Chapter 30: The Son-in-Law Commands Chun Ya in Front of Everyone?

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart.

Ma Yulian was still unaware that rumors about her were spreading rapidly. When she arrived at her parents’ home, she was immediately greeted with enthusiasm by her younger brother, Ma Weidong.

“Sis, what brings you here today? Did you talk to your husband about that thing I asked you before?”

Ma Weidong eagerly fetched a stool for Ma Yulian to sit on. He had a friend who ran a scrap recycling factory—someone with money. Not long ago, Ma Weidong had been bragging to this friend about his brother-in-law, who worked at the machinery plant. The friend became interested in the plant’s leftover materials and wanted Ma Weidong to open a channel, so his factory could exclusively collect the plant’s scrap!

Scrap from a machinery plant was iron and copper, far more valuable than regular junk. There was profit in it, and a chance for Ma Weidong to grease his own palms. The friend promised him a reward if he could pull it off.

Ma Weidong had mentioned it to Ma Yulian a few days ago, but she had been busy scheming with Chen Dazhu to manipulate Li Junsheng’s job and hadn’t gotten around to it. Now, since her brother brought it up again, Ma Yulian rolled her eyes and decided to go along.

“Li Junsheng is just an ordinary worker at the plant. This sort of matter has to be discussed with the higher-ups. But if you want the leaders to approve it, you have to show some sincerity, right?”

“I came today to ask for some cash, specifically to handle this matter for you!”

Ma Weidong nodded. He was over forty and understood the subtleties of human relationships. Besides, he trusted his sister not to cheat him.

“So, Sis, how much do you think this will take?”

Ma Yulian thought for a moment and said, “Start with three hundred yuan. Whether it works out or not, that’s another matter, but if it does, the benefits you get will far exceed this. Let’s try it first!”

Ma Weidong hadn’t expected that arranging such a deal would cost as much as three hundred yuan, especially with no guarantee of success. He fell silent for a moment.

Ma Yulian’s heart tightened, worried that he’d be too stingy to hand over the money. She was only asking for three hundred, which was already very little. She braced herself for rejection, but surprisingly, Ma Weidong agreed readily.

“Alright, three hundred it is. But Sis, you have to sound out your husband properly for me. If it turns out this is too hard to arrange, don’t spend the money yet.”

Ma Yulian nodded on the surface, but inwardly she scoffed at her brother’s foolishness. To entrust something like this to Li Junsheng, that useless man—what could he possibly accomplish? If he had any real ability, he would have already found a good job for the eldest son!

Ma Yulian had no idea that her brother’s good attitude toward her was entirely because Li Junsheng was a worker at the big factory. She had benefited from it herself, but failed to grasp the implications, and now was scheming to give Li Junsheng’s job to an outsider—utter folly!

“I’ll bring you the money,” Ma Weidong said, handing her the three hundred yuan.

Ma Yulian looked at the money, her face pained, unwilling to share any of it with her children. But things had reached this point; she had to solve the matter of tonight’s division of the family, or she wouldn’t be able to return home. She had to go back and see what Li Junsheng was planning.

At that moment, Li Junsheng was at home, cooking a lavish family meal himself. Wang Xiuhua was helping in the kitchen, complaining about Li Junsheng’s extravagance, as he had bought plenty of meat and fish.

Li Guojun paced the living room, anxiously awaiting how much money Ma Yulian would bring back.

Bang bang bang!

Someone knocked on the door. Li Guojun rushed to open it, only to find that it wasn’t his mother carrying a fortune, but Li Guohua and Ji Xiaocui, who had brought a few things, with little Wei in Ji Xiaocui’s arms.

“Big brother, where’s Dad?”

Li Guohua, the second son, spoke with cold indifference. Li Guojun replied that Dad was in the kitchen, internally grumbling about how the second brother’s family always tried to take advantage, coming for dinner and bringing their son along, afraid to miss out on a single bite.

The couple entered, greeted Li Junsheng in the kitchen, and Ji Xiaocui rolled up her sleeves to help, though Li Junsheng had almost finished preparing the dishes—just needed to place them on the table.

Then, the third child, Li Chunya, waddled in with her eight or nine-month pregnant belly, empty-handed. She greeted Li Junsheng with detached coldness.

“Dad.”

“Ah, Chunya, come sit down. Is Sun Gui with you?”

Li Junsheng stared at his eldest son-in-law Sun Gui, his expression tense, clearly unwelcome. Sun Gui and his mother were no good people: they favored sons over daughters. In the previous life, Chunya gave birth to three girls, and in the end, was bullied and driven to despair by Sun Gui and his mother.

His third daughter wasn’t very close to him now. When he was injured at the factory, she came to visit, brought some eggs and two pounds of meat, and was beaten by Sun Gui when she returned. Her mother-in-law didn’t stop it; instead, she helped Sun Gui beat Li Chunya.

Li Junsheng remembered how his daughter came home in distress, needing support, but Ma Yulian scolded her for not being clever enough, said she deserved the beating, and complained she hadn’t brought anything good. Ma Yulian wouldn’t let Li Junsheng stand up for his daughter, and so, at the time, he didn’t. Since then, his third daughter had grown distant.

Now, Sun Gui said to Li Junsheng, “Look at how you talk! Why shouldn’t I come? Chunya’s belly is so big—I have to take care of her.”

Li Junsheng snorted, not believing a word. Sun Gui was clearly acting on his mother’s orders, coming to keep an eye on Chunya to see if she’d bring anything back to her own family.

Li Junsheng knew well: if his daughter dared send anything home, she’d be beaten again. Sun Gui and his mother cared nothing for the fact that Chunya was carrying a child of their family.

Sun Gui, pretending to take care of Chunya, lounged on the sofa as soon as he entered, picked up an empty cup from the table, and handed it to her.

“Get me some water. Put in some tea leaves—I don’t like plain water.”

“Okay.”

Li Chunya, numb and resigned, went to make tea. She returned with her belly protruding, and Sun Gui only took a sip before spitting it all out.

Right in front of Li Junsheng, Sun Gui complained and criticized Chunya.

“How can you not even make tea properly? You put in too much tea—it’s so bitter. Make it again!”

The eldest son pretended not to notice, while Li Guohua’s face darkened in anger, wanting to stand up for his sister. But before he could say anything, Li Junsheng intervened.

This time, he would never let his daughter be driven to despair, never let her take her three granddaughters and march toward death.

Li Junsheng grabbed the cup from Sun Gui’s hand and poured the whole thing onto the floor.

Sun Gui was stunned, unable to believe that his usually timid father-in-law would do such a thing.

“Sun Gui, you’re the real useless one! Healthy and strong, yet you make Chunya serve you while she’s pregnant? Do you really think no one will stand up for her?”