The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

No one knew where Chen Damin had taken his daughter and son, but they figured the children wouldn’t get lost, so no one paid it much mind. Everyone sat down and continued their conversations.

Lin Shan and Lin Shuying hadn’t seen each other in years and naturally had endless things to say. But they couldn’t talk in peace. For one, Liu Yue Mei was constantly interrupting. For another, colleagues or neighbors kept dropping by, and Lin Shan and Chen Fengjiao had to entertain them.

Chen Damin didn’t return with the two children until it was nearly time for lunch. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Where on earth have you been? Weren’t you supposed to be picking someone up? Your brother-in-law has been back for ages. Did you go looking for him in a ditch or something?"

Liu Yue Mei grumbled.

"Mom, don’t even start. I’m absolutely furious."

Chen Yu complained.

"What happened? Who got on your bad side?"

Liu Yue Mei pressed.

"Who else could it be? You have no idea. Dad, Shuangbao, and I waited downstairs for ages, but my uncle never showed up. So, I had Dad take us to the shopping mall to have a look. When we got there—I have to admit, it’s pretty big, and business is good. There’s so much stuff inside! Shuangbao and I wanted to take a few things back, but they wouldn’t let us! They said it doesn’t matter who we are, if you want something, you have to pay. They didn’t care one bit that we’re relatives. Can you believe that? Isn’t it our own family’s business? How can we not even take a few things? It ended with me getting into a huge argument with the staff there. It makes me so mad!"

As she spoke, Chen Yu glared at Chen Fengjiao and Gu’er, her cheeks puffed out in anger.

Gu’er truly hadn’t expected them to run off to the mall. ’How could they be so shameless?’ she thought. ’And my uncle, too. You could argue the children don’t know any better, but what’s his excuse?’

"Feng Jiao, Gu’er, this is your fault. It’s your own family’s mall, so what’s the big deal if the kids take a few things? The fact that they want your stuff is a compliment! And those employees argued with Chen Yu? You should fire them immediately. This mall really can’t function without family overseeing it. It’s just outrageous. You know what? How about your big brother and I stay here and help you run the mall? We’re family. We don’t even need a salary. Just give us a cut of the profits. Then, in the future, when Chen Ping gets married, or when Chen Yu, Shuangbao, and Sui’er need anything, they can just go and take it. Don’t you worry, your brother and I will whip those employees into shape for you. They’ve gotten way too spoiled. They clearly don’t know who they’re dealing with."

Chen Fengjiao’s face flushed with embarrassment. ’How did I end up with a sister-in-law like her?’

"Sister-in-law, the mall doesn’t belong to Gu’er alone. And when it comes to hiring, she doesn’t have the final say. Even I can’t just take things from there. Please, just drop it."

What else could Chen Fengjiao do but try to smooth things over?

"Feng Jiao, can’t you tell who’s family and who’s not? We’re your brother and sister-in-law, your family from back home! If we don’t watch over it for you, this mall will fall into the hands of outsiders sooner or later."

Liu Yue Mei glared at Chen Fengjiao.

"That’s enough. We welcome you here as our guests, but let’s not talk about the mall anymore. If the children need something, Feng Jiao and I will buy it for them. The mall has its own rules, and no one gets to break them. Brother, Sister-in-law, you should stop thinking about working there. Feng Jiao doesn’t have the authority to make that decision, and she certainly can’t agree to it. Let’s not bring this up again, so we can avoid any further embarrassment."

Lin Shan’s expression was grim. ’To think that after all these years, my wife’s sister-in-law is still the same,’ he thought. She was truly a disagreeable person.

Gu’er stayed quiet. ’With Dad here,’ she thought, ’I don’t need to get involved.’

