Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 608 - 313 Swallow and Gourd_1

Fourth update, seeking support.

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"Mother," Lian Shouxin called out as soon as he saw Lady Zhou approaching.

Lady Zhou didn’t even glance at Lian Shouxin. With her tiny feet tottering, she quickly walked up to him. She checked the weight on the scale and then saw the rice bag next to it; her expression grew even darker.

"Old Master, what are you doing? Are you giving all the rice to them, leaving us with nothing? Pretending to be the good guy, flattering others, do you want our family to live on air?" Lady Zhou pointed at Old Master Lian and shouted loudly.

Whenever Lian Shouxin came to get rations, Lady Zhou would always chastise him. But this time, she went straight to Old Master Lian. Don’t think that Lady Zhou finally decided to let Lian Shouxin off the hook; she just changed her strategy to one of cold violence by ignoring him.

The more Lian Shouxin was moved by sentiment, the softer his heart, the more he valued Lady Zhou, the greater the impact of this tactic. It must be said that Lady Zhou’s understanding of her son and her ability to manipulate him is close to perfection. She was resolute and ruthless in her hatred towards her son, exploiting his weaknesses and soft spots, determined to make him completely submissive, to surrender, otherwise she would never cease. Of course, once her son was completely compliant, she would occasionally offer some warmth.

Lian Manman glanced at Lian Shouxin with eyes full of sympathy.

"You old nag, you’ve just quieted down for a few days, and now you’re starting up again. What are you yelling about?" Old Master Lian said impatiently, "This is Old Fourth Family’s ration. It was agreed upon during the division. Even this bag of husked millet for making rice dumplings is part of the rations."

"Go do whatever you need to do. Why can’t you act like an elder? Look at how the children view you," Old Master Lian continued in a lower voice, persuading Lady Zhou, "Can’t you spare a thought for others?"

If it were anyone else, they would have walked away after hearing these words. But Lady Zhou was not just anyone.

"He’s rich now, does he care about this bit of ration? With a heart of a wolf and lungs of a dog, he insists on taking this little bit of food from our mouths." Lady Zhou, not looking at Lian Shouxin or Lian Manman, deliberately clapped and smacked her hands towards the opposite wall, "Now they’ve all grown strong wings. Seeing me, they all can’t wait for me to die sooner, each one hiding from me, afraid I might take what’s theirs. With hearts like wolves, they have lost all conscience..."

Lian Shouxin opened his mouth as if to speak, but ended up with nothing to say. Because reasoning with Lady Zhou was impossible. Giving in to Lady Zhou would only lead to further exploitation. And to talk back to Lady Zhou was something Lian Shouxin couldn’t bring himself to do.

"Father, have you weighed it? If it’s done, we’ll take it away," Lian Manman said in a crisp voice.

Since they couldn’t reason with Lady Zhou or quarrel with her, the only option was to ignore her, treating her scolding as if it were a mountain song, carrying on with their business. This was the strategy that Lian Manman and the children had come up with in private.

Old Master Lian’s gaze fell on Lian Manman and then turned to Wu Lang and Xiao Qi. All three children were calm, neither angry nor afraid, as if they hadn’t heard Lady Zhou’s voice.

Old Master Lian couldn’t help but be shocked. He knew all too well how aggravating Lady Zhou’s words could be. Even some adults with self-control would find them unbearable. It was not surprising to him that the children didn’t talk back to Lady Zhou. Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang had raised these children very well. But the fact that there was not even a hint of resentment on their faces — that was startling.

He had seen people who didn’t reveal their emotions, but Lian Manman, Wu Lang, and Xiao Qi were young — the oldest, Wu Lang, was only thirteen this year.

Old Master Lian suddenly realized that he had been underestimating and overlooking the children of Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang all along.

"It’s done, take it," Old Master Lian came back to his senses, his attitude even kinder, "Can you manage it, or do you need help carrying a bag?"

"No need, Grandfather, we can manage it," Wu Lang said.

Nobody acknowledged Lady Zhou.

Lady Zhou, facing the wall, ranted and raved to no avail, and suddenly found herself voiceless.

"You bastard, how ruthless your heart is..." Lady Zhou wasn’t a woman who accepted being ignored. After a moment of bewilderment, she immediately lunged towards Lian Shouxin.

Fights were common in the Lian Family, mostly just verbal showdowns to see who could out-talk the other. Family members never came to blows. Even Lady Zhou never physically struck her daughters-in-law, and certainly not her grandsons and granddaughters. It must be said that this was a somewhat civilized approach and also a smart one.