Li Zhaodi pulled Little Bei over and cupped her little face hatefully.
“You don’t have to smile if you don’t want to. It’s not like I can do anything to you. Why are you trying to please me?”
Little Bei was stunned.
Li Zhaodi spoke fiercely, but Little Bei didn’t feel any malice at all. In fact, for some reason, she even felt closer to her.
She blinked and obeyed, no longer smiling. “Are… Are you here to take Mommy away?” she asked carefully.
Li Zhaodi snapped, “No!”
If only she could take her away.
She looked up at the sky. She didn’t know what she had done in her previous lifetime to deserve to go through all this.
Seeing that Little Bei had heaved a sigh of relief and laughed out loud, holding back her laughter after casting another glance at Li Zhaodi, she said in a disgruntled tone, “If you want to laugh, then laugh. I’m just telling you not to laugh when you don’t want to. Your mother is so protective of you because she wants you to laugh whenever you want. If you don’t want to laugh, then don’t laugh. You don’t have to please anyone or tiptoe around anybody.
“Remember, don’t be afraid of anyone in the future. If anyone dares to bully you, look for Mommy or me. Don’t be afraid.”
Little Bei nodded. “Alright, I’ll also pass the message on to my brothers.”
Li Zhaodi nodded in satisfaction. She waited for a while longer, but when she did not hear anything, she couldn’t resist saying, “Aren’t you already calling Jingzhe ‘Mom’? Why don’t you greet me as ‘Grandma’?”
Hadn’t Jingzhe said that the children were smart? Judging by this, it didn’t seem like it.
Little Bei was stunned for a moment before she reacted and rejoiced. “Grand… Grandma?”
“Not ‘Grand-Grandma’. It’s ‘Grandma’.” Li Zhaodi took some fruit candy out of her pocket and handed it to Little Bei.
“Thank you, Grandma.” Little Bei thanked her politely.
Li Zhaodi waved her hand, finally feeling a little better. Then, she turned around and saw a row of radishes calling her ‘Grandma’.
Now that they had made the change and started calling Mu Jingzhe ‘Mommy’, it was very easy for the kids to switch to addressing Li Zhaodi as ‘Grandma’.
Li Zhaodi: “…”
It was kind of depressing to have so many step-grandchildren. How wonderful would it be if they were her biological grandchildren?
Despite feeling depressed, Li Zhaodi still didn’t favor one over the other. She gave all of them sweets to celebrate that they were calling her ‘Grandma’.
After they called her ‘Grandma’ and she gave them sweets, Li Zhaodi and the five children looked at each other, feeling a little uncomfortable.
In the end, Li Zhaodi waved her hand. “Sigh… Don’t look at me anymore. I really can’t bring myself to hug the few of you and call you ‘darlings’ today.”
The kids were embarrassed by her words. They didn’t want her to hug them and call them ‘darlings’ either. It would be too awkward. However, since Li Zhaodi was their mother’s biological mother, they wanted to keep her company.
Because Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng had taken Mu Jingzhe away, they had been very afraid of Li Zhaodi previously. For this reason, Shao Nan had even hated Li Zhaodi before.
However, now that Mu Jingzhe was back, when they looked at Li Zhaodi again, they felt that she was becoming friendlier.
“Grandma, this is for you.”
Little Bei passed the rabbit-shaped white milk candy that she couldn’t bear to eat to Li Zhaodi.
The boys also took out their only snacks and gave them to Li Zhaodi. Xiao Wu even wanted to play the flute for Li Zhaodi.
Li Zhaodi gazed at their little faces and felt even more conflicted.
“You only know how to curry favor with me. All of you are quite smart, but it’s useless currying favor with me. What’s important is that you treat Jingzhe well.”
Shao Xi quickly nodded. “Grandma, we know. Don’t worry. We will treat Mommy very well and be filial to her.”
“You must make good on your promise. If you dare treat her badly and be unfilial, I… I’ll beat you to death.”
Li Zhaodi snorted. “Do you think I want to acknowledge you? I don’t want to, but what can I do since Jingzhe is being disobedient? Just remember her kindness. The only thing I want to say to you is this: You’ve got to support her in her old age in the future.”
“Of course. We’ll ensure she wears the finest clothes and jewelry.”
