Chapter 246 Argument

She spoke, deliberately softening her tone: "Alright, alright, it's all in the past, let's not talk about it anymore, let's go home. Let's not cause any more trouble, living a peaceful life is the most important thing."

As the family reached the gate of the courtyard, Zhao Lin suddenly stopped, as if he had just remembered something, and said in a low voice, "Oh right, your third brother, Liguo... is back. The police got him out of the illegal factory and just brought him back."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a figure suddenly rushed out from the corner of the room—it was Zhou Anguo.

His face was contorted with rage, veins throbbing on his forehead, and his hand trembled as he pointed at Zhao Lin: "Mother! Why didn't you make things clear at the meeting yesterday? The village chief told everyone to get Liguo out of the village, why didn't you just go along with it then? Wouldn't it have been fine if you had just told him to leave? Now you've brought him back, are you trying to bring disaster upon the family? Tell me! How are we going to resolve this?"

As he shouted, he looked up and suddenly saw Zhou Jianguo. He froze, and his voice stopped.

Then, he narrowed his eyes, carefully looked his brother up and down, and suddenly sneered: "Wait... looking like this, did you spend five hundred yuan to bail your second brother out of the police station?"

Zhao Lin's expression changed slightly, his brows furrowed, and he asked in surprise, "You... how do you know about this?"

Zhou Anguo glared at Zhou Jianguo with a cold smile, his voice almost a whisper as he squeezed out the words: "Who in the village has ever been to the police station? Which family doesn't secretly pay money to bail them out? You think this can be kept secret? You touched my savings account without even saying a word. Do you think I'm dead? Do you think I'm stupid?"

Zhao Lin smiled coldly to himself.

She was in charge of that money, and she had clearly said, "That money will only be yours after you get into university."

But with everyone inside and outside the house, and the village chief waiting in the yard, she couldn't lose her composure, nor could she afford to break ties with her son at this moment.

She expressionlessly pushed aside Zhou Anguo, who was blocking the doorway, and strode firmly into the main room.

Inside the room, Yun Zhonglei sat upright in the wooden chair in the center, his expression serious. Zhou Nuli stood to the side with a livid face, his hands clenched into fists and his lips pressed tightly together, clearly suppressing his anger. Zhou Liguo stood against the wall, head down, silent, as if his whole being was shrouded in an invisible dark cloud.

None of the three spoke, and the atmosphere was so heavy it was almost palpable.

As soon as Zhou Nuli saw Zhao Lin push the door open and enter, he immediately exploded like a lit firecracker: "Look what you've done! Yesterday, the village chief said in front of the whole village that Li Guo was the root of all trouble and that he should be driven away. You didn't say a word in defense of your family, but you secretly slipped out early this morning and brought him back? Now all the problems are being piled on my head. Do you want me to take the blame for you?"

Zhao Lin sneered inwardly—Zhou Liguo isn't your own son, so why are you jumping up and down like this?

Whenever something happens at home and you're asked to step up and take responsibility, you complain louder than anyone else, saying it's annoying and tiring.

But now you're pretending to be serious?

At this moment, Zhou Jianguo also staggered into the room and immediately saw Zhou Liguo by the wall.

He hurried forward and rushed to his younger brother, his face full of guilt and pleading: "Third brother, I'm so sorry! I was deceived and made a mistake without realizing it... But you have to think about it, if I hadn't been arrested, how would the police have found that illegal factory? If this matter hadn't attracted attention, would you have been able to come back safely? This... this is just a lucky accident!"

As he spoke, he patted his chest heavily, his voice rising with a hint of a vow: "Brother, I'm not afraid to admit it, I was confused! But from now on, as long as you say the word, even if it costs me my life, I'll stand by you to the very end! Do you believe me?"

Zhou Liguo slowly raised his eyes, his gaze as dark and cold as a deep well, staring straight at Zhou Jianguo. He remained silent for a long time before finally squeezing out a low voice: "Second brother, I've remembered what you said."

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Yun Zhonglei coughed and tapped the corner of the table lightly with his knuckles, producing two muffled "thump" sounds.

He raised his eyes, glanced at Zhao Lin, and said in a calm but unquestionable tone, "Little Zhao, everyone knows that you've always been the one in charge of this family. Now that everyone's here, the village chief is waiting outside for a reply. Tell me, how should we handle this?"

Zhao Lin turned to look at Zhou Nuli and asked softly, "This house... I've always been the one in charge?"

Zhou Nuli's face twitched, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, as if he hadn't expected her to ask such a question at this moment.

He gritted his teeth, glared at her with a fierce look that seemed to want to devour her, as if he wanted to tear her to pieces with his eyes.

But when he met Zhao Lin's face, which was calm to the point of being eerily so, his heart skipped a beat, and a strange sense of shame welled up inside him.

It wasn't anger or fear, but the embarrassment of being exposed in public.

His throat tightened, and he raised his hand.

"Smack!"

A resounding slap landed squarely on Zhao Lin's face.

The sound was so crisp it was jarring, echoing in the silent hall, as if the air itself had been jolted.

Zhao Lin covered his face, his ears ringing, and half of his cheek instantly became red and swollen.

She staggered back a few steps, her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, her body trembling slightly.

But she didn't lower her head or cry out; she simply lowered her eyes slowly, and tears fell silently like beads from a broken string.

Yun Zhonglei stood up instead, his face calm, his eyes sharp as knives.

He stepped forward, his tone steady yet undeniable: "Zhou Nuli, now is the time to reason. What can violence solve? Can it get the money back? Can it settle this mess? Or can it bring back the dead Zhou Liguo?"

"You lot," he said, his gaze sweeping over the Zhou family members, his voice low but each word like a hammer, "which one of you wasn't raised by your mother? Your father scolded and beat her, constantly overturning tables and smashing bowls, why didn't any of you stand up to stop him? You just watched her suffer, and now you're bullying her instead, what kind of men are you?"

Zhou Anguo forced a smile, waved his hands repeatedly, and shrank back slightly: "Village chief, please don't mock me. My father beats my mother, and we sons are caught in the middle, it's so hard. If we side with my father, we seem unfilial; if we side with my mother, we're disobeying our father's orders, this..."

This is putting us in a difficult position, isn't it? Don't you all agree?

Zhou Xiuli, standing to the side, also feigned concern, her voice gentle yet sharp as honey: "Brother, calm down, don't get agitated. The village chief is here, let's talk things out, why resort to violence? We shouldn't air our dirty laundry in public, we still need to save face for the Zhou family."

Yun Zhonglei frowned as he listened, his brows furrowing into a deep frown. He didn't even want to look at the Zhou family members, feeling a surge of pent-up emotions rising in his chest, making him feel suffocated.

He sighed, bent down, and squatted beside Zhao Lin, his voice very soft, tinged with concern: "Xiao Zhao, are you alright?"

Zhao Lin's tears streamed down her face, soaking her collar, and her shoulders trembled slightly.