Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Everyone's expression changed as they looked at Liu Li, whose wrist was being held and who was also clutching a bag of oysters.

"Let go! You old bastard, let me go right now!" Liu Li cursed angrily, showing no embarrassment at being caught red-handed, but instead being extremely arrogant.

The seafood vendors were furious and began to criticize her.

"What the hell! Stealing with such a brazen attitude! I've never seen anything like it in my life!"

"Exactly! A woman is even more arrogant than a local thug, it's unbelievable!"

"Boss lady, this person has been caught red-handed, call the police!"

"Exactly! Call the police immediately!"

Many people egged her on, while others were soft-hearted and felt that there might be something going on with Liu Li, a young woman, who stole something, and that it shouldn't be taken to the police station.

Before they could think further, Liu Li spat at the vendors who were shouting the loudest, her eyes filled with a sinister and vicious glint, "It's none of your business if you're like dogs catching mice! You all better watch out!"

"Hey! A thief dares to be so aggressive! Kill her!"

Seeing that they were enraged, Lin Qin spoke up to dissuade them, "Everyone, calm down. Hitting someone is illegal. This kind of thing can be left to the police. But we still need to do business, so we'll have to trouble you guys to help us get the thief outside and wait for the police to come and witness it."

The group exchanged glances and immediately understood the deeper meaning behind Lin Qin's words. They deliberately dragged the person away roughly and secretly hit Liu Li several times.

Liu Li screamed in pain, her curses becoming increasingly offensive.

Lin Qin quickly gave the old woman five yuan and said, "Thank you for your hard work today, Grandma. You should go home first, lest that crazy woman hold a grudge against you."

The old woman, with an air of righteous indignation, scolded Liu Li several times, shouting loudly, "What am I afraid of? My home is right here, and I have seven sons! If she dares to cause me trouble, my sons will kill her!"

The old woman said this intentionally for Liu Li to hear.

Sure enough, Liu Li, who had been staring at the old woman with resentment, no longer dared to look at her.

The old woman had no intention of letting Liu Li off so easily. She walked up to her, pointed at her forehead, and continued to berate her, "What couldn't you do at such a young age? Why did you have to become a thief! Let me tell you! This whole area is my territory, and this shop is under my watch! Anyone who dares to steal anything from this shop will have to ask me first if I'll allow it!"

The fishmongers all gave the old woman a thumbs up.

"Grandma, you're amazing!"

The old woman became even more smug, crossing her arms and pointing arrogantly at the men, women, and children chatting and enjoying the cool air around her. "These people are all related to my family. My son even gets a government job. We have plenty of connections. We don't cause trouble, but we're not afraid of trouble either!"

The old woman waited until the police officers from the local police station arrived, and then, in a very emotional state, told the police everything about how Liu Li stole things, how she caught the thief, and how arrogant Liu Li was.

The police officer was clearly familiar with Liu Li, and his eyes showed obvious disdain and disgust as he looked at her. "Why are you causing trouble again? You were just released a few days ago, and now you want to go back in? How about we just lock you up for ten days or half a month this time!"

Last time, Liu Li was arrested for stealing with a group of thugs. Because of the seriousness of the offense and the fact that it wasn't her first offense, she was detained for five days.

Ma Cuihua pressured Liu Yongguo to find a solution, and it was only through Liu Yongming's connections in the countryside that Liu Li was finally released.

Unexpectedly, this person remained incorrigible and committed the crime alone. Liu Li finally showed some signs of panic, but stubbornly insisted, "I didn't steal it! Lin Qin owes me. If she hadn't harmed me, I wouldn't have this scar on my face. It's perfectly reasonable for me to take her things!"

Lin Qin rolled her eyes. "You're crazy! If you dare touch my things, next time it won't just be a scar on your face, I'll ruin your face and break your hands!"

This was the first time anyone had ever seen the usually amiable Lin Qin utter such harsh words, and they all stared at her with wide eyes, wondering what kind of deep-seated hatred existed between them.

The police officer, with a stern face, handcuffed Liu Li. Seeing her resist, he tightened his grip considerably. "Behave yourself!"

And so, Liu Li was taken away.

Everyone continued doing business, and the onlookers left after a while.

But things were in an uproar at the Liu family's place.

"What did you say? Your sister is in the police station again? Her fiancé is coming over soon. He's the rich man your brother found for her. This marriage can't fall through! What should we do?" Ma Cuihua was pacing anxiously. Her focus was on today's blind date, not on what Liu Li had done wrong. It was clear that this kind of thing was nothing new in the Liu family.

Liu Yongguo's face was grim, and he was seething with anger. "How should I know? Do you think she'll listen to me if I tell her to behave? I have to go out to work in a bit, I can't control her now!"

"Boss! You can't just ignore this! Besides, your sister married well, so you can all benefit from it, right?" Ma Cuihua said unhappily.

Xu Manzhi came out of the house and said sarcastically, "Mom, we don't know if we'll be able to benefit from my sister's fame in the future. All I know is that she's become the news in our area again today."

Everyone's talking about Liu Li's arrest now. When her rich husband comes over and finds out, don't you think he'll be scared away?

Ma Cuihua glared angrily at Xu Manzhi, "You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth! Why are you everywhere? Get out! Just looking at you annoys me!"

When Lin Qin was still alive, their relationship as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was quite good. But since Lin Qin's divorce, Liu Yongming's work has been going poorly, and Ma Cuihua is also unhappy. Xu Manzhi feels that the Liu family has no future, so she no longer flatters Ma Cuihua and Liu Li as before, and often belittles them.

The relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law gradually deteriorated.

"Mom, taking your anger out on me won't change the fact that Liu Li is hopeless. If you ask me, you should give up on any rich husband. Someone like her would be rejected even if she got married!" Xu Manzhi got more and more excited as she spoke.

Ma Cuihua was so angry that she smashed things.

Liu Yongguo was at his wits' end and quickly led Xu Manzhi into the house, saying, "Can't you just shut up? Can't you see Mom's about to explode with anger?"

Xu Manzhi flung Liu Yongguo's hand away, her face hardening with resentment, and said, "It's good that you're furious! We agreed that this house, including the second bedroom, would belong to us!"

The good days she was hoping for were gone, so she could only focus on what was tangible and visible in front of her.

Liu Yongguo's face immediately darkened. "Xu Manzhi, that's my mother. Watch your language! I've already said you don't need to worry about family matters anymore. What more do you want?"

Xu Manzhi chuckled and sat down, watching with interest. "Alright! Let's see how you manage to keep me from worrying!"

Without saying a word, Liu Yongguo walked out of the yard, first went to the street to call Liu Yongming, and then went to the police station to find out what was going on.

When he saw Liu Li, before he could even reprimand her, he heard her shout angrily, "Big brother, it's all that bitch Lin Qin's fault! You have to avenge me!" (End of Chapter)