Chapter 27 Shen Jianhua's Work

Zhou Lanfang had already prepared lunch when she saw Zhou Siyu and Shen Mianmian arrive home together, she thought to herself that her Siyu was so smart. With Shen Jianhua at home, if she let Shen Mianmian walk back on her own, the truth about how she treated Shen Mianmian would really have been exposed.

"Wash your hands quickly and eat; go to school early to study after lunch."

Zhou Siyu responded and, seeing Shen Jianhua serving the rice bowls, hurried over to help with her eyelids twitching actively. After Shen Mianmian washed her hands, she sat directly at the dining table.

Seeing this, Zhou Lanfang started cursing again, "You're always the first to eat but can't be called upon to do any work. If you were only like Siyu, I could have some peace of mind."

"Haven't I only just stopped cooking and doing laundry these last few days?" Shen Mianmian was not planning to swallow her anger any longer, "Which of these chores haven't I done before?"

Zhou Lanfang poked Shen Mianmian's head with her chopsticks, "You're older, so what's wrong with doing a bit more? Look at Xiaocui next door; she's even younger than you by a year, stopped going to school after just two years, and herds cattle, washes clothes, cooks—doesn't she do everything? Does she ever talk back to her own mother like you do?"

"Well, if I'm the older one, then later I'll eat a bit more, and you can't say a word," Shen Mianmian deflected the issue, seizing on the key point in Zhou Lanfang's words.

"You wretched girl, have you learned to talk back now?"

Zhou Lanfang reached out to knock Shen Mianmian again, but this time she was prepared and dodged. Not hitting her mark made Zhou Lanfang even angrier.

Just as Zhou Lanfang was about to lay hands on her again, Shen Jianhua couldn't stand by any longer, "Enough already, can't you let someone eat in peace? You, as a mother, what's the point of arguing with a child?"

After all, she was the daughter he had raised for so many years, and Shen Mianmian usually didn't talk back, except when Zhou Lanfang frequently complained. In Shen Jianhua's eyes, his daughter was still very well-behaved.

The incident with Shen Mianmian seeking out the village chief last time made Shen Jianhua realize that Mianmian was now grown up and was a child with her own opinions.

Continuing to treat her like this would inevitably lead to resentment towards them.

Raising children was meant to prepare for old age, not to cultivate an enemy.

Shen Jianhua understood this principle, but Zhou Lanfang didn't understand! At the moment, she was grinding her teeth with anger but was afraid to really provoke Shen Jianhua. She could only temporarily hold back.

Because she was upset, she handled the chopsticks, bowls, and stools roughly. Shen Jianhua could see she was emotional but sighed without addressing it directly.

He was thinking that after the children went to school, he needed to have a serious talk with Zhou Lanfang. It couldn't go on like this.

But for now, he had something more important to say.

"Someone got hurt at the kiln factory, needs a few days to recover, and they've asked me to go back to work for a few days. I'm starting tomorrow and might not be back until the twenty-ninth or thirtieth. The weather is cold, so you two shouldn't run back and forth at noon. Just buy some food to eat at the school gate."

Working these ten-plus days paid better than before, enough to earn some New Year's money. He was used to hard work all his life and couldn't stay idle; having something to do made him feel secure.

"Why didn't you mention it earlier?" Zhou Lanfang's mood improved at the prospect of more money coming in.

"Didn't I just come back from outside? Didn't I have the chance to tell you yet?" Shen Jianhua felt that sharing such good news when the family was together would be more joyful.