Chapter 6: Counterattack, the mess of life

The James family is located in the family quarters of the state-owned steel plant. It is the residence jointly owned by Alexander and Gu Yunshu. This is a two-story building, which is considered a pretty good living environment in this era. However, this small building is crowded with three generations and two families, a total of eight people. The house is compactly divided into five rooms.

Grandma James , that is, Grace lives alone in one room; Alexander and his wife live in one room; Ethan and his wife live in one room; Ethan 's son Oliver lives alone in one room; even Cindy has his own independent room. Only the original owner, like a forgotten Cinderella, does not even have a small world of her own. She still lives in the same room with Grace , and even needs to help Grandma James go to the toilet at night, otherwise she can only curl up in the dirty and messy small kitchen, living like a free maid. How can she have the honor of an only child?

Juliana was immersed in the memory of the original owner, and she couldn't help but feel an impulse in her heart, wanting to rush in and teach the James family a lesson. Juliana was mentally prepared for the troublesome family members she was about to face , but when the door opened, she was still shocked by the family's roguery and indifference.

"Hmph, overtime? Working overtime all day, who knows if it's true or not? I think you just think I'm old and my brain isn't working well, so you're deliberately fooling me!" Although Grace is over 60 years old, she's still full of energy. She stood at the kitchen door with her hands on her hips, pointing at Celeste inside.

" Look at you, you don't look like a daughter-in-law at all? You don't do the laundry or cooking at home, you just think about things outside all day, and you want us to wait for you with empty stomachs?"

"Hurry up! Oliver will be back from school soon. Have you cooked the egg custard he wants to eat? He must put two eggs in it!"

In the small kitchen, the thin and slender figure was the original owner's mother, Celeste . She was as gentle as her name, and always spoke softly. This kind of personality made her like a soft persimmon in front of the unruly Grace , and she had no ability to resist.

The man standing aside was the original owner's father, Alexa nder. When he saw his wife being scolded, he wanted to reach out to help explain with heartache: "Mom, Celeste and I are in the same steel factory. How could I not know whether she worked overtime or not? We are busy in the factory today, and I really can't rush back..."

"Shut up! Why do you butt in on our conversation? It's because you usually protect her that she can't even do such a small thing! What kind of woman doesn't wash clothes, cook and take care of men? Isn't that what I used to do?" Grace interrupted Alexander rudely and pushed him, not allowing him to help Celeste cook.

Juliana watched coldly from the side, and couldn't help but sigh in her heart: This is the so-called "mother-in-law"! However, when she looked up the stairs to the second floor, she found Ethan and his wife Mary were leisurely locked in the room listening to the radio. They didn't have to go to work during the day, but they didn't have to do anything. Juliana couldn't help but sneer in her heart: Grace is really tolerant of Mary , why doesn't she force Mary to wash clothes and cook? It's really double standards!

Just as Juliana was indignant, Grace's sinister eyes had already stared at her. A sharp accusation followed: "You little rascal, you finally went home? What were you doing so late? You act like a bad wife, and the daughter you raised is just as bad!" As she said that, she reached out to Juliana to ask for her salary.

Juliana frowned and asked, "What salary?"

Seeing that she refused to hand over her salary, Grace was furious: "What other salary can it be? Your salary from the textile factory is 20 yuan a month, five kilograms of food coupons, and two kilograms of oil coupons. Give them all to me!"

Juliana's ears hurt from her noise. After thinking carefully, she realized that today was the day when the textile factory paid wages. But the original owner took a long leave to go on a blind date with Jonathan and missed the payday, so she had not received her salary yet. And she had already hidden the money and bills that Jonathan gave her in the spiritual treasure space. She still understood the principle of not showing off wealth.

"I don't have any salary. Even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you." Juliana said bluntly.

When Grace heard this, her wrinkled face suddenly turned red and her eyes narrowed. She picked up a feather duster and hit Juliana. Alexander and Celeste shouted nervously: "Mom——" "Juliana——" They looked at Juliana worriedly, but they were too far away to stop her.

Unexpectedly, the feather duster in Grace 's hand did not fall on Juliana . Juliana reached out and grabbed it steadily, then threw it hard, and the feather duster fell heavily on the ground, pushing the already hunched Grace back a few steps.

" You-you-" Grace did not expect it to turn out like this. She was used to being fierce, and it was probably the first time she encountered such a thing. Her lips trembled, and she was so angry that she couldn't speak.

Juliana sneered: "Grandma, that's my salary. I worked hard to earn every penny from the textile factory. Why should I give it to you? Are you feeding me or clothing me? Which of my clothes was not thrown to me by Cindy because she didn't want them anymore?!" She asked coldly, and every word pierced Grace 's lungs. Especially the word "Grandma", which was extremely ironic.

Grace's face turned red with anger, her chest heaving, and she gasped for breath. Seeing that she was too fierce, the cunning old woman simply sat on the ground and began to cry and scream: "It's against the sky... It's really against the sky... Alexander , look at your good wife and daughter... Open your eyes and look... How they treat your mother... You are going to force me to death... Force me to death..."

After such a commotion, Alexander and Celeste 's expressions became tangled and solemn. They wanted to comfort Grace but they knew clearly that the more they comforted her, the more she would riot. The two looked at each other at a loss.

Juliana had the best solution for such things - that is to watch coldly and turn a blind eye. Let her riot on her own! Juliana didn't even look at the crying Grace , but strode past her and walked straight into the small kitchen.

"Mom, we're not cooking today. I'll take you and Dad out to eat." Juliana took the kitchen knife from Celeste's hand, held her hard-earned, rough hand tightly, and pulled her out of the small kitchen.

Celeste was stunned and followed Juliana's movements. She kept looking at Juliana with trembling and surprised eyes . At this moment... Celeste seemed to not recognize her daughter in front of her.

Juliana not only held Celeste 's hand, but also held Alexander, who was tangled and stunned, tightly. She walked past Grace without looking back, holding the honest middle-aged couple .

Grace had never expected that things would turn out like this. Her crying and shouting became useless for the first time. She was just staring at everything like a fool. When Juliana and her parents walked to the door, she suddenly reacted and shouted, "Who will cook if you all leave?"

Juliana turned around and sneered at Grace , "Grandma, didn't you say that a daughter-in-law should wash clothes and cook? You have more than one daughter-in-law, my mom, and there's another one upstairs, right? Whoever you want as your daughter-in-law should do it!"

Juliana's words were very clever. Grace never considered Celeste as her daughter-in-law, so why should she ask her to do what a daughter-in-law should do? After the sarcastic words fell, Juliana took her parents out of the house without looking back. Grace was still sitting on the ground in embarrassment. The feather duster that Juliana had just thrown down fell beside her. There were really feathers all over the floor.