Chapter 5 - 5 5 Pei Yang is nothing but a curse; whoever marries him will end up a widow!

Chapter 5: Chapter 5 Pei Yang is nothing but a curse; whoever marries him will end up a widow!

Chapter 5: Chapter 5 Pei Yang is nothing but a curse; whoever marries him will end up a widow!

This bad woman, he knew she didn’t have good intentions giving him something to eat, he was just four years old, he couldn’t even wring out a towel, how could he possibly wash bedsheets and duvet covers.

Pei Ziheng glared at Shen Mingzhu with hatred.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t think much, and directly picked up the medicine and water from the cabinet.

“Get up and take your medicine.”

“Hurry up!”

Seeing that Pei Ziheng was still lying motionless in bed, his dark round eyes staring at her, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but tease him.

“If you don’t take your medicine, your illness will get worse, and you might even die one day, if you die, I’ll just have a new brother or sister with your dad, and he’ll soon forget about you, his son.”

Perhaps frightened by her words, Pei Ziheng slowly crawled out of bed, took the medicine from her hand, put it in his mouth, then took the water cup, and gulped down the medicine with a guzzling sound.

A four-year-old child, with a face plump and pink like a peeling egg, skin soft and tender, eyelashes black and long, like two small brushes, and eyes black and big, as bright as washed black grapes.

Anyone faced with such an adorable and pretty young cub would overflow with maternal love.

Shen Mingzhu was no exception, wishing she could hold him tightly in her arms and cuddle him fiercely.

But she resisted, kept a stern face, and continued, “Before bed, you need to wash your face and brush your teeth.

I’ll go boil some water for you, you can carry out the water cup yourself.”

Having said that, Shen Mingzhu took the leftover meatballs and porridge bowls out.

Staring at her retreating figure, confusion filled Pei Ziheng’s pitch-black eyes.

This malicious woman seemed a bit different from last life.

Last life, when he was sick like today, she didn’t cook porridge for him, nor did she make sweet and sour meatballs.

Instead, she went out to buy cold noodles and pig’s trotters marinated in soy sauce.

He was sick and couldn’t eat the cold, greasy food.

She didn’t care about him, let him go hungry, and even forgot to give him his medicine, which caused his condition to worsen and develop into pneumonia.

He was finally taken to the hospital by his aunt, Pei Wenping, where his life was barely saved.

Because of this incident, Pei Wenping scolded her a few times, and the malicious woman, unhappy in her heart, deliberately starved him every few days, causing him to suffer from malnutrition and frequently faint.

In reality, even if she didn’t bring the medicine in, he would have gone out to take it himself.

Yet, she took the initiative to pick up the medicine and remind him to take it.

Whether it was an act or she had other plans, he was determined to drive her out of this family!

Suppressing the hatred in his heart, Pei Ziheng tossed the water cup onto the floor.

As soon as the cup hit the floor, a flurry of hurried footsteps came from the living room, and the malicious woman charged into the room with a fierce presence.

Pei Ziheng shut his eyes, ready to take a beating.

However—

The hand that landed on his face was very gentle, like grandma’s caress, “My little ancestor, what are you up to now?”

Pei Ziheng slowly opened his eyes and saw the woman half-kneeling in front of the bed, her beautiful eyes filled with concern.

Why isn’t she hitting him?

As soon as she hit him, he would immediately call his aunt to tell on her, and his aunt would phone his dad, and then his dad would come home to see him.

He could try to make his dad stay, so his dad wouldn’t die.

Seeing that Pei Ziheng remained silent and unresponsive, Shen Mingzhu didn’t think too much about it, focusing instead on the broken glass on the floor and reflecting regretfully.

It was her lack of consideration; such a small child couldn’t hold a cup steadily.

She should have given him a ceramic cup, which wouldn’t break even if dropped.

Worried he might get cut by the broken glass, Shen Mingzhu swept the floor of the second bedroom inside and out twice, then mopped it once more, not stopping until the floor was impeccably clean and reflective.

Pei Ziheng just sat on the bed, blankly watching her clean.

After she finished cleaning, she brought in water again, wiped his face and hands with a towel, and told him softly and gently that, considering his sickness, he wouldn’t have to brush his teeth tonight, but he had to brush his teeth before bed tomorrow night.

Lying in bed, Pei Ziheng felt as if he were dreaming, but as sleepiness overwhelmed him, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Seeing Pei Ziheng quickly falling asleep, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t resist the urge to pinch his face.

Having looked after him all night, taking a little interest didn’t seem excessive, right?

After a few more pinches, the delicate and smooth sensation felt simply satisfying.

