Chapter 35 What do you think about me being your sister-in-law...?
The train would arrive in Bincheng in the afternoon. Shen Rong was in a better mood and was willing to go out for a stroll. She and Lu Lin went to a restaurant for lunch.
However, the food on the train was just so-so, and she had no appetite. Remembering that Zhang Ma had brought some chili sauce from her hometown, and seeing that she wanted to eat it, Lu Lin went to get it from them.
She listened listlessly to the people around her discussing current affairs and the latest happenings in the four northeastern provinces.
Suddenly, someone plopped down in Lu Lin's seat.
Shen Rong turned her head to look and found that it was Ma Langhua.
"Miss Ma, what a coincidence?"
"What a coincidence." Ma Langhua took off her gloves and looked around like a hunting dog searching for prey. "Where is your brother?"
Shen Rong's lips twitched, finding it somewhat amusing: "He just left. Did Miss Ma need him for something?"
Ma Langhua subtly observed Shen Rong, who pretended not to notice and allowed her to assess her.
"Where are you from? Where are you planning to land?" Ma Langhua saw this as an opportunity to extract some information from Shen Rong.
"Where is Miss Ma?" Shen Rong didn't answer directly, but instead asked her.
Ma Langhua said, "I'm going to Bincheng to attend my uncle's wedding banquet. My cousin is getting married."
Her eyes darted around, and she continued to probe Shen Rong's words: "You're from Pingcheng, aren't you?"
Shen Rong nodded. This train came from Pingcheng and didn't stop at many stations along the way, so it wasn't too hard to guess.
"You don't look like you're from around here. Are you here to visit relatives or just for fun?"
Seeing that Shen Rong was somewhat wary, she said, "Don't be nervous. I just wanted to see if I could help you in any way. Do you know who my uncle is? He's Commander Dou. I only asked a few more questions because I felt a connection with you. You can come to me if you encounter any difficulties in the four northeastern provinces in the future."
She so readily revealed her trump card, completely unafraid of others trying to curry favor with her. It seems that having a powerful uncle is her greatest asset, and she intends to use this to attract Lu Lin's attention.
That makes sense, though. His uncle is Commander Dou, and he's certainly a capable man. It would be hard for ambitious men to refuse him!
"Miss Ma, why are you so kind to us?" Shen Rong pretended to be puzzled.
Two suspicious blushes rose on Ma Langhua's face as she said, "I am... your brother helped me, and I definitely have to repay him."
Her personal maid came over with the food and placed it in front of her one by one. Ma Langhua pushed over a plate of pastries.
"Little sister, would you like some?"
Offering unsolicited favors, coming prepared—do I look so stupid that I could be bought off with a few snacks?
Shen Rong continued to feign innocence, a hint of flattery in her voice: "Thank you, Miss Ma. Is there anything you'd like to ask?"
Having her intentions seen through, Ma Langhua blushed slightly and said, "You're so clever. I just wanted to ask if your brother has a family."
So they really came for Lu Lin?
Shen Rong took a bite of the pastry and said with a smile, "Yes!"
Ma Langhua was somewhat disappointed and unwilling to believe it. "You're not lying to your sister, are you? Your brother has a sister-in-law, so why isn't she here but is bringing you instead?"
She considered one possibility: "Could it be that his marriage to your sister-in-law was arranged by his family, and he doesn't like that woman?"
The thought of this possibility brought a smile to her face.
Shen Rong smiled and said, "Yes, he doesn't like it." This was the truth, and she wasn't lying.
Ma Langhua perked up. What was there to be afraid of if someone had a family? If she didn't like them, she could just divorce them. She figured the woman was just a country bumpkin, not presentable enough for respectable people.
What do you think about me being your sister-in-law?
Shen Rong was completely stunned by her. Now she's being so direct and blunt.
She stared at the ground for a long time before finally stammering, "Isn't that a bad idea?"
She doesn't want to be laid off so early.
"Am I not better than your country sister-in-law? My uncle is the King of Northeast China." Constantly bringing up her uncle only shows that she herself is nothing special.
Shen Rong lowered her head to suppress a laugh, pretending to be troubled as she shook her head: "I'm afraid he's not good enough for Miss Ma. We have a large family, and he's not very successful. He's just here to make a living. Our whole family depends on him to support us."
Ma Langhua asked suspiciously, "Are you kidding me? Your family is poor, yet you take the first-class bus."
Moreover, she looked Shen Rong up and down and found that he was no less impressive than herself.
Shen Rong: "The money for these train tickets was borrowed. My brother... he can't handle hardship." She sighed, touching her clothes: "These were all bought before."
Shen Rong's eyes sparkled: "Miss Ma must come from a very wealthy family!"
Ma Langhua frowned, wondering if he had misjudged the man again. Was he just another good-for-nothing playboy?
"Miss Ma, could you please..."
Ma Langhua hurriedly got up, fearing she would come to borrow money.
"I was just kidding, how could you take it seriously!"
She chuckled dryly, "I just remembered something... um... take your time eating."
He suppressed a smile and even pretended to ask her to stay: "Miss Ma, why are you leaving? My brother is coming back soon!"
Ma Langhua staggered for a moment, then walked even faster.
Shen Rong sat down again, her cheeks aching from smiling. Just as she was about to eat another snack, Ma Langhua, the maid, rushed back. She glanced at Shen Rong in alarm, then quickly put away the food, including the plate of snacks she had been offered.
There were only four pieces in total. She ate one, held another in her hand, and there were only two pieces left on the plate.
"that……"
The maid thought she was being told not to take it and looked embarrassed.
Shen Rong gestured for her to come back, put the pastries back in her hand, and the maid ran away quickly upon seeing this.
You can't afford to play this game!
Shen Rong patted the crumbs of pastry off her hands.
