Chapter 572 - 12: The Cannon Fodder Daughter and Her Cannon Fodder Dad (Part 12)

"Alright, Yao Yao, how much can a few meat buns be worth? If you want them, I’ll bring you some."

Just as Shen Yaoyao was about to speak, Jiang Lai interrupted directly.

"Sister Yao Yao certainly wouldn’t want you to spend so much money; it’s enough to have one clueless sister in the family, right, Sister Yao Yao?"

Trying to outdo each other in tea artistry, isn’t it?

Although Jiang Lai rarely uses tea artistry, her tea skills are impressive, having never met a match yet.

With the conversation reaching this point, what else could Shen Yaoyao say? She could only grit her teeth and smile as she refused, hoping Jiang Hu would notice that Jiang Lai was bullying her.

Unfortunately, the men in the Jiang Family are all straightforward, with no twists in their minds.

"Alright then, wait here, I’ll be right back."

As soon as Jiang Hu left, the smile on Shen Yaoyao’s face disappeared.

Her swift change in expression was comparable to the unpredictable weather.

"Jiang Lai, do you really hate me?"

Jiang Lai looked at her, bewildered and incredulous.

"Why would you think that? Your parents are gone, and you can only stay at my place now. I barely have enough time to feel sympathy for you, how could I possibly hate you?"

Shen Yaoyao’s eyes instantly turned red.

She looked at Jiang Shun walking slowly from a distance, choking up as she spoke.

"I know I’m without parents, I know I depend on others; I envy you for having both parents, but I’ve never thought about taking your family away. I’ve lost too much, and I don’t expect you to treat me as family, but please, don’t drive me away, okay?"

Expert nonsense is really at its peak among the nieces.

Just hearing these words would make anyone think she’s being bullied.

Anyway, that’s exactly what Jiang Shun thought.

He walked quickly over, standing directly in front of Shen Yaoyao, looking down at her reddened eyes, his heart broke.

"Jiang Lai! This is also Yao Yao’s home; if you bully her like this again, don’t blame me for not recognizing you as my sister!"

Jiang Lai stood there calmly, watching Jiang Shun comfort Shen Yaoyao with great care.

He looked just like a dog prostrated at Shen Yaoyao’s feet.

Dealing with Jiang Hu and Jiang Li might still pique Jiang Lai’s interest slightly.

But when it comes to Jiang Shun, Jiang Lai doesn’t want to waste an ounce of effort.

In the original plot, he was completely devoted to Shen Yaoyao, working as a laborer in a steel factory for her, and when she got married, he gave her his lifetime savings as her dowry.

He’s fully molded into a thorough "sister-pampering maniac" with no corners untouched.

A good ending for the female lead is bound to be positive, but the process isn’t necessarily so.

Later, he works diligently for the male lead, jointly dealing with the antagonist of the story, only to be tricked by the villain, leading to the production of defective products at the factory, naturally becoming the scapegoat who gets caught.

When released, he’s already stepped into old age.

Outside, the male and female leads have long guarded the factory, achieved success, and raised many children.

Whereas Jiang Shun, childless all his life, passed away two years after getting released from prison.

If his character is set as a sister-pampering maniac, then Jiang Lai doesn’t need to waste much time on him.

So, this time, she directly retorted.

"Don’t scare me like that; being your sister is wonderful, even if I can’t eat or drink what you have, I can still see your face.

Thinking that you won’t recognize me as a sister makes my heart feel empty, and no one will give me a hard look anymore; what should I do?"

"Jiang Lai! How did you become like this!"

Initially, he was somewhat amazed by Jiang Lai’s transformation after showering, but hearing her sarcasm broke that moment of beauty instantly.

He held his breath, feeling defeated in front of Jiang Lai for the first time.

"Alright, you two continue; early in the morning, you’re making me nauseous."

Shen Yaoyao was planning to make Jiang Lai recognize her own position in the family when she heard Jiang Lai retching and leaving with disdain.

A knot of frustration stuck in her chest, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Jiang Shun continued to offer comfort, but Shen Yaoyao pushed him away.

"I’m the outsider here; why care for me? Don’t make others feel like you’re unclear about priorities."

Jiang Shun was helpless.

"To me, you’re the only sister; Brother Hu and Ali think so too. Don’t worry; we’re all behind you, supporting you."

Jiang Lai is so unruly now; she’s been spoiled outside!

Jiang Hu soon returned with the buns — four in total, giving Jiang Lai two, and the rest to Shen Yan.

Shen Yan initially praised him for being thoughtful but soon noticed the missing fifty-cent bill in Jiang Hu’s pocket, realizing something was off.

"Why is one fifty cents missing? Weren’t you only supposed to buy two meat buns? What else did you buy?"

Jiang Hu couldn’t lie, he chuckled.

"I brought my sister two meat buns and bought her two cans of fruit cocktail."

Shen Yan felt a mix of heartache and relief.

Her silly son finally understands how to please girls.

"Okay, your sister can’t eat all of it; give half to your brother. He’s been coughing lately."

"Whatever my brother wants to eat, I’ll buy for him later. These are all for little sister."

After speaking, Jiang Hu just took the things and left.

Shen Yan didn’t say anything; after all, Jiang Hu often bought things for Shen Yaoyao before. Two meat buns and fruit cocktail aren’t much.

Anyway, he now earns a salary, has money, and if he buys them, it saves her from having to.

Fruit cocktail like this is something Jiang Lai had for the first time; the syrup inside was quite sweet, but the oranges had a rotting taste. Jiang Lai poured out the syrup and handed the remaining to Jiang Hu.

"I won’t eat this; you eat it."

Seeing this, Jiang Hu suddenly felt his eyes get a little teary.

Jiang Lai was truly kind to him, leaving him the best part of the cocktail.

"I won’t eat; you eat more. You girls like sweet things."

Jiang Hu wouldn’t eat it, but Jiang Lai didn’t want to persuade him further. After finishing the syrup, she directly tossed the remainder to Jiang Li.

The boy, unbothered by anything, grabbed it and started pouring it into his mouth while complimenting.

"Sis, you’re so good to me; when I make money, I’ll buy you delicious food too."

"You don’t have to wait until then; I’ll take you to pick coal later this afternoon."

Jiang Li was very enthusiastic, specially upgrading his equipment a little by swapping to a bigger basket and followed behind Jiang Lai to pick coal.

She always managed to accurately locate the spots on the coal pile where there were large unburnt lumps of coal.

These larger chunks that burn well are worth more compared to the smaller fragments.

Jiang Li had lots of connections, selling them at various places.

However, upon arriving at the usual spot, they noticed the person who often bought coal from them had changed, and Jiang Li got cautious, ready to grab Jiang Lai and run.

"This isn’t the usual person; if I say run, you run. If necessary, ditch the coal and flee."

They couldn’t get caught; otherwise, Jiang Hai’s job as a chef might be jeopardized.

"Run for what? Not selling it anymore?"