——

Seeing Qin Jinlian returning to the village, beaming and quick of foot after visiting outside, the villagers all teased her with a smile, saying her spirit was high because of the good news.

Qin Jinlian was not modest about it either, smiling and inviting everyone to come to her house for a celebratory drink in a little while.

She had just come back from the Yang Family, having settled the marriage of their second son, Shen Xiangnan, and of course, she was overjoyed.

Passing by the front of Shen Baolan’s house, she saw Liu Cuihua feeding chickens in the courtyard, Qin Jinlian’s lips curved into a smile, and she turned to walk in.

“Yo, Cuihua, feeding the chickens?”

Liu Cuihua turned back, seeing her with a lukewarm response, “What are you rushing around for, all hustle and bustle?”

Qin Jinlian had been waiting for her to ask; she immediately started talking about Shen Xiangnan’s upcoming marriage, speaking excitedly and spitting as she went, not caring whether Liu Cuihua wanted to listen or not.

Qin Jinlian came not just to boast about the second son’s nearing nuptials.

“Cuihua, I came today especially to thank you.

If it weren’t for your family’s Baolan generously giving up such a good son-in-law like Pei Yang to my Mingzhu, the marriage of our Xiangnan would not have been so smoothly arranged.”

Shen Xiangnan was already 24 this year, which in the countryside made him an older unmarried man.

If he turned 25 and was still unmarried, he’d be called an old bachelor.

Qin Jinlian had been really worried about the second son’s marriage; the thing was, the son just wasn’t up to scratch.

He had seen quite a few prospective partners, either they looked down on him or they scorned the Shen Family for being poor.

But having a son-in-law like Pei Yang made things different.

Pei Yang was a city dweller, with an iron rice bowl job, a good position too; marrying into such a promising family raised the status of Shen Mingzhu’s family in Shenjiagou by a great deal.

No wonder the Yang Family, hearing that Shen Mingzhu had officially tied the knot with Pei Yang, immediately softened their stance on their daughter’s marriage to Shen Xiangnan, didn’t ask for much in terms of a dowry, the only condition being they wanted Pei Yang to find a job for the younger son of the Yang Family.

Liu Cuihua had been worried about her daughter’s marriage these past two days.

Zhou Shuhuan wasn’t a bad match, but by comparison with Pei Yang, he was lacking quite a bit.

Yet the daughter, crazed, insisted on marrying Zhou Shuhuan, infuriating Liu Cuihua so much she refused to visit the Zhou family for the matchmaking, sending the child’s father and the matchmaker instead.

Of course, Qin Jinlian would have to touch on the very subject that upset Liu Cuihua; how could Liu Cuihua show her a pleasant face?

“You finally snagged a golden son-in-law; you better hold onto him tightly, don’t lose him for someone else to find!”

Having ridiculed Qin Jinlian with a few tart words, Liu Cuihua twisted her waist and entered the main house, “bang” slamming the door shut.

Qin Jinlian covered her mouth and laughed softly, walking away feeling very pleased with herself.

The second son’s wedding was scheduled for next month; she would be busy indeed.

Just after Qin Jinlian left, Shen Baolan returned home.

She had gone to the town early that morning to buy dowry goods for the wedding, only to come home to find Liu Cuihua sitting under the eaves, wiping away tears.

“Mom, why are you crying?

Can’t bear to see me get married?”

Liu Cuihua gave her a sidelong glance, “Ghost would miss you!

I can’t wait for you to be out of sight, out of mind!”

Scolded for no reason, Shen Baolan’s good mood was spoiled, “Take it out on whoever upset you, why take it out on me.”

Once her daughter talked back, Liu Cuihua was overcome with misery and burst into tears with a “waah.”

“It’s all because of you, you wretched girl; turning down a good match and insisting on picking a dud.

Otherwise, would people be knocking on my door to ridicule me?”

“Who’s ridiculing you?”

“Who else but Mingzhu’s mother!”

Shen Baolan immediately snorted in disdain.

She had the leisure to ridicule her; she’d wait and see how Shen Mingzhu’s family would end up crying later.

“Mom, don’t be angry.

Just wait and see, they’ll have their day of regret.”

She had heard her daughter repeat similar words many times over the past few days, so today Liu Cuihua simply asked for clarity.

“Baolan, tell your mother the truth, why are you so insistent on choosing Zhou Shuhuan?

In what way is he better than Pei Yang?”

Shen Baolan, sick of the question, blurted out, “That Pei Yang is nothing but a short-lived ghost; whoever marries over there is going to end up a widow!”