This Miss Ma is too sensitive to jokes; she actually took it seriously!
It seems Lu Lin isn't exactly a hot commodity; the mere mention of his poverty scared him away.
She covered her mouth and couldn't help but laugh. She couldn't earn 100,000 yuan anymore. She originally wanted to play the poor card to get a better price, but she didn't expect that the other party would not even want her.
She took a sip of coffee when a commotion arose in front of her, and she thought she heard Ma Langhua's shrill voice.
"You petty thief, is this a place you can come to?"
A sharp, resounding slap landed on the face.
"I didn't mean to, you bumped into me first."
The child's crying sounded somewhat familiar, so Shen Rong got up and walked over there.
Upon closer inspection, it really was Da Mao.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
When Da Mao saw his wife, he cried even more pitifully.
"Madam, I didn't mean to. She bumped into me."
When Ma Langhua saw Shen Rong approaching, her expression turned somewhat grim. Upon hearing that this petty thief knew her, she became even more wary, realizing that she might have been set up by this poor scoundrel.
"What do you mean? Are you trying to scam me? What kind of place is this? Is this a place for poor people like you? Don't think you can pretend to be rich just by changing your clothes. You can't change your nature. You can't fool people by pretending to be rich." She glanced at Chen Rong and began to make veiled accusations.
Seeing the bright red handprint on Da Mao's face, Shen Rong was somewhat displeased and asked Da Mao in a low voice, "Does it hurt?"
Da Mao shook his head, not daring to say that he was in pain. His parents had been telling him these past few days to be sensible and not to cause trouble for his wife and the others, but it seemed that he had gotten himself into trouble.
This woman is so fierce, will she hit the wife too? What if she does...?
Da Mao took a step forward and blocked Shen Rong's way. If the fierce woman laid a hand on his wife, he wouldn't be polite!
Shen Rong frowned, noticing that half of his cheek was swollen, and turned to instruct the tea server to bring an ice towel.
The waiter readily agreed, saying it was even easier than using a hot towel. It was freezing cold outside, and the water was almost frozen solid; it would be fine after a while.
"Stop!" Ma Langhua stopped him, shouting, "What's wrong with your restaurant? How can you let these poor people in?"
She looked at Da Mao with disdain, her gaze then drifting to Shen Rong, and said meaningfully, "Who knows if these poor bastards have any unclean diseases? What if they contaminate the food?"
That's going too far. Da Mao was perfectly clean; he's just using this as an excuse to make a fuss.
She had initially felt apologetic for misleading her, but now she felt that Ma Langhua hadn't been teased enough. This Ma Langhua was incredibly pragmatic; she would turn on someone as soon as she felt there was no benefit to be gained, and even kick them while they were down.
“Miss Ma, Da Mao is just a child. You went too far. Also, you have quite the nerve. This restaurant is a public place. Does everyone have to show their wealth to come in? If they don’t meet your expectations, Miss Ma, are they all poor? You set a number without even checking how many people are considered poor.”
Upon hearing Shen Rong's words, the others in the restaurant nodded slightly, all feeling that Ma Langhua had gone too far. Did he only care about money when traveling?
As people pointed and whispered about her, Ma Langhua's face turned ugly and she said indignantly, "You're all in cahoots, of course you'll speak up for him."
Shen Rong sneered, narrowing his eyes slightly: "You're right, we're in cahoots, so I'm going to seek justice for him. It's rare to see Miss Ma so arrogant after hitting someone."
"Where did Da Mao bump into you? You're going to hit him so hard."
Looking at Da Mao's swollen face, everyone shook their heads in pity. Some spoke up in defense, "Miss, you went too far. He's just a child."
“He…he dirtied my clothes. They were brand new, and they cost twenty silver dollars…” Ma Langhua pointed to a stain on the clothes.
Shen Rong pulled her hand, took out twenty silver dollars from his bag, and poured them in with a clatter: "Is that enough?"
Ma Langhua was stunned.
Shen Rong sneered, "We've already paid for the clothes, isn't it your turn to apologize now?"
Ma Langhua's face flushed red and then turned to leave, sensing the danger. Shen Rong stepped forward and blocked her way.
"Miss Ma, are you going to hit someone and run away? You look down on poor people, but poor people are well-mannered. They paid for the clothes they dirtied. What about you? You're a rich girl. Shouldn't you apologize and pay for some medical expenses?"
Everyone was staring at her. Ma Langhua's eyes were filled with murderous hatred. She took out a few silver coins and was about to throw them at Shen Rong.
Shen Rong took a step back: "You didn't hit me."
Ma Langhua was incredulous. Was she really going to apologize to a poor brat, who was clearly one of her servants?
"Don't go too far! I can take your money; it's enough for you to live on for quite some time."
Shen Rong looked up, his gaze deep as he looked at her: "Is it too much? I don't think so. I can afford to pay this much."
Seeing that things were not going well, Ma Langhua's maid quickly took the money from her mistress's hand and stuffed it into Da Mao's hand, bowing and apologizing, "I'm sorry, young man."
Da Mao was bewildered and looked at Shen Rong with some helplessness.
Ma Langhua lost face and felt ashamed. Seeing others pointing and whispering, she felt utterly embarrassed.
She raised her voice, bluffing, "Get out of here."
Shen Rong snorted coldly, pretending not to hear.
"Miss, let's go that way." The maid tugged at her mistress's sleeve, gesturing for her to walk on the other side.
To everyone's surprise, Ma Langhua became enraged and slapped her, saying, "You talk too much."
The maid covered her face, not daring to even cry, which startled Da Mao.
"Are you going to move aside or not?!"
Ma Langhua's face turned fierce as he made a move to charge forward, causing the crowd to gasp in alarm!
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