Chapter 28 : First Battle Victory

Fang Xiaoluo lowered her head to look at Shen Jinxia, the little girl who had just turned three. Despite her age, she was so small and thin that she looked no older than two.  

Her eyes were red, as though she was holding back tears.  

Seeing that Shen Jinxia didn’t respond, Shen Zheng repeated himself, “Jinxia, this is your father’s wife. From now on, we are family. Call her Mom.”  

Shen Jinxia pouted and suddenly burst into tears with a loud “Wah!”  

At that sound, Shen Haifeng came rushing out from the other room, immediately placing himself protectively in front of Shen Jinxia, glaring fiercely at Fang Xiaoluo.  

Fang Xiaoluo knew this was Shen Zheng’s eldest son.  

The second son’s name was Shen Haiping.  

Shen Zheng frowned and reprimanded, “Haifeng, stop causing trouble.”  

Shen Haifeng flinched slightly, showing some fear of Shen Zheng, but the defiance in his eyes was unmistakable.  

Suddenly, someone called out from the courtyard, “Captain, are you there?”  

Shen Zheng went to the window. “What’s the matter?”  

“Captain, Political Commissar Han asked you to come to the regiment headquarters.”  

“Understood.”  

Shen Zheng glanced at the tense scene in the living room, clearly more chaotic than he had anticipated. Though worried, he couldn’t ignore his duties.  

“I…”  

Before he could finish, Fang Xiaoluo said, “Go ahead, I’ll be fine.”  

Shen Zheng glared at Shen Haifeng. “Don’t cause trouble or bully anyone. If you do, you’ll see what happens when I get back!”  

Shen Haifeng clenched his fists tightly but said nothing.  

As Shen Zheng’s hurried figure disappeared, Fang Xiaoluo relaxed visibly.  

She smirked slightly, walked past everyone in the living room, and sat down on the wooden sofa.  

Shen Haifeng turned around and snapped, “I’m telling you, I’ll never call you that. Even if you’re married to my dad, you’ll never be our mom.”  

Fang Xiaoluo leaned lazily on the sofa and said indifferently, “Do you think I care?”  

Shen Haifeng blinked, confused. “What?”  

Fang Xiaoluo rolled her eyes at him. “I thought you were smart, but I guess not. No matter, I’ll explain it to you out of the kindness of my heart.”  

“I don’t care whether you call me Mom or not. Don’t flatter yourself.”  

Shen Haifeng was both surprised and annoyed by her words. He couldn’t understand. Wasn’t this woman the one who wanted to marry his dad? How could she not care if they called her Mom?  

He let out a cold snort. “Typical. Stepmothers are always heartless.”  

Fang Xiaoluo straightened up, smiling at him. “Glad you understand. So, you’d better stay on my good side. Otherwise, as the mistress of the Shen household, I won’t make things easy for you.”  

Shen Haifeng glared at her angrily. “You… You’re not even pretending?”  

Fang Xiaoluo blinked innocently. “Why should I?”  

Then she stood up and stretched. “Alright, I don’t have time to keep chatting with you. I’m tired and need to sleep. Remember, keep the noise down. If you wake me up, I’ll lose my temper. And don’t forget, you go to school every day, but your younger siblings are in my hands. If you try anything, I can’t promise I won’t do something to them while you’re gone.”  

With that, she turned to leave the room.  

Zheng Lanhua’s face darkened.  

“Wait a moment,” she said.  

Fang Xiaoluo turned around. “Is there something?”

Zheng Lanhua was extremely frustrated. She had thought her son had chosen a well-educated and kind-hearted girl, but how did it turn out like this?

“Is this how you treat your elders? Is this how your parents taught you?”

“You have so many questions?” Fang Xiaoluo scanned Zheng Lanhua from head to toe. “Alright, let’s talk this through.”

“First, about elders. I called you ‘Mom’ out of respect. When you didn’t respond in front of so many people, were you trying to put me down? I forgot to tell you, I don’t fall for that kind of thing. You respect me, and I will respect you. If you don’t respect me but still want to act like an elder, that’s just a joke.”

Zheng Lanhua never expected her beautiful daughter-in-law to have such a sharp tongue.

Fang Xiaoluo continued, “As for what you said about my parents, you probably haven’t heard, I was switched at birth. My biological parents didn’t raise me, let alone educate me. Don’t put the blame on them, they can’t take it.”

Zheng Lanhua’s chest heaved with anger. “You… Fang Xiaoluo… Aren’t you afraid that you won’t have a good time in this family?”

Fang Xiaoluo widened her eyes in mock surprise. “Not good? How could that be!”

“You don’t know? Starting today, every penny Shen Zheng earned before, and every penny he earns from now on, belongs to me.”

Fang Xiaoluo was much taller than Zheng Lanhua. Looking down at her, she said, “Mom, you shouldn’t be worried about me having a hard time. I control the finances now. What you should be worried about is whether you and the three kids will have a hard time, isn’t it?”

Zheng Lanhua clutched her chest and coughed a few times, clearly furious.

“Oh, by the way,” Fang Xiaoluo added, “You can go complain to Shen Zheng if you want. I don’t mind. Complain all you want. If he believes even a word of it, then I’ll admit I’m useless.”

With that, she strode back to her room.

At her age, Zheng Lanhua thought she had seen a lot of people, but someone like Fang Xiaoluo was a first for her.

Shen Jinxia clung to Zheng Lanhua’s leg. “Grandma, will we not have food to eat anymore?”

Zheng Lanhua patted Shen Jinxia’s head. “Of course not. Your dad won’t abandon you. Grandma still has her survivor’s benefits, so I’ll make sure you have food.”

Fang Xiaoluo paid no attention to them. She returned to her room, removed her headpiece, changed her clothes, washed her face, and lay down in bed to sleep.  

She was exhausted after all the commotion from the day.

As for Zheng Lanhua and the three kids, that was something she hadn’t anticipated.

But it didn’t matter. She wasn’t one to go easy on herself.

She slept deeply, unaware of anything until the sound of clattering outside woke her up.

The sky had already darkened. It took her a moment to remember she had gotten married and was now in Shen Zheng’s home.

She glanced at the wall clock, it was already after five.

It seemed Shen Zheng hadn’t returned yet.

Fang Xiaoluo sat up, changed her clothes, and then walked out of the room.

In the kitchen, Zheng Lanhua was busy cooking.

Fang Xiaoluo noticed for the first time that Zheng Lanhua had a limp. She hadn’t noticed earlier because Zheng Lanhua had been sitting most of the day. Though it wasn’t a severe limp, she seemed to struggle while moving around in the kitchen.

Fang Xiaoluo walked to the kitchen doorway and frowned. What was Zheng Lanhua cooking?

The smell was almost enough to make her gag.

She peered at the pot, which was bubbling and steaming, filled with something black.

It reminded her of the two pigs they kept in the west side of the yard. Was this pig food?

But then she noticed there was some meat swirling in the mix. Oh, Shen Zheng’s pigs must be eating well, cannibalism among the family?