Seeing Zhao Lan being so unreasonable, Shen Wan became anxious. She looked angry and said:
"Auntie, what are you saying? We are indeed relatives, but over the years you have helped our family in any way, and how much benefit you have taken from us."
All of that could be overlooked, but now, they're even blaming us for my cousin's wedding. Are they going to keep doing this to us for the rest of our lives?
She would never forget the bullying and insults she suffered at the hands of Zhao Lan since childhood, and that so-called cousin of hers was no better. From as far back as she could remember, these two had frequently visited her home, always taking something with them before leaving.
Radishes from the field, scraps of cloth from home—anything she could see, she took away.
Zhao Meiyun got angry and wanted to argue, so she brought up her maternal grandparents. Zhao Lan had been used to being domineering at home since she was a child, so it was normal for her to be afraid of her.
“You have no right to interrupt when adults are talking. You brat, stay out of your family’s business.”
Zhao Lan, with a sharp and sarcastic expression, utterly disliked Shen Wan. She lowered her leg, stretched her limbs, and seemed to remember something:
"Shen Wan, I heard you opened a clothing store in the city's department store and are making a lot of money, is that true?"
She came here not only because she heard that Shen Ying's family had built a new house, but also because some of the wealthier people in the village were going to the department store to buy clothes. During their conversation, she learned that Shen Wan was Zhao Lan's niece, and they talked about it back in the village.
Zhao Lan heard about this last night and didn't sleep well at all. She rushed over early this morning to check on things.
From afar, the small two-story building stood out conspicuously in the village. Since the house was real, the clothing store couldn't be fake either.
The thought of having endless free clothes and being able to take my son out for a free meal every few days made me extremely happy.
"That's not mine..."
Shen Wan understood what she meant and quickly denied it. This was not the time to show off; once it started, it would be impossible to stop.
"Alright, I know perfectly well enough. Do you really think I'm senile? I see you're going out anyway, so why don't you take me to the store and show me around?"
Zhao Lan acted as if she were one of the guests, getting up to leave as if determined to achieve her goal.
Shen Wan and Zhao Meiyun exchanged a glance, looking at each other in bewilderment. They thought to themselves that they really hadn't checked the almanac before going out, having provoked such a troublesome person.
"Sister, the shop really doesn't belong to Wanwan, it belongs to my daughter-in-law Jiang Yu. She's just an employee, so please don't make things difficult for the child."
Zhao Meiyun couldn't force a smile; her face was drawn as she explained. She thought that Jiang Yu was still her daughter-in-law, and no matter how unreasonable she was, she couldn't take advantage of her.
"What? She's just a daughter-in-law of the Shen family. Doesn't everything she does have to be decided by you and Shen Ying? Our Zhao family's daughters are capable of handling any daughter-in-law. You talk to that Jiang Yu. If that doesn't work, then let Wang Lai have the clothing store."
"What kind of image does a woman have, always showing her face in public?"
Zhao Lan's words became increasingly absurd, and Shen Wan couldn't bear to listen any longer. Forgetting their familial relationship, she opened her mouth and said:
"Auntie, please don't go too far. Even if the clothing store were mine, let alone my sister-in-law's, I would never give it to my cousin."
We all know why my cousin, at his age, can't find a wife. Haven't you ever thought about the reasons?
You spoil him all the time, making him rely on his family to solve everything. Do you think that's being good to him? When he was little, if we three siblings got into a fight, we would give in to him and listen to him, and you would still verbally abuse my brother and me.
Now, instead of looking for the reasons why they can't find wives, they blame us. They say we don't give them money.
Nobody's money grows on trees. You guys think you can just borrow money and get married? The woman will leave him if she sees her cousin is doing nothing.
That's all I have to say. Whether you're angry or not is fine, but it's even better if you understand. Anyway, whether my cousin gets married or not has nothing to do with our family.
"Our family is about to leave now, please go out."
Even after Shen Wan finished speaking, her body continued to tremble. This was the first time she had disobeyed her aunt. She had always had a psychological aversion to her since childhood, so it was normal for her to be afraid.
"You...you good-for-nothing, you've really grown bold. How dare you talk to me like that? Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning?"
Zhao Lan's face flushed red, and she was so angry she could barely utter a few words. Then she turned to Zhao Meiyun and said:
"Is this how you raise your children? You're really promising. Very good, excellent."
Seeing that her niece was no longer listening to her, she shifted her focus to Zhao Meiyun. She wanted to get this younger sister, who had always obeyed her since childhood, to say something. Besides regaining face, the most important thing was to make Shen Wan submit to her.
Zhao Meiyun remained silent. She was already being very lenient by not echoing her daughter's words. To expect her to take sides when the other party was her own flesh and blood? Where in the world would you find such a good deal?
"Alright, you've been a coward since you were a child, I don't expect you to do anything anymore. How about this, since Lai'er can't find a wife anyway, why not give him Shen Wan and let the two children get married? It would be a double blessing."
Not only will our two families be closer then, but you won't have to worry about Shen Wan being bullied by her wicked mother-in-law. Let's get this done as soon as possible, lest things get complicated.
Zhao Lan crossed her legs again, smoothed the white hair at her temples, and looked as if she had already made up her mind.
She initially looked down on Shen Wan, but after hearing from the villagers last night that the girl had made a fortune in the city through big business, she finally came up with a brilliant idea after thinking about it all night.
Anyway, she's almost twenty years old, and the reason she's not married is probably because she can't find a husband. Since that's the case, why not be a good person and marry her?
By then, you'll have both money and a daughter-in-law; everyone will look up to you then.
"Auntie, are you crazy?"
Shen Wan thought she was hallucinating, yet she felt an unreal connection to what Zhao Lan was saying. Seeing the old woman's earnest expression, she sneered twice. She figured the old woman was still sleepwalking, completely unaware of where she was or what she was doing.
"Sister, don't say such ridiculous things. Wanwan is already betrothed and will be getting married soon. We'll continue to maintain our family relationship, and I'll also keep an eye out for suitable girls for Wang Lai."
Don't bring this up again.
Even more shocked than Shen Wan was Zhao Meiyun. She never expected that her eldest sister would actually try to find a wife for her son by targeting her own daughter.
This is too shocking. Even if she cares about family ties, she can't just pretend to ignore it.
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