Chapter 244 You Have No Choice

"If you had really been reported and arrested, you'd still be locked up in jail eating prison food! Do you think you're innocent? We saved you, and you didn't even say thank you, instead you turned around and questioned us? Aren't you satisfied?"

"I told you to go to the county and work honestly, to earn some money, but instead you ran away like you eloped with someone, without a word, without even sending back a message! For three whole years, there was no news at all, like you vanished into thin air! Now you're blaming us for not looking for you? You disappeared like a shadow, where are we supposed to find you? We can't possibly search the whole of China, can we?"

"You brothers are all such a handful! Zhao Lin, how do you raise your children?"

Zhao Lin was stunned for a moment, as if he had been hit hard in the chest.

She never expected that Zhou Nuli would bring up old grievances now.

She bit her lip, her fingertips trembling slightly, and lowered her head, not daring to look at anyone. Her voice was so soft it was almost as if it were being squeezed out of her throat: "It's all my fault. It's all my fault. I didn't teach the children well, I didn't stop them... But now, at least they're back safe and sound. Let's not argue, let's focus on the present. Go and cut off a piece of meat, then go to the village chief to apologize, smooth things over, and don't let things escalate."

Zhou Nuli's face was ashen, but his heart was pounding like a rabbit's.

He was afraid of the village chief, and also afraid that a murder might happen and implicate him, but he couldn't bring himself to admit his mistake.

He stiffened his neck and said in a tough tone, "You did the mess yourself, so clean it up yourself! Why should I clean up your mess? What does it have to do with me if your son hit someone?"

After hearing this, Zhao Lin slowly raised his head, his eyes revealing a hint of weariness and determination.

She didn't argue anymore, but slowly turned her head to look at Shen Cuifen standing to the side, her voice low and firm: "Cuifen, help me up, let's go ourselves."

Shen Cuifen paused for a moment, then stepped forward without hesitation, supporting Zhao Lin's arm with one hand and picking up the piece of pork that had just been cut from the table with the other.

Her palms were sweaty and her fingertips were a little cold, but she steadily supported her mother-in-law and walked slowly and heavily towards the door, step by step.

On the road, the sky was gloomy, and the wind rustled the withered grass by the roadside.

There was no one around, only the faint barking of dogs in the distance.

Shen Cuifen lowered her voice, her tone full of worry and fear: "Mother, I think... Liguo is too scary now. His eyes are strange, he doesn't talk, he's like a completely different person. If he really stays at home and doesn't leave, how will we live in the future? We'll be on edge every day, and we won't even be able to eat in peace."

Zhao Lin paused, his gaze falling on the gray dirt road ahead.

Her mind was in complete turmoil, as if she were entangled by countless threads.

She never imagined that the son she had raised with such care would turn out like this.

The thought of him slowly wiping the blood off his hands with that crumpled piece of paper before he died, a cold smile still lingering on his lips, sent chills down her spine and made her break out in a cold sweat.

She pinched her palm hard, forcing herself to stay awake.

No wonder she insisted on coming out for a walk; she couldn't just stay inside and overthink things.

We need to calm down and think of a solution.

We can't let things continue like this.

"How many days until Jianguo is released from prison?"

She suddenly asked in a low voice, her voice tinged with urgency.

Shen Cuifen's heart tightened, and her fingers unconsciously clenched, gripping the bag of meat.

She answered softly, "Mother, according to the fifteen-day cycle, the establishment of the nation has been going on for ten days, and the founding of the nation... only has five days left."

Zhao Lin closed his eyes, feeling as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest.

She had long anticipated that the two brothers would run into each other sooner or later.

One had just been released from prison, and the other had just gotten into trouble; both were in the eye of the storm, and they happened to be family.

She gritted her teeth, her lips almost bloodless, but she still said in a low but firm voice, "Don't be afraid, your mother is here. Even if the sky falls, your mother will hold it up for you."

Chapter 75 Waiting for the decision

Yunrui stayed inside the house and heard the conversation outside clearly.

The more she listened, the angrier she became. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and flung open the door, rushing out with a shrill voice like a knife slicing through glass: "Aunt Zhao! I will never agree to this! Why should our family bear the burden of your family's problems?"

She pointed to the door, her eyes red: "If Zhou Liguo dares to step into my house, I'll have my dad call the police! Let him live here? Dream on! If he dares to come, I'll call the whole village to come and see how the Zhou family forces people like this!"

"father!"

She turned to look into the room, her voice trembling with tears, "You can't agree to that!"

Yun Zhonglei stood at the entrance of the main room, his hands behind his back, his face ashen.

He stared at Zhao Lin, his eyes as cold as ice crystals in the dead of winter, devoid of any warmth.

He said, enunciating each word clearly, "Little Zhao, our Yun family has given you plenty of face. When your family was staying here, I let you stay for so long without saying a word. And now, after only a few months, you're coming to negotiate? Do you really think my words are just empty promises? That I can be manipulated at will?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lin's face drained of color instantly, her lips twitched slightly, and her voice was dry and bitter: "That's not what I meant... Brother Yun, my son went to work in Guangdong, exposed to the sun and rain, working more than ten hours a day, eating only leftovers, getting tanned dark, and as thin as a bamboo pole. He finally made it to his holiday, dragging his sick body back home, just wanting to rest for a few days... If you don't let him rest at home, my heart is broken..."

But Yun Zhonglei didn't respond to her at all, and didn't even give her a second glance.

He gave a cold snort, turned and left, his steps crisp and decisive, without looking back: "Xiao Zhao, there's no room for negotiation. You go back first, I'll send people to investigate tomorrow. If the person is really at your house, don't blame me for being ruthless. When the police arrive, no one can stop them."

Zhao Lin had no choice but to go home with Shen Cuifen.

Zhou Liguo was slumped on a bamboo chair in the main room, holding a can of ice-cold beer in his hand and munching on a few peanuts, making a crunching sound.

As he drank, he squinted at the door. When he heard a noise, he looked up and saw Zhao Lin's pale face and heavy steps. A surge of anger rose in his heart.

He spat out a mouthful of saliva, peanut shells flying everywhere: "Your own son works tirelessly in the wind and rain, risking his life to transport goods, coming home exhausted and emaciated, and you can't even step inside the house? You're not even fit to be a mother? Are you even human?"

He tilted his head back and gulped down the last mouthful of beer, the veins on his neck throbbing.

Then, with a "smack," the empty bottle was slammed onto the wooden table, making the peanut dish on the table jump.

He snorted coldly, not even lifting his eyelids, turned around, dragged his heavy steps, slammed the door shut, and went back to his room to sleep.

Zhao Lin stood there, stunned, his lips trembling slightly, his gaze slowly sweeping across the room.

The old eight-immortal table in the corner still had the bowls and chopsticks from last night on it, and spider webs swayed gently under the beams.