Chapter 455: Chapter 448: Su Ping’s Hardships
After asking Li Yuzhi a few questions, Sisi decided to hire her, even though this woman wasn’t very well-behaved. But Sisi was recruiting for a job, not a nanny, and as long as the woman didn’t cause trouble for her, it was fine.
After receiving the reply that she could start working in two months, Li Yuzhi gratefully bowed and exited the room.
"Sisi, why would you hire such a vixen? Aren’t you just inviting trouble?" Su Ping complained discontentedly.
"Li Yuzhi is educated and hygienic; she meets all the requirements. Why wouldn’t I hire her?" Sisi replied.
Although Su Ping was displeased, she didn’t say much more, which was one of the reasons why Sisi liked dealing with her. Su Ping might take advantage of small benefits, but she had good judgment and knew what should and shouldn’t be said.
After finishing the interviews with the rest of the candidates, Sisi noticed Su Ping seemed a bit upset, probably because of something Li Yuzhi reminded her of earlier.
"Sister-in-law Su, what’s with you and that Li Yuzhi? It seems like you don’t really like her," Sisi asked.
"That shameless vixen, I used to pity her and helped her time and again, but I never expected to be nurturing a thankless wretch," Su Ping said bitterly.
Two years ago, after receiving an offhand hint from Sisi, Su Ping started paying closer attention to the interactions between her husband and Li Yuzhi, which indeed revealed something was amiss. Her husband was overly concerned about Li Yuzhi!
Moreover, her husband spoke to Li Yuzhi with a big smile on his face, his eyes curving into crescents, something completely unheard of before; he had not even smiled this happily when they first met for a blind date, let alone in everyday life.
What’s more important, her husband even dumped the swill for Li Yuzhi!
Her own husband, who wouldn’t even glance at an overturned oil bottle at home, was willing to dump filthy and smelly swill buckets for that vixen?
Why?
Su Ping felt her heart burning with anger. Was this man still her husband?
Furious, Su Ping didn’t think twice before rushing over and viciously slapping Li Yuzhi twice across the face, kicking and punching her even after slapping her.
Li Yuzhi didn’t fight back, just holding her head and weeping, while pleading that Vice Mayor Zhu was kind-hearted and merely helping her with work, insisting there was no affair between them.
"Pah, your wife is at home so tired she can’t straighten her back, and you have the time to do chores for this vixen? Who do you think you’re fooling?"
Su Ping wouldn’t have minded not hearing these excuses, but once she did, her anger flared and she felt even more aggrieved. When she married him, he was a soldier in the army, and she had to act both as a mother and a father, taking care of two children and her in-laws by herself. Her in-laws were not well and couldn’t offer her any help; everything depended on her alone.
It was bearable when things went smoothly, but when the kids were sick and she had to carry them to the health clinic in the dead of night, she felt so wronged she wanted to cry, wishing she could call her husband back home. But until her husband had retired and returned home, she had never once complained to him, enduring it all by herself.
Who would have thought, just as life was getting better, her husband would treat her like this, entangling with this vixen?
Su Ping felt so wronged that she beat Li Yuzhi with even greater force until the latter kept moaning in pain. A crowd quickly gathered around them; naturally, the women supported Su Ping, collectively condemning Li Yuzhi, while the men, of course, tried to break up the fight. No one noticed the dark expression on Zhu Xianren’s face off to the side.
It was only after Tian Xinhua arrived that the farce ended. Subsequently, Tian Xinhua immediately took action, firing Li Yuzhi and having a talk with Zhu Xianren. No one knew exactly what was discussed, but thereafter, Zhu Xianren didn’t bother Su Ping anymore, and the matter seemed to be brushed aside.
However, since then, Zhu Xianren became colder at home, barely speaking to Su Ping all day. Sometimes, even when Su Ping was ill, he wouldn’t inquire further, leaving Su Ping feeling utterly dejected.
"Sisi, you don’t know how much I’m suffering inside. These past two years, Old Zhu has grown increasingly indifferent toward me. He doesn’t share anything with me, doesn’t do any household chores, and sometimes, when my back hurts so badly that I can’t even straighten up, he doesn’t even ask how I am, as if he were just a guest in the house."
Su Ping said bitterly, her eyes gradually reddening. She dared not voice these grievances to others; she couldn’t even mention them to her in-laws, who naturally prioritized their son and grandson. She couldn’t even confide in her own parents.
If she complained to her parents about her husband not caring for her, not talking to her, not helping with chores, her parents would scold her to death.
"Which woman doesn’t live like this? Your son-in-law holds such an important official position; he’s too busy to attend to everything outside. You still expect him to do chores and chat with you? Aren’t you asking for too much? Girl, you should be content. Look at your sisters—none of them have the good fortune that you do."
She could already anticipate the kind of scolding her parents would give her. Indeed, in the eyes of outsiders, she was a teacher, and her husband was a government official; every woman in the village would say she was blessed.
But she was tired!
Busy with her job, housework, taking care of the children and attending to her husband, she was so rushed she could hardly catch her breath. Her back ached from not resting properly during her postpartum period, unable to stand or squat for too long, sometimes in so much pain it felt as if it were broken. Yet no one knew of her suffering, and if she mentioned it too much, others would accuse her of making a fuss.
Nor did she want to tell anyone about it; it was embarrassing. She was someone who cared about face; if others knew how unhappy she truly was, where would she put her pride?
This time Sisi had asked, and she couldn’t hold back any longer. The grievances she had suppressed in her heart for so long burst forth.
"How can Old Zhu be so heartless? For the sake of that vixen, he has forgotten all the good things I’ve done for him. How can he be so ungrateful?" Su Ping said as tears streamed down her face. In front of Sisi, she didn’t feel like she was losing face anymore. After all, Sisi was better than her in every aspect; she had nothing to lose face over.
"It’s all because of that vixen; if it weren’t for her, my Old Zhu would not have changed like this!" Su Ping added bitterly.
Sisi couldn’t help but shake her head. People always say a vixen seduces a man, but why does no one point out the man’s own faults?
Yes, the vixen is at fault, but in Sisi’s view, the greater blame lies with the man himself. If a man’s will were strong and he stayed true to his convictions, how could he be tempted?
"Sister-in-law Su, you just said that even before Li Yuzhi came along, your Old Zhu was not exactly a considerate man," Sisi said candidly.
Su Ping choked up, a bitter taste quickly spreading in her mouth. Right, her husband had always been like this, hadn’t he? Never someone warm or attentive. But then why was he so tender toward that vixen?
Even emptying swill buckets for her?
Without realizing it, Su Ping voiced her inner doubts, and Sisi found it almost amusing as she directly responded, "Why? Because you’re too capable, that’s why!"