The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

"Just listen to her! What does she mean, she wants to serve *me*? She just wants to serve your father! You can tell just by looking at her that she’s a little seductress. She came all this way, throwing herself at us. She wants to be your father’s mistress, to be a common whore! She’s shameless!"

Chen Fengjiao was so angry her chest ached. She couldn’t understand how such a woman could exist.

"Mom, don’t be like that. I don’t think Sister-in-law Liu means that. She probably wants to be a nanny for our family, just like the one Li Zhi hired for Feng Ling. You know, work for pay and meals. It’s not what you’re thinking. Isn’t that right, Sister-in-law Liu?"

Gu’er tried to calm Chen Fengjiao, then glanced at Liu Fang.

Liu Fang said nothing.

"Answer me. Do you want to be a nanny?"

Chen Fengjiao pointed at Liu Fang, her voice stern.

"I... I just want to properly repay Brother Lin. I have nowhere else to go, and I don’t want to remarry. I’ll rely on Brother Lin for the rest of my life. I already consider myself his woman. Nothing else matters."

Liu Fang spoke in a sorrowful voice, tears welling in her eyes, looking utterly pitiful and moving.

Chen Fengjiao trembled with rage upon hearing Liu Fang’s words. Liu Fang’s meaning was crystal clear: she wanted to be Lin Shan’s woman, not his nanny. Chen Fengjiao was so furious she wanted to march right up and slap her.

Gu’er wanted to hit her too, but ’would that really solve anything?’ This Liu Fang wasn’t like the other villagers she’d encountered, who could be managed with a quick slap and a few threats. Liu Fang appeared gentle and weak, but people like her often had hearts of stone, making them even harder to deal with than the average shrew.

After Liu Fang’s husband died, her mother-in-law berated her daily, using her as an outlet for her anger, yet Liu Fang endured it all. You Erbaihua tried to take advantage of her, nearly driving her to suicide, but she survived. In fact, it was You Erbaihua who ended up in jail. Even when her mother-in-law scalded her with hot soup, she tolerated it and continued to serve the woman.

A woman like Liu Fang was one of two things: either she was exceptionally filial and embodied the traditional virtues of a Chinese woman, or she was incredibly resilient, willing to risk everything—even herself—to achieve a single goal.

’Gu’er didn’t think Liu Fang was the genuinely filial type, which meant she was the latter. Beating or threatening a woman like this would be useless. In fact, she’d probably use her injuries to gain sympathy, playing the victim to get what she wants in the end.’

"Sister-in-law Liu, you’ve been here a while. It’s a long walk from the village; you must have set out in the middle of the night. It’s almost noon now. You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Mom, did you make Laba congee? Please get a bowl for her."

’Gu’er decided she needed to think carefully about how to handle this, how to get this person to leave.’

"Are you crazy? You want me to give her the congee *I* made? I’d feed it to the dogs before I let her have a bite! Who the hell does she think she is?"

Chen Fengjiao cursed angrily. She had called Gu’er over to back her up, but here her daughter was, all smiles with this Liu Fang and even offering her food. Not a chance in hell.

Gu’er pulled Chen Fengjiao to her feet and said to Liu Fang and her daughter, "Please, have a seat. Mom and I will go get you something to eat."

"N-no, you don’t have to. I’m not hungry."

Liu Fang waved her hands. She knew Chen Fengjiao would be giving her the food begrudgingly, and right now, she had no desire to eat anything from her.

"Even if you won’t eat, your child has to, doesn’t she? My dad told you to come to him if you ever had trouble. Now that you’re here, you must be facing some difficulty. We can’t just refuse you a meal. If my dad found out, he’d be furious with us. He’s a public servant, responsible for the people. As his family, when someone comes to him for help, we have to support his work, right?"

Without waiting for Liu Fang to respond, Gu’er pulled Chen Fengjiao into the kitchen.

"I don’t care! She came right to our door, trying to become your father’s mistress, and you expect me to feed her? I won’t do it."

Chen Fengjiao leaned against the refrigerator, fuming. She felt like she’d collapse if she didn’t have something to hold her up.

"Then what do you want to do, Mom? Beat her up and throw her and her daughter out on the street?"

Gu’er asked Chen Fengjiao.

"Beat her! Beat that shameless woman! I’ll take responsibility if she gets hurt. Just throw them out."

Even so, Chen Fengjiao felt that a beating wouldn’t be enough to vent her anger.

"And then what?"

Gu’er pressed.

"Then? What do you mean, ’and then what’?"

Chen Fengjiao was confused.

"If you think that’s the solution, Mom, why didn’t you just beat her up and kick her out yourself? Why did you call me?"

’Sometimes, Gu’er was truly at a loss with her mother.’

"I... I wasn’t sure what to do, so I called you to back me up,"

Chen Fengjiao mumbled.

"Mom, it’s not that we can’t hit her. I guarantee you, if we lay a hand on her, she won’t even fight back. She’ll just hug her child and let us beat her. If we tell her to leave, she’ll leave. Then she’ll go downstairs, find a place to sit, and just cry. When people ask what happened, she won’t say a word at first. But once a crowd gathers, she’ll tearfully claim we beat her. After that, she’ll say a few vague, misleading things, and everyone will assume she’s some woman Dad got involved with back in the village. They’ll think she came to our door and you beat her and threw her out. Even if she’s in the wrong and people criticize her, Dad’s reputation will be ruined. His integrity will be questioned. Worse, everyone will start to believe she really *is* Dad’s woman. She’ll be latched onto him for good. What will you do then?"

Gu’er asked Chen Fengjiao, feeling this was exactly what Liu Fang was most likely to do.

"That shameless hussy would dare to go cry? How could she have the nerve? If she dares, I’ll tear her to shreds!"

Chen Fengjiao shouted resentfully, but her anger deflated when she saw the look on Gu’er’s face. She knew her daughter was probably right. In a hateful voice, she said, "And it’s your father’s fault, too! How could he do something like this? Does he have any respect for me?"

"Mom, do you really think Dad is having an affair with her?"

Gu’er asked her mother. She herself didn’t believe for a second that Lin Shan had feelings for Liu Fang, or that anything had happened between them.

"I know your father. He would never do something like that. But he can’t stop this shameless woman from throwing herself at him! Didn’t you hear her? She wants to live here, serve your father, and be his mistress! She’s a complete vixen. If this goes on for too long, I’m afraid your father might..."

’Chen Fengjiao couldn’t help but worry. She was getting older. If some young thing was determined to have Lin Shan, she was afraid he might actually be tempted.’

"It’s good that you know Dad wouldn’t do that, Mom."

Gu’er paused, then continued, "Right now, we can’t just beat her and throw her out. If word gets out about this, everyone will think Dad has a character problem, and it will hurt his career. His transfer back here was delayed because of this woman. If we let her cause another scene, it’ll be a disaster. The only way to guarantee her silence is to kill her, and we can’t do that. This woman is incredibly resilient and willing to risk everything. She’s not going to be easy to handle. I need to placate her for now while I figure out how to resolve this. So for now, Mom, just give her something to eat."

Seeing that Chen Fengjiao was about to protest, Gu’er quickly added, "It’s not for her sake, Mom. It’s for Dad’s. Do you really want him to get in trouble over this?"