Chapter 8 The Dumb Fourth Brother
Liu Guihua raised an eyebrow, her small triangular eyes scanning the piece of meat. It looked to weigh about five or six pounds, with a good balance of fat and lean meat; it would be delicious in dumplings or stews.
He slurped his saliva. These days, no family is rich. This much meat is enough for his whole family to have a few extra meals.
Thinking this, Liu Guihua's expression improved considerably. She got up, took the meat, put it in the kitchen, and poured a bowl of water for Jiang Ruzhen.
"Your Xin got into college? That's fantastic news! Want to get something done?"
Liu Guihua subtly inquired, wondering if they were only calling to let her know when they needed something done, and if she would have to return the favor later.
“If we don’t do anything, our family can’t afford it. Even though my university tuition is waived, we still need to cover other miscellaneous living expenses.”
Jiang Ruzhen sighed. Liu Guihua looked at Jiang Ruzhen's reddened eyes and felt a little uneasy.
She initially thought Jiang Ruzhen was too beautiful, alluring and seductive, like a bewitching enchantress, and that's why she made such a fuss, fearing her man would be seduced.
However, as time went on, she realized that Jiang Ruzhen was an honest and upright woman who hadn't had any shady dealings with any of the men in the fishing village.
She breathed a sigh of relief, but the two had a falling out and never spoke to each other again.
Looking at the fine wrinkles on Jiang Ruzhen's face, the patched clothes on her body, and the cracks on her hands, and thinking of the children she had raised so well, Liu Guihua felt a pang of pity.
"I'm not trying to criticize you, Sister Jiang, but look around this village, who spoils their daughter like yours? That adopted daughter from out of town is throwing her weight around in your house, and Xin doesn't go out to work, she just knows how to study."
Those girls are just money-losing assets; they'll all marry into other families eventually. What's the point of working yourself to the bone for them?
Jiang Ruzhen disagreed, but she didn't argue with Liu Guihua. In this era, it wasn't just rural people who had this idea; even many city dwellers preferred sons to daughters.
"I'm not a very capable mother, but I'll support my child if he has the ambition. Sister-in-law, you're busy, I have other things to do and I'll head back now."
Jiang Ruzhen made a prudent retreat, and Liu Guihua, frustrated by her lack of ambition, did not try to stop her.
After leaving the brigade leader's house, Jiang Ruzhen wrapped herself up tightly and strolled around the shipyard's residential area, spreading some rumors before returning home.
She went into the warehouse to take a look at Qin Lanlan, and Qin Lanlan struggled desperately when she saw her.
Jiang Ruzhen removed the rag from her mouth and looked at her coldly. Qin Lanlan had been locked up for a day and a night and was already starving.
He was filled with rage, and upon seeing Jiang Ruzhen enter, he immediately launched into a tirade of curses without a second thought.
"Widow Jiang, have you lost your mind? How could you treat me like this? Let me go right now and get me something good to eat, or don't blame me for telling my mother and brother to settle the score with you."
Jiang Ruzhen felt a chill in her heart. This brat clearly had no scheming or cunning at the moment, but she revealed her true colors as soon as something happened.
Why didn't she discover her vicious thoughts in her past life?
I'm busy all day long, working myself to the bone to earn money, but I don't even know who I'm earning it for.
Not to mention the eldest and fourth daughters, she herself is a clueless idiot.
"Still dreaming? Qin Lanlan, let me tell you the truth, I'm going to starve you to death so you won't covet things you shouldn't be coveting."
"Ah—, you vicious old hag, you've finally shown your true colors! My mother was right, you're just a slut, you're not genuinely good to me at all. Release me right now, or I'll have my brother kill your whole family..." Qin Lanlan was almost driven mad with anger, and she spoke recklessly.
"Fine, let's give it a try." Jiang Ruzhen was too lazy to waste words with Qin Lanlan, so she covered her mouth again, grabbed a stick, and beat Qin Lanlan up again.
All those delicious treats I fed her before were wasted. I can't cut off her round, fat body to cook with, so I can only beat her to vent my anger.
Qin Lanlan was beaten so hard she could scream, but with a rag stuffed in her mouth she couldn't make a sound. She was soon beaten unconscious again by Jiang Ruzhen.
After exercising and getting all sweaty, Jiang Ruzhen went back to her room and, seeing that her daughter wasn't home, went into her private space to take a shower.
She had plenty of time today, so she took a nice rose petal milk bath and then drank several cups of spiritual spring water. When she looked in the mirror, she found that her skin had become much fairer and smoother.
She felt much stronger, so the spiritual spring water seemed to have a significant effect. She quickly filled several more buckets and poured them into her own water tank.
When the three brothers came home in the evening, the table was still laden with fish and meat.
The eldest son finally couldn't hold back any longer, "Mom, tell me the truth, where did you get this money?"
"The dowry your maternal grandmother gave me was something the Qin family was eyeing covetously, so I didn't dare to take it out. Now that I know the truth, I won't hide it anymore."
What dowry from his maternal grandmother? If he were really rich, would his mother have to work six jobs a day, working from noon until midnight?
The second son, with a different focus, suddenly asked, "Mom, do you mean you were wary of the Qin family all along?"
"Yeah, your mom is smart enough to have sensed something was off about your dad's situation back then, so of course I had to be careful around them."
Although it's fabricated, it has to be the truth.
Otherwise, how could she, as a mother, look down on these kids and establish her authority in front of them?
The youngest son, without a care in the world, immediately believed Jiang Ruzhen's words and began to flatter his mother.
"Our mother is truly wise and powerful, a reincarnation of Guanyin. All demons and monsters must reveal their true forms before her."
Jiang Ruzhen glanced at the fourth brother, patted his head, and said, "He's a bit stupid, but he has a sweet tongue, like it's been coated with honey. He could be kept and trained."
But her infatuation hadn't lasted more than two hours when she saw her youngest son sneaking off to the warehouse in the middle of the night with something in his pocket.
Jiang Ruzhen gritted her teeth and followed, only to find that the bastard was feeding Qin Lanlan water and food!
This idiot, is he saving his brains as an heir?
He's so capable, but he'll suffer the consequences of not listening to the elders.
In her past life, she struggled alongside him, working tirelessly from dawn till dusk to help him move scrap steel ingots, even developing a herniated disc, before finally helping him open a small building materials factory.
As they get older, they still have to worry about interpersonal relationships and business dealings within the factory. They constantly nag their youngest son to think things through before acting, to avoid impulsiveness, because impulsiveness is the devil.
But this little brat didn't listen to a word she said. She was in poor health and had only been home for half a month when she heard that he had taken out a loan of several million to expand the factory.
And then he was completely fooled by Qin Lanlan, that jinx. What a simpleton.
She served her enemy's daughter with more care than her own mother.
Jiang Ruzhen didn't expose him on the spot. After her youngest son left, she went to the warehouse and beat Qin Lanlan to vent her anger.
Afterwards, he still felt a tightness in his chest. Seeing that it was getting dark, he changed his clothes and went to the shipyard's residential building to wait for Hao Youde.
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