Chapter 263 - 259: Craving Pork
Gu Jiaojiao had been in the countryside for three months now, so she should have been more or less like a local villager.
After three months, other educated youths would have skin several shades darker. The long-term farm work would make them look haggard, and over time, they’d be indistinguishable from the villagers.
But Gu Jiaojiao was different.
Her skin was still dewy and tender, and her pampered, delicate air seemed even more pronounced than before.
With her red lips and white teeth, she was captivating, like a siren from the myths the old folks told.
She looked much better than she had before coming to the countryside.
The taste of sour grapes filled Chen Shulan’s mouth.
’So delicate. Isn’t it just because a man spoils her?’
’What’s so great about that?’
’A woman should rely on herself.’
’What kind of skill is relying on a man?’
Her critical eyes swept over Gu Jiaojiao from top to bottom, left to right.
She wanted to find something, anything, to criticize about her.
But no matter how she looked.
She couldn’t find a single flaw...
Chen Shulan refused to believe it.
’Could anyone in the world really be so perfect?’
She mulled it over carefully.
Her looks.
Gu Jiaojiao stood there charmingly with her fair little face, looking just like a pampered young lady from a rich family.
Her clothes.
You could tell at a glance that the material of her red cotton-padded jacket was high quality. Unlike the bulky red jackets worn in the village, Gu Jiaojiao’s was well-tailored and didn’t look bloated on her.
The crucial thing was, she had never seen that style before.
’She probably brought it from the city.’
Her food.
That went without saying. One look at Gu Jiaojiao’s complexion told you she ate well.
She had heard some time ago that Leng Yuan had bought a lot of fine grains and eggs from the villagers.
In her opinion, was it really necessary for a woman to eat that well?
And then there was the man she married.
He bought her fine grains and eggs—how could he not be good to her?
Besides, Gu Jiaojiao always had a dazzling smile of happiness on her face.
Chen Shulan gripped the basin in her hands, her heart heavy with frustration.
’She was just the type of person who couldn’t stand seeing others do better than her.’
’But what could she do? She was poor!’
Chen Shulan was drowning in a sea of jealousy.
She was only jolted back to her senses when Lin Daya tugged her sleeve several times.
"What is it?"
Lin Daya pointed at Sweet Girl.
"Mom, I want the stinky beggar’s clothes."
Children were forgetful. Although what happened yesterday was terrifying, besides getting into a fight with Sweet Girl and coming off slightly worse for wear, nothing else had happened to her.
Plus, seeing Sweet Girl’s clothes made her so envious that she couldn’t be bothered to think about anything else.
She just wanted to make the clothes her own.
Hearing what Lin Daya said, Tie Dan also quickly pulled on Chen Shulan’s clothes, demanding Xiao Yang’s outfit.
Chen Shulan looked at the new clothes on Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang and also felt they certainly wouldn’t look as good on them as on her own children.
But how could she dare to provoke Gu Jiaojiao?
"Don’t you have clothes to wear?"
Lin Daya was wearing her old clothes.
She had worn the clothes Gu Jiaojiao had previously made for Sweet Girl for two days. That outfit was made of good material—lightweight yet warm. Now, back in her heavy, padded clothes, she was naturally unhappy.
How could their clothes possibly compare to the ones Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang were wearing!
She couldn’t help but mumble.
"Mom, we’re your real children, and you don’t even make us new clothes. Why do those two unwanted beggars, Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang, get new clothes made for them?"
Chen Shulan: ...
’This wretched child.’
’Has it been too long since I taught her a lesson?’
’The things she says are getting more and more obnoxious.’
The thought of disciplining her crossed her mind, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to lay a hand on her.
Chen Shulan herself had been the unfavored child at home, often beaten by her father. After getting married and having two children, she had never once hit them.
She had suffered in her childhood and didn’t want her own children to go through the same thing.
That was why her two children had always gotten the best of everything in the house—food, clothes, and all.
Everything she had never enjoyed, her two children did.
This was also the reason why, despite their hard life, Lin Daya and Lin Tie Dan were so sturdy.
Chen Shulan had truly spoiled her two children to the heavens.
Since she couldn’t bear to hit them, she could only use her words.
"You two are so shallow. Have I ever let you go hungry? Have I ever denied you anything? If you want something, figure it out yourselves."
Chen Shulan rolled her eyes and ignored her children, moving closer on her own to watch the pig slaughtering.
She drooled as she watched.
The last time she’d eaten meat was during the New Year’s celebration last year.
Her mother-in-law had spent one yuan to buy a little over a jin of pork.
Now, just thinking about the taste made her mouth water uncontrollably.