Chapter 531: A Typical Brat

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

With swift and practiced movements, Li Hua served three bowls of room-temperature peanut curd. Gu Zi took her bowl and immediately took a sip. The taste was rich and delicious, a treat she had grown to love despite having it frequently at the shop. “Sister-in-law, I thought there was none left. How did you know I wanted some?” she asked.

Li Hua handed the remaining two bowls to the Su brothers and set the tray aside, picking up her own bowl to eat. “I knew you were coming today, so I saved some for you. I could tell you loved it the day you taught me how to make it,” she replied.

She didn’t need her sister-in-law to spell out everything for her. Having received so much kindness from her sister-in-law’s family and having started a business under her sister-in-law’s guidance, she was grateful. She would never have dared to dream of such things in the past.

She would naturally take care of her sister-in-law where she could, to repay her and Su Shen for their financial and emotional investment in the family.

Gu Zi’s smile was radiant, her mood buoyant. She hadn’t seen Yuan Yuan yet that day, so she asked, “Is Yuan Yuan not here today? Did his mother finally decide to pick him up?”

Mrs. Wang, Yuan Yuan’s mother, liked to play cards in town and sometimes went to the city or even further with a group of men and women who lived a carefree life. She would leave Yuan Yuan with Aunt Yang for several days before coming to pick him up.

After being disciplined by Gu Zi once, she stopped coming to eat for free, but she still deliberately left Yuan Yuan with Aunt Yang.

She would secretly teach Yuan Yuan to cry and make a fuss. Yuan Yuan was a smart child but he could be easily manipulated.

If Yuan Yuan hadn’t confessed that day, no one would have known that Mrs. Wang was deliberately teaching him to cry and make a fuss as soon as he arrived. They would have simply thought he was being a typical brat.

Yuan Yuan was indeed adorable. One day, following his mother’s instructions, he suddenly started crying and making a fuss in the shop, even throwing bowls and chopsticks around. It was during the busy period when people were queuing to buy braised meat. Aunt Yang and the others were very busy. Aunt Yang tried to soothe him a few times but failed, and she became angry. She was being paid to look after someone else’s child, and yet the child was so unruly.

In her anger, she picked up Yuan Yuan and put him aside, letting him cry it out while she went about her business.

On one hand, Aunt Yang was genuinely angry. On the other hand, she wanted to test the method Gu Zi had written down for her, to see if it could help improve Yuan Yuan’s behavior.

The method proved effective. She let him cry, then after a while, she would show him some care, wiping his tears and washing his face. She didn’t scold him, but simply told him, “If you haven’t cried enough, continue crying. Grandma will get you some water to drink later.” Then she would leave him to cry.

As soon as Aunt Yang walked away with the washbasin, Yuan Yuan stopped crying and followed her, revealing the truth in his childish voice. “Grandma, I won’t cry anymore. I’m tired. This game that Mom taught me is not fun at all. I won’t do it again.”

After questioning him, Aunt Yang learned that it was Mrs. Wang who had taught him to cry and make a fuss, intending to disturb Aunt Yang’s peace.

Gu Zi was taken aback. Aunt Yang’s daughter-in-law was a real troublemaker. With her in the family, it was no wonder Aunt Yang had fallen on hard times.

Everyone wants a good mother-in-law and a good daughter-in-law, but it’s hard to be either when faced with someone like Mrs. Wang. Being kind only gives her more reason to oppress you, and you should never expect her to stop bullying you just because you’re nice to her. Some people are just inherently bad.

Whenever Mrs Wang was mentioned, Aunt Yang would frown slightly. After a moment’s thought, she said to Gu Zi, “My son Yang Tao came back yesterday. As soon as he returned, he and that woman came to pick up Yuan Yuan. It seems she said something to him. Yang Tao thought I was causing trouble and didn’t want to live with that woman. He scolded me all day, thinking I had moved out on my own.

“He even called me an old fool who doesn’t know how to get along with that woman, a wicked mother-in-law. He said I insisted on taking care of Yuan Yuan and wouldn’t let that woman do it. He doesn’t think at all. If I could be so domineering, would I be oppressed to this extent? It’s a sin. Actually, I can’t blame that woman. It’s my own son who wasn’t raised right.”

Aunt Yang still remembered how ugly her son’s face had been the day before. If there hadn’t been so many people in the shop, he might have even hit her. He told Aunt Yang that if she wanted to live on her own, she shouldn’t expect him to take care of her when she got old. She could die wherever she wanted. She remembered his words clearly, but she didn’t want to bring it up with Gu Zi and risk crying, so she didn’t mention it.

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