"Lin Shan, what kind of talk is that? When our Feng Jiao married you, you were just a poor kid with nothing to your name! She’s been with you all these years and has suffered plenty. And now that you’ve made it, been an official for a few years, earned some money, you’ve decided to forget who we are? This isn’t like the old days when you came to our house begging us to let you marry her! Now that you’re so high and mighty, you look down on your own relatives, is that it? You act as if we’re trying to leech off you! Let me tell you, Lin Shan, we’re not beggars! Treating us like this—have you no conscience?"

Liu Yue Mei was getting agitated. Back in the day, she had looked down on Lin Shan, and whenever he and Chen Fengjiao visited, she never missed a chance to belittle him. Even though Lin Shan was now a government official, in her mind, she was still superior and believed he owed her his respect.

"Sister-in-law, if you keep talking like this, I’m going to get angry for real. How can you say that about Lin Shan? He’s done more than enough. Besides, he didn’t earn the money for the mall. Gu’er did! It’s a partnership she has with other people. You can’t just slander Lin Shan like that."

Chen Fengjiao’s expression darkened. Her sister-in-law’s words were simply too outrageous.

"Oh, please," Liu Yue Mei sneered. "Stop trying to give Gu’er all the credit. How old is she? What kind of money could she possibly earn? Don’t think we’re stupid enough to believe that. And you!" she said, turning on Chen Fengjiao. "Your family has money now, but you never think to give any to your own family back home. You give it all to your daughter, and one day it’ll all belong to her husband—an outsider! He’s not like Shuangbao. Shuangbao is the one who carries the Chen family name."

Liu Yue Mei scoffed, turning her face away as she lectured Chen Fengjiao.

Chen Fengjiao felt like she was suffocating with suppressed rage. But no matter how furious she was, this was her family. She had no choice but to endure it.

"Dad," Gu’er said, deciding to intervene. "Let them stay here and talk all they want. We don’t have to stand around and listen to this nonsense. Why don’t you, Great-Aunt, and Xiao Zheng come with me to my new house? Great-Aunt is staying there tonight anyway, and you haven’t seen it yet. You can help me see if it’s missing anything."

Gu’er couldn’t stand listening to Liu Yue Mei anymore. But getting into a shouting match with the woman would just make her a laughingstock. She decided leaving was the best way to avoid the aggravation.

"I originally said I wouldn’t go," Lin Shuying explained to Lin Shan and Chen Fengjiao, afraid they might get the wrong idea. "It’s Gu’er’s new house, and with Zhongshan being unwell, I was afraid it might be bad luck. But Gu’er was so insistent, so I... I agreed."

"Gu’er’s right. What’s there to be superstitious about? We’re all family. Let’s go. I’ll go with you to see it, Big Sister."

Lin Shan understood Gu’er’s intentions and stood up as well. It was true; if they got into a fight with Liu Yue Mei, Chen Fengjiao would be the one to lose face, and he didn’t want to put his wife in that position.

"What new house? There’s a new house? Where is it? We want to go, too! Or hey, how about this? We can move out of here. His sister wants to stay in this house, right? We’re reasonable people, we’ll let her have it. We can just go live in the new house instead."

Liu Yue Mei genuinely hadn’t known about the new house; Chen Fengjiao hadn’t had a chance to tell her. If she had known sooner, she would have certainly paid it a visit already.

Chen Ping’s face flushed crimson. ’What can I do, having a mother like this?’ she thought helplessly.

Chen Damin said nothing, but Chen Yu and Chen Shuangbao were intrigued. ’If there’s anything good over there,’ they thought, ’we can just take it.’

"I’m sorry," Gu’er said directly. "This is my mother’s home. I can’t control who she lets in. But that other house is mine, and I have every right to keep people I don’t like out of it. You are not on the guest list, so I won’t be letting you come. You can save your breath."

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(Author’s Note: Sorry for the late update. I was supervising my child’s homework for three hours, and she’s still not finished. After I post this Chapter, I have to go back to watching her. She probably won’t be done until around 10:30, and the poor kid is already sleepy. Sigh.)