Chapter 7: The Boss’s Wife: How Peculiar!

"Let's go home, Old Li. Don't let people gather at the door to watch the spectacle." Ma Yulian no longer paid any attention to Li Guojun. She turned to take Li Junsheng's arm, wanting to go home with him first and ask him privately about transferring the work certificate. Otherwise, with Li Guojun present, she couldn't bring it up openly.

Of course, Li Junsheng saw right through her intentions. Her mere touch made his skin crawl with disgust. He dodged her hand entirely and strode into the house.

Li Junsheng would never forget! This woman, Ma Yulian, had always harbored feelings for Chen Dazhu. The moment Chen Dazhu got divorced, she immediately betrayed him, secretly carrying on an affair! If she weren't already older, she might well have borne Chen Dazhu a child!

But Ma Yulian had no inkling of Li Junsheng's loathing for her; she simply followed him into the house.

The neighbors dispersed, leaving only Li Guojun and his wife standing at their doorstep. Li Guojun was thoroughly perplexed and couldn't help but whisper to his wife, Wang Xiuhua, "Is the sun rising in the west today? What's gotten into Dad and Mom?"

"Who knows..." Wang Xiuhua peered into the house. She saw her father-in-law stride in and plop himself down on the bench, sprawling out as if he were the master of the house. Usually, when he came home, he'd either start cooking or busy himself with chores. Never would he sit like a lord, expecting to be waited on.

Even more peculiar was that her mother-in-law didn't lash out at him or order him into the kitchen. Instead, she thoughtfully poured him a glass of water. Her father-in-law, always so henpecked and submissive, was suddenly acting as if he had grown a backbone. It was truly baffling!

Wang Xiuhua folded her arms and joked with Li Guojun, "Could it be your mother put a green hat on your father? Is that why she's so easygoing today?"

Li Guojun frowned deeply and glared at his wife. "What kind of nonsense is that? My mother would never do such a thing!"

"Why are you so worked up? I was only joking! But honestly, unless your mom did something wrong and is feeling guilty, why else would she be so agreeable today? You tell me!" Wang Xiuhua grumbled, pinching Li Guojun's arm hard before turning and heading inside.

Li Guojun stood silent for a long moment before finally following her in and closing the door behind him.

"Dad, what's for dinner tonight? Why are you just sitting there? Aren't you going to cook?" Li Guojun, like an overgrown child, simply waited when Li Junsheng didn't cook, never lifting a finger to make dinner himself.

Li Junsheng glanced up at his eldest son with a look of utter disappointment. "You laze around at home all day and still expect me to come back and cook for you?"

Li Guojun, stung, hesitated as if he wanted to say something but swallowed the words. At last he muttered, "But you always cook, Dad. I could do it... but you never like what I make."

Shameless! Where had he learned such behavior? Every time he was asked to cook, he either dumped in too much salt or burned the food. If he was told to wash dishes, he’d break a couple on purpose just to avoid the task.

But today, Li Junsheng had had enough. "From now on, if you want to eat, cook for yourself. I won't indulge your bad habits any longer."

Then he turned to Ma Yulian and issued his orders. "Didn't we still have two pounds of pork at home? Cook that into some dishes, and fetch the liquor I've been saving. I'll have a couple of drinks tonight."

At these words, Li Guojun and his wife stared in utter shock, jaws dropping so wide you could fit a lightbulb in their mouths. Did they hear that right? Their father had actually asked their mother to cook for him, to serve up meat, and bring out the wine? Was the world coming to an end?

Li Guojun instinctively looked at Ma Yulian, expecting her to explode and lash out at his father. Since childhood, all the housework had been his father's responsibility. Whenever his father was too tired and asked for help, his mother would fly into a rage, beating and berating him. It was such a common occurrence that Li Guojun no longer thought anything of it.

But today, to his astonishment, Ma Yulian meekly agreed and did exactly as her submissive husband said! In the kitchen, she even stuck her head out and offered, "Old Li, there's still some peanuts left. I'll cook them with spices for you to snack on with your drink."

She was adding an extra dish just for Li Junsheng!

Li Guojun and Wang Xiuhua exchanged glances, both looking as if struck by lightning.

Wang Xiuhua even pinched Li Guojun, just to check if they weren't dreaming.

With two meat dishes and a plate of peanuts, Li Junsheng raised his glass and drank deeply. Looking back on his life, what kind of days had he been living? Up at dawn, returning home late, waiting hand and foot on his eldest son’s family and Ma Yulian. Every time he brought out the food from the kitchen, all that was left for him were cold leftovers, the scraps no one else wanted. The meat in the dishes was always picked out—he got only the vegetables. Worse than a pig or a dog!

But now, things were different. With half a bottle of wine, Li Junsheng savored the present moment. In this life, he would no longer care about that unfilial son or that woman, Ma Yulian.

When he was full and content, he left his bowl and chopsticks on the table and went straight back to his room to sleep.

"What's wrong with Dad today? He didn’t even wash the dishes after eating." Li Guojun grumbled to Ma Yulian, who looked as if she had swallowed a live fly. Still, she was biding her time, thinking of getting Li Junsheng to handle the certificate transfer, so she held back her annoyance and didn't call him out to clean up.

She shot a glance at Wang Xiuhua and said irritably, "You always eat the slowest. Tonight, you clean up the dishes and make sure the kitchen is spotless!"

Wang Xiuhua, sulking, kicked Li Guojun under the table. But Li Guojun acted as if nothing was amiss and offered her no support at all. Left with no choice, Wang Xiuhua gathered up the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash them, banging and clattering the whole time—a clear sign of someone unused to doing chores and deeply unhappy about it.

Already fuming, Ma Yulian saw Wang Xiuhua’s attitude and let her have it. "Who are you making faces at? If you don't want to stay, go back to your parents' house!"

Wang Xiuhua, however, wouldn’t risk falling out with the eldest son. Even if Li Guojun was useless, his father had a good job and did all the housework, letting her enjoy a life of leisure.

Meanwhile, Li Guojun pulled Ma Yulian aside and pressed her, "Mom, what’s gotten into you today? Why didn’t you make Dad hand over his stash of private money? He must have some hidden away!"