"Stop counting."
Li Shuhe placed a plate of dumplings directly in front of her and looked at Chen's mother, saying, "I'm going to eat this whole plate."
She couldn't eat, but when she saw the way her mother was glancing at her, her anger flared up uncontrollably.
When Li Shuhe first came to the Shen family to meet Shen's parents, she vaguely noticed that Shen's mother always liked to stare at her while eating.
At first, she thought that people were just happy that Shen Qingwen had married such a beautiful wife.
It wasn't until she got married and officially moved in that she realized it wasn't love at all, but fear.
They were afraid she would bankrupt their family.
Every time she ate, her mother would stare at her. Whenever there was meat on the table, and she reached for a few bites with her chopsticks, her mother's eyes would look like they were filled with poison.
"Can you finish all that food by yourself?"
Mother Shen pursed her lips and muttered, "Qingwen works so hard all day, and your father and brother, who are both men, don't eat as much as you."
"I bought the meat myself. What, I can't even eat the meat I bought?"
Li Shuhe retorted with every word, it seems she's not going to hold back today.
Xu Ruantang was feeding Xiaobao. Xiaobao grabbed the noodles with his hands, chewed with his mouth bulging, and kept staring at the people at the table with his big eyes.
He's a gossipy kid.
In fact, Xu Ruantang was secretly excited. If Li Shuhe really couldn't bear it today, she was still there and wouldn't let her suffer a loss.
She won't chime in when they're arguing or bickering, but if a real fight breaks out, she'll roll up her sleeves and help her friends.
"I can't eat what she can eat? Because she gave birth to your family's grandson?" Li Shuhe pointed to Shen Qingwen's younger brother and sister-in-law, who were still eating in the corner.
Then he pointed to Shen Qingwen's younger brother and father, "They do nothing all day but eat, drink, and have fun. Can they even eat properly?"
Shen Qingwen's younger brother glared angrily, slammed down his chopsticks, and was about to stand up.
Xu Ruantang reacted faster than him, "What are you doing? You're going to hit your sister-in-law? Shuhe was just telling the truth. You're a freeloader, can't you stand being told what's wrong?"
"you!"
Shen Qingwen's thuggish younger brother clenched his fists so tightly they cracked, veins bulging on his forehead. "Who do you think you are?! Do you have any right to speak here?! Get out of here right now! Or don't blame me for being impolite!"
"This is my friend, are you blind?!"
Li Shuhe's voice was even louder than his. She jumped up from the stool and pointed at Shen Qingwen's younger brother's nose, yelling, "If anyone's going to get out, it's you! Everything you eat, use, and wear belongs to me! You're already cursing me while you're still dressed. Who taught you manners?!"
"This is my brother's house. What right do you have to tell me to leave?"
Shen Qingwen's younger brother glared at Shen Qingwen and said, "Brother, say something! Are you telling them to get lost or am I to leave? If you tell me to leave, I'll leave right now without saying a word!"
"From now on, just pretend you don't have a brother like me, and your parents don't have an unfilial son like you!"
"Enough!"
With a loud crash, the bowl in Shen Qingwen's hand shattered on the ground.
The baby who was sleeping in Shen Qingwen's sister-in-law's arms was finally woken up and started crying loudly.
His sister-in-law finally put down her chopsticks and slowly carried the child back to her room.
"Mom, can you please stop staring at Shuhe? Can't you just eat in peace?"
Xu Ruantang thought Shen Qingwen had finally exploded, but then he said this.
Mother Shen rubbed her hands together, looking aggrieved, and said, "I didn't say anything."
"You didn't say anything, but you kept counting how many dumplings I ate."
Li Shuhe twitched the corner of her lips. "You like counting, right? Then let's count to our hearts' content today."
As she spoke, she picked up the dumplings on the table and poured them all in front of Shen's mother.
One plate, two plates, three plates, and finally even the food in Shen Qingwen's bowl was poured out. "Come on, come on, count slowly."
Her behavior was so outrageous that Shen's mother was so frightened that she took a step back and grabbed Shen's father's hand.
After entering the room, Mr. Shen said something that seemed to be none of his business, and then kept his head down and ate.
It's as if the people arguing in front of him aren't even related to him.
But when Shen's mother grabbed her arm, Shen's father stood up and slapped her across the face.
Shen's father, a grown man, did nothing all day except eat and drink.
He looks very thin, but he is incredibly strong.
Shen's mother was slapped so hard she fell off the stool, and a handprint quickly appeared on her face.
"What's all the fuss about? Have you been living a peaceful life for too long?"
The father, his eyes blazing with fury, roared and then kicked the mother before storming out of the house.
All of this happened right in front of Shen Qingwen and his brother, yet no one stepped forward to stop them.
The younger brother, who had just been arguing with Li Shuhe, was now completely silent, sitting on the stool with his eyes vacant.
Li Shuhe gave Xu Ruantang a look, "Let's go."
Xu Ruantang carried the baby and followed her back to the room.
Li Shuhe deftly packed the clothes into her luggage bag, her hands moving without stopping. She said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Ruan Tang. I originally wanted to invite you to my house for a meal, but I've made a fool of myself in front of you."
Xu Ruantang shook her head, "Are you going back to your parents' home?"
"Yeah, I've really had enough."
She continued throwing clothes around, her face full of disgust. "I'm not going to live with the Shen family anymore. Anyway, my commute is far from here, so it's fine for me to go back to my own home."
Xu Ruantang smiled and said, "Alright, whatever makes you happy."
After thinking for a moment, she added, "Anyway, it's your own body, so don't be angry. This is still your mother-in-law. When my own parents came to Beijing before, things got much worse than this."
Li Shuhe zipped up her luggage and said with a smile, "I'm not angry. I don't regret marrying Shen Qingwen. If I have any regrets, it's that I didn't insist on letting them go back to the Northwest."
Li Shuhe smiled bitterly, "Even if it's just for a little more money, it's better than living under the same roof as someone like that."
The two left the house. Chen's mother was shedding tears as she picked up the dumplings that Li Shuhe had dumped on the table and put them back on the plate one by one.
Half of her face was swollen.
Shen Qingwen stood beside his mother, his expression indescribable, but he still reached out to help her pick up the dumplings.
"If only I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place."
Li Shuhe, carrying her bag, showed no sympathy for her and opened the door after speaking.
Xu Ruantang carried the baby out first, followed closely by Li Shuhe.
Before she could even step out, Shen Qingwen rushed over and tried to snatch the bag from her hand.
"Let go!"
Li Shuhe stubbornly clutched her bag and even pushed Shen Qingwen.
A grown man almost fell over after being gently pushed by Li Shuhe.
"Shuhe, where are you going? Let's talk this out. You can hit me or yell at me if you're angry, just don't go."
Shen Qingwen hurriedly leaned against the wall and grabbed Li Shuhe's luggage bag again.
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