Chapter 3: A strategic retreat will suffice; just make him give me the betrothal gifts directly! ...

Four-year-old Ji Cong was stumped by the question, then pointed to the people behind him and said, "That's what they all say."

Li Shuhui couldn't bear to see her son being wronged, especially since it was the truth. She stood up, pulled her son, who was about to cry, aside, and looked coldly at Ji Wei: "Sister, you had a bad day with your blind date, why are you taking it out on the child?"

Ji Wei ignored her and looked at Zhou Xiuzhen instead: "Mom, I earn more than 300 yuan a month, and I give you almost all of it. You use this money to support Ji Shengzhou's family. I've pretended not to see it all for Lulu's sake. Where do you get the nerve to say that Lulu is a burden?"

"Sister, explain yourself clearly. What do you mean by 'subsidizing us'? You and Lulu live at home and don't have to pay for food and drink?" Upon hearing this, Ji Shengzhou was unhappy and was the first to jump out to argue.

Glancing at the increasingly plump figures of Ji Shengzhou and his son Ji Cong, Ji Wei sneered: "They say pigs eat food with a guilty conscience, and I think you're no less so."

"Weiwei, what are you saying? Quickly apologize to your brother and the others." Zhou Xiuzhen looked at her disapprovingly. Was she unhappy that she had let her go on a blind date and deliberately came back to cause trouble?

Ji Wei ignored her and looked coldly at Ji Cong, who was being protected in Li Shuhui's arms: "Ji Cong, apologize to Lulu."

"I don't want to," Ji Cong refused outright.

“If you don’t want to, I’ll tell your kindergarten classmates tomorrow that you wet the bed every night.” As a teacher, Ji Wei naturally knew where his Achilles’ heel was.

"I didn't!" Ji Cong said, his face flushed, his voice lacking conviction as he defended himself.

Ji Wei didn't speak this time, but just gave him a cold glance. For the first time, Ji Cong felt the authority of a teacher from her. He hesitated for a moment, and then reluctantly said, "Lulu, I'm sorry." After saying that, he burst into tears.

"Sister, if you have any complaints, just come at me directly. Why make things difficult for Congcong?" After saying that, Li Shuhui looked at Ji Shengzhou and said indirectly, "Ji Shengzhou, are you even a man? How can you let people bully your son like this? I don't think we can live like this anymore. Since we can't stay here, let's leave!" After saying that, Li Shuhui carried Ji Cong upstairs, her heavy footsteps echoing as she told the others about her dissatisfaction and waited for their choices.

A loud bang rang out—it was Ji Dahai, the father, slamming his hand on the table. Then came his angry voice: "Ji Wei, do you only feel at ease when you've caused chaos in the family?"

Ji Wei scoffed, "No, I just told the truth, how did that cause any unrest in the family?" In her past life, she was afraid that no one would help her take care of Lulu, so she chose to turn a blind eye to many things, but her compromises did not earn their understanding.

"Since you feel wronged, then you can take care of Lulu yourself. That way you won't have to give your salary to your mother." Ji Dahai finished speaking and snorted coldly, pulling out his trump card. They all knew how busy Ji Wei was, so busy that she didn't have time to take care of the child, so they were sure they could get rid of her.

"Okay, I already had this plan in mind. I won't trouble you any further, Lulu." Ji Wei had seen through her family in her past life, and she had long since given up on them.

The remaining three were surprised by her quick agreement, especially Ji Shengzhou. Despite his earlier exuberance, he knew exactly where his mother was spending the money his sister gave him each month. With his and Li Shuhui's factory profits declining, Ji Wei's monthly allowance was crucial; the family couldn't afford to lose this source of income. So, he shamelessly approached Ji Wei: "Sister, everyone knows you're busy. You don't have time to take care of Lulu. Quickly apologize to Dad; we're all family, we won't abandon you."

Ji Wei looked at Ji Shengzhou, who was winking at her, with a half-smile. Yes, it was the same in her past life. Every time, it was him, the beneficiary, who would condescendingly criticize her and list her various acts of filial impiety. Now she directly exposed his hypocrisy: "What, you can't bear to part with my three hundred yuan a month? Aren't your wife and children making a fuss about going back to your parents' home? Aren't you going to stop them?"

