Chapter 4 The Gloomy Little Poor Boy of the 70s
The Zhou family's house was smashed to pieces; there was nothing left to smash.
Stepmother Wang Layue looked at the woman standing in the courtyard, her air of authority making it impossible for her to believe that she was her husband's ex-wife and the biological mother of that bastard Zhou Huai!
"Are you Zhou Huai's biological mother?"
"How is that possible! You could have given birth to such a big son?"
Wang Layue's gaze swept over Shen Ci with a venomous intensity. She thought to herself that this woman's return was truly ill-timed. Zhou Huai was about to kneel before her; that wolf cub was so arrogant. She could just as easily deflate his arrogance and teach him a lesson about respect and hierarchy.
But, just then, his biological mother came back.
Shen Ci turned to look at Wang Layue, Zhou Huai's stepmother, who had given birth to several children and carried considerable weight in the Zhou family.
As the saying goes, with a stepmother comes a stepfather. Wang Layue, this stepmother, has never shown Zhou Huai any kindness. She has abused the child openly and secretly, and now she even wants to prevent Zhou Huai from going to school so that she can support her own biological child.
"So you want my son to kneel down before you?"
You should look in the mirror and see if you're even worthy. How dare you!
How can you treat a child like this?
Shen Ci's stern questioning wasn't enough. With this stepmother abusing the child, it was a miracle that Zhou Huai could grow up. It was also because the child was lucky. But now that his biological mother had returned, she wouldn't allow anyone to bully the child anymore.
"Slap! Slap!"
Before anyone could react, Shen Ci strode forward and delivered two sharp, clear slaps. Zhou Huai, standing behind her, moved his lips in astonishment.
"These two slaps were for my son. You vicious woman, you forced my son to kneel, didn't give him food, and made him so thin that he's almost starving to death!"
Shen Ci's slender back stood in front of him, protecting him all the time. Zhou Huai's emotions, which had finally calmed down, were stirred up again. This was the first time someone had stood up for him.
You dare hit me!
Are you going to do anything about this, husband?! Oh my god, it's not easy being a stepmother, I get beaten up by someone else's biological mother!
"Say something, you head of the household!"
Wang Layue rolled her eyes, sat down on the ground, grabbed her man's trouser leg, and started wailing. She was used to using this trick to coerce people.
Zhou Huai's eyes turned cold. This stepmother was always like this, showing weakness in front of others. If he didn't bow his head, he would become a bad seed who was unfilial and heartless in other people's eyes.
Zhou Huai's father, Zhou Dayou, had his brain shut down the moment Shen Ci revealed her identity.
Looking at the clean, beautiful, and imposing woman in front of him, he felt she was too unfamiliar and too stunning for him to look away from.
"You...you are really Shen Ci?"
Zhou Da asked hesitantly, half believing and half doubting. How could this be? How could that cowardly, timid, and incompetent woman from back then have become like this?
Shen Ci glanced coldly at Zhou Dayou. She had no kind look towards people who abused their wives and children. Zhou Dayou was old and ugly, and it was really lucky that he had such a good-looking son as Zhou Huai.
But their family was blind to his potential and actually tried to nip such a promising talent in the bud.
"I'm here to take Zhou Huai away."
Xiao Huai, go pack your things. We're leaving Zhoujia Village today and going to school to register tomorrow.
The autumn wind was chilly. Shen Ci took a bag of clothes off her bicycle. "These are for you. Change into them."
We don't need your old clothes anymore.
How could there be such a vicious and inhuman stepmother in this world, and such a beastly father and grandparents? They know to dress warmly themselves while letting their child freeze like this!
Everything happened too fast. Zhou Huai could only passively accept the fact that his biological mother had returned. Looking at the clothes that were stuffed into his hands, with their thick texture, he was filled with many thoughts.
Ultimately, Zhou Huai was still just a fifteen-year-old boy.
But if he could leave the Zhou family, he would be more than willing. He had just heard Shen Ci say that he would go to school to register tomorrow.
How did she know that tomorrow was the last day to register?
If he hasn't raised enough tuition by tomorrow, he won't have the chance to continue his studies. If it weren't for that, why would he have tried to kneel down to his stepmother?
Wearing a gray sweater that blocked the autumn wind blowing through the room, Zhou Huai looked at his house. He lived in a woodshed, which had holes of different sizes in every corner. The walls of the woodshed were made of mats covered with mud, which could not keep out the cold wind or the rain.
He had no attachment to this place.
For some reason, the resentment he felt towards his biological mother, whom he had never met, lessened somewhat. Before she even appeared, he was prepared to kneel down and bow his head to those who had humiliated and bullied him.
While Zhou Huai was changing clothes and packing his things, Shen Ci was also busy.
Zhou Huai is the eldest grandson of the Zhou family and a promising student. The Zhou family is unwilling to let him go so easily.
"You can't take him away, he's my son!"
"For so many years, you've ignored him completely, and now you just come and try to take him away? There's no such thing as a free lunch!"
Looking at his ex-wife who had made something of herself, Zhou Dayou had already hatched a plan. He figured Shen Ci must have hooked up with a rich man outside, and he would extort a lot of money from her!
"That's right!"
If it weren't for us, this child would have starved to death long ago. In all these years, have you ever given him a bite to eat or a drop of water to drink?
Now that they're grown up, you want to take them with you? What right do you have?!
Wang Layue got up to chime in, her eyes growing increasingly venomous. She had seen it herself; Zhou Dayou's eyes were practically glued to his ex-wife. Comparisons are odious; look how well she's dressed, and then look at herself... she couldn't help but feel resentful.
“Chen Ci, no matter what, I am someone you have called Mom. If you call me Mom, I will treat you as my own daughter for the rest of my life.”
"Xiao Huai is the eldest grandson of the Zhou family. You can't just take him away like that. How can you be so greedy as to try and get something for nothing?"
Old Mrs. Zhou came out. She looked like a kind old lady, but her words made people laugh.
Shen Ci looked at her strangely, "Old woman, why is your face so big?"
You treat me like a daughter, but I don't have a mother like you. Don't try to extort me!
"I don't care about your stuff. Zhou Huai is my own son. I can take him away if I want. If you're not happy, go ahead and report me to the police. Let's see who the law awards custody to!"
In this era, the law is not perfect, but the enforcement is strict. How many people in the village understand the law? They are easily frightened.
Grandma Zhou looked at Shen Ci with great surprise. How could a person change so much in just over ten years? Is this still the same hardworking daughter-in-law who never fought back, never talked back, and never complained?
His words were even harsher than those of the village's seasoned veterans!
After changing his clothes, Zhou Huai didn't rush out. Instead, he listened inside for a while before stepping out.
It seems she really came to take me away. No matter what lies ahead, it won't be worse than staying in the Zhou family.
His childhood experiences and living environment instilled in Zhou Huai an instinctive distrust of his biological parents; in this world, he only trusted himself.
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