Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 912 - 466 Loosen Up_2

Lian Jizu was sent back, and two days later, neither Lian Jizu nor Lian Lanlan came. Lian Yeye showed up with a bitter expression to find Lian Manman.

"Sister Manman, what do you think we should do about this?" Lian Yeye asked gloomily, sitting on the edge of the kang.

"What happened this time? Is Grandma ordering you all around again?" Lian Manman asked directly. Lian Yeye’s family still lived in the old house because Lian Shouli refused to move out. Lady Zhao followed Lian Shouli, and if Lian Yeye moved out on her own, she’d feel even less secure about leaving Bun’s Dad and Mom behind.

"Yeah, she’s ordering us around again. I couldn’t stop my dad, but I managed to stop my mom," Lian Yeye replied. "But Grandma... she’s started yelling at people again."

"Oh?" Lian Manman straightened up upon hearing this. She had warned Lady Zhou before that if she didn’t stop yelling at people and stirring up trouble, she wouldn’t consider sending her back to Taicang. Since then, Lady Zhou had indeed calmed down, so how had things gotten to this point again?

"When did this happen? Who was she yelling at this time?" Lian Manman asked.

"Just last night," Lian Yeye said. "My dad came home after work, and right after dinner, Grandma called him over. Later, when my dad didn’t come back for a while, I went over to the Upper Room to check. Grandma had him heat up the kang, and then she started criticizing him. At first, she kept her voice low, but then it got louder and louder, the way she used to yell at him. Eventually, she went on to curse me and my mom too."

"She cursed my dad for being useless, for not stepping up as the head of the family, for always listening to my mom and me. She complained that my dad works every day but doesn’t buy her anything for the New Year, and now that she’s back, she lacks everything, while my dad doesn’t care enough to arrange anything for her. She called him heartless. Then she started in on my mom, saying my mom can’t give birth to a son, accusing her of being like someone ’squatting in the nest without laying eggs.’ She said my mom looks down on her, isn’t filial, and that if she weren’t such a kind-hearted mother-in-law, another family would’ve kicked my mom out long ago... It just got worse and worse."

Lian Manman rubbed her forehead. A person who doesn’t eat will feel hungry—it’s instinct. For many hardworking people, not working for even a day will leave them restless. As for Lady Zhou, not yelling at people for a day leaves her restless.

Holding back for two days only because she wanted to return to Taicang and needed to consider Lian Manman’s demands, Lady Zhou couldn’t help herself. She picked the softest target—Lian Shouli—to vent her frustrations.

Stopping Lady Zhou from yelling at people might be even harder than starving her, Lian Manman thought.

"And Uncle Shouli just listened to her like that?" Lian Manman asked.

"Of course, my dad just listened like that," Lian Yeye said, visibly frustrated. "The other day, wasn’t Grandma crying and hugging my dad? Then she started reminiscing with Aunt and her sister, bringing up old stories to my dad. She talked about how good she’d been to him, how hard it was to raise him—how, when my dad was little and fell ill, the family didn’t have money to take him to the doctor. Grandpa apparently thought my dad would just have to wait to die. Grandma pawned a hairpin and got hold of some sort of folk remedy that saved my dad’s life."

"Jizu couldn’t get used to the meals at home, so he ordered food from the restaurant in town. Over the last couple of days, Grandma started saving some of the food from his meals. When my dad came home after work, Grandma purposely called him over in secret and gave him that food. She told him it was what she had saved up just for him..."

"And with all that, she accused my dad of forgetting her kindness," Lian Yeye said, letting out a heavy sigh. "Now my dad is back to being close with her again, all lovey-dovey. He even told me and my mom that if it weren’t for Grandma, he would’ve been dead a long time ago. He said what happened in the past was just because the family was poor, and that Grandma’s bad temper didn’t really hurt me or my mom."

Lian Manman was speechless.

So many men hold their mothers and wives to entirely different standards. No matter how their mothers treat their wives and daughters, as long as it doesn’t result in actual harm, it’s considered fine. Meanwhile, if their wives and daughters happen to make their mothers feel the slightest inconvenience, it becomes a grave sin.

Lian Shouli clearly felt a connection to Lady Zhou. Having been previously ignored, he was now the center of her attention. What kind of shifts would this bring to his perspective?

From what Lian Yeye had just described, Lady Zhou’s simple tactics of alternating between punishment and reward had already completely ensnared Lian Shouli.

"Sister Manman, please think of something to make them leave.... My mom’s back to acting like she did in the past these past couple of days," Lian Yeye begged Lian Manman.

"I’ll figure something out for Grandma," Lian Manman said after some thought. "Yeye, the root of this problem lies with Uncle Shouli and Aunt Zhao. If you want things to stop repeating like this, you’ll need to focus your efforts more on those two."

Lady Zhao was timid, insecure due to being childless. Whenever she saw Lady Zhou, it was like a mouse confronting a cat. Meanwhile, Lian Shouli’s feelings leaned more toward Lady Zhou’s side. Though he never hit or scolded Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye, as long as Lady Zhou didn’t actively stir up trouble, there wasn’t usually much conflict. However, the steady simmer of boiling water meant that, sooner or later, Lady Zhou would gradually tighten her grip on Lian Yeye’s family.

Having promised Lian Yeye, the next day, when Lian Jizu stopped by again saying he wanted to return to Taicang, Lian Manman adjusted her wording slightly.

"Jizu, you’re in such a rush to leave, and we’ve been keeping you here, making it seem like we’re being unreasonable... You can go back if you want, but Grandma can’t go without you by her side," Lian Manman told him.

"...Uncle Shouli, maybe you don’t know this. Over the last few days, Grandma’s been getting along great with Uncle Shouli’s family. My Uncle and Aunt take care of her better than I do. You know I’m not very good at doing chores," Lian Jizu replied.

Lian Manman secretly laughed. Lady Zhou’s treatment of Lian Shouli’s family was nothing more than a calculated move—a backup plan after the incidents in Taicang, along with her instinct to pick soft targets and use them as punching bags.

"Jizu, no matter what you say, it doesn’t matter. No one can replace you," Lian Manman replied firmly.

"Either you stay here with Grandma in Thirty Mile Camp, or you leave and take Grandma back with you," she added.

"I’ll go back and discuss it with Grandma. If she’s willing, I’ll take her back with me," Lian Jizu said after some thought.

After observing the determined stance of Lian Manman’s family over the past few days, Lian Jizu finally chose the path most beneficial for himself.

*****......****

Here’s an update! Hope you’ll send some votes.

There’s been lots of end-of-year chores, and my health isn’t cooperating. I’ll try to post another update tonight. (To be continued. If you like this story, please visit Qidian [qidian.com] to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)