bookbashuk Chapter 249. People with sharp tongues are often even more venomous at heart.
Chapter 249. People with sharp tongues are often even more venomous at heart.
Having gained nothing, Shen Sangu's face darkened, and she turned to give her daughter a meaningful look.
"Grandmother, please don't be angry. My mother didn't mean anything by it. She was just thinking about my eldest cousin." The one who spoke up was Luo Zhu, the third son of the Luo family. He was eighteen years old this year and had just graduated from high school. He hadn't gotten into a good university.
Given Shen Sangu's patriarchal nature, if it were a son, she might be allowed to continue his studies, but if a daughter didn't do well on the exam, she would naturally be urged to go out and work.
Even though she had no son.
The fourth sister, Luo Mei, was only sixteen years old and stood quietly to the side, not uttering a sound from beginning to end.
Grandma Shen glanced at Luo Zhu and said in a hint of advice, "Don't be like your mother, so clueless and unable to distinguish right from wrong, or your future may not be easy."
Luo Zhu nodded quickly to show her loyalty: "Yes, Grandmother, please don't be angry. My mother is just straightforward, with a sharp tongue but a soft heart."
"People with sharp tongues are often even more venomous at heart," Shen Li bluntly pointed out, her tone full of sarcasm.
Luo Zhu stood there, stunned—this third cousin was too outspoken!
No matter what, her own mother is still her elder.
It seems that what Mom said is true; she only acts so arrogantly because she has a powerful father.
Aunt Shen exploded: "Mom, look at her! Just because she married a powerful father, she dares to act like a tyrant in front of her elders!"
"Xiao Li needs to rely on others?" Grandma Shen sneered, listing Shen Li's abilities: "She was the top scorer in the C Province college entrance examination, and now she's a top student at Peking University. She opened a shop and started earning money before even graduating, and then she turned around and supported us. Which of you has that ability?"
Aunt Shen was speechless after being rebuked, but then she remembered the important matter at hand, and her expression softened visibly as she forced a smile: "Mom, let's not talk about that. I'm here today on important business. Xiaozhu is graduating from high school this year. Could you talk to my older brother and ask him to arrange a job for her in the public sector?"
Grandma Shen looked at her daughter, feeling helpless—she wanted her eldest son to arrange a job for her, but he was always so rude and hurtful.
If it were her, she wouldn't help someone like that.
A typical ingrate; you'll never get anything in return for helping them, and they might even turn on you at a crucial moment. Deep down, they're the type to despise the poor and fear the rich.
She knew her own daughter better than anyone.
"You're in such a hurry to find a job after just graduating from high school? You should at least go to university first. What, you two can't even afford to send a college student?" Grandma Shen's words clearly exposed Aunt Shen's thoughts.
Aunt Shen blushed: "It's not that we can't afford it, it's that her grades aren't good and she didn't get into a good university."
"You can't even get into a regular university, and you still want to get into the system? Do you really think the door to the system is opened by your uncle?" Grandma Shen looked at Luo Zhu, her tone softening a bit. "Go back and study hard, and try to get into another university, even if it's just a regular one."
"A high school diploma is enough these days!" Aunt Shen still argued.
Grandma Shen looked at her with exasperation: "Just because it's enough now doesn't mean it will be enough in the future! She'll be working for decades, and the educational requirements will only get higher and higher!"
Aunt Shen muttered under her breath, "What's the use of my daughter reading so many books? She'd be better off earning money to help support the family."
"What did you say?" Grandma Shen didn't hear clearly and frowned as she asked.
Aunt Shen quickly shook her head: "It's nothing, it's nothing!"
Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly looked at Shen Li, saying with a hint of condescending arrogance, "By the way, I have an idea! I heard that Xiao Li opened a beauty salon. Why don't you have Xiao Zhu help you out? You can just pay her a hundred or two hundred yuan a month."
Shen Li's lips twitched—this mother and daughter are really shameless!
She looked up at Grandma Shen, her eyes filled with helplessness.
Grandma Shen immediately understood and complained in front of Aunt Shen: "I really don't know if we were switched at birth. Neither her father nor I have this shamelessness in our genes."
"Mom, what are you saying!" Aunt Shen exclaimed anxiously, then turned to Shen Li, "Not everyone in your shop has a high level of education. Why don't you let your cousin manage the shop and help you? It's always safer to use family than outsiders, isn't it?"
Shen Li glanced at Luo Zhu—she disliked none of the four sisters in the Luo family.
But she didn't refuse directly, only saying lightly, "I'm sorry, my little shop is too small to accommodate such a big Buddha."
Luo Zhu's face flushed instantly, and she quickly tried to smooth things over: "Cousin, you misunderstood my mother. We're cousins, so whatever salary she gives me is fine. I can learn it if I don't know how!"
"How can you just pay someone a salary like that?" Aunt Shen immediately interrupted her, saying to Shen Li with a straight face, "You have to pay outsiders, and Xiaozhu is your cousin, so you should pay her more than outsiders!"
Shen Li laughed—it turned out that the mother and daughter had already discussed it beforehand and hadn't even asked her for her consent.
She looked at Luo Zhu and said earnestly, "Listen to Grandma, go back and study hard. A high school diploma can get you a job now, but it definitely won't be enough for the future. Don't listen to your mother, she just doesn't want to pay your tuition."
She also knows how to sow discord.
Luo Zhu was indeed tempted and turned to Shen Sangu: "Mom, how about I go to a regular university instead?"
Aunt Shen glared angrily at her daughter: "Now you know you want to go to university? I told you to focus on high school, but you wouldn't listen! Now look what's happened, we have to spend money again!"
She berated Luo Zhu, who lowered her head and dared not utter a sound—she still had to rely on her family and could only endure it.
Finally, Aunt Shen left dejectedly with her two daughters.
Grandma Shen watched their retreating figures, feeling a tightness in her chest.
Shen Li quickly stepped forward to comfort her: "Grandma, nothing in life is perfect. Heaven always throws in some little mishaps to annoy people. Think about it, you have three filial and successful children—Dad, Second Aunt, and Fourth Uncle. What's the big deal if one daughter is a bit immature?"
"Besides, we have capable grandchildren like my brother and me. Doesn't that instantly make you feel much happier?"
Looking at Shen Li's unrestrained and bright smile, Grandma Shen was momentarily reminded of her younger self.
She raised her hand and touched Shen Li's cheek, exclaiming, "You look exactly like me when I was young! Wait here, I'll go get the photos to show you!"
Shen Li sat obediently in the courtyard and waited.
Her grandmother in her previous life favored boys over girls and never showed her any love. On the contrary, her grandfather treated his grandsons and granddaughters equally, which is why she felt particularly close to Grandpa Yu when she first met him.
She was initially a little apprehensive about Grandma Shen, but she didn't expect that although Grandma Shen looked serious, she was genuinely kind to her—this kind of affection was especially precious.
Not long after, Grandma Shen came out carrying a wooden box, sat down on the stone bench, carefully opened the box, and took out a black and white photograph.
The photo is dated 1931. In the photo, Grandma Shen is wearing a student uniform from the Republican era, and her features are delicate and beautiful.
My appearance is surprisingly similar to my grandmother's when she was young!