Help others? It's better to help yourself - Chapter 39

The next day, Xu Jing’an met the female protagonist, Gu Panpan. She was wearing a somewhat worn black and red checkered top, blue pants, and two dry yellow braids hanging down in front of her chest.

It was evident that the girl opposite her was not having an easy life. Although Shen mother did not say much, she warmly invited the girl to have tea, eat sweets, and enjoy some snacks. Even though this girl did not meet her expectations, she still had to consider the eldest son’s feelings.

Gu Panpan responded obediently and shyly on the surface, but inside, she felt a myriad of emotions.

This was her first time meeting her in-laws in two lifetimes. In her previous life, Shen Yue had never brought her home until after their divorce.

She had returned when she was feverish from diving. Shen Yue had come to their place for a mission and also to visit a comrade’s parents. In her previous life, she had only focused on forcing Shen Yue to marry her, from persuading him to agree, to submitting applications, and finally getting the marriage certificate. It took over ten days. Afterwards, he had turned coldly and went straight back to the army.

It was only during the divorce that she learned he hadn’t seen his family in years. He was originally supposed to go home at the end of the year to visit his parents, but because he married her, he had to use his vacation for that. This time, she did not hold Shen Yue back from leaving; instead, she chose to trust him, letting him return to the army and apply again, planning to get their certificate when he returned home for the family visit at year-end.

This way, no time was wasted, and during the year-end visit, she took the opportunity to have Shen Yue bring her back. When Shen Yue heard her words, his expression softened somewhat.

During lunch, Shen mother also made many dishes.

“Here, have more braised pork,” Shen mother said, using the serving chopsticks to help Gu Panpan serve some.

“Mom, that’s enough,” Gu Panpan quickly replied.

Xu Jing’an watched as Shen Yue’s hand paused while picking up food.

“Well, just take whatever you want. Don’t be shy,” Shen mother said politely before she stopped paying attention, hurriedly feeding her grandson egg custard, or else it would get cold.

After lunch, Xu Jing’an took the child back to the room to help him take a nap. Shen He helped Shen mother tidy up and then followed Xu Jing’an back to the room.

“What are your plans?” Shen father asked.

Gu Panpan turned her face and looked hopefully at Shen Yue.

Shen Yue set down his tea mug, raised his eyes to look at his father, and said, “Dad, there’s no need to worry. We’ll leave tomorrow since time is limited, and we still need to get our marriage certificate.” They needed to go to the woman’s registered residence to get married.

“Mom, Shen Yue can’t take me with him to the army; can you see if you can transfer your job to me?” Gu Panpan’s words startled Shen mother, who instinctively glanced at Shen Yue.

Shen Yue’s face darkened. “Mom has already retired.”

“Retired? When did that happen?” Gu Panpan asked Shen mother in surprise.

In her memories from her past life, Shen mother retired right after the New Year, during the Lantern Festival. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked about it the moment they met. Why was it different this time?

Shen mother’s expression was also not good.

Retirees receive a pension every month. If a family member takes over their job, it’s equivalent to occupying that position, and they would no longer receive their pension. Additionally, the household registration would need to be changed.

This meant that Gu Panpan would have a city registration, while Shen mother would have a rural one. Consequently, Shen mother would lose all her benefits, including subsidies for grain and oil.

Anyone who could take over their parents’ job was undoubtedly the most favored child in the family. Taking over a position was no joke!

A daughter-in-law who had just met them, especially one who had calculated her way into marrying their son, how could she win her mother-in-law’s favor?

Shen mother had initially tolerated her daughter-in-law’s politeness for Shen Yue’s sake, but that patience was now gone.

Moreover, she could tell that her eldest son was completely unaware of the situation. This woman was too calculating and scheming!

“I retired early, over a year ago,” Shen’s mother thought even less of Gu Panpan now and didn’t bother to force herself to be polite. She glanced sideways at Shen Yue.

Shen Yue looked at Shen mother and stood up. “Gu Panpan, let’s go for a walk.”

“Okay, it’s stuffy at home. You young people can’t stay here; I won’t keep you.” Shen mother quickly replied, “Eldest son, take your wife out for a stroll. Since you’re here, you should visit our People’s Park, the Qinhai River, and climb Taihuang Mountain.”

Shen Yue nodded; it was nice to explore places with fewer people and no cost. He turned and pulled Gu Panpan out of the house, determined to visit all the places Shen mother mentioned.

Xu Jing’an, hearing Shen’s mother words from the room, let out a laugh. Shen He pinched his wife’s nose and asked, “What are you laughing at? Isn’t it good to move around? If you’re tired, you’ll talk less!”

Gu Panpan was taken around all afternoon by Shen Yue. During this time, she tried to bring up various topics, but Shen Yue didn’t respond to a single word.

After dark, Shen Yue took Gu Panpan back to the guesthouse. “Get some rest early. I’ll come pick you up tomorrow,” he said before leaving.

Gu Panpan was so exhausted that she couldn’t utter a word as she stumbled back to her room. After walking all afternoon, her legs hurt so much she could barely lift them, and her feet felt like they were on fire; she couldn’t even touch them.

That evening, the Shen family had a lively reunion dinner. No one mentioned Gu Panpan again.

The next day, on the first day of the New Year, snowflakes were falling outside. Shen Yue got up early to bow to his parents to wish them a Happy New Year. After eating a bowl of dumplings, he stood up and left the house under his parents’ reluctant gazes.

Shen mother had tears in her eyes as she sent off her son. Turning back into the house, she instructed Shen He, “Second son, send these things to your brother at the army.”

Shen mother gathered malted milk powder, formula, sugar, homemade mushroom sauce, meat sauce, chili sauce, boiled salted duck eggs, frozen dumplings filled with chives, and a new sweater and thermal pants she knitted for Shen Yue, placing them all into a large bag.

Shen He picked it up and placed it on his bicycle before riding to the post office.

Xu Jing’an figured that these items were originally meant for Gu Panpan and Shen Yue to take when they left. However, with Gu Panpan scheming against Shen mother, she decided not to give her a single item and sent everything directly to her eldest son’s unit.

The Shen family returned to a peaceful routine, going to work and living their daily lives.

Gu Panpan sat on the train, feeling increasingly regretful. Looking at Shen Yue, who was sitting across from her with his eyes closed and not saying a word, she realized that she had acted too hastily this time.

Although it wasn’t ideal to bring up the issue of taking over the family business on their first meeting, time was limited, and Shen mother was about to retire. She thought that, considering Shen Yue’s status, Shen mother would likely agree. Who knew that, unlike in her previous life, Shen mother had already retired? She was so shocked at the time that she didn’t react quickly enough and missed the chance to explain things to Shen mother and Shen Yue in a timely manner.

There was no helping it; before her rebirth, she had suffered enough from rural life, which was why she had tried everything to marry Shen Yue. After her rebirth, she could hardly accept such a hard life and didn’t want to spend another 5 or 6 years suffering in the countryside.

But now, just as her relationship with Shen Yue had finally improved, it had returned to square one, or perhaps even gotten worse.

Gu Panpan sighed internally, realizing that she had returned too late after her rebirth. Using the method of diving to force a marriage was too simple and direct, which made Shen Yue feel quite resistant toward her.

She was still too young and hadn’t thought things through enough! It seemed she needed to calm herself down first and gradually win Shen Yue over with perseverance. In the future, she couldn’t rely solely on her memories; she needed to understand situations clearly before acting!