Dan Jingqiu could feel the eyes lingering on her back. Without turning her head, she knew it came from none other than her pampered young sister-in-law.

But Dan Jingqiu was not the least bit intimidated by someone that only knew how to secretly glare at her back.

That day, she started the day by scaring Sun Jinhua into hiding. Then, she scared a bunch of children into giving her a round of applause.

She had squatted down and gently tried to explain to the children that she was just a little stronger than the average person, but when she saw a trembling Lin Xiong tentatively squeezing her shoulder muscles, Dan Jingqiu knew that words had failed her.

Okay, fine, so the children had decided that she had super strength.

Like any reasonable person, Dan Jingqiu took the opportunity to have a proper chat with Sun Jinhua while everyone else was away.

This was an era when doors were unreliable and devoid of any locking mechanism, so she was able to simply barge into Sun Jinhua’s house.

Seeing this jinx barge in, Sun Jinhua’s body trembled uncontrollably as she racked her brain for ideas to deal with this incoming calamity, but she was so scared that she even lost the strength to run. Her legs have buckled and won’t move! She contemplated screaming for help, but she was also worried about the humiliating consequences.

Sun Jinhua stuttered: “Ay… Daughter-in-law, you, what are you trying to do? Calm down!”

It’s not like Dan Jingqiu was able to tell that Sun Jinhua’s imagination was going on overdrive, so she curled her lips up and used what she thought was an endearing tone: “Ay, Mom, see I…” In order to foster a more intimate conversation, Dan Jingqiu narrowed their distances and placed a hand on Sun Jinhua’s shoulder as she spoke.

Seeing Dan Jingqiu’s hand on her shoulder reminded Sun Jinhua of the squashed firewood incident, causing her to instantly burst into tears: “You… What are you trying to do…”

Not knowing if she would live to see another day, Sun Jinhua desperately prayed for that useless husband of hers to hurry home and witness this spectacle.

Dan Jingqiu was dumbfounded as she watched. She hadn’t even done anything yet, and Sun Jinhua was already being dramatic.

Heaven knows she was only here to have a reasonable conversation. She would never lay a hand on women and children!

She almost had to hold up her fingers and swore to the heavens that she would not act violently towards Sun Jinhua before the old hag finally ceased her tears.

But Dan Jingqiu had underestimated Sun Jinhua’s ability to take advantage of the situation. After hearing her repeatedly promising that she won’t beat her up, Sun Jinhua immediately became haughty and pointed her index finger at Dan Jingqiu while hurling venomous insults.

“Who needs an unfilial daughter-in-law like you? How dare you raise your hand at me? Aren’t you afraid your ancestors might strike you down with lightning? You think you’re so great! I sacrificed so much for this family, and now you think you can just do whatever you want? Over my dead body!” In a fit of rage, Sun Jinhua spewed out all her pent-up anger stored up in the last few days.

The cold look in Dan Jingqiu’s eyes caused Sun Jinhua to swallow up her words once more. Trauma still exists, after all.

“Mom, weren’t you well aware of how Jianguo died? How can you do this to him?” Dan Jingqiu’s voice had an eerie undertone.

Sun Jinhua leaped to her feet as if someone had exposed her dirty secret: “What’re you saying? He was careless, so how was it my fault?!”

She could not wait for this incident to blow over. While she did feel somewhat guilty in the beginning, it was long buried along with the body. Jianguo’s death was not her responsibility. Had he not always been so cowardly, nothing would have happened, and it wouldn’t have created a series of incidents after.

Right, that was all there was to it. How does a person die just by going out and selling something? He had only himself to blame for being careless and cowardly.

Sun Jinhua added: “He died while he was outside, so how is this my fault? If you need someone to blame, blame yourself, and Jianguo for having bad luck!”

Dan Jingqiu was stunned by Sun Jinhua’s shamelessness. What type of person could remain this heartless after their son’s death?

Her voice became colder: “Jianguo would have remained fine if he were farming that day. Didn’t he die because you made him go out?”

Sun Jinhua was incensed: “I am his mother. I can make him do whatever I want. How is this any of your concern? You’re saying I can’t order my own son around?”

“Right. You’re his mother. You gave him life, so you’re saying that you are entitled to take it away just as easily, right?” Dan Jingqiu had a burning glare as she drove to the point.

Sun Jinhua angrily slammed the table and answered in a shrill voice: “Yes! I granted him his life, so I can do whatever I want with it!” With that, she intended to leave the room but was roughly held back by Dan Jingqiu.

Sun Jinhua was furious: “What more do you want?”

Dan Jingqiu: “I’m going to ask you very seriously. Are Jianguo, Jiandang, Taohua not your children? Are Lin Xiong, Lin Qing, Ling Yu, not your grandchildren? You abuse and humiliate them on a daily basis. Do you even have a heart?”

Dan Jingqiu simply could not understand what this woman was thinking after observing things for the last few days. Lin Yaoxi had remained peaceful, not because Sun Jinhua asked him to, but because he was truly remorseful towards his eldest daughter-in-law, but his wife did not change a bit from this incident.

“Why should I treat them well? They’re not destined to have comfortable lives!” Sun Jinhua felt her daughter-in-law’s questions were the ignorant prattle of a simpleton who did not understand how the world works. She internally vowed that once her youngest son and daughter became successful, she would definitely not let this go.