“You sure talk big, huh. Wears the finest clothes and jewelry? Never mind all that. When Jingzhe turns 55, the five of you can support her in her old age.”
Li Zhaodi suddenly had an idea. “Isn’t the retirement age 55 these days? When Jingzhe is 55 years old, you can give her a pension. The five of you can chip in for the pension together.”
Li Zhaodi laughed at the thought. This way, it would be exactly like working.
If Jingzhe remarried and had children in the future, she would have a pension and feel more assured. If she didn’t marry or have children, that would guarantee that she’d have enough to live on in her old age.
Of course, Li Zhaodi didn’t want the latter to happen.
The five kids looked at Li Zhaodi and scratched their heads. So she just wanted them to give her a pension? Couldn’t they properly support her in her old age?
However, they couldn’t afford to provoke this grandma now. They would just go along with whatever she said.
Li Zhaodi didn’t know if the children would amount to anything in the future. She was only satisfied when she heard them agree. Afraid that there would be no evidence, she quickly asked them to write down a guarantee.
“Write it down and then sign your names one by one. If you don’t know how to write yet, press your thumbprints. I’ll look after the document. If you don’t fulfill your promise in the future, I’ll look for you.”
“We all know how to write.”
“Then go ahead and write it.”
Li Zhaodi wasn’t very literate either. She had merely learned a few words in a basic class before, so she only scanned the first half of the content in a hurry. Although she was sensitive to numbers and could calculate sums clearly, she didn’t know how big of a pension she should write down, so she vaguely said that they should give her an amount based on future standards.
The children obediently wrote it down and signed.
“Alright, I’ll keep it then. Remember to keep your word in the future. Otherwise, I’ll take this guarantee and cause you trouble.”
Li Zhaodi left with the guarantee in satisfaction without waiting for Mu Jingzhe to return.
When Mu Jingzhe returned, the five kids obediently told her what had happened, such as that they’d changed the way they addressed her and started calling her ‘Grandma’, as well as that they’d written a guarantee.
Unsure whether she should laugh or cry, Mu Jingzhe handed them the books she had borrowed from the county library.
Now that Mu Jingzhe had returned, the few female workers she had hired resumed their previous routine of leaving for work early in the morning and returning home late at night, clocking in and out day after day. On the third day, Li Fang also came, but this time, she didn’t come to take supplies.
Ever since that incident, the atmosphere in the Li Family had been depressing. Li Fang looked gloomy and much thinner than before.
Although everyone said that Bai Qiang shouldn’t be acting like this and that the Li Family was pitiful for being entangled with him, there was still a lot of gossip.
Bai Qiang had deliberately spread those rumors to force Li Fang to marry him. Although the Li Family hadn’t agreed in the end and Li Fang had held on and hadn’t compromised, she had still been affected.
The young men in the village who had previously been interested in her stopped looking for her. She also suffered from quite a lot of gossip. Some people said that although Bai Qiang’s actions were wrong, there was one thing he had said that was right.
Who knew if Li Fang would run away like Li Tao.
Words turned into sharp weapons that hurt even more. The Li Family became increasingly silent.
In the past, Li Fang used to have a cheerful personality. After being forced into such a state, she really couldn’t stay in the village anymore. This made her think of leaving the village to earn money for her parents so that they could pay back the money they had borrowed. She didn’t want them to be unable to lift their heads in the village, nor did she want to be subjected to those rumors anymore.
Coincidentally, a big sister who had gone out to earn money in the neighboring Little Eastern Village returned, saying that their factory was still hiring this year. The girls in the village could sign up if they wanted to go. The big sister would take a look at these girls, and if she felt that they were alright, they could go.
Li Fang was tempted, but she wasn’t confident. In the end, she couldn’t help but ask Mu Jingzhe.
In Li Fang’s heart, Mu Jingzhe was knowledgeable. She would feel more assured if Mu Jingzhe also felt that it was okay.
Mu Jingzhe frowned and said without thinking, “Don’t go.”
Li Fang froze in surprise. “Why?”
She hadn’t expected Mu Jingzhe to have such an attitude.
Mu Jingzhe took a deep breath. This had been the beginning of the original Mu Jingzhe’s descent into hell.
