"When is your mother coming back? You're asking me this? Who am I supposed to ask? I'm just an ordinary citizen. Do you think I can order the police station chief to release someone?" Zhou Fugui glared at him and said angrily.

Zhou Fugui spent several hours running around town, but not only did he not get anything done, he was also filled with resentment.

Zhou Bingqiang's question directly led Zhou Fugui to vent his anger on him.

"Dad, what are you saying? I only asked because I heard from the brigade leader that you went to town to look for connections," Zhou Bingqiang said awkwardly.

“Yeah, Dad, if you could command the police station chief, I wouldn’t be farming in the village!” Zhou Bingxing said sarcastically.

Zhou Bingxing always thought that Zhou Fugui's job would be passed on to him, but he never expected that his younger sister Zhou Meimei would steal it.

Over the past few years, Zhou Bingxing had been feeling resentful. Whenever he had the chance, he would make sarcastic remarks to Zhou Fugui.

For no other reason than to vent my anger.

"You unfilial son!" Zhou Fugui angrily took off his shoe and smashed it on Zhou Bingxing's head.

Zhou Fugui was waiting for his sons to comfort him, but unexpectedly Zhou Bingxing said this to him.

Zhou Bingxing, of course, couldn't let Zhou Fugui hit him, so he took a few steps back and dodged by tilting his head.

"Second brother, stop talking nonsense and listen to what Dad has to say," Zhou Bingqiang said, giving Zhou Bingxing a glare.

"Fine, fine, I won't say anything, okay?" Zhou Bingxing shook his leg, looking nonchalant.

Zhou Fugui wished he could take off another shoe and smash it in this unfilial son's face.

"Dad, calm down. Sit down and rest." Zhou Bingqiang gently persuaded Zhou Fugui, supporting his arm.

"Hmph!" Zhou Fugui was still angry, but he couldn't help but give his eldest son some face.

After helping Zhou Fugui sit down on the stool, Zhou Bingqiang retrieved Zhou Fugui's shoes and put them on his feet.

"Eldest brother! I've lost all face in town today! I hate myself for never having held a position of authority in my life!" Zhou Fugui cried, grabbing Zhou Bingqiang's arm with one hand and slapping his own face repeatedly with the other.

After leaving the Zhao family, Zhou Fugui felt increasingly aggrieved.

Liang Xiaohe, a junior, directly asked him for money for drinks. Wasn't that just because he was relying on Zhao Qingshan's influence?

Zhao Qingshan was also very malicious. Liang Xiaohe was so rude, yet Zhao Qingshan didn't stop her. This was condoning a junior to embarrass him!

And then there's Zhao Zhenzhu, who's just as cunning and wicked. Zhao Qingshan asked her to make him some noodles, but Zhao Zhenzhu pretended not to hear him.

What does all this signify?

The Zhao family looks down on him, their poor relative!

"Dad, don't cry! Who upset you? Did you get yelled at at the police station today?" Zhou Bingqiang grabbed the hand that Zhou Fugui had used to slap himself and asked.

Zhou Bingxing, however, curled his lip in disapproval.

His dad really thinks too simply. Become an official? Is it something he can just do whenever he wants?

His father is incompetent and not very bright.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have been tricked out of my job by that ingrate Zhou Meimei with just a few words.

Zhou Fugui, unaware that his second son was cursing him in his heart, shook his head at Zhou Bingqiang and said, "No, the people at the police station were very friendly. I only took out a cigarette, and they even helped me find a solution! It was Zhao Qingshan."

Zhou Fugui said this with some gritted teeth.

“Zhao’s in-law? What happened to him?” Zhou Bingqiang asked.

Zhou Fugui said aggrievedly, "I didn't want to bother Zhao Qingshan, so I called Bingchen first. Unfortunately, Bingchen was out on a mission and I couldn't find him."

“I thought, your mother has been with me for decades, I can’t just leave her at the police station! That’s why I went to the Zhao family to find Zhao Qingshan. But when I got there, I didn’t get a single bite of food or even a sip of water.”

"And that Liang Xiaohe, she's a real shrew. She interrupts when the elders are speaking. Zhao Qingshan just stands there watching Liang Xiaohe throw a tantrum without saying a word."

"Zhao Zhenzhu is the same, pretending to be deaf and dumb, acting as if she doesn't see me at all."

"Sigh! It's all my fault for being useless. I'm not liked anywhere."

Zhou Fugui didn't mention a single word about his own faults, portraying himself as a good husband "eager to save his wife," and throwing all the blame on Zhao Qingshan and his group.

“The Zhao family has gone too far! Dad, why don’t we go and ask the brigade leader for help and see if he can help us find a solution!” Zhou Bingqiang said.

“I’m not going,” Zhou Fugui refused.

Zhou Fugui was afraid of losing face.

Not long ago, Zhou Fugui was putting on airs in front of Zhou Dazhu, thinking he had "connections" in town and acting all high and mighty. After making a trip to town, he came back and went to ask Zhou Dazhu for help again. Zhou Dazhu must be laughing at him in his heart!

"Dad, then... are we just going to watch Mom get detained and do nothing about it?" Zhou Bingqiang said anxiously.

Zhou Bingqiang's position as accountant is highly sought after in Zhoujia Village.

Zhou Bingqiang was afraid that if Ding Ermei was detained, other people in the village would think that his family was incompetent and would jump out to compete with him for the accountant position.

“How can we manage this? Do you have money or connections? Your mother scratched several bloody marks on the face of that policeman. Old Dong from the police station told me that we need to find someone to talk to the station chief, apologize to that policeman, and pay for his medical and nutritional expenses. If we really want to get your mother out, it will cost at least twenty or thirty yuan, maybe forty or fifty,” Zhou Fugui said.

"Hiss~!" Zhou Bingqiang gasped.

Zhou Bingqiang had some filial piety, but not much. He was busy from the beginning to the end of the year, and his share of the profits from the brigade was at most a dozen yuan.

Forty or fifty yuan? Zhou Bingqiang would have to work for free for at least three or four years.

If Zhou Fugui was unwilling to pay this money, Zhou Bingqiang would also be unwilling to pay it.

“Brother, I heard that someone like Mom will only be detained for three to five days at most before being released. Wouldn’t it be stupid for us to rush to pay for her medical expenses?” Zhou Bingxing was also unwilling to pay.

Both Zhou Bingxing and Zhou Bingqiang chose money over their mothers.

“Dad, let’s go and bring Mom food and bedding later! I heard from the captain that the police station doesn’t provide bedding and food for detainees; family members have to bring them.” Zhou Bingqiang considered for half a minute before finally making a decision.

"Send her my ass! Let her go hungry for a few meals in there to sober her up. She never does anything good, just causes us trouble." Zhou Fugui waved his hand and went back to his room.

Zhou Fugui felt that he had already done everything he could for Ding Ermei.

Besides, not saving Ding Ermei wasn't just his idea; both his sons said they wouldn't save her either!

Zhou Fugui was unwilling to go to town again to deal with people's attitudes.

"Second brother, look..." Zhou Bingqiang asked Zhou Bingxing after Zhou Fugui left.

“We’ll listen to Dad. Mom is really a bit unreliable. She even dared to hit the police, does she have a death wish? Dad’s right, it’s good to let her go hungry for a few meals to clear her head.” Zhou Bingxing suddenly adopted the demeanor of a “filial son,” agreeing with whatever Zhou Fugui said.