Chapter 27 – Making Brown Sugar Water for His Wife

Shen Junmei shook her head and said, “What’s so good about Ruan Jiaojiao? She’s shameless with men. Whoever takes her children in will just be laughed at!”

“But if I’m her child, I get to eat meat! I want meat!”

Jindan shouted at the top of his lungs at home.

Afraid of losing face, Shen Junmei rushed forward to cover his mouth. But Jindan was already grown; he struggled hard and even bit her hand viciously!

“Ah! You little bastard!” Shen Junmei cried out in pain, tears streaming down her face. In that moment, she felt utterly miserable—the two men she cared about most, one hit her, the other bit her.

“Useless! Good-for-nothing!” Jindan cursed her, “You’re such a worthless mom—ugly compared to Second Aunt, not as capable as her either. Why are you even alive?”

“Why didn’t Dad just beat you to death? If you died, he could marry me a mom like Second Aunt!”

“Yeah… if you die, Dad can steal Second Aunt. Then she’ll be my mom, and Da Bao and Xiao Bao will be left without a mother. They’ll cry day and night, hahaha…”

Jindan laughed like a madman, kicking at Shen Junmei.

Only when Father Fu and Fu’s mother came running at the noise and gave him some meat—meat the old couple had been reluctant to eat themselves—did Jindan finally calm down.

Since it was the daughter-in-law being beaten, Father Fu said nothing and simply took his eldest grandson back. That left only Fu’s mother and Shen Junmei, the weary mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair.

“Mom… did Dad hit you when he was young?”

Shen Junmei burst into tears.

“Yes, he hit me. All women get hit. We just endure it and wait for the hard times to pass.”

“But Fu Ting never hits Ruan Jiaojiao! And her two kids are so sensible! Mom, why is heaven so unfair? Wuuuu…”

Fu’s mother looked at her sobbing eldest daughter-in-law, feeling both pity and heartache. After all, this was her first daughter-in-law, the one who had risked her life to give the Fu family a son.

Though she often withheld food, what she saved wasn’t for herself—it all went to Fu Jun and Jindan.

And for over a decade, Shen Junmei had silently cooked for the entire household, never once skipping a meal, no matter how ill or exhausted she was.

Her biggest flaws were her pride and the way she treated Zhaodi harshly.

“Junmei,” Fu’s mother patted her, “sometimes I envy Second Daughter-in-law. Her ideas and ways of living—that’s what I wished for when I was young but never dared to ask for. But, Junmei, you’re still young. Why not go and talk to her? If you sisters-in-law get closer, our family will thrive. Harmony brings prosperity, after all.”

“You want me to go to that little tramp Ruan Jiaojiao? To bow my head to her? Hmph, impossible. Absolutely impossible…”

Shen Junmei muttered under her breath.

But Fu’s mother didn’t take her words seriously—she could tell Junmei’s heart was already wavering.

Women’s fates were bitter; married women’s even more so.

Shen Junmei cried herself to sleep. The next morning, before dawn, she still got up to cook breakfast.

Even with her injuries, even with barely a few hours of rest, even though the stove was crusted with thick ice from the cold—she endured it.

She thought this was the right way. She believed that if she was a good wife and mother, her life would eventually get better.

She hadn’t gone to school; all her “principles” were what her own mother had taught her. Since her mother had lived this way, she thought she should too.

But when she went out to pick cabbages, she saw Fu Ting. Unable to resist, she asked, “Second, why are you up so early?”

Fu Ting answered, “It’s too cold. Jiaojiao’s got her period again, so I’m making her some brown sugar water.”

Shen Junmei: “…”

She wanted to ask more, but Fu Ting had already rushed off. Clearly eager to get back to his wife.

Shen Junmei’s heart clenched with bitterness. Why? Why was Jiaojiao’s life so blessed, with such a caring husband, while she—also a woman—had none of that?

After finishing breakfast, she had to go wake Fu Jun.

He slept like a dead pig, snoring thunderously.

Jindan was already up, playing on his own. Seeing her come in, he asked, “Mom, what tasty food did you make? Is there any meat?”

She dressed him and said, “I saved you a few slices. Hurry and eat.”

“Yay!” Jindan jumped for joy. Then he added, “But don’t touch me, Mom. Your hands are so ugly, like… gross, really disgusting.”

Shen Junmei: “…”

Her hands were covered in chilblains.

Years of waking early to cook and washing everyone’s laundry in icy water had left her hands cracked, pus-filled, and raw.

Yet the son she had spoiled until he couldn’t lift or carry anything now turned around to mock her hands as disgusting…

Half her heart went cold.

Jindan ran off happily to eat. Fu Jun still lay in bed.

Back when he had a factory job, he had always been this lazy after coming home, but then Junmei excused it—she thought he was tired from working.

Now though? No job, money all lost, refusing farm labor because he “couldn’t handle heavy work,” spending nights loafing outside and days sleeping—a complete layabout.

Junmei poked him. Thinking of Fu Ting’s example, she cleared her throat and tried imitating Ruan Jiaojiao’s coy tone: “Husband… my hands are all frozen and hurting…”

“…”

That instantly woke Fu Jun in shock. He kicked her hard.

“Get lost! Don’t disturb my sleep!”

The kick was brutal. Shen Junmei clutched her waist, forcing herself upright. For the first time, she tried reasoning with him: “Fu Jun, I’ve been married to you for years, working like an ox without complaint. Now my hands are covered in sores—if you won’t take me to a doctor, at least show some concern?”

“Concern? For you? Who do you think you are? What woman doesn’t cook, wash, and give birth? Even my mom went straight to the fields after having me! You’re useless. If you can’t handle it, go back to your mother’s house!”

Shen Junmei: “…”

Fine. She dared not speak further.

“Save me some food. If I wake up later and there’s nothing hot, I’ll beat you to death, you money-wasting bitch!”

Fu Jun barked at her again, then pulled the quilt over his head.

In the past, whenever he yelled at her, Shen Junmei swallowed her grievances in silence, left quietly, and did as told.