Reborn in the 1980s: I became a stepmother in the 1980s

Part 8 Want to drive her away

Upon returning home, Liu Shu looked crestfallen as her daughter, Liu Guifang, noticed the empty basket and frowned. "Mom, where's the meat? Didn't you say we'd have meat today?"

Liu Shu's frustration bubbled up at the reminder of her failed errand. She jabbed her daughter's forehead and scolded, "Meat, meat, meat! All you think about is meat. It's because of your uselessness! If only you could catch the eye of Zhou Yueshen, do you think I'd be running around tirelessly to take care of those orphaned kids every day? Now that his new wife has arrived, let's see how you handle it!"

Gazing at her daughter's increasingly plump figure, rough skin, and rustic appearance, and contrasting them with the image of the sophisticated city wife that Zhou Yueshen had married, Liu Shu seethed with frustration. Her daughter was already twenty-something, and Liu Shu had coddled her since childhood, resulting in Liu Guifang having lofty aspirations, believing she could marry into the city.

After finally arranging a match, her husband died within two months. His family blamed Liu Guifang's bad fate, claiming she brought misfortune upon him, and sent her back. Remarriage was already looked down upon, and with her daughter getting older, neither the village nor the city accepted her. As a result, nearing twenty-five, she remained unmarried.

Two years ago, when Zhou Yueshen married, it ended in a divorce shortly after. Seizing the opportunity, Aunt Liu started to take an interest in Zhou Yueshen. She volunteered to help him regularly, and over time, they became acquainted. Aunt Liu suggested helping with childcare, especially since Zhou Yueshen was busy with work, and he agreed. She had hoped to use this as an opportunity to introduce her daughter, thinking that familiarity might lead to affection.

However, despite her daughter helping out multiple times, Zhou Yueshen didn't seem interested. Now, he had remarried yet again. Hearing her mother mention Zhou Yueshen, Liu Guifang's face flushed with embarrassment.

She originally didn't think much of Zhou Yueshen. These days, individual business owners couldn't compare to government officials in terms of desirability. Her goal had always been to move to the city. Initially, she wasn't too keen on going to the Zhou family when her mother suggested it. However, after seeing Zhou Yueshen, she changed her mind.

Hearing her mother's words, Liu Guifang became anxious. "Wait, Mom, what are you saying? What daughter-in-law?"

"It's that girl from the Lin family. I heard she's an intellectual. Zhou Yueshen even gave her a dowry of three thousand!"

"No, wasn't it said that she wasn't willing to marry into our family?"

"She might not have been willing, but the biological daughter has returned, and she replaced Lin Sisi and came to our door!"

Liu Guifang became frantic. "What? How could this happen? What am I supposed to do?"

"Hmph, what can you do? Just drive her away. Not only will I not let her have an easy time here, but those few orphans won't either. Rest assured."

Thinking about how much trouble she had caused for Liu Guifang, Aunt Liu held a grudge against her and planned to stop going over starting tomorrow. She wanted to see how she would manage the three children without her help. Once Zhou Yueshen couldn't come to her for help, she would intensify her complaints, alleging that Liu Guifang couldn't accommodate her!

With this plan in mind, Aunt Liu felt quite pleased. She didn't even have grandchildren of her own, yet she had to help take care of someone else's. If it weren't for her daughter and the benefits from the Zhou family, she would never have willingly played the role of a nanny.

Now, chin held high, she was confident that Zhou Yueshen would come to apologize on his own accord.

With these thoughts in mind, Aunt Liu felt instantly relieved.

Meanwhile, in the city, at the Si family's residence...

The Si family was gathered around the table for dinner. Mrs. Si sighed, "I wonder how Nian Nian is doing in the countryside. I hope she's adjusting well."

Mr. Si's face also betrayed a sense of guilt. At the time, feeling sorry for their biological daughter, they agreed to the idea of having Nian Nian marry in her place. It was a difficult decision, as they had cherished their daughter for over a decade, only to give her away to a farmer. He felt uneasy about it.

"Dad, Mom, maybe I should go and persuade Nian Nian not to be angry and ask her to come back. I'll talk to my foster parents and convince them to return the dowry. If that doesn't work, I'll work hard to earn money. I won't study anymore. I'll go work and earn money. I won't let you down." Lin Sisi sat on the side, tears rolling in her eyes, feeling guilty.

Upon hearing that she wouldn't study anymore, Mr. and Mrs. Si became anxious. "How could that be? You're the daughter of our Si family. How can you go work?"

Originally coming from the countryside, they were worried that the Fu family might look down on her. However, knowing that she was still attending school relieved their concerns to some extent. After all, intellectuals were highly regarded in this era. If she could excel in her studies like Nian Nian, they wouldn't have to worry about the Fu family's opinion.

But if she were to go work now, what would people think?

Moreover, it was three thousand yuan, not three hundred. Nowadays, an ordinary person earns around thirty yuan a month, so when would she ever earn that much money? They had no idea what kind of job that man did to be able to afford such a hefty dowry. If it were a few hundred yuan, they might have been able to scrape it together. But several thousand yuan was not a small amount.

They didn't want to be taken advantage of and end up paying off the Lin family's debt. "Forget it, let's just leave it at that. We'll just take care of her more in the future," they decided.

On one hand, they didn't want their daughter to drop out of school and work, but on the other hand, they didn't want to fork out the money. It seemed that Nian Nian would have to bear the brunt of it. Regardless of the feelings involved, once it came down to interests, everything became worthless in an instant.

Lin Sisi sighed in relief. There was no way she would work for Nian Nian's sake. She had enjoyed her comfortable life for over a decade, and she hadn't even repaid her foster parents yet. This was just the beginning. Lin Sisi knew that this family would never come up with three thousand yuan to help Nian Nian, nor would they let her work. So, she deliberately said those words to make them give up on Nian Nian completely.

Sinen, you stole my life in the previous life, and I suffered for half of my life. Now, the tables have turned. Don't blame me. Blame your parents for embracing the wrong person, causing me a lifetime of misery.

Sinian sneezed and wiped a few stray hairs off Yao Yao's head, then helped her put on her clothes.

The little one looked even prettier after getting cleaned up.

Although her skin was a bit cracked, children recover quickly. Sinen took out her own snowflake ointment and applied it to the child's skin, making it instantly moisturized.

After playing for a while, the child got tired and fell asleep with closed eyes.

Her little head nestled against Sinen's neck, and her hair was very soft.

The comforting feeling of a sleeping child made it hard to let go.

Plus, Yao Yao was very thin, so holding her was not tiring at all.

Once she was sound asleep, Sinen gently placed her on the bed.

The bed had been changed to her pink floral silk quilt, which was cool and comfortable. Sleeping in the summer was very pleasant.

However, the bed was a wooden one without any padding underneath, so it was a bit hard.

But that was normal in the countryside, and Sinen wasn't that fussy; she could sleep on both hard and soft beds.