhao Lingxin was extremely embarrassed and ran out of the Zhao house crying.
Walking on the road, she knew that her job was gone and her relationship with Zhao Jian's family had reached a freezing point. Zhao Lingxin was distraught and accidentally collided with a bicycle.
After lying on the ground for a long time, Zhao Lingxin looked at the blue sky and suddenly wanted to take revenge. She pushed the cyclist away and ran towards the direction of the Shen family in her memory.
How could she endure this? Zhao Lingxin had endured for more than ten years and had reached her limit. She wanted to fight to the death with Zhao Lingrou and her family!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
