Chapter 298 Adults Fight, Children Suffer

"dad……"

Zhang Laosan forced out an awkward but polite smile, "I just started working, and I haven't even received my first month's salary yet. I have no money."

Old Zhang frowned and waved his hand.

"From now on, you will hand over your salary every month."

"ah?"

Zhang Laosan was taken aback. "If I hand it all in, what will I spend?"

Old Zhang didn't respond at all, acting as if he hadn't heard a word. He turned around, kicked the door, and called to Zhang the Second, "The Third has already agreed; he'll hand over his entire monthly salary..."

I don't believe it.

Zhang Lao Er said, "Lao San said that the first thing he would do after getting his salary is to move out. If I hadn't had so much money deducted that I only had a few dozen yuan left, I wouldn't want to stay at home either!"

Old Zhang, "..."

He kicked the door in anger.

"I don't care about your opinions. You've taken so much of my salary in advance, so you have to pay me back with your own salary. If you dare not pay, believe me, I'll go to your workplace tomorrow and take your salary in advance!"

"Go ahead, go ahead, let's see if they'll give it to you again!" Zhang Lao Er said recklessly.

Old Zhang was so angry that he paced back and forth in front of his door several times with his hands behind his back, cursing Zhang Lao Er as an unfilial wretch who should have been drowned in the toilet at birth...

Zhang Lao Er shouted from inside the house, "You regret it now, but it's too late..."

The father and son argued back and forth through the door, making quite a racket.

Just as Zhang Laosan had calmed the child down a bit, this commotion caused him to start crying loudly again.

Helpless, Zhang Laosan could only take the child and hide back in the house.

He felt that the constant arguing at home lately was making him very tired.

Old Zhang shouted for a long time, but couldn't kick open Zhang Lao Er's door. He could only angrily say, "If you're so capable, then don't ever come out again!"

When she returned to her room, she saw Zhang Laosan holding and comforting the child, and pointed at him and shook her head a few times.

He said, "If you dare to imitate your second brother, I'll break your legs. And remember to hand over your wages!"

Zhang Laosan could only sigh.

"Dad, I'm already twenty. I need to save money to get married. How can I get married if I give you all this money..."

"You can marry however your eldest and second brothers do!" Old Zhang said.

Zhang Laosan frowned and said, "Didn't my eldest and second brothers both lose their wives? My eldest brother even left behind a child with no one to raise him. I don't want that to happen..."

"Whatever you want or not, that's how it's going to be done."

Old Zhang made the final decision, not giving Zhang Laosan a chance to speak again, and grabbed the doorknob of his room to turn it and go inside.

Unable to open the door immediately, they discovered that Zheng Xiulan had locked it from the inside.

He got impatient again, kicked the door, and yelled for Zheng Xiulan to open it.

Zheng Xiulan opened the door, and Zhang Laosan hurried out, calling out, "Mom, child..."

He reached out to hand it over, but Zheng Xiulan pulled Old Zhang into the house and slammed the door shut.

Zhang Laosan, "..."

What's going on here?!

What did he do to deserve this?!

Zhang Laosan sighed deeply, looked down at the child, and saw that the child was hungry and his little mouth was moving as if he was sucking. Zhang Laosan tentatively put his hand to the child's mouth.

The child bit down hard and kept sucking.

I'm hungry.

Zhang Laosan sighed again and knocked on the door, "Mom, the child is hungry, can you come out and feed him?"

Zheng Xiulan acted as if she hadn't heard anything.

Zhang Laosan turned around and knocked on Zhang Haijun's door, but there was still no response.

Zhang Laosan was furious.

He just put the child on the sofa and didn't care anymore. The child wasn't his, and he didn't want him!

What does it have to do with him?

But as soon as he lifted his foot, the child started crying, looking at him with pleading eyes, his little eyes full of tears, looking very pitiful.

Zhang Laosan couldn't stand it anymore.

I went to the kitchen, found some formula, poured in some water, mixed it up, and fed it to the child.

The child did drink it, and after finishing the milk, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Zhang Laosan breathed a sigh of relief, put the child on the sofa, knocked on Zheng Xiulan's door, and said, "Mom, the child is asleep. Remember to take the child to the room..."

"Don't look for me, go find your older brother, the child is his."

Having no other option, Zhang Laosan went to knock on Zhang Haijun's door.

Perhaps having heard Zheng Xiulan's words, Zhang Haijun raised his voice and said, "The child is what Mom wanted, go give it to Mom!"

Zhang Laosan shouted several times, but no one was willing to come out and bring the child into the house!

"...I've left the child in the living room. Whoever wants to take care of him can take care of him. I'm not going to interfere anymore!" He gritted his teeth, hardened his heart, and went back to his room.

I didn't sleep well all night, I was in a daze, listening to the noises coming from the living room.

The next morning, I got up and opened the door to find my child still lying on the sofa in the living room.

When he walked over, the child was already awake. He saw the child grinning at him with his toothless mouth, gnawing on his hand. His clothes and hands were covered in drool, and there were dried water stains on his clothes. He didn't know how long the child had been awake or how long he had been playing by himself.

Zhang Laosan felt utterly powerless at that moment.

He looked up at his mother's and older brother's room and thought his family had gone mad.

If this continues, this family will fall apart sooner or later.

He didn't want to end up like his older brothers, nor did he want to continue living with his parents who would lose their temper at the drop of a hat and use their authority to force them to submit.

It's best to stay away as soon as possible.

He went back to his room to change into his work clothes, and after arriving at his workplace, he went to find his mentor. "Mentor, I'd like to go to the town below with you, is that alright?"

“It’s possible, but… will your parents agree?” His master looked at him in surprise.

In this old factory, there is a severe shortage of skilled workers both at the top and at the bottom. Although Zhang Laosan has not been working for long, with a mentor to guide him, he can learn skills while working. In three to five years, he can learn a lot. Even if he cannot work independently, he can still be of some use.

His master was naturally happy to oblige.

Zhang Laosan smiled bitterly, “They wish they could keep me by their side, but I want to learn more from my master so that I can train my own apprentices in the future. I can’t rely on them forever. They are getting old and will retire in a few years. I have to have the ability to support my family.”

The driver smiled and said, "Alright, then count you in. We have to leave next week. Talk to your family these next few days. You can only come back on holidays. Once you go, you'll have to stay there for three to five years. You'd better think it through..."

"Yes, I've made up my mind. Thank you, Master."

Zhang Laosan breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him with a smile, "I will work hard under my master's guidance."

Over the next few days, Zhang Laosan prepared for his transfer.

On the day she was supposed to leave, Zheng Xiulan found out and was so angry she was almost dumbfounded. "No way! It's easy for you to go down there, but getting a city residency permit again will be harder than climbing to heaven! Are you crazy? Why did you have to go down there..."

“Mom, I really can’t stand staying in this house anymore. It’s a complete mess every day. You and my eldest brother left a baby who was only a few months old in the living room just to spite him. You argue with my eldest and second brothers every day, and no one cares when the baby cries until he’s breathless. I don’t want to stay in this house anymore. I’m leaving… and I never intend to come back…”

"What did you say?"

Zheng Xiulan's pupils contracted, and she shouted, "What did you say?!"