Chapter 26: Scolded Again

No wonder he could drive the third son so crazy; the guy certainly had some real skills. Hearing this, a woman of her age felt her scalp tingle with irritation.

Li Xiangqin glanced at the youngest at the little sixth in the living room and felt a flicker of sympathy.

She couldn't stop such things; it was easy to draw resentment, and it wasn't worth the trouble.

After drinking some water, she went straight to her room to sleep.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already 6:30 the next morning.

Li Xiangqin got up, looked at the quiet living room, and grabbed her basket to go buy groceries.

The morning vegetables were fresher. If she cooked them to bring to work at noon, she wouldn't have to run to the canteen, saving money and ensuring cleanliness.

By the time she returned with her vegetable basket, she saw the fourth son busy in the kitchen. Neither of the two people she had called out by name yesterday had woken up.

Li Xiangqin's good mood from the morning vanished instantly.

She slammed the vegetable basket onto the table, first delivering a kick to the door of the fifth son's nearby room, then turned and charged toward the third son and his wife's bedroom door, delivering two heavy thuds with her feet.

"You shameless bastards! You two slept like the dead, acting like you're the masters of this house! I gave you countless instructions yesterday to take turns cooking to make things easier for those of us working.

The sun is already hitting your asses, and I can't see a single soul. Since you treat my words like wind blowing past your ears, from today on, get the hell out and live somewhere else!"

The fifth son was the first to rush out, rubbing his eyes and making a grievance-filled excuse.

"Mom, I didn't forget. I thought we were going by order. Sister-in-law was definitely first; it's not my turn until tomorrow."

The third son and his wife were startled awake. Zhao Meijuan realized what was happening and panicked, immediately pounding on the third son's chest.

"It's all your fault for making such a scene! I couldn't even get up. Now look, Mom is furious."

The third son felt incredibly guilty. "My fault, my fault. I'll go explain to Mom."

When the third son hurriedly threw on a tank top and walked out, he faced his mother's pressure with a forced smile.

"Mom, calm down. It was just a misunderstanding between Meijuan and Fifth. They didn't clarify the order. Don't worry, I guarantee everyone will have breakfast on time tomorrow."

Seeing the third son's protective attitude toward his wife, Li Xiangqin's anger flared even more.

"You heartless thing! Even though we advocate for the new customs of the new society and have abandoned the old tradition of mourning, your father has only been dead for a few days. Even if you're just acting, you should observe a few days of mourning.

I've never seen anyone as shameless as you two. You crawl into bed the moment it gets dark. Is your brain filled with lard? Do you only care about your own indulgence?"

Dammit, she hadn't wanted to deal with it, but they were still sleeping in late this morning, which was disgusting.

Being scolded so harshly by his mother, the third son's face flushed red. He hung his head low, staring at his toes, not daring to look his mother in the eye.

Hiding in the room, Zhao Meijuan listened to the old woman's coarse and harsh cursing. Her face turned pale with anger, and she didn't dare take a single step out.

If the old woman wouldn't even let her own son off easy, she would certainly be even less kind to her.

"Since your wife is so precious, move out and serve her yourself. I won't be taking any more living expenses from you either. Cook for yourselves and eat by yourselves; you can sleep for three days straight and no one will care."

Li Xiangqin thought about it; the couple were both slippery tricksters. If they moved out, she wouldn't have to see them and get annoyed.

At the mention of moving out, the third son looked up in surprise.

"Mom, I haven't been allocated a separate house. Where would we move to?"

"If you want freedom, naturally you rent a place. You can afford the rent; two and a half yuan for a room is enough."

Li Xiangqin snorted. Just then, she saw Zhao Meijuan's figure creeping out quietly. She rolled her eyes; the woman's petty nature was perfectly captured.

"I don't support idlers. If you want to support someone, don't drag others down. Since you won't take the respect I give you, I'll redistribute things. Either you take on all the housework, or you move out. Pick one."

The third son: "..."

"Mom, on what basis should we move out? We just signed the agreement; everyone in the family has the right to reside here. You can't kick people out," Zhao Meijuan jumped in immediately when she saw the third son was at a loss for words.

"Stop your damn nonsense! If you weren't so ashamed, we wouldn't have to watch this. You are the one person in this house with the least right to speak. Every day you just sit there with your ass in the air, waiting for others to cook for you.

Unfortunately, you have the body of a lady but the fate of a maid; stop acting so high and mighty. The third son has donkey hair in his ears—he'll listen to anything—but I'm not buying your act."

Zhao Meijuan was choked up, her eyes instantly turning red. She turned to look at the third son.

"Are you just going to stand there and watch your mother humiliate me?"

"If you don't act like a decent human being, don't expect to keep your dignity. Only a fool like the third son thinks you're perfect. Someone like you would have starved to death eight hundred times over out in the world."

Li Xiangqin spat out a curse.

"Since you won't cook, don't eat. Just rent a place and move out."

Having said that, Li Xiangqin didn't bother looking at the couple's pale and flushed faces. She turned to the kitchen to help the fourth son serve the food. The four of them sat together and ate quickly.

The fifth son busily went to wash the dishes, and the youngest, for once, picked up a broom to sweep the floor.

Li Xiangqin pulled two yuan from her pocket and handed it to the fourth son. "Take an empty lunch box and get food from the canteen at noon."

"Ah, thanks, Mom."

As she watched the fourth son ride away on his bike, Li Xiangqin returned to the living room. The third son and his wife's door opened, and the two walked out, fully dressed, heading straight for the exit.

The fifth son, wearing an apron, leaned against the doorway to watch them. Only after they were far away did she return with a smile. "Mom, I just saw Sister-in-law scratch Brother three or four times."

"Serves them right," Li Xiangqin glared at her. "And you, you're a seventeen-year-old girl, thinking about playing all day. If you don't have the life of a grand lady, accept your fate and work. If you dare to try any tricks, I'll break your legs."

"I know, I know. According to the order, Sister-in-law should have gone first anyway, right?"

The fifth son pouted and went to clean the kitchen, cursing Zhao Meijuan in her heart. Luckily she was quick-witted, otherwise, she would have been scolded too.

The third son and his wife left the residential compound together and found a breakfast stall, ordering two bowls of soy milk and four fried dough sticks.

The dough sticks were five cents each, and the soy milk was three cents a bowl. The two spent twenty-six cents on breakfast.

"We're spending extra money on breakfast for nothing. It's all your fault."

Zhao Meijuan gripped a dough stick and glared at him unhappily; she felt she had truly had bad luck marrying him.

"...It is indeed my fault. Getting scolded by Mom this morning wasn't a loss."

The third son didn't try to coax her as he usually did. He responded with a low, depressed tone, then took a large, angry bite of a dough stick as if venting his frustration.

After being scolded so harshly by his mother for several days in a row, he suddenly began to wonder: was he really that terrible?

Zhao Meijuan gave him a surprised look but couldn't be bothered with his sour face; she was still angry herself.

When she finished her two dough sticks and a bowl of soy milk and looked up, she saw the third son staring at her.

"Is there something on my face?"

The third son looked at her, hesitated, and sighed. "Forget it. I'll take you to your mother's house first, then I'll go to work."

Watching the third son push the bicycle, Zhao Meijuan bit her lip. What did Zhang Jianshe mean by that just now?