Dong Ping spoke bluntly, showing no respect to Fang Lu in front of his two brothers-in-law.

Fang Lu's lips drooped instantly, and his face turned extremely ugly.

Fang Hai quickly stood up and tried to smooth things over, saying, "It's just a few of us brothers playing a couple of games at home, don't make a big deal out of it."

After saying that, he glared at Dong Ping and lowered his voice to warn her, "Say less."

"What do you mean it's okay to play a couple of rounds at home? What if he gets addicted to gambling and goes out to play again? We don't have the money to cover his debts."

Fang Hai told her to say less, but Dong Ping insisted on saying more.

She's been feeling incredibly suppressed these past few months!

The family was already struggling financially, and their monthly income was barely enough to feed themselves and occasionally afford meat.

The few dollars they had in savings were all saved up by the two elderly people bit by bit.

As a result, that scoundrel Fang Lu was still out there pretending to be a rich man and squandering money. On the very day they were discussing the wedding, his creditors came chasing him home.

Not only did the wedding fall through, but they also ended up owing twenty yuan in debt.

To pay off his debts, the whole family scrimped and saved, not even buying meat for themselves. How could Dong Ping not hate them!

Dong Ping said coldly to Fang Lu, "Little brother, don't think your sister-in-law is being harsh. I'm doing this for your own good. Card addiction is basically gambling addiction, and that's the most destructive thing. Don't touch it anymore while you're still not too deeply involved. Otherwise, once you're really stuck, you won't be able to get out."

Fang Lu didn't say anything, threw the banknotes in his hand on the table, turned around and left the house.

Fang Hai called out to him, "Little brother, it's almost time to eat, where are you going?"

Fang Lu ignored him and left the courtyard without looking back.

Dong Ping gave a light snort in response.

Fang Hai pointed his finger at her nose and scolded, "What are you doing making such a scene on such a festive day? Can't we all just have a peaceful Mid-Autumn Festival?"

"You yelled at me?!" Dong Ping glared.

Fang Hai: "What's wrong with yelling at you? You did something wrong, so you can't even yell at me?"

Dong Ping felt she hadn't done anything wrong and retorted confidently, "I got angry when I saw him playing cards, and you can't even say a few words to me?"

"You shouldn't have said it so harshly," Fang Hai said in a deep voice. "Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and everyone is here. Even if you're angry, you should have held back. You just vented your anger without any regard for others. Where does that leave my brother's face?"

"Him?" Dong Ping scoffed. "He has no self-respect?"

Seeing the couple arguing fiercely, Fang Qiao and the others quickly tried to mediate.

It took a lot of effort to persuade both of them to calm down.

Dong Ping gave Fang Hai a disgruntled look, and before turning back to the kitchen, she didn't forget to tell Fang Qiao, "Little sister, don't forget to drink the sugar water."

With a large family, everyone has their own selfish motives and ulterior motives, and that leads to many problems.

When conflicts accumulate, family members become less like family and more like enemies.

However, none of this had anything to do with Fang Qiao.

She went back to her parents' home just to go through the motions during the festival, so as not to be criticized by others.

Besides, even an upright official can't settle family disputes; everyone has their own version of the truth. She must be out of her mind to get involved in such trivial matters.

So during lunch, Fang Qiao pretended not to see the undercurrents beneath the surface harmony at the dinner table.

Regardless of their sarcastic remarks and veiled insults, she ate dumplings and roast duck as usual.

However, there was only a small amount of roast duck. With a family of about ten people, each person could only get a few bites before it was gone.

Seeing the roast duck being shared, the others, fearing they wouldn't get any, stopped talking and joined the frenzy over the meat.

After the meal, Fang Qiao took her leave.

Dong Ping caught up from behind, handed Fang Qiao a paper package, and said apologetically, "Little sister, I'm sorry you had to see what happened today. I noticed you didn't touch the mooncakes while you were eating, so please take these two back."

Fang Qiao didn't accept it: "No need, there's no reason to take back a gift that's already been given."

Dong Ping tightened her grip on the paper package, pursed her lips, and hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

Fang Qiao saw through it, but didn't say anything. Instead, she said, "Sister-in-law, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

"Wait a minute." Dong Ping grabbed Fang Qiao's arm anxiously.

Fang Qiao looked at her in confusion: "Sister-in-law?"

Dong Ping forced a smile and said, "There's something I wanted to ask for your opinion on."