"Third brother, you are a good person, much better than your two brothers. Mom loved you for a long time. She sent you to junior high school and then to the army..."

Zheng Guoqiang looked straight into her eyes, not dodging or avoiding. "Mom, when Dad whipped my older brothers to go to school, it was them who refused to go, not you who didn't want them to go. When I was about to go to junior high school, you didn't want me to go, and I begged you for a long time before you agreed.

When the army was being recruited, it wasn't that my older brothers couldn't sign up. No one stopped them. It was because they were afraid of death and you felt sorry for them and were afraid that something might happen to them, so you didn't let them go.

When I wanted to sign up for the military, you initially disagreed because 'one less worker at home means one less income.' I knelt before you and promised to send back all my allowance, and only then did you let me go."

Since it involves his own interests, why should he care whether the family is in chaos or not?

Besides, even if he chose to endure it and chose not to say anything, wouldn’t this family still be torn apart?

Li Aiyun: “…”

She looked at Zheng Guoqiang: "Do you really want to divide it like your eldest brother and second brother?"

"Mom, look at what you said. Didn't you divide me out when the family was divided? You didn't even give me anything."

Zheng Lanping, who was eating pastries nearby, realized something was wrong, stopped eating, and sat there quietly without saying a word.

Li Aiyun said, "If you all leave, how will Mom live?"

Zheng Guoqiang smiled calmly, "You will continue to live the same way as before. Before I came home today, you didn't know I was going to retire and thought I would stay in the army. So just treat me as if I hadn't come back.

I live in the company dormitory, which is more convenient for my work. I can come back to see you and dad from time to time.

My eldest and second brothers live nearby. Although we've split up, you and Dad raised them, found them wives, nursed them through childbirth, raised their children, and even allocated money to build them houses. You and Dad owe them nothing. If you have any questions, go find them. If your eldest and second brothers don't care, go find the brigade leaders. I don't believe our brigade would tolerate such disrespectful behavior."

To be honest, his mother is indeed partial. She loves Lan Ping more, but judging from the actual expenditure, the time, energy, and even money she spends on Lan Ping is far less than that spent on her eldest and second brothers.

She just didn't let Lan Ping work, and asked her to eat and drink better, but how much money could she spend? In this day and age, no matter how good things are, they are limited.

What about the eldest and second brothers? Marrying a wife, paying the bride price, getting married, having children, raising children, which one does not require time and energy? Without Mom's help, can they be so peaceful?

Of course, there is an objective reason for this result, that is, Lan Ping is young and has not yet reached the age where she needs her mother to worry about her.

But no matter what, the money that Mom spent on Lan Ping was his, the sucker, so what did it have to do with the eldest and second brothers? He hadn't said anything yet, and they stopped doing it first.

Zheng Guoqiang couldn't understand it. He was clearly the only one in the family who was suffering, while everyone else was taking advantage of him. It was a bit ridiculous to think that it had come to this, simply because of an uneven distribution of benefits.

After hearing what Zheng Guoqiang said, Li Aiyun also knew that "the game was over" and her relationship with her son changed completely.

The most important thing in life is to know the current situation.

Li Aiyun sighed inwardly, but smiled. She said, "Your father and I aren't that old yet. We can still do things, so it's okay. We'll try not to cause trouble for our children. We'll deal with it when we're really old and can't move. It's not easy for you to live in the dormitory alone. If you have something to do, just come home. If you have any sewing or mending work, bring it back and I'll do it for you. When you get married, she'll do all these things for you."

Zheng Guoqiang smiled and said, "There's no sign of getting married yet. Don't worry, I'll settle down first."

Li Aiyun nodded and continued, "We used to be poor and had a hard time. When you were about to go to junior high school, your eldest brother was about to get married, and there were many things to spend money on. Mom didn't want you to go to school at first because she wanted to save some money. And when you joined the army, although Mom was not happy about it, she didn't stop you and let you go anyway."

"I know, Mom, I don't blame you. If I did, would I have sent you all the money after I got promoted? I just felt bad that I couldn't be with you and Dad to fulfill my filial duties. I wanted to send you more money so that you wouldn't have to worry about money. This is my filial piety as a son, so just accept it."

Li Aiyun asked him, "You haven't told me yet, what exactly do you do as a construction officer?"

"They say he's in charge of all sorts of projects at the commune. It's physically demanding."

He'd heard it all the time Secretary Li and Director Zhong had mentioned it today. No matter how nice it sounded, it was still just hard labor. But that was par for the course; some retired officers had applied to go to the west to support construction, also working on various projects. He simply hadn't applied, and so he was assigned to hard labor.

Li Aiyun smiled and said, "The commune has indeed changed a lot. Our brigade's income this year should be higher than last year. I heard there are many projects to be done. You will be very busy in the future."

The mother and son started a tender chat, as if they were not the ones who were at loggerheads just now.

Zheng Lanping next to her was almost out of her mind.

In the evening, when Old Man Zheng came home from get off work, he saw his third son and was as shocked as his wife. He was about to ask something when Li Aiyun stopped him. "The third son just came back. Don't ask too many questions. Let's eat first."

Old Man Zheng: “…”

After dinner, Zheng Guoqiang wanted to clear the table, but Li Aiyun refused. "Third brother, are you staying at home today?"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!