The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 880 - 879 Shen Baolan’s Revenge

In the quiet, deserted corridor, Shen Baolan bent over and took a newly bought iron chain out of the burlap sack he carried with him, wrapping it round and round the Zhou family’s burglarproof barrier gate.

The clinking sound of the chains colliding merged with the laughter and cheerful voices inside the house, as if part of a symphony.

"A family should be together, complete—missing even one person is unacceptable."

Staring at the locked chain, Shen Baolan’s face revealed a satisfied and bizarre smile, and then he took out a plastic jug from the burlap sack.

He twisted off the cap and poured the liquid through the gap underneath the door.

As he did this, a strong, pungent smell of gasoline began spreading throughout the corridor.

"You all are much luckier than my brother. You get to die together and be a family even underground. My brother, on the other hand, is all alone over there."

Watching the gasoline flow through the crack into the Zhou residence, Shen Baolan’s smile grew larger, as if a certain desire had been fulfilled.

"What’s that smell? Is it a gas leak?"

Qiao Ya was the first to smell the gasoline.

To celebrate Ma Sufen’s birthday, Zhou Shuhuan had brought a bottle of Wuliangye, from which the father and son had drunk quite a bit, and Ma Sufen had also joined them for a couple of small glasses. The alcohol made all three of them slightly slow to react.

Upon hearing Qiao Ya’s comment, the whole family began to sniff the air.

"It stinks!" Zhou Jiayi said with disgust, pinching her nose shut with her fingers.

Zhou Fu, much older than his sister and more experienced, exclaimed, "It smells like gasoline!"

"Where would gasoline come from in our house? I’ll go check if the gas stove hasn’t been turned off properly."

Qiao Ya stood up and headed for the kitchen. Zhou Shuhuan, on the other hand, opened all the windows in the living room to disperse the smell.

"Daddy, there’s water leaking on the floor!" The youngest, Qiao Zhouwen, pointed under the table and shouted.

The whole family followed his voice and looked down at the ground, indeed seeing a puddle spreading from the doorway into the living room.

"Which neighbor’s water is leaking?"

Ma Sufen was still muttering when Zhou Shuhuan’s face suddenly turned pale, and he ran to the door.

On opening the door, he saw Shen Baolan holding the oil jug, pouring gasoline into his house, and noticed the burglarproof iron railings tightly wrapped with chains, nearly causing his heart to stop.

"Shen Baolan, what the hell are you doing?!"

Shen Baolan bared her teeth and laughed loudly at him while accelerating her actions.

Zhou Shuhuan frantically tried to open the burglarproof door, tugging for a long time before realizing a fist-sized lock had fastened the chain from the outside.

The other family members, hearing the commotion, came to the door and panicked at the sight.

"Shen Baolan! Have you lost your mind? Open the door! Do you hear me?"

Ma Sufen pounded on the burglarproof door and shouted.

"Sister Baolan, let’s talk this over. If you want money, we’ll give it to you—however much you want, just name your price."

Qiao Ya’s voice was trembling as she attempted to tempt her with money.

Clearly not yet realizing the gravity of the situation, Zhou Fu shouted at Shen Baolan with disgust, "You damn cripple, do you want to burn us alive? Don’t think that by doing this you can force me to go back with you. I’d rather die than go back with you, so get that out of your head!"

Zhou Shuhuan turned and ran back to the living room to dial 119.

In just that short amount of time, Shen Baolan had emptied the entire jug of gasoline.

She thudded the empty jug down, slowly rose to her feet while leaning against the security door, and her weathered eyes swept over the Zhou Family members, grinning slowly.

"Look at your whole family, so neat and complete, so wonderful. Zhou Shuhuan, he’s now successful in his career, his family living in peace and happiness, children in pairs, life couldn’t be better. I’m really envious."

