Chapter 249 Fairness my ass

"Shhh."

Zhang Lao Er made a gesture, flicked the bankbook, and whispered to Zhang Lao San, "Mom, there's 10,000 in this bankbook. My eldest brother has already taken 5,000, so we'll each take 5,000 of the remaining 10,000. You haven't bought that job yet, have you? If you don't pay up soon, they might sell it to someone else. It'll be hard to find such a suitable job again..."

Zhang Laosan's mind immediately started to wander after hearing his words.

But Zheng Xiulan was still a little timid, so she asked Zhang Lao Er, "Second Brother, won't Mom scold us if we take this money?"

What are you thinking about?

Zhang Lao Er scoffed, "Of course he'll curse, and he might even hit someone with a rolling pin."

"ah?"

Zhang Laosan stared longingly at the savings book, wanting it but not daring to take it.

Zhang Lao Er shoved the passbook into his pocket and asked him, "Do you want it? If you don't, I'll only take my share of five thousand and put the rest back. But you should think it over. Once your older brother takes that five thousand, he probably won't get it back. Do you think Mom will be willing to take out another five thousand to buy you a job?"

"How would I know?"

Zhang Laosan scratched his head, looking troubled, and said, "I'm really worried about this. With Mom being so stingy, I don't think there's much chance I'll get her to spend money to buy me a job again..."

"Then what are you still hesitating for?"

Zhang Lao Er frowned. "Let Mom scold us if she wants. At worst, you can follow my brother and move out too. Anyway, once you have a job, you'll have a salary. You can rent a place and live wherever you want. Isn't it better to live a carefree life outside? If you give it to Mom, you might not even be able to afford a bowl of beef noodles when you go out."

"Second brother..."

Zhang Laosan's eyes lit up. If he didn't live with his parents, he wouldn't have to listen to their endless nagging every day.

He swallowed hard, looking at the bankbook.

Zhang Lao Er frowned. "Are you going or not? If you're not going, I'm leaving..."

Zhang Laosan hesitated for a few seconds, and just as Zhang Laoer was about to open the door, he gritted his teeth and said, "Go, I'll go. Second brother, wait for me. I'll get some money for packaging. You can come with me to find that person who sells jobs later. I want to get this done today, so that things don't get complicated. You know, if I bring so much money home and my parents see it, I won't be able to explain myself."

"You still have the nerve to talk?"

Zhang Lao Er scoffed, "What right do you have? Didn't we take the money together?"

Zhang Laosan, "..."

"Second brother, that's called stealing."

Zhang Lao Er: "Bullshit! How can taking your own money be called stealing?"

The two brothers left home with their savings book, went to the bank to withdraw the money, five thousand each, leaving only a thousand or so yuan as change for their elderly parents.

Zhang Laosan was extremely nervous, clutching the bag of money. He swallowed hard several times and took a few deep breaths before finally finding his voice to call out to Zhang Laoer, "Second Brother, come with me..."

"Okay, I'll go with you."

The two brothers found someone, paid the fee, and completed the handover process. The man who helped Zhang Laosan with the handover smiled and said, "It's all done. You can start work tomorrow. The salary is forty-five yuan a month, with one day off a week. Your salary will gradually increase based on your performance and achievements..."

"Oh, thank you, comrade."

Zhang Laosan grinned from ear to ear and muttered to Zhang Laoer, "It's such a simple thing, but you made me worry about it for so long. It's worth getting scolded when we get back."

Zhang Lao Er patted Zhang Lao San on the shoulder, stuffed the savings book into his hand, and said with a smile, "Alright, then you can lead the charge when the time comes."

Zhang Laosan, "..."

After the two brothers parted ways, Zhang Lao Er went to Fan Liangyu's workplace and waited for her to finish work so he could boast about his achievements to her.

"...I got the money back from my mom, and even got a few thousand extra. Come on, honey, I'll take you to find a house. We'll rent whichever one you like, far away from my mom. When we have a baby, if you want her to come and help with postpartum care, she can come. If you don't want her to come, we'll hire a postpartum nanny. How about that? Aren't I good to you?"

Fan Liangyu frowned and glanced at him. "Take it? You didn't steal your mother's money, did you?"

"What theft?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Zhang Lao Er's face as he explained, "That's my mom's money, so it's my money. What's wrong with me taking it?"

Fan Liangyu's eyes flickered, and he hummed in agreement.

She stared at him and said, "You'd better watch out, or your mom might call the police to catch a thief."

Zhang Lao Er, "...No way?"

"Well, they might even pin it on me, saying I encouraged you to steal the money. You'll be fine, but I'll end up with a lot of trouble and bad luck."

Fan Liangyu pursed his lips, then turned and walked away in annoyance.

Zhang Lao Er was about to chase after her, but Fan Liangyu waved her hand to stop him. "Alright, stop following me. Go home and check on your mother. That's half a lifetime's worth of hard-earned money. She'd be crazy not to call the police if the money's gone."

"Honey, you're overthinking it. My mom wouldn't go that far..."

Zhang Lao Er thought his mother wouldn't do something like sending her son to jail, but he still felt uneasy. He glanced at Fan Liangyu walking away, stomped his foot, turned around, got on the bus, and went home.

As soon as he got downstairs, he heard a bicycle bell behind him, and two policemen followed him upstairs.

"Excuse me, sir, which floor does Zheng Xiulan live on?"

Zhang Lao Er's mind went blank for a moment; his mother had actually called the police!

A cold sweat broke out on his forehead, but he couldn't ignore the police's questions. He forced a smile and said, "I am Zheng Xiulan's second son. What do you want with her?"

The police told her about losing her money, and then said, "Let's take a look at the scene."

Zhang Lao Er, "..."

He had his third son put the passbook back where it was with his mother. There are records showing that the money was withdrawn. It's obvious that it was done by a family member. Why did they call the police?

The three arrived one after the other. When Zheng Xiulan saw Zhang Lao Er, she immediately exploded.

She started hitting him, yelling at Zhang Lao Er, "You stole my money! You stole my money! Where's the money? Where did you hide it? Did you give it to that slut Fan Liangyu? Tell me, tell me..."

"Mom, the police are here! The police are here!" Zhang Lao Er covered his head, dodging Zheng Xiulan and revealing the police behind him.

The two police officers were stunned by the scene.

Zheng Xiulan grabbed Zhang Lao Er and said, "Police officers, he and his wife stole my money, my ten thousand yuan! It must have been that slut Fan Liangyu who instigated him to steal it! You must go and arrest Fan Liangyu and make her return my money..."

Zhang Lao Er glared at Zhang Lao San, who was hiding in the living room with his neck hunched over, and yanked Zheng Xiulan away.

He shouted, "Mom, I took the money, so it's rightfully my share. My eldest brother got five thousand, I got five thousand, and my third brother got five thousand. It's exactly right, fair and just. We didn't take a single penny more, third brother!"

"...Yes, Mom, we really didn't take any more than that. We didn't touch the remaining thousand or so."

When his second brother called his name, Zhang Laosan forced a smile and called out, "Mom."

Zheng Xiulan felt as if the sky was about to fall.

She'd worked so hard to save that money for so long! It was her and her husband's retirement savings, their coffin money!

"Fair my ass! That's our life savings, your father's and my last savings. Aren't you ashamed to spend it like that?"