Ever since giving birth to Ji Cong, Li Shuhui has frequently used this tactic to threaten them, especially the year she brought Lulu back. Even though she knew she was putting on an act, she had no choice but to back down.

"Sister, I'm only thinking of you two, how could you think of me like that?" Ji Shengzhou blushed as his thoughts were exposed, and he forgot to play along with Li Shuhui's act of going upstairs to stop the mother and son from leaving.

Clutching Ji Wei's clothes, Lulu hugged her doll tightly. She used to be most afraid of family members arguing, but today she was inexplicably excited. For the first time, she thought her mother was amazing.

"Weiwei, what's wrong with you today? We're all family, let's sit down and talk things over." Zhou Xiuzhen gave her a disapproving look.

"What are you discussing? How Ji Cong bullies Lulu, or how you treat Lulu when I'm not around?" Ji Wei's eyes reddened as she recalled Lulu's accusations against her in her previous life. It was her self-righteousness that caused Lulu to suffer for so many years.

“Ji Wei, you should speak from your conscience. Look around, who else would leave their child with their parents? Besides, we’ve treated Lulu quite well.” Zhou Xiuzhen felt that it was already very kind of them to be willing to help her take care of Lulu.

"It's like I didn't pay. Alright, there's no point in saying all this now. I'll take Lulu to move out tomorrow." Ji Wei planned to temporarily move Lulu to the school dormitory.

Zhou Xiuzhen was about to say something when Ji Dahai interrupted her: "Let her move. We've been too good to her. She'll understand when she takes care of the child herself."

Two years ago, Ji Wei did consider taking care of the child herself, but the school started to reform and required various exams and assessments. At that time, she was willing but unable to do so. So she was very grateful for her family's help and was willing to give them all her salary. She did this in the hope that they would treat the child better, but she forgot that greed is insatiable.

"Weiwei, why are you doing this to yourself?" Zhou Xiuzhen sighed after speaking, which was considered an admission of Ji Dahai's words. She intended to teach her a lesson. Ji Shengzhou, who was standing next to her, wanted to say something, but in the end, he opened his mouth but didn't say anything.

The happiest person present was Lulu. Could she stay with her mother all day tomorrow? Thinking of this, she rubbed her foot against Ji Wei's clothes.

"Oh, everyone's here?" Aunt Wang at the door interrupted the tense atmosphere.

Zhou Xiuzhen glanced at Ji Wei, then stepped forward and greeted Aunt Wang, "Sister Wang, what's going on?"

Aunt Wang patted Zhou Xiuzhen's arm and asked her curiously, "What, didn't Weiwei tell you? Xiao Gu is coming to your house tomorrow to discuss their marriage."

"Marriage?" Zhou Xiuzhen was stunned.

"That's right, given their situation, it would be a good thing for them to get married sooner. What do you all think?" Aunt Wang said, subtly observing the expressions of the others.

After the surprise in Ji Shengzhou's eyes faded, he said in a low voice, "No wonder!" No wonder Ji Wei was unusually tough today; it turns out she's getting married. But wasn't she reluctant to get married before? Thinking about losing her three hundred yuan every month, he couldn't help but start to complain about Li Shuhui's idea. However, when he thought about the bride price, his expression softened a bit.

"That's right, that's right." Zhou Xiuzhen's happiness was genuine. After all, Ji Wei was a piece of her own flesh and blood, and she certainly hoped that Ji Wei would have someone to rely on for the rest of her life.

"Alright, I just came to let you know so you can prepare. I'll head back now." Aunt Wang, as the top matchmaker in Wu'an Town, is very busy.

Zhou Xiuzhen escorted the person to the door, and when she turned back, her face was full of smiles. When she spoke to Ji Wei again, her tone was much gentler: "You child, you didn't even tell us about such a big thing when you came back."

"Did you give me a chance to speak?" Ji Wei said, glancing sideways at Li Shuhui, who was carrying luggage and pulling Ji Cong along, with a mocking smile.