Dan Jingqiu was amused by the irony of Sun Jinhua’s words: “Mom, why did you think you can afford not to farm, why Jianjun can afford to go to school in the city, why Xinghua has the luxury of doing nothing? Did you think Dad was the only one farming and feeding this family?”

She continued to drill in her point: “It was all thanks to our family and Jiandang’s family! We tilled the fields daily so that you’re able to provide for your two idle children!”

It was one thing to complain, but when the criticism was targeted on her precious twins, Sun Jinhua could no longer hold back her tongue: “Shut up! What gave you the right to talk about your younger brother and sister-in-law? They were meant for greatness! How dare you speak ill about them? You don’t deserve to savor their prosperity!”

She truly did feel this way. After all, if her Jiandang and Xinghua weren’t born, how could they have attained their present lifestyles? The two of them were destined to be successful!

Faced with her pig-headedness, Dan Jingqiu realized that reasoning with this person was futile.

This was Sun Jinhua’s stubborn belief. She had decided that only Jiandang and Xinghua had promising futures and completely overlooked the sacrifices made by her other children.

There was no convincing her.

Dan Jingqiu held out her hand and continued talking to the frustrated Sun Jinhua: “Mom, you and I both know why Jianguo died so suddenly. Give me the things he was carrying. Also, I know you went and demanded money from the smuggler who was with Jianguo. Give that to me too.”

Sun Jinhua was about to explode from anger: “Dream on. Get out of our house! Go ahead! Go report us! I’m not afraid of you!”

Dan Jingqiu was very calm as she gently guided the old woman towards the edge of the bed and sat her down. Obviously, Sun Jinhua was not about to go along quietly, but she was firmly held down by sheer force.

Now that there’s an attentive audience, it is time for a performance.

Dan Jingqiu had been eyeing a wooden cabinet that sat in the corner of Sun Jinhua’s house and was being used to store random junk. It was so worn out that even its doors had fallen to the side.

She casually walked over and brought over a cabinet door. Sun Jinhua did not react and watched suspiciously as Dan Jingqiu began pacing in front of her. Then, Dan Jingqiu flashed her a wicked smile, raised the wooden door, and gave it a squeeze, immediately cracking it apart, “Mom, what were you saying?”

“I’ve been in a bad mood lately, probably because of what had happened to Jianguo, and I needed to vent my feelings a little. Luckily, we have this broken cabinet door.” Having said that, she exerted more force into the remaining material in her hand, crushing it into powder.

Sun Jinhua was so scared that she collapsed further into the bed and shook. She cherished her own life above all else, and since she intended to enjoy a blessed life while riding on Jiandang and Xinghua’s coattails, she’s not losing it here!

“You, what are you doing…” Her mind went completely blank.

Dan Jingqiu smiled: “Mom, I want the stuff that Jianguo brought back, along with his money.”

Sun Jinhua hastily rolled over, crawled under the bed to retrieve a locked chest, and then shakily pulled out the gathering basket. As she was too afraid to look at Dan Jingqiu, she threw the gathering basket at her feet: “It’s all here…I’ve asked for the money. I-I’ll give it to you in a few days.”

There’s even a bit of dried blood left on it, leaving Dan Jingqiu lost in her thoughts.

Would Lin Jianguo regret sacrificing so much for his mother, only to die so meaninglessly?

A glance at the contents in the gathering basket matched up with the rough contents in the original host’s memory, so she slung it over her shoulder and left with some choice words.

“Mom, in the future, I will manage everything in this household. Inform me of the household income. You are welcome to keep a bit of money for yourself, but you must let me know.”

The moment she felt her authority was severely usurped, the cowering Sun Jinhua overcame her fear and screeched: “Just kill me then! Kill me if you have the guts! I’m not afraid of you!”

Dan Jingqiu replied serenely: “Mom, why would I ever kill you?” With a single hand, she made a chopping motion against the thick wooden chair next to Sun Jinhua’s bed, making a clean split down the middle, “Even if I wanted to cause trouble, I would never upset you, Mom. But I can’t guarantee the same for Jiandang and Xinghua, right?”

“I have a bad temper, so please try and be more understanding. I’ll leave you to handle Dad’s side.” With those parting words, she turned and walked away without batting an eyelid.

Sun Jinhua buried herself under the covers and wallowed herself in fitful cries. The devil has finally left. She’s so mad, but there was nothing she could do! And she knew Dan Jingqiu was really capable of doing everything she said! This woman is too evil!

But no matter how upset she was, she was unable to come up with a countermeasure.

What’s left is resignation.

As Dan Jingqiu swiftly exited without turning back, she left Sun Jinhua the impression of her confident gait.

The moment she stepped out of the door, she quickly gripped her right arm with her left hand.

Ouch…

Although it was not serious enough to be considered an injury, it was still a little painful. Luckily, Sun Jinhua didn’t find out.

At least, now, Dan Jingqiu understood. In this family, Sun Jinhua cannot be treated nicely and needed to be controlled forcefully. This person was too unreasonable and would take advantage of the slightest sign of kindness or weakness, so she must be contained by employing more ruthless methods!

From this day onwards, outsiders would realize that the Lin family had undergone drastic changes.