Chapter 5 Family Reunion
"Yes, look how happy I am, I forgot to tell you all. Xin Xin received her university acceptance letter today, and Mom is so happy. Let's have a nice family meal." Jiang Ruzhen wiped away her tears and invited everyone to sit down and eat.
"Really? That's great!"
"Did my sister really get into the university in the capital?"
"Fourth sister, you are amazing. No wonder you are the person I admire."
The three brothers surrounded Shen Shuxin, chattering and arguing, carefully examining each of her admission notices, their faces beaming with pride and joy.
Jiang Ruzhen noticed the deep envy and regret hidden in the eyes of the eldest brother, Shen Zhuoli.
Her eldest son was smart and studious from a young age. When his father was still alive, he would come back as the top student in the whole school every year, which made his father take him everywhere.
That was his father's pride and joy!
But later, after this same ten-year-old child suffered a sudden misfortune in their family, he resolutely dropped out of school and followed her to work and earn money everywhere without a single complaint.
Shen Zhuoli raised his hand and carefully touched Shen Shuxin's university admission letter before handing it back to her with a solemn expression.
"Sister, study hard. Don't worry about the family or living expenses. I'm capable of earning money."
"When you become successful in the future, you'll show those neighbors who used to look down on us that the Shen family can't be defeated."
"Yes, big brother, I know." The obedient Shen Shuxin didn't know how to say anything polite, so she could only nod heavily.
"Stop talking, the food will get cold. Sit down and eat," Jiang Ruzhen said.
The family sat around the table, and just as they picked up their chopsticks to eat, the youngest son, Shen Zhuohang, suddenly felt that something was missing.
Looking around, she asked curiously, "Mom, where's my third sister?"
Shen Zhuoli also noticed that someone was missing and asked, "Yes, Mom, where did Lanlan go?"
Jiang Ruzhen subtly observed everyone's expressions.
The eldest and youngest brothers were genuinely concerned about Qin Lanlan's whereabouts, while the second brother, Shen Zhuoyi, showed concern on his face but his eyes were full of impatience.
"I beat Qin Lanlan up and locked her in the warehouse."
One stone stirs up a thousand waves.
The group was stunned into silence by Jiang Ruzhen's casual remark. After a long while, the eldest brother finally asked in a low voice.
"Mom, what did Lanlan do wrong?"
Shen Zhuohang slammed down his chopsticks and shouted excitedly.
"Mom, even if Third Sister did something wrong, you can't hit her and lock her in the storeroom. What are you doing? Hasn't our family always favored girls over boys?"
After Shen Zhuohang finished speaking, he got up to go to the warehouse to release the people. Jiang Ruzhen's face darkened, and she slammed the chopsticks in her hand heavily on the table.
"Sit down, you little monkey. This family is not your place to be in charge."
Her youngest son is wonderful in every way—a sunny, cheerful young man who smiles at everyone he meets, and is loyal and affectionate.
He's a bit impulsive and doesn't consider the consequences of his actions.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been completely manipulated by Qin Lanlan, working for the Qin family for half his life, with all the money he earned going into Qin Lanlan's pocket, and in the end, he would have been killed by the Qin family.
"Mom—" Shen Zhuohang called out unwillingly.
He sensed something was off about the atmosphere at home as soon as he got back today. Wasn't his mother always the one who doted on his third sister the most?
He couldn't understand what had gotten into him so easily.
It can't be that Mom got angry just because I bullied my fourth sister, right?
But that's just how my third sister is; she's always been competitive and ambitious. Why don't we just let her have her way?
This is something Mom used to say all the time.
"Shut your eyes and mouth. Sit down!"
Jiang Ruzhen glared at him, her face darkening. Shen Zhuohang immediately fell silent and obediently sat down.
The siblings grew up with Jiang Ruzhen, who was both a loving mother and a strict father.
In this family, Mom always had the final say, and the kids had to behave themselves. Otherwise, even if Mom didn't lay a hand on them, their older brother's fists would come crashing down without mercy.
The second brother, Shen Zhuoyi, didn't say a word, but he glanced at Jiang Ruzhen's expression.
Jiang Ruzhen pretended not to see it. Among her sons, if you were to ask who disliked Qin Lanlan the most, the second son would definitely be the first to be mentioned.
The eldest and youngest brothers are simple-minded and, under her pressure, regard Qin Lanlan as their own sister.
But the second son seemed to be born rebellious. He was cunning, didn't like studying, and went out to roam around after graduating from junior high school. He had all sorts of shady characters and a lot of bad friends.
He seemed to have been very disgusted with Qin Lanlan and her family from the very beginning.
He was the only one in the family who never treated Qin Lanlan well, which aroused her great dissatisfaction in her previous life.
We've tried hitting him, we've tried scolding him, but the second son just won't change his ways.
So she simply treated him like he was invisible. Later, when the second son grew up, he learned to be two-faced and put on an act in front of her.
On the surface, he was caring and considerate towards Qin Lanlan, but in reality, he would seize any opportunity to make sarcastic remarks, his words full of biting malice.
After the eldest son passed away, the second son was even more disappointed in her.
One night, he packed his bags and went to the city to become the son-in-law of the Mei family. He went out to do business with the Mei family and disappeared without a trace.
Looking back now, it seems she wasn't as insightful as the second child in her past life, and couldn't see through Qin Lanlan's wolfish ambitions.
"Ahem..." Lost in thought, Jiang Ruzhen coughed twice to bring herself back to reality and spoke seriously in front of everyone.
"The reason I taught Qin Lanlan a lesson today is because she tried to snatch Xin Xin's college admission notice. When I disagreed, she threw a tantrum, almost tore up the notice, pointed her finger at me, cursed at me, and even tried to hit me."
Shen Shuxin listened in stunned silence, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at her mother, who was spouting nonsense with a straight face.
"What? This bastard has gone too far!" Shen Zhuoyi couldn't help but slam his fist on the table and stand up, his face full of barely suppressed anger.
"No way, how could Lanlan dare to lay a hand on Mom?" Shen Zhuoli was somewhat incredulous.
Shen Zhuohang was also surprised and was about to walk outside.
"That can't be right, I'll go ask her."
Jiang Ruzhen felt a headache looking at her sons' behavior. The eldest and youngest were just like her in her previous life, deeply poisoned, and the road to reforming them was long and arduous.
On the contrary, this second-in-command seems like someone we could bring into the alliance and develop.
However, she had a very bad impression of the second son in the past, and she didn't know when she could regain his trust, but there was no need to rush it.
"Please sit down, I have something important to tell you."
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