Chapter 53

Su Qianqian knew that Cheng Xiuxiu had never liked her, so she didn’t hold much regard for her either.

“It’s not stolen. I earned all of it myself. Cheng Yue gave me around 200 yuan before.”

“You earned it?” Cheng Xiuxiu sneered disdainfully. “Su Qianqian, why don’t you take a good look at yourself in a puddle? You, earning money? Don’t make me laugh. Do you think we’re fools?” She pulled out 2.53 yuan from her pocket. “If you can really earn money, all this is yours!”

Su Qianqian raised an eyebrow. Well, why not? Although 2.53 yuan wasn’t much, every bit counted. She glanced at the Cheng family members.

Zhu Tianfang slapped Cheng Xiuxiu on the back. “Will you shut up already? Su Qianqian can earn money! Don’t look down on people with those narrow eyes of yours.” With that, she grabbed the 2.53 yuan Cheng Xiuxiu had placed on the table and handed it to Su Qianqian.

Cheng Xiuxiu’s eyes widened. “My… money!”

“You said it yourself—if she can earn money, it’s hers.”

The slap in the face came so fast it left Cheng Xiuxiu dumbfounded. She immediately backtracked. “If she’s making money now, why does she still need to take mine? Give it back to me!”

“Do you even listen to yourself? You said it’s hers, and now you want it back? Do you have a memory span shorter than a fish? We all remember what you said—don’t embarrass yourself.” Cheng Youmin, clearly exasperated with his daughter, shook his head. He couldn’t believe how quickly she tried to take back her words.

Cheng Xiuxiu, clutching at straws, offered a compromise. “Fine, she can take two yuan, but give me back the 53 cents.”

Su Qianqian figured it was enough to take the majority and started to hand back the 53 cents, but Zhu Tianfang grabbed her hand. “She said 2.53 yuan, so it’s 2.53 yuan. Not a cent less.”

“Mom! Whose mother are you really?” Cheng Xiuxiu cried out in frustration.

“I’m just being fair,” Zhu Tianfang replied calmly.

Cheng Xiuxiu stomped her feet in frustration. “This still doesn’t prove she didn’t steal my brother’s money! What if she took it and hid it somewhere? Why else would she come back all of a sudden? Cheng Yue isn’t even here. She must’ve known he couldn’t leave work, so she came back on her own. Who knows, she might’ve taken money from him and sent it to her own family!”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

“How am I talking nonsense? Don’t let her fool you! She’s probably putting on an act with her family. The big share went to them, and she used the small share to buy you guys a few things to placate you. She’s always been so devoted to her family—how could she suddenly change? She’s just gotten smarter!”

Su Qianqian frowned. She was being called smart—wasn’t that supposed to be a compliment? Should she even be angry?

“Enough! Shut your mouth already! Stop yapping all day. Doesn’t your in-law’s family get annoyed with you?” Zhu Tianfang snapped, firmly siding with Su Qianqian. She believed that if Su Qianqian really wanted to support her family, she wouldn’t have hidden it. She’d been open about it in the past five years.

Besides, their frequent clashes with the Su family over such issues seemed genuine.

“What’s wrong with you all? Why are you taking her side and not mine? I’m your real family!” Cheng Xiuxiu wailed.

“She’s Cheng Yue’s wife and part of our family too. Watch what you say!” Cheng Youmin said sternly.

Cheng Xiuxiu’s words had managed to offend not just Su Qianqian but both of her sisters-in-law as well—unacceptable in his eyes. Besides, he’d recently become quite fond of the meals Su Qianqian had been cooking, so he chose to back her up.

He also knew his daughter’s personality well. She was just here to stir trouble. In the past, she and Su Qianqian had clashed often. Now that Su Qianqian had changed her ways, it was his daughter who hadn’t adjusted.

Feeling aggrieved, Cheng Xiuxiu stammered, “Did Cheng Yue buy anything for me?”

“No,” Su Qianqian answered honestly. Everything had been bought by her, and she hadn’t even thought of Cheng Xiuxiu.

“Then you must’ve stolen the money! Why else would my brother forget about me?” Cheng Xiuxiu threw another tantrum.

