Chapter 12: The Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law Showdown! Li Guojun Tears Up the Certificate in Fury...

When Chen Dazhu and his son saw the proof that Li Junsheng pulled out of his pocket, their faces lit up with joy.

“Oh, Old Li, I can’t thank you enough! Don’t worry, when Zhiyuan finds a wife, you’ll be our guest of honor—there’ll be good wine waiting for you at the wedding feast!”

Chen Dazhu, seeing everything settled, still made sure to say a few flattering words. Li Junsheng, however, only sneered inwardly and didn’t bother to respond.

With the job secured, Chen Zhiyuan was suddenly full of arrogance. He lifted his chin and said condescendingly to Li Guojun, “Uncle Li’s already handled the paperwork; that’s the end of it. There’s no point in making a fuss, Guojun.”

Chen Zhiyuan thought, if Li Guojun would just beg him, perhaps someday, when he got promoted at the factory and left his position, he could even let Li Guojun have the job—if only he knew how to curry favor.

Seeing Chen Zhiyuan’s smug face, Li Guojun wished he could tear him apart.

Chen Dazhu, ever cautious, wanted to check the document for himself to make sure there were no issues.

“Old Li, now that the paperwork’s done, just hand it over to me. My son and I won’t trouble your family any longer.”

Shameless as ever, Chen Dazhu just wanted to take the proof and leave, regardless of the chaos in Li Junsheng’s home. But before he could get his hands on it, Li Guojun snatched the document away.

He examined it closely, and when he confirmed it was genuine, disbelief washed over his face. His hands shook as he clutched the paper.

His foolish mother had actually agreed to give the job to Chen Zhiyuan.

The document was valid!

He had always thought he was his mother’s favorite among her children, but now he realized it wasn’t so after all.

“Yulian, look at what Guojun is doing…”

Chen Dazhu shot Ma Yulian a displeased look. The proof was in his grasp, only to be taken by Li Guojun. Couldn’t Ma Yulian control her eldest son?

Ma Yulian had endured humiliation and hardship to get this document, and now, she was terrified her eldest would destroy it in a fit of anger. If that happened, Guojun would never let Li Junsheng handle the paperwork again.

With this thought, Ma Yulian grew even more anxious and rushed to wrest the document from Li Guojun’s hands.

“Guojun, give the proof to me, please. What’s done is done—don’t ruin it.”

“Listen to your mother. I know you’re a capable man. Even without the factory job, you’ll still have a good life in the future!”

Li Junsheng nearly laughed at this—Ma Yulian would say anything to please Chen Dazhu and his son. Her blatant favoritism was so obvious that he was sure his eldest son wouldn’t buy it.

Li Guojun, overcome with rage, wouldn’t listen. He thrust Ma Yulian away, making her stumble back a few steps. She barely kept her footing, but still tried to get the proof back.

Seeing this, Wang Xiuhua rushed to stand in front of Li Guojun, blocking Ma Yulian from snatching the document. She was furious, too, feeling that her mother-in-law cared more for outsiders than her own children.

Without any politeness, she began to shout at Ma Yulian: “You’ve lost your mind, Ma! All for some so-called debt of gratitude, you went behind our backs and gave Dad’s job to Chen Zhiyuan?”

“Shame on you! If you’re so desperate to repay Chen Dazhu, why didn’t you marry him? Using our family’s livelihood to pay your debt—what a disgrace!”

“I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you! If Dad wasn’t such a good man, he’d have broken your legs and thrown you out of the house by now!”

Well now!

Li Junsheng hadn’t expected his eldest daughter-in-law to speak so justly on his behalf. She wasn’t wrong—Ma Yulian truly was shameless.

Ma Yulian had never been scolded to her face like this, especially by her own daughter-in-law. Her face darkened with rage, her sharp features contorting as she grappled with Wang Xiuhua.

“And who do you think you are? In this house, it’s not your place to point fingers at me!”

“Don’t think I won’t send you packing with a single word. Watch your mouth, or I’ll tear it apart!”

“Oh, you’ve got the nerve to do such disgraceful things and you’re afraid I’ll speak up? Today, I want everyone to judge you—let’s see what you’ve done!”

Wang Xiuhua’s voice rose to a wail.

“Oh heavens, help! My mother-in-law is going to kill me! Come see for yourselves, everyone—it’s this woman, bullying my honest father-in-law, taking his factory job and giving it to an outsider!”

Wang Xiuhua was known for her loud voice. Now, with her cries, the neighbors all gathered at the door to watch the commotion.

Chen Dazhu, embarrassed, hurriedly shut Li Junsheng’s door. But in these cramped apartment buildings, the thin walls did little to muffle the sound. The neighbors could hear Wang Xiuhua’s cries clearly and soon pieced together the truth.

“Good heavens, how could Li’s wife do that? Such a good job, and she gives it to an outsider instead of her own son.”

“I always wondered why Old Li would just quit. Turns out Ma Yulian forced him!”

“What a sin! Old Li’s such a good man, and this is the wife he’s stuck with.”

The neighbors’ whispers drifted into the room, reaching the ears of Li Junsheng and the others.

Li Junsheng felt a surge of satisfaction. He hadn’t expected his eldest daughter-in-law to raise such a ruckus—she was every bit a match for Ma Yulian. With the neighbors as witnesses, Ma Yulian would be the subject of gossip and scorn for a long time to come. As for Chen Dazhu and Chen Zhiyuan, they too would earn nothing but disdain.

But a tussle between his wife and daughter-in-law was no solution. Li Junsheng turned to his eldest son and said, “Guojun, what are you standing there for? Separate your mother and your wife—this fighting can’t go on.”

By now, Wang Xiuhua’s face was covered in scratches, Ma Yulian’s hair was a wild mess with a small tuft on the floor—a truly sorry sight.

Li Guojun, finally shaken out of his disbelief by his father’s words, was filled with anger at Ma Yulian, especially seeing how she had attacked his wife.

He pulled Wang Xiuhua aside and then, glaring at Ma Yulian and the Chen father and son, declared, “Mother, Chen Dazhu, let me make this clear: I absolutely do not agree with Dad giving his job to Chen Zhiyuan!”

“I don’t care what you say—no matter what proof you’ve obtained, that job is not going to an outsider. Don’t think that just because you have the paperwork, it’s settled!”

With that, Li Guojun tore the document to shreds, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it with all his might.