"Li Danyang! I want candy! Give me candy!" Zhou Jianhong shouted at the top of her voice in the yard. Li Danyang was carrying a child on her back and another child was lying on a small chair next to her. She was scrubbing a large basin of dirty clothes with her head down. Her hands were red from the cold and swollen like little radishes.
Hearing her stepson calling her that, she gave a wry smile and said, "Jianhong, I really don't have any candy for you."
"I don't care! I just want candy! Didn't you say before that as long as we are in your family, we can have candy every day? Are you lying to me?" Zhou Jianhong said relentlessly.
Li Danyang said in a flattering way, "No, I didn't lie to you. It's just that I ran out of candy and I didn't have time to buy new ones."
She is full of regrets now. Before she married Zhou Weiguo, in order to please Zhou Jianhong, she tricked him with candies. Who knew that his memory was so good that he remembered everything she said clearly. So after she married into the Zhou family, she had to face the situation of Zhou Jianhong asking for candies every day. If she didn't give him any, he would make a fuss, which gave Li Danyang a headache.
"You lied to me! Grandma was right. My stepmother is vicious and cunning. She looks sweet but has a dark heart! Your true colors have been revealed now, haven't they?" Zhou Jianhong accused angrily, "If you don't give me candy, I will tell grandma that you beat me!"
How could Li Danyang dare to let him really complain to her mother-in-law? Although she had only been married for more than a month, she already knew that her mother-in-law was not an easy person to get along with, so she hurriedly pleaded with her stepson: "No, Jianhong, I didn't hit you, you can't go and complain, I just don't have any candy now, I promise to give you all the candy when I buy it, can you wait a few more days?"
Zhou Jianhong snorted and said reluctantly: "Then I will trust you again. If I still don't get the candy by tomorrow, I will definitely tell grandma that you abused my brothers and sisters..."
Li Danyang hurriedly agreed. Just as she had comforted her stepson and made him promise not to make trouble again, the child on her back soon burst into tears and continued to struggle on her back. The child was already over two years old and almost three years old, and his legs were very strong. When he struggled on Li Danyang's back, he made her almost unable to stand, and he kicked her on the back and arms with his two powerful legs, causing pain.
"What's wrong? Fangfang? Are you feeling uncomfortable?" Li Danyang quickly put his stepdaughter down from his back, checked her condition, and found that she had indeed pooped in her pants.
As soon as she unbuttoned Zhou Jianfang's pants, a foul odor hit her in the face, making her dry heave a few times and almost vomit.
"Poop! Poop! Poop..." Three-year-old Zhou Jianfang cried because her movements were too big and the poop in her pants was all over the place.
When Li Danyang saw this situation, his eyes went dark and he wished he could faint so that he wouldn't have to face the current situation.
"Fangfang, don't move. Mom will help you change your pants." Li Danyang held down Zhou Jianfang's two short legs, trying to change her dirty pants. However, Zhou Jianfang cried even louder because she couldn't move her legs freely. Even her twin brother Zhou Jianzhan burst into tears.
For a moment, the Zhou family was filled with the loud cries of the two children. Li Danyang felt dizzy and her ears were buzzing, and she even wanted to cry.
"Li Danyang! What did you do to San Ya and Xiao Si? Did you beat them? I always say that stepmothers are no good..." Zhou Weiguo's mother came back from outside cursing. Before she even entered the yard, she heard the crying of her precious grandchildren. Suddenly, anger rose in her heart.
Li Danyang had a sad face and tried to defend himself feebly: "I didn't scold you... Fangfang was crying because she pooped in her pants, and I was just about to change her pants..."
"Useless thing! Can't you ask her in advance if she wants to poop? You have to wait until she poops in her pants. How can you be her mother?" Zhou's mother glared at Li Danyang and watched her work like an overseer.
"Hurry up! You're taking so long to change the child's pants. What if my granddaughter gets frozen? I think you did it on purpose. Stepmothers are so cruel. I'm telling you, if you want to bully my granddaughter, I won't let you go..."
Amid Zhou's mother's scolding and the child's crying, Li Danyang changed Zhou Jianfang's pants into clean ones with tears in his eyes, and then carried the dirty pants out.
Her eyes were red, and her tears dripped onto the ground. She felt very uncomfortable and miserable. She had to take care of two ignorant children and do a lot of housework every day. She was very tired and exhausted, but she also had to endure the scolding and abuse from Zhou's mother and her two older stepchildren...
Li Danyang felt like a slave in the old times, living to serve the Zhou family, eating less than chickens and getting up earlier than dogs. She never thought that marrying into the Zhou family would be like this. It was completely different from what she had imagined. How could it be so hard? Even with the future glory and wealth of the Zhou family hanging in front of her, she felt that she could not survive...
Li Danyang thought of Gu Shichu and couldn't help but wonder, did Gu Shichu also have a hard time when she married into the Zhou family in her previous life
"Li Danyang! Where have you been again? Did you go out to slack off? You're such a bitch, why don't you come back to look after the children..." Zhou's mother's angry scolding rang out again. Li Danyang shrank all over and went back in a daze.
She had already married Zhou Weiguo, and it was too late to regret. She could only persevere and wait until the Zhou family became prosperous, just like Gu Shichu in her previous life...
Li Danyang could only think this way, trying to cover up her mistake. If she didn't think this way, she was afraid that she would not be able to hold on.
As soon as Zhou Weiguo got married to her, he went to work in the city and only came back on weekends. It was impossible for him to help her share much work. In fact, Li Danyang had to do more work after he came back, because he had to do more cooking and washing, and he could not get a good rest at night.
She complained to Zhou Weiguo, but Zhou Weiguo not only did not comfort her, but accused her of being spoiled, saying that other wives all went through this, so why did she feel it was hard? Wasn't she too spoiled!
Li Danyang had no way to express her grievances, and she dared not offend her husband and mother-in-law, let alone her stepchildren. As a result, she was bullied even more severely. In a short period of time, she became haggard due to the hard work. She had just been married and should have had a rosy complexion, but her face was swollen due to lack of rest, and she had dark circles under her eyes, making her look several years older.
When Gu Shichu passed by Zhou's house and saw her, he couldn't believe his eyes: "Li Danyang?"
She called out hesitantly, Li Danyang used to be young, lovely and full of energy, but now she is just a heavy woman who seems to be bent over by the pressure of life, and looks lifeless.