Shen Cui was startled by her, but before she could speak, a big slap came flying at her.
Slap! Shen Cui was struck on the left cheek.
Slap! Another hit landed on her right cheek.
Nan Sheng found it troublesome to keep chasing Shen Cui as she tried to dodge, so she simply grabbed her by the hair and rained down a dozen more slaps, left and right, before tossing her to the ground.
"Big Kid, did you count? How much should I pay her?"
Sizhe glanced at Shen Cui and said firmly, "Four slaps—that’s twenty cents at most."
No matter how you looked at it, twenty cents was the absolute limit. Shen Cui didn’t deserve a penny more!
He was still carrying his little sister, Siqi, who had fallen asleep on his back.
Nan Sheng smirked, pulled twenty cents from her pocket, and tossed it onto the ground. "Sister-in-law, see how nice this is? If you want money, just earn it openly. No need to scheme and extort people, right?"
She leaned in closer, her voice dripping with mock sweetness. "Or how about we go all the way? Break a leg, and I’ll give you five bucks. Now that’s quick money."
Shen Cui’s head was still ringing from the beating. Forget demanding money—all she could see now was Nan Sheng’s terrifying fury. She had misjudged her, thinking Lin Han’s wife was meek.
Trembling, she scrambled backward. "I don’t want the money anymore! Just leave me alone!"
"Changed your mind?" Nan Sheng feigned disappointment as she casually pocketed the twenty cents again.
"Uncle Feng, Sister-in-law Shen Cui says she doesn’t need compensation. Mind if I take the kids home now?"
Feng Wuquan’s lips twitched as he exchanged a glance with Lin Guozheng. How had they ended up with such a terrifying daughter-in-law?
"Go on. Just… don’t hit the kids when you get back."
As Nan Sheng walked out, she politely bid farewell to her father-in-law and the rest of the Lin family. When she passed Third Brother Lin, she flashed him a chilling smile.
"Little Brother, watch your tone when speaking to your second sister-in-law from now on. Got it?"
Third Brother Lin nodded obediently. His sister-in-law was ruthless—beating someone up and then taking the money back? He wasn’t about to test her patience.
By the time they headed home, dusk had settled. Nan Sheng took Siqi from Sizhe’s back, though the boy stubbornly muttered, "I could’ve carried her."
The earlier scene had left a deep impression on him. After some thought, he concluded that his stepmother had actually gone easy on him and his sister before.
Gratitude welled up in his heart.
As they walked home, Sizhe wrestled with how to bring up the matter of their maternal grandparents. But even after they arrived, he couldn’t find the words.
That night, with nothing else to do, Nan Sheng washed up and settled in to review the novel’s plot. The more she read, the angrier she became. Seriously? Just because she was a side character, she was supposed to roll over and die from bullying?
First, after returning to her family home, she discovered the male lead and female lead’s affair. When she tried to confront them, the male lead shoved her, leaving her injured and broken.
Well, sure—losing her man was one thing, but losing all her money too? No wonder she’d been devastated.
Then, Lin Han’s former in-laws moved in under the pretense of mourning their daughter’s death anniversary. When they left, they took all the rice and flour with them since they couldn’t squeeze any cash out of her.
What kind of shameless relatives were these? Were the Lin family all dead? How could they just stand by?
And then Nan Mingli got into trouble. According to the book, on his way home from work, he heard a woman cry for help, only to be framed when he rushed to her aid.
Turned out, it was a setup by a pair of siblings looking to scam someone—and he’d walked right into it.
In the original plot, Nan’s mother had an accident around this time. With no money to his name, Nan Mingli was accused of assault and sentenced to ten years of labor reform.
No wonder people recommended reading sweet, fluffy stories before bed. After finishing this depressing plot, Nan Sheng was too furious to sleep. By morning, dark circles had formed under her eyes.
When in a bad mood, one must eat well. Nan Sheng fished out a piece of meat from the oil jar, shut the kitchen door tight, and got to cooking.
When Sizhe woke up, the clatter from the kitchen made him pause. He fetched water from the well to wash his face, then roused his sister in the east room and helped her wash up before braiding her hair.
By the time Nan Sheng finished cooking, she was drenched in sweat. She told the kids to eat first while she freshened up. When she returned, neither had touched their food.
"Eat up! You’ll be late for school!"
Today’s dish was stir-fried pork belly, rich and glistening with oil. Nan Sheng kept piling meat onto the kids’ plates while savoring her own bites. The three of them ate happily.
After breakfast, Fifth Uncle’s daughter-in-law, Little Ning, dropped by with three straw hats made to Nan Sheng’s specifications.
"Sister-in-law, are these what you wanted?"
Nan Sheng was thrilled. "Fifth Uncle is amazing! This is exactly what I needed. Now I won’t have to worry about my face getting sunburned during work."
She promptly pulled out some coins. "For such a big hat, I’ll pay the men’s rate. Three hats come to twenty-four cents. Here you go."
Little Ning had been told by her father-in-law not to overcharge family and to round down, but Nan Sheng’s quick counting left her reflexively pocketing the money.
Oops. She was going to get scolded again when she got home.
At work that day, the atmosphere was unusually quiet. Even Zhou Ren avoided Nan Sheng’s gaze, thinking to himself, Lin Han’s wife doesn’t look that strong, but her temper is terrifying.
There were pros and cons to her newfound reputation. The men treated her with more respect, but during breaks, the other women huddled together in gossip while Nan Sheng remained alone with her daughter.
Most might’ve felt ostracized, but Nan Sheng didn’t mind. She preferred straightforward relationships over convoluted social games.
In the shade, whispers about yesterday’s events circulated—though no one dared mention Nan Sheng directly. Instead, they talked about how Liu Dahua had been released after Ma Qiang agreed to pay Shen Cui a hundred yuan in compensation.
A neighbor living near the Ma family shot a glance at Ma Qiang’s daughter-in-law before murmuring, "Ma Qiang nearly beat Liu Dahua to death last night. The screams were horrifying."
"A hundred yuan! That’s three years of savings! No wonder he lost his temper."
The villagers had initially sympathized with the Li Family, condemning Liu Dahua for attacking a pregnant woman. But after Shen Cui’s attempt to extort money from the Lin family, opinions shifted. Now, people saw the Li Family as wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Some even muttered, The quiet ones are the most dangerous. Either way, the Li Family’s reputation was ruined.
After work, Nan Sheng walked home hand-in-hand with her daughter, carrying a basket of wild vegetables Siqi had dug up.
The front door was ajar when they arrived, which didn’t strike her as odd—until she heard two familiar voices inside.
"Mingli, is that you?"
Nan Mingli pushed open the kitchen door. He and Sizhe had just finished blanching the wild greens. "Yeah, I got off work early and brought these over. Didn’t realize you’d be out working, so I’ve been squatting in the yard like an idiot."
Nan Sheng laughed. "Poor you. Here, take a spare key next time so you can wait inside. Stay for dinner tonight, alright?"
Mingli figured it wouldn’t hurt. He was exhausted from the day’s labor—a night’s rest sounded perfect. "Only if you cook something good."
As for his sister working in the fields? Mingli fully supported it. Being a work recorder was a cushy job—decent pay for light labor. Maybe marrying Lin Han wasn’t so bad after all.