Zhu Tianfang went into the house and came back with a handful of candies, shoving them into Cheng Xiuxiu’s hands. “Here, take these for your kids. Now go home.”

Cheng Xiuxiu stared at the candies, her eyes wide. Just… a few pieces of candy?

“Are you leaving or not? If not, I’ll take back the candy!” Zhu Tianfang threatened, reaching for the candies.

Cheng Xiuxiu quickly stuffed them into her pocket. “I’m leaving, right now!”

Looking at the bicycle parked nearby, she turned to Cheng Song and said, “Big Brother, how about you ride the bike and take me home? It’s still quite a walk.”

Cheng Song glanced at Su Qianqian. Su Qianqian remained silent. The bike was bought for the family, so if Cheng Song wanted to use it, she had no objections.

However, Cheng Song said, “I haven’t learned to ride yet. If you’re not afraid of falling flat on your face, I can give it a try.”

“Uh… never mind, forget it.”

Cheng Xiuxiu had no choice but to drop the idea. But then her eyes landed on the meat on the table. She darted forward, grabbed a piece, stuffed it into her mouth, and ran off.

The Cheng family: “…”

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That evening, Zhu Tianfang and Cheng Youmin spoke quietly.

“Do you think there’s any truth to what Xiuxiu said?”

“Truth? What truth? If she really stole money and ran back here, she’d have stayed at her parents’ house. Why stay here and risk getting exposed when Cheng Yue returns?”

“Besides, hasn’t most of Cheng Yue’s money been sent back home already? He doesn’t have much left on him.” Cheng Youmin didn’t think the idea of Su Qianqian running away with money made sense.

Zhu Tianfang thought about it and agreed. “But if that’s the case, it means Ah Yue really does want to divorce her. Honestly, I’m starting to feel a bit reluctant about letting Erbao’s mother go.”

“We’ll talk about it when Cheng Yue comes back. Stop worrying for now.”

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In the Tianshui village, two rumors about Su Qianqian were circulating.

One, spread by her natal family, painted her as unfilial. They claimed she’d abandoned her family after becoming well-off, currying favor with her in-laws while ignoring her family’s suffering, even when her mother was ill. She was labeled an ungrateful disgrace.

The other rumor was that Cheng Yue had grown tired of her, prompting her to flee back to her natal home, only to cling stubbornly to the Cheng family and revert to her old tricks.

Everyone was now waiting for Cheng Yue to return, believing he could clarify the situation.

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At this critical juncture, Su Yinhua approached Su Qianqian.

“Qianqian, I have something to ask you.”

“What is it?” Su Qianqian, seeing Su Yinhua’s hesitant demeanor, guessed it wasn’t anything good.

“Well… could you give me Sanya to raise as my daughter?”

Su Qianqian frowned. “What did you just say? Give you Sanya? On what grounds?” She hadn’t expected this request at all.

“They say adopting a child can help you conceive, so I thought I could adopt Sanya.”

There was a belief in the countryside that adopting a child could bring good fortune and help infertile couples conceive. Some had indeed tried it and successfully had children afterward.

“What are you even thinking? No way!” Su Qianqian flatly refused.

“How about this? Let me raise Sanya for two years. Once I have a child, I’ll return her to you. How does that sound?”

Su Qianqian couldn’t help but laugh out of anger. “What do you take my child for?”

“Why are you so fierce? We grew up together. For the sake of that friendship, you should help me. I haven’t been able to conceive all this time. Don’t you care about that? You should willingly give me your child!” Su Yinhua was furious, not expecting this reaction from Su Qianqian.

“Hold up, Su Yinhua. Who do you think you are? Why should I care whether you can have a child or not? What, will I get a share of the money if you have a child? Or are you planning to give birth to an emperor?”

Su Qianqian was completely baffled by Su Yinhua’s logic. The audacity was astounding! She was no different from her selfish and self-serving natal family.

“With your attitude, no wonder Cheng Yue doesn’t want you! Just wait until he marries someone else. You’ll be left crying with no place to go, not even your natal family. Let’s see if you come begging me then!” Su Yinhua’s face twisted in anger.

“Who said I don’t want her?”

The sudden male voice startled both women.