Because she despised Xiao Wu, Shao Qiyun wasn’t even willing to go home. Of course, this might just be an excuse, but Zhao Lan often used this as an excuse to scold Xiao Wu.

  As a daughter Zhao Lan had given birth to in later years, Shao Qiyun had always been very favored. She hadn’t expected Mu Jingzhe to dare treat her like this.

  “Mu Jingzhe, have you eaten a bear’s heart or a leopard’s gall? How dare you treat me like this when you so eagerly married into my family? Shouldn’t you feel ashamed?”

  “Why should I be ashamed? You’re the one making a fuss in my house. You’re the one who has eaten a bear’s heart or a leopard’s gall. How dare you hit Xiao Wu!”

  Shao Qiyun hadn’t expected Mu Jingzhe to be so shrewish. She glared at Shao Zhong. “So what if I hit him? Who asked him to suddenly come over and scare me?”

  Shao Zhong was so frightened by her glare that he involuntarily called Mu Jingzhe ‘Mommy’ and asked for help.

  Mu Jingzhe was about to respond when Shao Qiyun suddenly exploded. “Who are you calling ‘Mommy’?!”

  Startled, Mu Jingzhe quickly went to hug Xiao Wu. “Why did you suddenly raise your voice? What business is it of yours that he calls me Mommy?”

  Shao Qiyun scowled at them. She was about to lash out at them but ultimately held herself back.

  “Mu Jingzhe, I don’t want to argue with you like a shrew. Just you wait!”

  Shao Qiyun tossed her head and left, her dress twirling in the air.

  Mu Jingzhe frowned as she watched her leave. She squatted down and looked at Xiao Wu. “She didn’t hit you, did she? Are your hands alright?”

  “No.” Xiao Wu shook his head. “Mommy, all I did was greet her.”

  Xiao Wu knew how to speak now, but he was timid and used to silence. Even when he went to the art school to learn, he was always alone.

  Mu Jingzhe had encouraged him to talk more and communicate with others, hoping that he would befriend little kids his age. She had also instructed him to greet anyone who came to their house.

  Xiao Wu was very obedient and did as he was told. When the villagers came, he would greet them seriously before calling for Mu Jingzhe.

  When Shao Qiyun had come in, Xiao Wu had known that she didn’t like him and didn’t even want to see him. He would get scolded every time, but because of the task his mother had assigned him, he had still stepped forward obediently. He hadn’t expected to be pushed away as soon as he’d approached Shao Qiyun.

  “Xiao Wu, just ignore people like her who push others away rudely. Our family doesn’t welcome rude guests like her,” Mu Jingzhe immediately advised Xiao Wu.

  Xiao Wu was still a child. He would be the one at a disadvantage if Shao Qiyun went crazy. Xiao Wu was such a precious baby that he should stay away from a shrew like her.

  \r \r \r

  “Okay.”

  Xiao Wu was actually quite sad to be hated so much by someone, so it was impossible for him to not mind. However, after Mu Jingzhe comforted him, he wasn’t that sad anymore.

  Mu Jingzhe had just appeased Xiao Wu when Zhao Lan came looking for her and demanded to know what was wrong with her. Why would she treat her sister-in-law like that, especially since Shao Qiyun rarely came back?

  Mu Jingzhe was speechless. “Before you said so much, why didn’t you take a look at what your daughter did? The first thing she did was push Xiao Wu. How can there be such an overbearing sister-in-law?”

  When Zhao Lan heard that, she suddenly felt short of breath and left after saying a few words.

  Shao Qiyun snorted and said that she had nothing to say to her. She then left to look for Mu Xue.

  In the book, Shao Qiyun liked Mu Xue and only acknowledged her as her sister-in-law. Later on, she sucked up to Mu Xue a lot and hated Mu Jingzhe with a passion.

  Mu Jingzhe shook her head as she watched her leave. “She’s actually quite good-looking, but why is her personality like this?”

  In terms of facial features, Shao Qiyun was even more exquisite than Mu Xue. The dress she was wearing was also beautiful and pleasing to the eye.

  However, God was fair. He had given Shao Qiyun a beautiful appearance, but he hadn’t given her a lot of brains.

  After looking at Mu Jingzhe and Shao Qiyun’s back, Xiao Wu suddenly said, “I’ll also buy beautiful dresses for Mommy in the future.”

