In the main room, Zhou Lanfang was crying her eyes out, snot and tears streaming down her face, while in the western room, Zhou Siyu was also sobbing.
Shen Jianhua sat on a stool with a sigh, feeling utterly helpless. In the morning, the family had left the house in high spirits, yet before noon, everything had turned into a mess.
He too was in pain, but whom could he blame?
Could he really blame his daughter for performing too well in the exam?
The school had said that even if his daughter hadn’t done well, the progress award wouldn’t have gone to Siyu anyway.
After all, it was a case of speaking too soon.
Now, everyone in the village knew that Siyu was going to receive the progress award. He had just been at the village entrance, where the woman from the Zhang Family had stopped to ask him about it. If word got out that Siyu didn’t receive the award, it wouldn’t just be a blow to Siyu’s pride—it would be a question of where he and Zhou Lanfang could even put their faces.
Sitting in the living room with a gloomy face, he smoked a rolled cigarette while listening to Zhou Lanfang’s continued wailing on the floor, which made him increasingly irritated until he finally bellowed out loud.
"Stop making such a fuss, do you want the whole village to laugh at us or what?"
Zhou Lanfang jumped in fright, her crying abruptly stopping. She bit her lip and demanded, "Will the whole village not make a joke of me if I don’t cry? Now that everyone knows Siyu was supposed to get the progress award and she didn’t, where do I put my face, our face?"
Shen Jianhua heaved a deep sigh. He had of course considered this, but if the award hadn’t been received, then it hadn’t – what was there to be done?
"Let’s not talk about this matter anymore."
After some thought, he decided that not mentioning it was best. Over time, as people got busy with the New Year’s preparations, they’d forget about the whole affair.
"Who wouldn’t ask about it the moment we step outside?" Zhou Lanfang was dissatisfied with the solution.
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
Shen Jianhua’s tone was tinged with impatience. This was already the best solution, but his wife was being unrelenting, clearly looking to cause trouble.
Zhou Lanfang grumbled as she got up from the ground, dusting off her clothes and pulling Shen Jianhua into the house, "Let’s talk in the house."
"If you have a solution, then spit it out."
Shen Jianhua couldn’t understand why Zhou Lanfang was being so secretive. There were no strangers in the house, so what was the need for this act? Thıs content belongs to 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩
Zhou Lanfang whispered her calculated plan to Shen Jianhua, "Everyone already knows that the progress award is Siyu’s, so let’s just go along with the mistake and pretend that Siyu did get the award. The money is in our child’s hands anyway, and which child it is isn’t something outsiders need to know."
"How can that be okay?" Shen Jianhua was saying it couldn’t be done, but his mind was already exploring the feasibility of the idea. "Mianmian definitely won’t agree."
While the strategy did wrong Shen Mianmian, it did save the family’s face.
"She listens to you; just talk to her, she’ll surely agree," Zhou Lanfang gritted her teeth and bitterly added, "Let her keep the money from the progress award for herself. We won’t take it from her—that way, she has no reason to refuse, right?"
It was Shen Mianmian’s right in the first place, but Zhou Lanfang’s words made it sound as if it was a favor granted to Shen Mianmian.
Shen Jianhua hesitated for a while but eventually saw the plan as viable. It wouldn’t really be a loss for Shen Mianmian, who would still end up three yuan richer.
After all, no one had initially expected Shen Mianmian to be the one receiving the award, so continuing with the mistake seemed like the best course of action for everyone involved.
After discussing it, the couple decided to proceed with the plan.
Zhou Lanfang stopped crying, washed her face, and went to cook, planning to discuss the matter with Shen Mianmian during dinner.