Chapter 19

Shen Jianzhen suddenly nudged Zhang Hongying. “I think that person is up to something.”

Zhang Hongying was in the middle of cutting fabric. The unexpected nudge nearly caused her to cut off track, and she snapped, “Just talk! Don’t poke me! If I ruin this fabric, neither of us can afford to pay for it!”

Shen Jianzhen quickly apologized, “Ah, sorry, sorry! I’ll be more careful next time.”

Zhang Hongying looked at her without speaking. Shen Jianzhen, thinking she was still upset, looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think things through. I’ll be more considerate in the future.”

Zhang Hongying’s expression softened. She asked curiously, “Why do you say ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ so naturally? You don’t feel awkward?”

Shen Jianzhen looked puzzled. “If you do something wrong, you say sorry. If someone helps you, you say thank you. Why would that be embarrassing?”

Zhang Hongying said, “But I can’t say it… it won’t come out.”

Thank you. Sorry. The words just wouldn’t leave her mouth.

She couldn’t ask for directions. Couldn’t ask questions. Couldn’t confront anyone.

She especially wanted to talk to Li Xiaofang, to ask her why she was so biased toward her son. Why, after a lifetime of devotion, care, and filial piety, they were still helping Zhang Hongxing take her house?

Why had they said, “Your brother will study and build a life outside, you stay home and marry into the family, and the family property will go to you”—only to now turn around and say the old house still belongs to Zhang Hongxing?

What ancestral home? That so-called “Zhang family ancestral home” was just a collapsed wooden shack, overgrown with weeds, with a few wild orange and peach trees.

If they really want to give him the ancestral home, let him build his own house on it!

Even if they wanted to split the land, give Zhang Hongxing a separate plot. That would be better.

There’s no reason why someone should enjoy family warmth and the joy of grandchildren while alive, and then—right before death—suddenly declare their daughter an outsider.

Seeing Zhang Hongying dazed, Shen Jianzhen almost reached out to nudge her again. Her hand halfway out, she remembered Zhang Hongying’s earlier irritation and instead gently called, “Hongying? A-Hong? Did you hear me?”

Zhang Hongying snapped out of it. “I heard you. You said that person is up to something. What’s she doing?”

“I’ve been watching her for two days now. She’s been slowly moving out the valuable stuff.

If she was closing down the business, she’d be moving out tables and chairs too. But she’s not.

And if she was switching inventory, she’d be bringing in new stock—but there’s nothing new.”

Zhang Hongying thought to herself: this matches what happened in the last life.

Out of jealousy over others doing well, she tried to burn down the market.

But she didn’t want to lose her own goods, so she moved them out first.

What a toxic and stupid person.

Word was, her husband later spent their entire savings to compensate the other merchants just to get her sentence reduced. No one knew how much it cost them in the end.

Zhang Hongying said, “In the next few days, let’s try to be the last ones to leave. I want to see what she’s really up to.”

Shen Jianzhen nodded eagerly. “Okay! Got it!”

She looked as excited as if she’d just discovered some fun new game.

Zhang Hongying suddenly felt that Shen Jianzhen was like a puppy. Show her a little kindness, and she’d come bounding over with enthusiasm. Even if you kicked her or scolded her, she never held a grudge.

But piss her off enough, and she’d bite.

As for herself—her personality was more like a cat. She didn’t get close to people easily. When she was upset, she never said anything. She couldn’t. Telling others why she was upset felt… shameful. Even expressing happiness had to be wrapped in scolding.

When her son bought her something, she’d be thrilled inside, but what she said was: “You little rascal, wasting money! What is this junk? Us country folk aren’t used to this stuff—take it back.”

Sigh. Sometimes, it felt like raising Shen Jianzhen was like raising a child. But maybe, in some ways, Shen Jianzhen was teaching her how to live differently.

Shen Jianzhen would scream right back at Wu Xiaohong, using public outbursts and airing family drama to carve out a space for herself. When Wu Xiaohong made an unreasonable demand, she’d cry and shout until a crowd gathered—forcing Wu Xiaohong to back down.

In the end, Shen Jianzhen became successful and well-known as a devoted daughter who sent thousands of yuan home every month.

Zhang Hongying, on the other hand, had spent her life quietly obeying. She never even paused to think when Li Xiaofang told her to do something—she’d just say yes.

Li Xiaofang knew how to play the victim, always sighing and moaning. Sometimes she didn’t even need to ask directly—just by looking sorrowful, she could manipulate Zhang Hongying into offering help for her brother.

This time, she was going to learn from Shen Jianzhen. Learn to fight back. Learn to throw a fit. Learn to argue.

What good was a good reputation? No matter how many suitors you had or how people praised you, it couldn’t stop Li Xiaofang from flipping the table with a few quiet words.

In her last life, it was Li Xiaofang who forced her to get engaged, forced her to break it off, and then forced her to marry into her own family…

Well, to be fair, she had agreed to that part.

At the time, she thought, “My parents treat me so well. Marrying into the family has to be better than marrying out.”

If she married out, she’d have to deal with her husband’s grandparents, parents, siblings…

Older sisters-in-law weren’t too bad—they were polite after they got married. But younger sisters-in-law could be a nightmare, living at home for years and constantly clashing.

So she agreed, half-willingly, half-unwillingly.

If only they had separated finances at the very start, her whole life wouldn’t have spiraled like it did.

The two of them dawdled at their stall until everyone else had left, then finally packed up to go.

As people left, the lights in the market turned off one by one.

Shen Jianzhen urged her, “Come on, let’s go. If it gets dark, we might trip and fall.”

As they rounded a corner, Zhang Hongying pretended to notice something casually. “Some people are so careless. Everyone’s gone, but they left the iron plugged in. What if it starts a fire in the middle of the night?”

As she spoke, she moved to unplug it.

But Shen Jianzhen quickly grabbed her. “Don’t unplug it! If you unplug it today, she’ll just plug it back in tomorrow. She needs a lesson she’ll remember.”

Zhang Hongying was shocked. “You’re saying she did it on purpose?”

Shen Jianzhen glanced at her. “Isn’t it obvious? She moved everything else out and left just the iron plugged in. What else could it be if not intentional?”

Zhang Hongying already knew that was how things went in her previous life, but she still wanted Shen Jianzhen to take the lead. “Then what do you think we should do?”

Shen Jianzhen said, “Does this market have a management office? Go find someone. This has to be dealt with properly—we can’t let her keep trying to hurt people.”

Zhang Hongying had never in her life taken the initiative to report something to a supervisor…

Shen Jianzhen grew frustrated. “What’s so scary about this? That’s literally their job! Who else are you supposed to go to?”

They stared at each other, both baffled by the other.

How can you act like asking for help is as easy as breathing?

How can you act like asking for help is harder than climbing a mountain?

In the end, it was Shen Jianzhen who gave in. “Forget it. I’ll go.”

There was no one left in the market except for the management staff waiting to lock up.

Shen Jianzhen ran over. “Uncle, I think someone moved everything out of her stall and left just an iron plugged into a power strip. I’m worried it might cause a fire overnight.”

The man’s expression changed immediately. This was serious.

If a plugged-in iron caught fire, it could burn the whole place down. Everyone in the commune still remembered the Duck Bay Village fire from a few years ago—it had been like a local horror story.

Back then, they could laugh about it. Now? It might happen right under their noses.

Whatever happened next, Shen Jianzhen didn’t care. She had reported it. She grabbed Zhang Hongying and hurried home. If they stayed out any later, it would be too dark—too easy to trip or fall into a ditch.