After waiting upstairs for ages without anyone showing up, Li Shuhui had no choice but to take her luggage and Ji Cong downstairs. Unexpectedly, she heard Ji Wei's mocking voice as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs. Upon hearing this, she sneered, "Sister, you don't need to remind me. I know I'm the outsider in this family. I'm leaving. I'll make room for your family."

“Li Shuhui, if you want to go back to your parents’ home, go ahead. I can’t carry such a heavy burden.” Ji Wei finished speaking and turned to Zhou Xiuzhen: “Since this family doesn’t welcome me, I’ll take Lulu and move to school right now.” Ji Wei couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. Isn’t this the kind of trick Li Shuhui loves to use? As if anyone can’t do it.

Having said all that, Li Shuhui wasn't about to become a laughingstock. She grabbed Ji Cong and started to walk out the door. At that moment, the patriarch, Ji Dahai, spoke up: "Shengzhou, keep an eye on your wife. If she goes back today, she doesn't need to come back!" After saying that, he looked at Ji Wei and sneered: "The man is coming to visit tomorrow, and you're saying you want to move out now? Are you doing this on purpose?"

"Dad, you're overthinking it. I had this plan before." Compared to Ji Dahai's fury, Ji Wei's tone was very calm.

Li Shuhui was all bark and no bite, so when Ji Shengzhou pulled her back, she stopped. What did her father-in-law mean by saying that the man would come tomorrow? Did that mean Ji Wei had a successful blind date today?

"I think you just want others to laugh at us. Ji Wei, when Xie Fei left, we all advised you not to keep Lulu, but you wouldn't listen. You insisted on going against us. You chose this situation yourself." Ji Dahai finished speaking and snorted coldly. Back then, they tried their best to persuade her to leave the child with the Xie family, but she just wouldn't listen. Now everything is her own doing.

Ji Wei didn't rush to refute him. She just lowered her head and gently patted Lulu's head to soothe her uneasy emotions. Then she slowly looked up at Ji Dahai, who was looking angry: "Dad, I didn't mean that. Since you think it's not appropriate to move out now, I'll move out tomorrow."

"Alright, both of you, say less. The groom's visit tomorrow is a big deal. Weiwei, could you tell us more about Xiao Gu's situation?" Zhou Xiuzhen glanced at the father and daughter, then tried to smooth things over.

Li Shuhui, standing nearby, also perked up her ears. For her proud and arrogant sister-in-law to agree to marriage, the man must be quite eligible. Indeed, in Li Shuhui's view, Ji Wei's reluctance to go on blind dates these past two years stemmed from her high standards; she looked down on the conditions of the men she was supposed to meet.

“He’s from Yun County. He just returned from military service and now works at the tax bureau. His son is eight years old and happens to be in my class.” Ji Wei briefly summarized the other party’s information.

“He’s from Yun County, so he doesn’t have a house here? He just started working, when will it be his turn for the company to allocate housing?” Zhou Xiuzhen frowned upon hearing this.

Noticing the hesitation in her eyes, Ji Wei thought it would be a good opportunity to clarify things with them.

"He doesn't own a house, but his job is decent. I've already discussed the marriage with him. His visit tomorrow is just a formality. You don't need to mention the dowry to him." It's just a partnership anyway.

"How can this be?" As expected, Ji Wei's words were met with opposition from everyone.

Ji Wei looked at everyone with amusement: "Why not?"

“Sister, we’re only thinking of you. If we don’t ask for a dowry, people will say you’re paying extra, and your future in-laws will look down on you.” Ji Shengzhou kept talking like he was pouring out beans.

“Shengzhou is right, Weiwei. We’re doing this for your own good. Your Aunt Wang will communicate with the man about these things, so you don’t need to worry about them,” Zhou Xiuzhen said gently.

Listening to their high-sounding words, Ji Wei found it amusing. She raised the corners of her lips and said, "Since you're all doing this for my own good, then just have him give me the betrothal gifts directly!"

A note from the author:

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[Stand-up rabbit head] Front row red envelope, please favorite and give flowers, mwah!