Chapter 312: Chapter 312: If There’s a Problem, Just Go Crazy

After Lu Tingting left the room, she was about to slam the door shut but stopped when she thought of Jiang Moli inside.

She’d heard that pregnant women shouldn’t be startled, or they might have a miscarriage.

With that thought, her movements softened, and she gently pulled the door closed.

’Hmph! If it weren’t for my own cousin, I couldn’t be bothered to care about you!’

After shaking her fist and pulling a face at the door, she turned and went to the bathroom.

...

In the bathroom, Lu Deyao was wringing out a hot towel to wash Zhu Huanghua’s face.

Lu Tingting walked in. "Grandpa, let me."

"It’s fine, Tingting. You go on and do your thing."

"Mom sent me. Otherwise, she’d start nagging me about it again."

As she spoke, Lu Tingting took the towel from Lu Deyao’s hands and began to wash Zhu Huanghua’s face.

She mimicked the way her grandparents used to wash her face when she was a child. She cupped Zhu Huanghua’s chin in one palm and, with the towel spread out in her other hand, carefully cleaned the corners of the old woman’s eyes. Next, she washed around her mouth. After that, she flipped the towel over and washed her entire face.

Watching her, Lu Deyao couldn’t help but feel a sense of gratification.

’His eldest granddaughter has really grown up. She’s so sensible now, and she knows how to be filial to her elders.’

"Ow! Gently, you wretched girl! You’re going to rub my skin raw..." Zhu Huanghua grumbled.

Lu Tingting shot back sarcastically, "How painful can it be? Is it more painful than when you used to slap me as a child?"

Zhu Huanghua froze, having clearly long forgotten the incident.

But Lu Tingting didn’t care. Her words came out like machine-gun fire as she started dredging up the past.

"...When I was little, you looked down on me and resented me for not being one of your precious grandsons. All the candy and meat in the house went to my male cousins. You even snatched my toys to give to them. But look at you now! You’re old, and you still have to rely on me to take care of you! If you’re so capable, then go find those precious cousins of mine to wait on you!"

Unable to stand being publicly humiliated by a junior, Zhu Huanghua flew into a rage. "Get out! Who needs you to take care of me, you think I care?!"

Lu Tingting tossed the towel into the basin, splashing water all over Zhu Huanghua’s face.

"Fine! Wash yourself, then! If it weren’t for being bound by filial duty, who would ever want to take care of a mean and vicious old hag like you?"

"You... you little beast! Are you trying to rebel?"

Zhu Huanghua pointed a trembling finger at her, her lips quivering with rage.

"When I was a child, you used your status as an elder to bully us. But now you’re just a bag of old bones who relies on us for your every need. If you make life miserable for us, don’t expect to have an easy life yourself!"

In that moment, more than a decade of pent-up grievances and resentment in Lu Tingting’s heart was finally unleashed.

She also suddenly understood the reasoning behind all of Jiang Moli’s seemingly obnoxious behavior.

’When there’s a problem, just losing your shit feels so damn good!’

Zhu Huanghua was so angry she nearly fainted.

’Her grandson’s wife was a vicious, wicked thing, and now even her great-granddaughter was using her sharp tongue to provoke her.’

’She never should have let that bitch, the Sixth’s wife, marry into the family!’

Zhu Huanghua took all the anger she felt from Jiang Moli and Lu Tingting and directed it at An Hui, certain that An Hui had put them up to it just to make her miserable.

"Sixth, you worthless son! I raised you for nothing! Are you just going to stand there and watch them bully me?"

"Tingting, how can you speak to your great-grandmother like that? Have some respect."

Lu Deyao put on a show of scolding Lu Tingting before turning back to Zhu Huanghua.

"Mom, Tingting is young and doesn’t know any better. Don’t hold it against her. It’s getting late, let’s finish washing up and get some sleep, all right?"

Naturally, Zhu Huanghua wasn’t having any of it.

’Her daughter-in-law, granddaughter-in-law, and great-granddaughter... none of those wretches respected her. Even her own son wouldn’t take her side. What good days could she possibly have to look forward to?’

She threw a tantrum, demanding that Lu Deyao call his brothers.

She wasn’t staying here any longer. She wanted to go back to Fucheng!

