After thanking the carpenter, the two continued on their way, their hearts filled with unease. Along the way, they pondered various things. If, as he said, there really was a group of difficult relatives, should they get involved?
If I help, things will be fine afterward, but what if the other party doesn't appreciate it and it ends up making my brother look bad on both sides? Things will be even harder then. What should I do?
As she pondered this, the motorcycle entered the village. The houses, built much like those in Shenjiazhuang, and the groups of women chatting made Jiang Yu feel completely at ease.
After finding out where Shen Ci lived, the car turned into a secluded alley. Before even entering, they found the area surrounded by a dense crowd. Onlookers chattered amongst themselves, pointing and gesturing towards the encircled area.
The couple, momentarily confused, were about to ask a woman for help when a man emerged from the crowd. He nimbly rolled on the ground, hastily got to his feet, and, pointing inside, cursed as he ran:
“Sister Shi, let me tell you. The house and shop were left to the Shi family by my uncle. Your husband’s surname is Jiang, and he has no share of this place. If you know what’s good for you, get out of here. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
The man had barely finished speaking when a stick flew through the crowd, striking him squarely in the leg. A cry of pain followed. Looking closer, he was clutching his leg, spinning in circles on the ground in agony.
Before he could even land, a woman slightly plumper than Jiang Yu, with her hair in a bun, quickly ran up to him, picked up the stick she had thrown away, and started hitting the ground with it, making a loud thud.
"Say it again, who will inherit my father's things?"
She tried to touch her again, but was pulled back by the man behind her. Seeing this, Shi Tian straightened his clothes and pointed at the woman, saying:
"You shrew, no wonder your son got a fatal illness. It's all your fault, God has eyes, this is all retribution."
His words were vicious, each one piercing the other's heart, as if he wanted to gain the upper hand through words. He thought the woman was going to continue hitting him, but unexpectedly, after hearing his words, she sat on the ground, covered her face, and wept bitterly.
Shi Shumei has only a junior high school education and believes in karma and reincarnation. She doesn't know that external factors caused her son's illness, and she thinks it's true, as Shi Tian said, that she has done too many bad things, and in the end, all the retribution has fallen on her son.
"Sister Shu, don't listen to his nonsense. Our son is just unwell and sick. Once he's recovered and discharged from the hospital, we'll shut him up with our actions."
The man who grabbed him had striking features; although his skin was rather dark, his eyes and eyebrows resembled Shen Ying's. Jiang Yu guessed that he must be the elder brother everyone was talking about—Shen Ci.
Upon hearing this, the woman sitting on the ground, crying, threw herself into Shen Ci's arms and sobbed several times. As the only daughter in the family, her parents were worried that the shop, which they had worked so hard to build up since they were young, would fall into the hands of someone else. That's why they spent a lot of money to find a son-in-law to live with them and pass on their skills.
Unexpectedly, not long after the two passed away, their grandson, who had been in poor health since childhood, was diagnosed with leukemia. The uncles and cousins who had been envious of their life since they started living there began to plot against them.
It was from this point that Jiang Yu learned why they hadn't come to acknowledge Shen Ying's family despite his fame in the city. On one hand, they worried that Shen Ci would regret it and that their only grandson would change his name and return to the Shen family. On the other hand, they genuinely had the means to make a living.
If it weren't for their child's poor health and frequent hospital visits over the years, they wouldn't be short of money at all.
"Heh, what goes around comes around. Your child can't be cured. You two should give up on this idea as soon as possible and obediently hand over the shop so that everyone can save face. When you get old, you won't be abandoned by everyone and live a miserable life."
Shi Tian's words were increasingly offensive and his temper flared. Seeing Shen Ci suppressing his anger, his veins bulging, he dismissed him with disdain.
"You, a son-in-law who married into the family, dare to compete with us for the Shi family's inheritance? Don't you even know if you have the ability? You'll be kicked out and end up as a beggar sleeping under a bridge. You spineless coward who lives off a woman, do you even have the right to challenge us?"
Shen Ying couldn't bear to see his elder brother being humiliated like this. He took two steps forward, grabbed the man by the collar, and slammed him to the ground. The force was immense, causing the man to grimace in pain.
Shi Tian stood up and shouted to the surroundings:
"Who are you? You're hitting people in front of our house, are you tired of living?"
Suddenly, upon seeing the man's features clearly, her voice trembled:
"The Shen family?"
At this moment, Shen Ci finally saw the man's face clearly. After so many years, he choked up several times. It was Shen Ying, his younger brother had arrived!
Then he looked around. Where were his mother and sister? And who was the pretty woman who came with him?
He had heard rumors that his younger brother had married a lazy, unkempt, and petty woman. But seeing her today, she was completely different from the rumors. Could it be that his brother had remarried? He felt guilty for knowing nothing about family matters.
"Good to know, now get lost."
Seeing that the man was about to attack again, Shi Tian was so frightened that he rolled and scrambled on the ground, shouting as he ran:
"Big brother, father, come out quickly. What did I tell you? As soon as Uncle passed away, Shen Ci hurriedly contacted family members to come and fight for the inheritance. That fool Shi Shumei is still helping outsiders, thinking that her man is loyal to her, and this is what happened to her."
He was speaking to the onlookers, and also to help his cousin face reality.
As expected, Shi Shumei became very nervous upon hearing this, and looked at Shen Ying and the strange woman with vigilance. Even when Shen Ci helped her up, she couldn't help but take two steps back.
"Shen Ci, is what Shi Tian said true? Did you secretly contact your family and go home, leaving us, mother and child behind?"
She never expected the man to do this, and her heart turned to ice.
"Sister Shu, let me explain. I had no choice but to do this to save Yangyang."
Shen Ci's explanation was no match for the rumors circulating around him. They were convinced that the Shen family was bullying an only daughter and that he had "stood up for them" without knowing the truth.
Fortunately, Shi Shumei was sensible and calmed herself down. She walked to the front door, opened it, and spoke in an extremely cold tone:
"Come in and talk, don't let outsiders laugh at us."
Shen Ying and Jiang Yu exchanged a glance, looked at the woman with concern, and then followed her into the house.
Inside the house, Shi Shumei got straight to the point:
“Shen Ci can leave, but you cannot take the children or the Shi family’s shop with you.”
This decision was already the biggest concession she had made. If the other party did not agree, she would have no choice but to break off relations to protect the assets left by her parents.
“Sister-in-law, you’ve misunderstood. We’re not here to take advantage of the situation. Besides, my brother only asked us to help save Yangyang on the phone, he didn’t say anything else.”
Jiang spoke gently and patiently, trying her best to dispel the woman's concerns.
"real?"
Shi Shumei looked at the room full of Shen family members in disbelief, and said with a hint of doubt.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com