Rebirth Counterattack with Space
Chapter 318 - 308: Quite Despicable

Chapter 318: Chapter 308: Quite Despicable

"We should know the outcome by tonight, so at least we won’t be in suspense for long."

Wu Jia responded weakly. They say that business is ruthless, and if her family’s secret recipe really was guessed, she couldn’t be as carefree about it as Mi Erhu was. Yet, on second thought, she realized she need not be so pessimistic.

After all, her family still had over a hundred thousand from selling ducks and salted duck eggs, plus the savings from years of doing business—even if Mi Dahu and his wife had taken quite a bit, she estimated her in-laws still had tens of thousands left. There was also the money from selling the house and land...

Father-in-law was right, as long as one is diligent, one can always find a way to put food on the table. With a roof over their heads and food in their bellies, without the likes of Mi Dahu’s family to leech off them, and with her and Erhu still young and strong, what was there to fear about not living well?

Thinking this through, Wu Jia felt that her anxieties were truly unnecessary; after all, whether one is destined for wealth is decided by fate, and longing for it is futile. She couldn’t let this worry affect the baby in her belly, and make her grumble about fate all day long, frowning with sorrow.

Having figured it out, Wu Jia nudged Mi Erhu, "I’m going to take a shower, and then sleep. You still remember how to turn on the hot water, right?"

"Of course, of course, just wait, I’ll go get the hot water ready for you." Seeing that Wu Jia was no longer troubled, Mi Erhu immediately stood up with a smile full of eagerness, also carefully helping her sit on the bed.

As soon as the son and daughter-in-law left, Mi Dahu’s mother looked suspiciously at her husband, "Tell me the truth, has something happened? Why do I feel that you’ve been off these past couple of days? Ever since you came back from the research institute, you’ve been distracted. What exactly are you worried about?"

"Don’t pry into it, you won’t be able to solve it even if I told you." Old Mi waved his hand distractedly.

"You’ve been like this your whole life. When good things happen, you talk, but when there’s bad news, you keep it to yourself and suffer alone. The more you age, the more stubborn you become. We’re a family, and what does family mean? It means sharing joy as well as bearing troubles together—that’s what makes a family."

Mi Dahu’s mother felt a surge of sorrow as she saw Old Mi’s unwillingness to talk further. She thought about how many times she’d cried secretly because of her husband’s nature, feeling like she could never enter his heart, and she couldn’t bear it anymore.

"Ever since our younger days, you’ve always liked to keep things from me. We’d been married for several years without a child, and I felt like you were looking down on me."

Mi Dahu’s mother became sadder as she spoke, and then thought, considering her age, with her son grown and a daughter-in-law brought into the family, and a grandchild on the way, what was there to be afraid of saying? So she decided to bite the bullet and get a clear answer.

"I was afraid back then, too scared to ask you anything. You’d make all the big decisions in the house. I know you care about your pride, and I’ve always tried to protect it, even when you were clearly in the wrong, I’d think I owed you and didn’t dare to really confront you..."

"When have I ever looked down on you?" Mi Dahu’s mother hadn’t finished speaking when Old Mi interrupted her in astonishment, his face filled with the anguish of being wronged.

"I never had thoughts of despising you for not having children at first. I thought we just hadn’t had luck with children and didn’t need to rush. Later, when my parents started asking, I even proactively told them the problem was with me, fearing they would say something unpleasant to you. You call that looking down on you? Who despises their partner like that?"

He remembered, back in their youth, how his face blushed in front of his parents as he took the blame onto himself, the way his parents’ eyes reddened, and how he wished he could have found a hole to crawl into right then—the memory was still vivid.

He had always believed that his wife knew how he felt about her.

Throughout the years, even when they were being gossiped about for being childless, he never once thought of divorcing his wife. And now, what was he hearing?

The wife said he’d despised her all these years?

My conscience is clear as day.

"You told your parents it was your problem? Did you really say that? But, but, the doctor clearly said it was my ’Gong Han,’ and that it wasn’t easy..."

Madam Mi was also taken aback, staring at Old Mi with some disbelief as she asked again. How could Old Mi have said such things to his parents and never have mentioned a word to her?

All these years, she had been so grateful to her in-laws, who had always treated her with sincere kindness as if she were their own daughter. She felt like meeting such in-laws was the blessing of many past lives.

When they were younger and had been married for a few years without children, the neighbors who were close to them inquired about her condition and she didn’t hide it; she always said it was her own ’Gong Han.’ She was afraid people would gossip about Old Mi, and as it turned out, everyone knew the childlessness was her issue. But when she got home, not only did her in-laws not shun her, they never showed her a hint of displeasure. Moreover, they decided to entrust her with the finances of the household, affirming that they recognized her as their daughter-in-law for life.

Because of this, many people enviously remarked on her good fortune.

So it was because Old Mi had been doing all this behind her back...

"Why didn’t you tell me earlier?"

Tears sprang to Madam Mi’s eyes. Could the man before her really care about her this much?

Upon reflection, it made sense why she’d often felt an illusion that, when her in-laws were still alive, they’d been extremely cautious around her. Although the problem was clearly hers, her in-laws acted in private as if they were afraid she’d be upset and leave.

Back then, she’d found it amusing that she harbored such feelings and so she dedicated herself even more to her in-laws. On their deathbeds, they had held her hand, telling her they had found the right daughter-in-law in this life.

As Madam Mi thought about it, she couldn’t help but pound Old Mi’s chest, "Why didn’t you tell me earlier? You treat me this way behind my back and still keep it from me, making me think all along that you looked down on me... Wuu wuu wuu..."

"What’s the point of telling you? It’s too unfair. How could I dare to despise you? Clearly, it’s you who should be despising me."

Old Mi let Madam Mi hit him, his face showing a mix of aggrievement and, at an inappropriate moment, a wistful and contented expression--

When they had first gotten married, Madam Mi had a temper too, and would often take it out on him in private. Back then, she was so full of life, unlike later when she became increasingly "composed," becoming more and more gentle in front of him, agreeing with whatever he said.

Although it was nice to have a wife like that, he couldn’t help feeling as if something was missing, something was lost. He would sometimes reminisce about the early days when his wife was upset; she would grab his ear, hit him a few times, and insist on having her way, regardless of what he wanted...

Tsk tsk, every time he saw the wives in the village scolding their husbands with hands on their hips, he would imagine his own wife being unreasonable, always feeling like she was more interesting that way... Then, as he thought about it, he would realize he was actually quite masochistic.