Chapter 165: Chapter 92: Teaching Laicai a Lesson (Part 2)

Laicai, his eyes blurry with tears, hurriedly promised, “I won’t tell! I’ll die before I tell my mom!” This was not the outcome he wanted.

Seeing that her threats had done the trick, Juhua switched to bribery. “If you’re really well-behaved, then Sister Juhua will share all the delicious food I make with you. Little Shitou from our village is even younger than you, and he’s so obedient. Whenever I make something tasty, don’t I always call him over to eat? Even if he doesn’t come, I still send some over for him. Hmph! I doubt you could ever be that well-behaved. Laishou is much better. Brother, can we let Laishou stay for two nights?”

Qingmu took Laishou and tossed him playfully in the air, making him giggle. He shot a glance at Laicai and said, “Alright. Laishou can sleep with me tonight.”

The siblings completely ignored Laicai. Seeing how much they adored Laishou, Laicai desperately promised his older cousins that he would be obedient from now on and stop causing trouble.

Juhua heard how smoothly the words rolled off his tongue and thought, ’He’s probably made this promise countless times before. It just proves he’s incorrigible. Oh well, as long as he’s a little scared of me and Qingmu and behaves himself when he’s at our house, that’s good enough. I’ll let Second Uncle worry about the rest.’

The siblings had secretly given Laicai a dressing-down, but the adults were completely oblivious, still bustling about in the kitchen.

During the first month of the New Year, days with guests meant rushing from breakfast to lunch, and from lunch to dinner. In short, the women spent the entire day revolving around the kitchen.

Juhua carried Laishou into the kitchen. When her grandmother saw Laishou’s hat, she praised it endlessly. Ms. Zhang and Mrs. Lin also showered it with compliments.

Mrs. Lin had assumed Juhua made the hat for Laishou just to get on her good side. To her surprise, Juhua ignored her completely, speaking only with her First Aunt and grandmother.

The thing was, Juhua had been thinking, ’Why do I keep acting like an adult? My past life is long gone. In this life, aren’t I just thirteen? I’m going to hold this grudge all the way. It’ll keep Second Aunt from getting too big for her britches and constantly disrespecting me. She used to run me ragged with chores, and I want her to know that I can’t stand her!’

She looked at Mrs. Lin’s pretty, eye-catching outfit and found it extremely disagreeable. Her First Aunt was also wearing a new padded jacket, yet she was helping with the fire. Her grandmother was bustling about, busy with knives and spatulas. But Mrs. Lin just sat there, clean and fresh, cracking melon seeds all over the floor while making gentle small talk.

’What a fortunate woman.’ Country girls all had a fresh, youthful radiance before they married. But that youth was fleeting. Once they married, had children, and raised a family, that layer of brightness quickly faded.

But Mrs. Lin was a rare, well-preserved woman. The color in her face, matched with her clothes, made her look quite young—all thanks to mooching off Grandma. Her First Aunt was much worse off. The glow on her face had long since faded, weathered by the years into a dull, sallow complexion. She didn’t look as vibrant as Mrs. Yang.

Mrs. Lin wasn’t angry that Juhua was ignoring her. She just smiled and said, “This hat is lovely. Juhua, it must have been a lot of work! Why don’t you make one for Laicai too? The brothers would look so smart wearing matching hats.”

Laicai, his eyes red and swollen, sat down beside his mother. When he heard what she said, he timidly peeked at Juhua, wanting to speak but not daring to.

Juhua had to admire her Second Aunt. ’She only ever thinks of herself, which is why she has the gall to say anything. You can’t afford to be polite with someone like her.’ So, she glanced at Laicai and said, “You think my hands are idle? If I had that much free time, I’d rather be sewing a couple of pairs of shoe soles. I’m not making anything for someone so disobedient.”

Seeing how much Juhua disliked him—enough to say such things right in front of his mother and grandmother—Laicai realized his future visits to his Eldest Aunt’s house were going to be rough. Tears started to well up in his eyes, but a sudden glimpse of Juhua’s warning glare made him quickly lower his head and stay silent.

Mrs. Wang saw Laicai’s red eyes and hurried over. “Why are you crying again? Does your head still hurt? Let Grandma take a look.”

Laicai thought, ’My head doesn’t hurt, but my butt does!’ He didn’t dare say it, so he just mumbled that his head was fine. His timid, shrinking demeanor surprised the adults. ’This boy who’s usually a whirlwind of trouble, how did he become like this?’

Mrs. Lin noticed Laicai kept darting glances at Juhua, and she looked at the girl with suspicion.

Juhua met her gaze calmly, thinking, ’Even if Laicai did talk, which he won’t, so what? I did hit your son. And if he comes over and acts up again, I’ll hit him again. I’ll hit him until you’re too scared to bring him back!’

Suddenly, Laishou pointed at Laicai and said, “Brother cry, Sister hit.”

Juhua was dumbfounded. She wanted to throw the little brat out. ’What does “the innocent words of a child” mean? This is it, right here.’

Seeing everyone staring at her, she braced herself and said with feigned disgust, “If he starts crying again, of course I’m going to hit him! He’s a big boy now, crying at the drop of a hat. Even Laishou is better behaved. Are you even a boy? If you’re going to keep crying all the time, then don’t bother coming to your Eldest Aunt’s house anymore. It’s just so annoying.”

Laicai quickly said, “I wasn’t just crying now! That was from before. Sister Juhua, I won’t cry anymore from now on, and I’ll be good.”

His words stunned everyone in the room. They all stared at him with their mouths wide open.

Juhua curled her lip in disdain, thinking, ’His words are sweeter than a song, but he’ll forget them all in a little while. Still, this is exactly what these doting elders love to hear.’

Sure enough, Mrs. Wang’s face lit up. She hugged him and said, “Aiyo! My good grandson, you’re all grown up! If you listen and behave, you’ll definitely have a bright future. Your Sister Juhua was just praising how smart you are. She said if you study hard, you might even become a Scholar one day!”

Laicai was overjoyed to hear this. “Really?” he asked in disbelief. “Sister Juhua really said I was smart?” ’Then why did she beat me so hard just now?’ he wondered.

Mrs. Wang laughed. “Of course, it’s true. If you don’t believe me, ask your Sister Juhua.”

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