Chapter 76 I Don't Want Your Daughter Anymore

"What are you doing, in-law?"

Zheng Xiulan was taken aback by Li Banxia's actions, and her face turned pale and then red, not daring to look at her colleagues.

She gritted her teeth, her chest heaving violently as she suppressed her rage.

She forced a stiff smile. "Weren't those money and things you used to support your Hongying? Why are you asking for them back? This... people will laugh at us if word gets out."

Her original intention was to make Li Banxia consider Su Hongying, since Su Hongying was going to be her daughter-in-law for life.

Unexpectedly, Li Banxia directly exposed her.

He was smiling, but his eyes were cold and devoid of any warmth. He asked her, "Who are you laughing at?"

Zheng Xiulan opened her mouth.

Li Banxia said, "Su Hongying is brainless. She was easily fooled and instigated by you to run back to her parents' house to move her things. She wanted to move her entire family home to your house. How come you just say 'subsidize' and that's it?"

Zheng Xiulan slightly opened her eyes and glanced at Su Hongying.

Su Hongying frowned deeply, looking like she wanted to call on Li Banxia but couldn't get a word in edgewise.

"...You gave me 500 yuan as a bride price, and I didn't keep a single penny. I let her take it all back to you. Other families wanted the 'three turns and one sound' (referring to a set of three watches, one ring, and one radio), but I didn't want that. I even gave her a sewing machine as a dowry. In the end, you cried, coaxed, and lied to her, and she gave it all to you for household expenses. I didn't originally intend to keep track of these things and ask for this money, but there's a limit to how much you can bully someone, right?"

Zheng Xiulan was grinding her teeth so hard she was practically grinding them to dust. She desperately tried to signal to Su Hongying to stop Li Banxia.

Su Hongying didn't receive the message and asked with concern, "Mom, what's wrong with your eyes? Are they cramping?"

Zheng Xiulan, "..."

Li Banxia thought, "How could such a shrewd person have given birth to a fool?!"

"My dear in-law, you've misunderstood. I didn't..." Unable to rely on her wife, Zheng Xiulan had no choice but to save herself.

Li Banxia had no intention of giving her a chance. "You instigated Hongying to go back to her parents' home to ask for the bicycle ticket for my second son's wedding, and the money for her sister-in-law's pregnancy and childbirth, all to pay for your second son's wedding! Aren't you going too far? You deceived and used my daughter, and you're still smearing her in front of your colleagues. Let everyone judge for themselves, is what you did right?"

Upon hearing this, the colleagues below immediately erupted in uproar.

Someone whispered, "Hey, why does this sound different from what Sister Zheng said?"

"Wasn't it said that her daughter-in-law's family gave it to her voluntarily?"

"Didn't you listen carefully when she explained just now? She said it was her daughter-in-law who wanted it, and it had nothing to do with her. Now that her in-laws are saying this, who is telling the truth?"

"It can't be true. How could someone's mother-in-law find her way to their workplace? She must be furious! It's probably true."

"Oh my, this is incredible! He always seemed like such a nice person, how could he possibly be scheming against his daughter-in-law and in-laws?"

"...Indeed, you can know a person's face but not their heart."

These comments were like needles piercing Zheng Xiulan's heart.

She was so angry she felt like she was going to grind her teeth to powder. She thought about how she used to give Su Hongying whatever she wanted, and how she had just casually teased her about it because she saw how easily Su Hongying borrowed the car.

Who knew, this was useless, more trouble than it was worth!

Li Banxia actually made a scene in her office, catching her completely off guard.

Otherwise, things would never be like this now.

These people had all worked with her for so many years, and she had always been known for her diligence and kindness. This time, however, Li Banxia had completely ruined her image.

What will these people think of her in the future?!

hateful!

Zheng Xiulan was burning with anger, but she still had to save face. She couldn't act like a shrew and argue with Li Banxia in front of her colleagues. She gritted her teeth several times before she managed to squeeze out a smile that was more like a grimace.

“My dear in-laws, there must be some misunderstanding here. It’s not convenient to talk about it here. Let’s go outside…”

As long as she could get him out of there and coax him to a secluded place, she had plenty of ways to make Li Banxia swallow his grievances.

“…Hongying, you should also try to persuade your mother. We are in-laws, and we are supposed to be together for life. I also want to treat you like my own child. Your mother is only concerned with money and not with the future. Isn’t that a thorn in our hearts?”

Su Hongying thought her mother-in-law made sense, sighed, and reached out to pull Li Banxia's arm.

"Mom, stop making a scene..."

Li Banxia shoved her away and looked at her coldly, "Su Hongying, I carried you for ten months and raised you to adulthood for twenty-one years, and you're not even worth three months of your mother-in-law's time, are you?"

"Mom! Is this the time to talk about this?"

Su Hongying frowned and was about to hit him again when Li Banxia slapped her away.

"Alright, since you've chosen to side with her, don't call me 'Mom' anymore. I'll leave once I've taken the money and settled the accounts." Li Banxia glanced at Zheng Xiulan, noticing the smugness in her eyes, and her gaze turned cold.

The woman who brought Li Banxia to the office clicked her tongue, "This daughter is really clueless. Her own mother is backing her up, and she's blaming her own mother..."

"She'll suffer for not listening to the elders; she'll suffer endless losses in the future," a female worker nearby added.

Someone else whispered, "You guys really know how to fool people. This daughter-in-law of hers is like Sun Wukong meeting Buddha; she'll probably never escape her grasp for the rest of her life, unless..."

The group turned to look at her, and she chuckled twice, swallowing the word "divorce" back.

Su Hongying was furious at Li Banxia's words. She stomped her feet and hissed at Li Banxia, ​​"Mom! I'm going to spend the rest of my life in the Zhang family. What good will it do me if you fall out with my mother-in-law? Aren't you usually the one who loves me the most? Can't you think about me for once...?"

"Yes, I love you! But do you love me?"

Li Banxia patted her own face and called out to Su Hongying, "You tear my face off, throw it on the ground, and stomp on it twice, and I have to cooperate with you? I don't want a daughter like you anymore."

"mom!"

Su Hongying stared at Li Banxia in disbelief, "Did you have to go crazy at this time?"

If she had known her mother would act like this when she came to see her mother-in-law, she would never have brought her along!

What do we do now?!

Su Hongying looked at Zheng Xiulan pleadingly, "Mom, she's gone mad, I can't stop her..."

"Never mind, Mom knows, it's not your fault." Zheng Xiulan sighed, comforting Su Hongying.

This scene felt like a knife had been stabbed into Li Banxia's heart, causing her both pain and discomfort.

She is her own child; she raised her with milk and food.

He's closer to a stranger he's only known for three months than to his own mother!

The fact that she supported him all these years makes it seem like an utterly ridiculous joke.

Li Banxia took a deep breath, expressionless, and pulled out a notebook from her bag, starting to calculate, "...The money comes every week, sometimes thirty, sometimes ten or five yuan, adding up to one hundred and fifty-two. This includes the medicine you used to regulate your irregular periods, the various medicinal herbs your mother used to treat her health... and the ginseng you asked Su Hongying to take home because your mother was unwell and needed recuperation; it was ten years old..."

"Did you exchange the ginseng for money?" Li Banxia looked up at Zheng Xiulan.