  Mu Jingzhe looked down and couldn’t help but stroke his head. “Okay.”

  She didn’t know why he would think of buying her dresses, but Shao Qiyun’s dress was indeed quite pretty. She would also buy it when she had the chance in the future.

  When they returned to work, everyone knew that Shao Qiyun was back. Seeing that Mu Jingzhe didn’t object, they started gossiping about Shao Qiyun.

  Like her two brothers, Hai and Yang, Shao Qiyun was also very pretty thanks to her father.

  This led them to discuss these mysterious genetic and hereditary issues.

  Zhao Lan looked very ordinary, but Old Man Shao was very handsome and didn’t at all look like someone from the countryside. He was cultured and exuded a celestial air.

  Back then, Zhao Lan had married him because she had taken a fancy to Old Man Shao’s face.

  Zhao Lan had only been given such an opportunity because Old Man Shao’s health hadn’t been good since he was young.

  Back then, many people said that the two of them weren’t compatible. Their union was referred to as ‘a flower planted in cow dung’, and Old Man Shao was the flower.

  In their marriage photos, they looked like a bandit leader and her captive husband.

  Though Zhao Lan liked Old Man Shao’s face, when it came to her children, she favored Eldest Brother Shao, who resembled her.

  Among the four children, only Eldest Brother Shao resembled her. He had average looks and was short, unlike his younger siblings. Every time they went out, he would be ignored, and no one would believe that they were biological siblings.

  However, they were indeed biological siblings. It was just that he resembled his mother and the three of them resembled their father.

  Eldest Brother Shao was actually very angry about his mediocre looks. Unfortunately, his wife, Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao, also had average looks. That was why Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ had ended up with a mediocre appearance as well. To sum it up, the eldest branch hadn’t benefited from Old Man Shao’s good genes at all.

  In the past, Li Zhaodi used to often tell Mu Jingzhe how glad she was that Shao Qiyun and her brother didn’t take after her and took after Mu Teng.

  Though Shao Qiyun took after her father, Zhao Lan doted on her a lot, as she was her only daughter.

  She was good-looking and ambitious, so she felt that she would definitely marry a rich person. Zhao Lan felt the same way. If she managed to meet a rich person, she would easily be able to marry him.

  However, they had been saying the same thing since she was 16, and she was now 23 and still unmarried.

  This was because they were too picky and looked down on ordinary suitors. They were typical people who aimed high but ended up landing low.

  Right now, Shao Qiyun was a dormitory keeper at the county’s No. 1 Middle School. One could not underestimate a dormitory keeper. It had taken her a lot of effort to get that job.

  To Zhao Lan, this was already something to be proud of.

  When Shao Qiyun returned home, joyful laughter was finally heard from next door instead of the quarreling noises they heard all the time.

  The voices of Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ currying favor with Shao Qiyun and calling her Aunt could be heard clearly over there.

  Every time Shao Qiyun came back, she would bring delicious snacks with her, such as canned fruit, walnut cookies, brown sugar, and white sugar. Then, Zhao Lan would brag to the entire village. Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ sucked up to their aunt because of all these goodies.

  However, Shao Dong and the others weren’t envious at all, as Shao Qiyun would never share it with them, especially with Xiao Wu.

  Mu Jingzhe was afraid that the children would be sad, so she comforted them. “When I go to the county city tomorrow, I’ll buy you guys some canned fruit too.”

  “No need. Learning a foreign language beats eating canned fruit,” Shao Dong replied, indicating that he wasn’t envious.

  However, Mu Jingzhe still wanted to buy two cans for them to satisfy their craving.

  The next day, Mu Jingzhe woke up early and took the children to the county. Surprisingly, she ran into Tang Moling again.

  “Get in the car. I’ll drive you there.”

  Tang Moling didn’t say that he had come specifically to give Mu Jingzhe and the kids a lift.

  He had yet to achieve his goal. Unwilling to give up, he’d decided to press on.

  Seeing that Tang Moling was sincere about giving them a ride, they thanked him and got in. After all, compared to a bicycle, riding in a car was naturally more comfortable. Besides, they were a bit more familiar with him now.

  Although she didn’t know why Tang Moling had suddenly gone crazy and started taking care of them, Mu Jingzhe wasn’t afraid. She would deal with whatever came her way.