Lu Deyao humored her, calling each of his older brothers right in front of her.

First, he called the eldest, Lu Deping.

When the call connected, he spoke a few words to Lu Deping before holding the receiver to Zhu Huanghua’s ear.

Zhu Huanghua yelled into the phone, "Eldest! Come and get me, quickly! I can’t live here anymore! I want to go back! I want to live with you!"

"Mom, Xiao Wei and his family still haven’t found a place to move out to. We don’t have room for you if you come back. Just stay put at Sixth’s place for now. Xiulan and I will come visit you when we have time."

And with that, he hung up.

The drone of the dial tone was loud enough for everyone in the living room to hear.

But Zhu Huanghua didn’t notice and kept screaming into the receiver, "Eldest, you worthless son! You won’t listen to your mother anymore, either..."

"Mom, Mom! Stop shouting, he already hung up."

Lu Deyao took the receiver back.

Still fuming, Zhu Huanghua made him call the third brother, Lu Defa.

Lu Defa, Lu Deqiang, and Lu Dehong all made excuses about being too busy at home. Not a single one of them was willing to take Zhu Huanghua in.

Zhu Huanghua was old, but she wasn’t senile.

She knew her sons were shunning their own mother, and she was so furious she started crying.

"Old man, are you watching? Look at these heartless beasts! None of them want to care for me anymore! What’s the point of me going on living...?"

Watching Zhu Huanghua cry, Lu Deyao felt a pang in his heart.

She was his mother, after all. As her son, he truly wanted her to have a peaceful and comfortable old age.

"Mom, it’s late. Let’s wash up and go to sleep. I’ll even buy you steamed buns for breakfast tomorrow, okay?"

Perhaps realizing that Lu Deyao was the only son she could rely on now, Zhu Huanghua didn’t dare act up anymore. She quietly washed her feet and went to bed.

Not long after Zhu Huanghua was settled, Zeng Xiulan called back.

An Hui answered the phone and was immediately hit with a barrage of accusations.

"Listen here, Hui. We all agreed that each family would care for Mom for three months. That was a suggestion from that daughter-in-law on your side, wasn’t it? It’s only been a few days, and you’re already trying to send Mom back. Have you and your husband no shame?"

Jiang Moli had forced her to have her youngest son’s family move out, even calling him a good-for-nothing. Zeng Xiulan had been holding a grudge ever since.

Now that she had some leverage, she wasn’t about to miss the chance to vent.

"Eldest Sister-in-Law, if I were as shameless as you, Mom wouldn’t be staying at my house right now!"

An Hui was not one to back down, and the two started arguing through the phone.

Hearing them quarrel, Lu Tingting immediately ran back to the bedroom to give Jiang Moli a report.

"Ha! If Mom were so comfortable there, would she be crying for us to come get her? Let me tell you, An Hui..."

Jiang Moli came out of the room just in time to hear Zeng Xiulan’s belligerent shouting.

The phone receivers from that era had terrible sound isolation; her voice was almost as loud as if she were on speakerphone.

She took the receiver. "Eldest Aunt, if you have something to say, say it to me."

Hearing a new voice, Zeng Xiulan faltered for a moment. "I have nothing to say to you!"

Jiang Moli’s voice was all smiles. "Well, I have a few things to chat about with you, Eldest Aunt. Say, have Third Cousin and his family found a house and moved out yet? If not, they’d better hurry. The other cousins are all watching, you know. If worst comes to worst, you and Eldest Uncle should lend a hand. We can’t let Third Cousin be stuck with the ’good-for-nothing’ label forever, can we...?"

DIAL TONE...

"Oh? She hung up. I wasn’t even finished."

Jiang Moli put down the phone and turned to An Hui. "Eldest Aunt is probably busy helping Third Cousin find a house. She treasures him the most, after all. We’re family, so we should share in her anxieties. Whenever you have a free moment, you should call and check on the progress of his house hunt."

An Hui looked at her, her bad mood completely gone.

Although Zeng Xiulan hadn’t mentioned it, An Hui could tell she was at her wit’s end over her youngest son’s family having to move out.

Jiang Moli’s suggestion to "call and check in" was a classic case of touching a sore spot—a deliberate attempt to get under Zeng Xiulan’s skin.

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