Chapter 172 Unwilling to Cooperate (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Song Wei pursed his lips, "I also suffered losses when I was with you, why don't you mention that?"

"In the end, we're both too useless. Xu Qingmo is much better. I've decided to follow Xu Qingmo from now on." Zhou Tianyu saw many things clearly this time.

Only by standing by Xu Qingmo's side can one enjoy the best food and drink.

Zhang Cui listened to the conversation between the two and immediately understood what was going on.

She remained imperious, saying, "Tianyu already said he'd suffer with you, so it's only right that I cause trouble for your family. It's getting late, you should go back now. We won't provide you with food here."

Song Wei didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

After Song Wei left, Zhang Cui couldn't wait to ask Zhou Tianyu about his situation with Xu Qingmo.

Only after Zhou Tianyu confirmed it repeatedly did Zhang Cui put away her speculations.

"I didn't expect Xu Qingmo to be so capable. Tianyu, you should spend more time with Xu Qingmo in the future; there might be even greater benefits waiting for you." Zhang Cui had her own plans.

Zhou Tianyu didn't answer immediately, but instead pressed, "Mom, have you been causing trouble for Song Wei's family lately?"

"Of course, why should only Song Wei want to come back? I'm definitely not convinced."

"Now you know that I didn't suffer any losses over there. In fact, because of Xu Qingmo, I even made a contribution. I heard there will be a reward. Just wait for the good news."

Zhang Cui's eyes lit up, but then she quieted down again.

“Although you have done a good job, you are still young and have suffered a lot over there. Mom still feels sorry for you.”

Zhang Cui is a very good mother.

She has never been able to get over what happened to Zhou Tianyu.

She felt incredibly frustrated, so she kept trying to distract herself with other things.

“Xu Qingmo is only five years old, and she has been able to stay in the Dragon Pool Tiger Cave for so long. I am much older than her, so these hardships are nothing. Besides, Xu Qingmo will protect me, so I will not suffer any losses.”

“Xu Qingmo is a girl, and you are a boy. She can’t compare to you.” Zhang Cui still held the traditional patriarchal view.

Zhou Tianyu had previously followed Zhang Cui's thinking and believed that girls were inferior.

But as he watched Xu Qingmo do things, his initial disdain turned into admiration, and many things subtly changed some of his views.

"Mom, you're wrong. I can't compare to Xu Qingmo. She's so amazing. Not only did she rescue me, but she also helped Uncle Shen catch those bad guys. You have no idea how wicked those bad guys were. In order to seize the farmers' grain, she shot them all dead."

Zhang Cui swallowed hard; these people were indeed very wicked.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Come on, let's go to the kitchen and heat up the food. Your dad will be back soon."

The mother and son went to the kitchen; one tended the fire, and the other watched the food in the pot.

After the food was heated up, Zhou Qiang happened to return home.

"Dad, you're back." Zhou Tianyu left the kitchen and called out to the person who appeared at the door.

Zhou Qiang was taken aback. Although he had heard in the army that Xu Qingmo had brought Zhou Tianyu back and heard Zhou Tianyu call him "Dad" with his own ears, he still felt a lot of emotions.

He stepped forward and hugged Zhou Tianyu, kissing him on the forehead several times before letting go.

"Dad, don't be like that. I'm a big kid now." Zhou Tianyu touched his forehead, a little embarrassed.

"No matter what, you will always be my son. What's wrong with a father kissing his son a few times?"

"I didn't say it was bad, I was just a little embarrassed."

"You little rascal, now you know how to be shy?" Zhou Qiang couldn't help but tease.

When Zhou Tianyu was around, Zhou Qiang didn't feel anything, but since Zhou Tianyu disappeared, every day felt like an eternity.

In addition to his disagreements with Zhang Cuiyan, Zhou Qiang silently suppressed all of this in his heart.

Today, he finally saw Zhou Tianyu return, and he could no longer suppress his feelings.

"Dad, I'm really good now. I fought off those enemies with Xu Qingmo and helped lure them into the granary and burn it down." Zhou Tianyu was full of pride when he mentioned this.

It was because of this incident that he realized Xu Qingmo had not actually colluded with those people.

This also led to him getting closer to Xu Qingmo.

Zhou Qiang's eyes were full of approval. "I was worried that you would go astray before, and I was always worried about you. But now it seems that I don't need to worry about you at all. You have your own ideas and you are an upright and good kid."

Zhang Cui, who was carrying the food to the table, found these words very grating. She deliberately slammed the plate down on the table, making a series of loud thuds.

Zhou Qiang's attention was drawn to it.

Zhang Cui retorted, "What do you mean by that? Are you blaming me for not educating the child properly? If you're so good at educating children, then you do it. There's no need to be sarcastic."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qiang realized it was another misunderstanding and tried to explain, "I didn't mean that. Can you please stop overthinking things?"

"What, you think I'm overthinking it? If you hadn't been talking nonsense, would I have been overthinking it?"

"I really didn't mean that. The child just got home, can we not make a fuss?" Zhou Qiang looked troubled.

These days, he tries his best not to talk to Zhang Cui, for fear that he might say something wrong and cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

Zhang Cui snorted coldly, "Heh, you get annoyed just hearing me talk now. You've reached the end of your life, and you don't remember any of the little things from before. You're a heartless person."

Zhang Cui untied her apron and threw it on the chair before going back to her room to sleep, skipping dinner.

The pleasant atmosphere suddenly vanished.

Zhou Tianyu walked to the door and said to Zhang Cui inside the house, "Mom, can you please open the door? Our family has finally managed to get together, do you have to make things so messy?"

Zhang Cui wasn't sleepy at all, and she was sulking alone in the room.

Zhou Tianyu's words made her restless, so she put on her shoes and left the bedroom.

"What do you mean I made things so messy? Didn't I cook? Didn't I do anything for your own good? You little brat, don't talk back without any conscience!" Zhang Cui said angrily.

Zhou Tianyu didn't want to argue, so he pulled and coaxed her to the dining table and made her sit down to eat.

Zhang Cui snorted, unwilling to cooperate.

"Mom is right. You're always thinking of me and doing everything for my own good. I'm the one who didn't know how to be grateful and made you angry. Calm down and let's eat." Zhou Tianyu massaged Zhang Cui's shoulders and back, trying to coax her.

Zhang Cui ignored it.

Zhou Qiang couldn't stand it anymore and retorted, "The child just came home and has been suffering outside these past few days. Instead of taking good care of him, you're making him take care of your emotions. Zhang Cui, aren't you going too far?"