Chapter 1051: Chapter 1052: Village Orphan 96

Zhang Yu was at home, tidying up a bit, and getting ready to go to the shop for a meal.

From inside the house, she heard Hu San raise his voice, “Zhou Xia got out of prison today?”

Li Cui thought for a moment, “Released today?”

Li Cui thought for a moment, “Yeah, she should be getting out about now.”

Zhang Yu thought again, “I remember it should have been a six-month sentence, right?”

Before, she paid some attention, even calculating when Zhou Xia would be released, but later, she got busy—busy with work, busy with romance, busy with studies.

She was so busy that she really had no time to care about these things.

Calculating the time now, Zhang Yu realized it seemed seriously overdue, what happened? Could it be Zhou Xia got in trouble in prison?

If not for that, Zhang Yu couldn’t fathom why Zhou Xia would be held until now.

“Apparently, she got into a fight in there, got an additional five months added.”

Oh no, Zhang Yu knew Zhou Xia’s sentence was extended but she didn’t expect it was for this reason.

“Got into a fight, huh.” Zhang Yu hoped this wouldn’t turn Zhou Xia into a troublemaker.

Zhang Yu wasn’t worried about Zhou Xia; she wasn’t working yet, but she never forgot to improve her strength. A fight with Zhou Xia shouldn’t be a concern.

She was just worried, what if Zhou Xia acted out and the old woman was home alone?

“Don’t worry.” Li Cui noticed the worry on Zhang Yu’s face, holding her hand tightly.

“Don’t worry, I won’t foolishly start a conflict with her.”

“And she just got out, if she made a mistake, she would definitely face severe consequences.” Li Cui believed that as long as Zhou Xia was in her right mind, she wouldn’t make such a mistake.

“Don’t you always say that people like her, who make mistakes again, it’s a huge problem.”

“If she bullies an old woman like me, she really doesn’t understand the seriousness.” Li Cui truly wasn’t worried in the slightest.

Zhang Yu knew that for Li Cui, she was genuinely holding back a lot of anger, just waiting to stir things up with the Liu family.

Zhou Xia had no idea Li Cui was waiting for her move, she was in a bad mood. She thought Zhang Yu, who couldn’t get married, was actually about to tie the knot, which really irked her.

When Zhou Xia got home, she found the place a mess, with so much dust it infuriated her, “Liu Li, Liu Li.”

Wang Pandi had been home all day, really couldn’t face the looks from neighbors, hearing someone call for Liu Li.

“Liu Li isn’t here, why are you looking for her?” Wang Pandi came out, not recognizing Zhou Xia at first glance.

“Mom, it’s me, Zhou Xia.” Zhou Xia relaxed a lot seeing how much older Wang Pandi had gotten.

Even a grandmother staying home could age a lot. It was normal for her, the daughter-in-law who went for reform, to age even more.

Zhou Xia? Hearing this, Wang Pandi sharply looked up at her, “You’ve become this old?”

“You look almost as old as me.” Wang Pandi blurted out, “You’re almost as old as I am.”

Zhou Xia was of course unhappy hearing this, but had no choice; Wang Pandi could say that, but she couldn’t argue back.

“Mom, I haven’t seen Jian She and Xiao Li, where have they gone?” After being home so long and not seeing them, Zhou Xia felt a bit uneasy.

“They went to the countryside as intellectual youth.” Wang Pandi looked at the much older Zhou Xia, quickly shifting her gaze, whatever, old is old, as long as she could work, “By the way, my health’s not been great lately, haven’t been keeping the place clean.”

“Remember to clean the entire house,” then pointing to a basin nearby, “and wash all the clothes.”

“Oh, and don’t forget to cook.” Wang Pandi thought Zhou Xia coming back was at least a good thing.

Zhou Xia looked at the pile of tasks assigned by Wang Pandi, realizing this old woman was still as horrible as ever.

Although she just got out, didn’t ask her how she was doing or if she was tired, just, no questions, straight to work.

Zhou Xia was furious, but there was no other way, being someone who just got out.

Zhou Xia took a deep breath, ready to put down her things and get started on the chores.

Just stepping into the room, she was shocked and nearly couldn’t stay on her feet. She knew Liu Qiang wouldn’t do chores or tidy up, so her expectations for cleanliness were low.

But she didn’t expect it to be this filthy, sheets and covers so black you couldn’t see their original color, shiny with dirt.

The floors were so black that walking on them felt a bit sticky.

The table was even worse—sticky and filthy. Though she thought she’d become less of a neat freak after so long in prison, the scene before her was still hard to accept.

“Mom, didn’t you clean here and there?” Zhou Xia held back her temper.

Wang Pandi snorted, “Why, am I, an old woman, supposed to clean up for my son?”

“Am I just supposed to?” Wang Pandi said displeased, “Oh right, clean my room too.”

“And wash the sheets and covers and everything.”

“And those curtains need washing too.”

“But there’s no rush, since you’re back now, you can take your time cleaning.”

“By the way, when will you cook? I’m hungry.” Wang Pandi patted her growling stomach.

Zhou Xia was truly infuriated, “Mom, what’s going on with you, doing nothing at home.”

“What are you doing all day?” Zhou Xia’s temper also flared.

“What about me? I’m your mother-in-law. How I choose to do things isn’t for you to lecture me on.”

Wang Pandi didn’t expect Zhou Xia, just released, to become so aggressive. The old lady knew she must not back down this time or there’d be no peace in the future.

“You don’t think that coming out means I’m afraid of you, do you?”

“I’m telling you, you either behave well or get lost.” Wang Pandi said fiercely, “You have a record, making another mistake will add to it.”

Zhou Xia originally wanted to have a good fight with Wang Pandi. She knew if she couldn’t suppress Wang Pandi now, she’d have no peace next time.

Seeing Wang Pandi’s fierce expression and hearing her words, Zhou Xia knew she couldn’t think about overpowering this old woman, otherwise, she’d be even more aggressive.

Thinking about her days in there, Zhou Xia shivered, if possible, she really didn’t want to go back; those days were extremely hard.

Wang Pandi saw Zhou Xia quietly getting to work and snorted, “Really grew a backbone, actually wants to stand up to me.”

“Work hard, don’t slack off.” Wang Pandi watched Zhou Xia working, feeling this was life, what her days should be like.