"What exactly do you mean by this?" The captain was taken aback by what he was said, turned around with a puzzled look on his face, stared straight at the other person, and questioned him.
Miao Cuihua turned her face away angrily and snorted, "Captain, why don't you ask him? Who earned those work points? Anyway, our family didn't get a single one!"
As she spoke, she rolled her eyes, seemingly extremely dissatisfied with the matter.
The captain was still completely baffled. He looked at Shen Qin with a puzzled expression and asked, "Shen Qin, what exactly happened? What did your wife mean by what she just said?"
Shen Qin lowered his head, like a child who had done something wrong, and honestly replied, "Captain, it's like this, I promised my mother that I would record the work points under Cuiping's name..."
However, before he could finish speaking, Miao Cuihua rudely interrupted him: "Hmph! Listen to this, Brigade Leader! He admitted it himself! He has never earned any work points for our family! Over the years, I have raised our two children all by myself."
"Now look what's happened! He's injured and he still has the nerve to ask us for money for medical treatment! You can just take him to whoever's house he worked for and earned the work points for!"
After saying that, Miao Cuihua put her hands on her hips and blocked the doorway, striking a pose that showed she would never compromise.
"This is utter nonsense! What's going on in your family?" The captain looked at Shen Qin with a serious expression, his eyes revealing dissatisfaction and doubt.
Shen Qin scratched his head, a simple and honest smile on his face, and quickly explained, "Oh, Captain, don't be angry. It's nothing serious. She just throws a little tantrum now and then."
However, Miao Cuihua, standing to the side, showed no respect whatsoever, maintaining her cold and stern face.
“I’m talking about serious business, Captain! He’s right here on this oxcart, why don’t you just take him to Cuiping’s house?” Miao Cuihua said firmly.
Upon hearing this, Shen Qin was instantly enraged and shouted, "Enough! What exactly do you want? Can't we talk about this when we get home? Why are you making such a scene here? What kind of behavior is this!"
Faced with Shen Qin's anger, Miao Cuihua showed no sign of backing down. Instead, she raised her voice and began to cry out, "What else is there to say? All you do is help other people with their work all day, while your own children are starving and emaciated. Can't you see that?"
"I'm a woman, busy at home every day, exhausted to the point of death, and you pretend not to see any of that. Now that you're injured, you're thinking of going home to recuperate. Is there such a thing as a free lunch?"
"You can find someone to take care of you since you work for them. Anyway, our son and daughter haven't benefited from you in the slightest since six years ago!"
By the end, Miao Cuihua's voice was visibly choked with emotion, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"What exactly happened in Chenqin? You better explain yourself clearly!" The captain was so angry that his beard bristled and his eyes widened, veins popped out on his forehead, and his voice was deafening.
He was so busy all day long that he didn't have time to pay attention to what was happening in Shen Qin's family.
Shen Qin kept his head down, fidgeting with the hem of his clothes, and mumbled incoherently for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence.
Miao Cuihua stepped forward and said, "Captain, please calm down. I think he's just too embarrassed to speak. Let me do it."
Miao Cuihua paused, then continued, "As you know, my husband's parents always complained that I was too domineering, and they couldn't stand the sight of me. And then, several years ago, after Cuiping's husband passed away..."
At this point, Miao Cuihua couldn't help but sigh deeply.
"At the beginning, I would only help out occasionally, like fetching water or chopping firewood. But I only mentioned it once, and my parents-in-law thought I was making a fuss."
They even said it was so hard for Cuiping, a widow raising a child, and told me not to be so petty. Fine, since they've said that, I'll just keep quiet.
However, things didn't stop there; the situation worsened. Gradually, my husband stopped caring about his own work points and devoted himself entirely to helping Cuiping with the chores.
“My parents-in-law are so kind! Not only did they not stop Shen Qin from helping Cuiping, but they also sided with her, protected her, and kept saying good things about her.”
They kept talking about how unfortunate Cuiping's fate was and how tragic her life was, as if helping her with chores was their bounden duty! What kind of behavior is that?
Miao Cuihua became increasingly indignant as she spoke, and her voice unconsciously rose eight octaves.
“I also argued with them endlessly about this, causing chaos in the house, but in the end I thought that family scandals should not be aired in public, so I didn’t dare to spread the matter outside, and I never took the initiative to cause trouble for Cuiping.”
"After all, we're all family. It wouldn't look good if we fell out." Miao Cuihua sighed helplessly, her face full of sorrow.
"Even with such compromises, the children were emaciated and looked malnourished. But the heartless grandparents and the ungrateful man turned a blind eye to it all, acting as if they didn't see it at all."
"There was no other way. In order to support my family, I had to work myself to the bone all by myself. I have actually endured this dark and hopeless life for six whole years!"
Miao Cuihua's tears flowed like a burst dam, and she sobbed, barely able to speak clearly.
Just then, the sensible Shen Yuting and Shen Yuyang quietly walked to their mother's side and nestled close to her on either side.
The two children gently patted Miao Cuihua's back with their little hands. Although they didn't say a word, their eyes, full of concern and comfort, said it all.
Shen Yuting even reached out her still somewhat childish little hand and carefully wiped away the tears that kept rolling down her mother's eyes.
Looking at Shen Qin with eyes full of hatred, the brigade leader felt a chill run down his spine; the children had already begun to hate him.
"What a fool you are! Shen Qin, I really don't know what to say to you! Look at you, you don't even care about your own family, and you actually go to work for other people's families."
"Have you completely forgotten that you still have a son and a daughter to take care of? They are your own flesh and blood!"
The captain pointed at Shen Qin with a look of utter anger and reprimanded him loudly, his anger almost bursting forth.
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