Chapter 176 Don't Go Yet
Lin Guizhi was stunned by her rapid-fire words, and almost dropped the abacus beads in surprise.
She never imagined that Xia Qianqian, who looked so gentle and weak, could be more shrewd than an accountant when it came to calculating! Fabrics, cotton, eggs, beef—she had never even considered those things!
"I...I..." Lin Guizhi opened her mouth, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time, her face turning as red as a pig's liver.
She thought she could throw a tantrum and act shamelessly by taking advantage of her status as the "biological mother," but she never expected that Xia Qianqian would not play by the rules at all and would put the account book out in the open!
Looking into Xia Qianqian's clear yet cold eyes, Lin Guizhi suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
This woman probably planned everything out long ago, just waiting for her to jump in!
"You can't calculate it like that!" Lin Guizhi was so anxious that her face turned pale. Just as she was about to throw a tantrum, Daya suddenly raised her head and stared straight at her with her clear eyes.
"Isn't Mommy the one who loves me the most?" Daya's voice was very soft. "Then you should give the money back to Qianqian's mommy. Last night you said you'd give me all your wages as my dowry..."
"You!" Lin Guizhi trembled with rage, pointing her finger at Daya's nose and cursing, "You little slut who betrays us! I've wasted my time raising you!"
"Smack!"
Lu Zheng slammed his chopsticks down on the table, making the porcelain bowl rattle loudly.
His face was ashen, and his eyes looked like he wanted to devour someone: "Who are you insulting?"
Lin Guizhi was so frightened that she almost jumped off the stool.
Looking into Lu Zheng's icy eyes, her arrogance vanished instantly, and she stammered, "I... I don't have any money right now. How about I take Daya back and slowly save up enough money to pay you back?"
"Take me back to save money?" Daya suddenly laughed, a laugh that carried a mockery beyond her years. "Didn't Mom say she was going to take me back to the Wang family to enjoy a life of luxury? You said the youngest son of the Wang family eats meat every meal, and if I go there as a child bride, I won't have to do any work, I can just enjoy life... If it's about enjoying life, how can there be no money?"
These words were like a resounding slap across Lin Guizhi's face.
She never expected that this little girl would remember everything she said last night and even say it in front of Lu Zheng and Xia Qianqian!
Lin Guizhi's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. She abruptly turned to look at Xia Qianqian, only to find Xia Qianqian looking at her with a half-smile, her eyes full of disdain, as if she were looking at a clown.
"You...you all..." Lin Guizhi stammered, her plans completely thrown into disarray.
She originally thought that by controlling Daya, she could control the Lu family, but she forgot that this girl had been in the Lu family for two years and was no longer the soft persimmon that she could manipulate at will!
"Fine! Lin Guizhi! So after all this time, you just want to sell Daya to be a child bride for a dowry! Let me tell you, human trafficking is illegal now! You'll get shot!"
With her large pregnant belly, she stepped forward to grab Lin Guizhi's arm, her eyes blazing with anger. This woman was simply unfit to be a mother!
"Qianqian!" Lu Zheng stretched out his hand and grabbed Xia Qianqian's arm tightly, saying in a deep voice, "Don't be impulsive! You're in your late pregnancy, what if you upset the baby?"
He turned to look at Lin Guizhi, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists: "This is none of your business."
Looking at Lu Zheng's clenched fists, which had turned white, Lin Guizhi finally realized that she had kicked a hornet's nest this time.
She could still argue and defend herself against Xia Qianqian, but when facing Lu Zheng, her legs started to tremble.
"I...I didn't...I didn't mean to..." Lin Guizhi's voice trembled like a leaf, her previous arrogance completely gone. "I just wanted the children to have a better life..."
"A good day?" Lu Zheng approached step by step, his tall figure making Lin Guizhi almost unable to breathe.
"Pushing your own daughter into the fire to make money, and you call that a good life? Lin Guizhi, we have to go to the commune to talk about this today!"
"No! Don't go to the commune!" Lin Guizhi was so frightened that her face turned pale. "Brother Lu, Sister Qianqian, I was wrong! I was really wrong! I was just confused for a moment! Please forgive me this time!"
Looking at Lin Guizhi's cowardly kowtow, Lu Zheng's anger for his brother remained unabated. When his brother sacrificed his life, Daya clutched her father's military medals and cried until she fainted in the snow, while this woman took the compensation money and remarried without looking back.
This debt must be settled today!
Seeing that Lu Zheng remained silent for a long time, only staring at her with his eyes down, Lin Guizhi assumed that the man was soft-hearted and unwilling to argue with a woman.
Her knees were still trembling, but she hurriedly got up, brushed the dirt off her clothes, and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Thank you, Comrade Lu! Thank you for your magnanimity, Comrade Lu! I'll leave right away, immediately, and I won't delay your meal!"
Afraid that Lu Zheng would change his mind, she turned and slipped out, her foot barely stepping out of the kitchen doorway—
"stop."
"Comrade Lu, is there anything else?" Lin Guizhi turned around.
Did they change their minds? Did they agree to let me take Daya away? Or are they taking pity on me and want to give me some travel expenses?
Indeed, back then, his brother always spoke highly of Lu Zheng before he died; after all, they were comrades-in-arms...
Just as Lin Guizhi was feeling quite pleased with herself, Lu Zheng spoke again.
"Did I say you could leave?" Lu Zheng stepped forward, his tall figure blocking the doorway, the shadow pressing down on Lin Guizhi, making it hard for her to breathe.
He pulled a brown paper envelope from his pocket and slapped it against the door frame. Inside the envelope, half of a yellowed piece of paper was visible—the receipt for the pension from years ago. The red fingerprint on it, bearing the name "Lin Guizhi," was glaringly obvious.
"When you ran off with the compensation money my brother risked his life for and remarried, did you never think that half of that money should belong to Daya?"
Lin Guizhi was completely dumbfounded.
She originally thought that Lu Zheng would at most kick her out, but she never expected that he would even bring up this old grudge! She had already used that money to buy nutritional supplements and new clothes for Xiao Bao, so where would she get it now?
“I…I have no money…” Lin Guizhi’s face turned as white as paper in an instant, her lips trembling, “Weren’t we in a hurry to remarry? We’ve already spent all our money.”
"All spent?" Lu Zheng laughed, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Spended it on your current man's son?"
"Didn't Mom say she loved me the most? She won't even give me money. What kind of love is that?" Daya said softly.
Lin Guizhi felt a pang of pain in her heart at these words, and wished she could rush up and tear that brat's mouth apart!
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lu Zheng and Xia Qianqian staring at her from the left and right, their gazes like knives scraping at her. Her legs went weak, and she could only stand there, her face contorted into a wronged expression that looked worse than crying.
"Comrade Lu, that's for sure! The funeral for her father cost most of the money! I'm a widow with a child, and every aspect of my life—food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—costs money. If I hadn't had no other choice, would I have remarried?"
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