"What I can’t figure out is, even though I am the Mrs. Zhou, I should have my share in the good life, but I ended up with nothing. Your whole family enjoys a blissful life while I was tricked into losing everything, sold into the mountains like an animal, just like my four daughters, also sold off like livestock. My own son renounced me, and the only brother I could rely upon, I caused his death!"

Shen Baolan laughed, tears streaming down her face, yet her expression turned ferocious.

"My life, oh, it’s just like a joke. Everybody looks down on me, mocks me, they’d rather I died so they wouldn’t be burdened by me. But I simply won’t, won’t do as you wish."

With a sinister laugh, she glared at the Zhou Family, her eyes bulging as if they might pop out of her sockets: "Why should I have to die, while you get to live it up, eating and drinking merrily without end? If anyone should die, it should be you! It’s you, the Zhou family, who wronged me, it’s him, Zhou Shuhuan, who’s heartless and shameless!"

"And you!"

Shen Baolan pointed to Zhou Fu, standing beside Qiao Ya, "You, just like your father, are worthless, a thankless cur who recognizes a thief as mother. Fine, I’ll grant you that. Since you regard Aunt Qiao as your mother, then go die with her!"

Zhou Fu wanted to retort but was restrained by Qiao Ya grabbing his arm and whispering in a voice only they could hear, "Plead with your mother, don’t let her light the fire."

Unfortunately, Zhou Fu, young and fiery, had deliberately been raised by Qiao Ya with all the temper of a young master.

For him to bow his head and admit wrong to a person he detested was worse than death!

"Aunt Qiao, don’t be scared; she won’t dare to start a fire. She’s just trying to scare me, to force me to go back with her!"

Having said that, he raised his voice and taunted Shen Baolan, "You evil woman, if you dare, burn me to death, come on!"

Qiao Ya nearly fainted from anger.

As Shen Baolan took out a lighter, Qiao Ya’s legs buckled in fright, and she fell to her knees outside the door towards Shen Baolan.

"Sister Baolan, please don’t act rash, it’s all my fault, and forgive me. Zhou Jiayi and Zhou Wen are still young, they are innocent, please spare their lives. Whatever you ask, I’ll agree to!"

The sight of Qiao Ya kneeling seemed to please Shen Baolan, who slowly lowered the lighter she had held aloft.

Seeing this, Qiao Ya couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Just when she was about to persist, to seek a way out for herself and her children, Zhou Fu next to her started to taunt again:

"Aunt Qiao, get up, why are you begging her? She’s just trying to scare us!"

As he spoke, he provoked Shen Baolan further, "Come on, light the fire, burn us to death, and you won’t want to live either!"

Qiao Ya wished she could smack her stepson to death on the spot, "Ah Fu, shut up!"

"Sister Baolan, Ah Fu is young and doesn’t know any better, please don’t take it to heart, no matter what, he is your flesh and blood, and when you are old, he will be there to take care of you..."

But foolish Zhou Fu couldn’t comprehend Qiao Ya’s painstaking considerations and thoughts; he pointed at Shen Baolan and scoffed:

"Ha, that’s what you’re counting on, huh? Dream on. Forget about caring for you in your old age, even if you were dying in front of me now, I wouldn’t give you a second glance. Just get lost."

Watching her own son regard her as an enemy, Shen Baolan couldn’t help but burst into uproarious laughter, laughing so hard she doubled over and smeared her face with snot and tears.

Zhou Fu, with a look of disgust on his face, cursed her: "Disgusting, stop telling people I am your son, I don’t have such a shameful mother!"

Qiao Ya, still kneeling, nearly fainted from her stepson’s foolish actions.

And to her horror, her two children, following Zhou Fu’s example, started cursing at Shen Baolan.

"Crazy woman, get lost!"

"Just wait for the police to come and take you to jail, and then they’ll execute you by shooting!"

The two children, still young, didn’t understand the danger at hand; seeing their own mother kneel before Shen Baolan, they treated her as the big villain.

In the midst of this, the clanging and banging of smashing sounds came from the living room.