"Dad, am I really your daughter? Why do you always side with my brother?" Li Qiuyu retorted defiantly upon hearing her father's scolding.
“From childhood to adulthood, I’ve eaten my younger brother’s leftovers as snacks, and I’ve never had any new clothes. I applied for scholarships and student loans to go to university on my own, and I earned my living expenses through part-time jobs. You keep saying that the family is supporting my university education, but you won’t even give me 500 yuan for books. Can’t you change your sexist mindset?”
“Li Qiubo had a cell phone when he was in junior high school, and you bought him a laptop when he was in high school. His monthly living expenses in college were more than mine for half a year. Have I ever complained to my family about this unfair treatment?”
“I’ve been working for almost ten years now, and all my salary has gone to my family. I don’t even dare to date. I’m thirty this year. You’re worried that your younger brother won’t be able to find a wife, but aren’t you worried that I won’t be able to get married?”
"Li Qiuyu, you've gone too far!" Li's father's furious voice rang out on the phone. "Who raised you from infancy, changing your diapers and feeding you? And you keep talking back. Your mother and I raised you with such hardship, and you still dare to talk back to me?"
"Old Li, please stop scolding your daughter," Li's mother advised from the side.
Then he said to Li Qiuyu, "Qiuyu, don't upset your dad. Just answer the phone and transfer the money quickly. If your dad gets sick from anger, I won't live either."
This was the first time Li Qiuyu had complained to her parents, but instead of comfort from her father, she received a scolding from him and threats of suicide from her mother.
The anger that had been suppressed in his heart for thirty years was now stirred up by them:
"Dad, Mom, I've been working for almost ten years now. In these ten years, all my wages, except for what I keep for myself, have gone to the family. If you really knew how to save money, these ten years' wages would be enough for you to buy a large, well-furnished four-bedroom apartment in the county town, right?"
"But what about the money you give him? You pay for Li Qiubo to go out to eat with his friends, you pay for him to travel around with his girlfriend, and he's been taking the postgraduate entrance exam for four years since graduation, has he passed? You still give him money to support him."
At this point, Li Qiuyu became emotional, and her voice grew increasingly louder.
"I have done everything I could, and I will no longer care about you."
"If you have the money, go ahead and buy this house. If you don't, don't buy it. And if you don't have the money, don't get married."
"Don't keep threatening me with death. Even if you and my mother died in front of me right now, I still wouldn't give you any money. I don't have a single penny."
After uttering her last words with a hoarse voice, Li Qiuyu decisively hung up the phone, then stared despairingly out the window, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.
She recalled how her grandparents and parents didn't like her when she was little. Whenever they took her younger brother out to play, they would leave her at her maternal grandmother's house to save money. She had never experienced the warmth of a home; only in her grandmother's arms could she feel family affection. But that only relative of hers had left her ten years ago.
"Ah..." Li Qiuyu squatted on the ground and burst into tears, her emotions collapsing.
"Why, why does God have to impose all the unfairness on me alone?"
She covered her head, seemingly questioning the heavens why they were so unfair to her, or perhaps questioning why she was born into this family that made it impossible for her to breathe.
Unfortunately, no one could answer her question.
"Look, look, this is the good daughter you raised! She's even learned to talk back and hang up the phone!" After the call was disconnected, Mr. Li slammed his phone on the table, glaring at Mrs. Li with bloodshot eyes, and roared.
Then he said to his son, who was talking to his girlfriend in the yard, "Qiu Bo, go to your second uncle's house to borrow a car. Come with Dad to X City. I don't believe that this little bastard can rebel against the heavens."
"Okay, Dad, I'll go right now." Upon hearing that his father was going to take him to X City to ask his sister for money to buy him a house, Li Qiubo immediately jumped up from his chair and ran towards the door.
Li's mother hurriedly grabbed Li's father, saying, "Dad, please don't go! I beg you, if you make such a scene, how will Qiuyu ever be able to work again?"
"Go away." Mr. Li gently pushed Mrs. Li away and said impatiently, "What do you know, you woman? If you don't take advantage of this moment to get more money from this little beast, you won't get a single penny after she gets married."
"If all else fails, just withdraw the money from my bank card. It's money Qiu Yu gave me, enough to buy Xiao Bo a house," Li's mother said anxiously.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Li flew into a rage and said, "How dare you! That's the money I left for my grandson. What will happen to our grandson after you spend that 200,000? Don't even think about taking that money, or I'll never forgive you."
"Then...then when you go, don't hit Qiu Yu. She's a junior manager in her company, after all. Give her some face." Li's mother was persuaded by Li's father and said hesitantly.
"Hmph." Father Li snorted coldly, "If she were obedient, I might give her some face."
Soon, Li Qiubo pulled up in front of the Li family home in a silver, older model Beidouxing and called out to his father, "Dad, get in the car quickly, or the sales office will close for the day."
Mr. Li walked into the yard and looked at Duan Xinyi, Li Qiubo's girlfriend, who was playing on her phone. He smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Xiaoyi, you can chat with your aunt at home. Uncle and Xiaobo will be back soon."
However, Duan Xinyi saw the displeasure written all over Li's father's face. She had already brought her household registration book and ID card today. As long as Li Qiuyu's money arrived in her account, she could marry Li Qiubo and then buy a house, so she would own half of it. Who would have thought that Li Qiuyu's money hadn't even been transferred?
Duan Xinyi said impatiently, "I know, hurry up and come back quickly."
He then continued to look down at his phone.
"Sigh." Mr. Li sighed. He initially disagreed with the marriage when he heard the conditions offered by the other family, but Li Qiubo got Duan Xinyi pregnant; she was already three months along.
Moreover, Duan Xinyi said that she had an ultrasound done through a friend at the hospital, and the doctor said she was carrying a boy.
She also stated that if the Li family did not agree to the conditions offered by her family, she would go to the hospital for an abortion.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Li immediately began making preparations for the couple's wedding, as he did not want to lose his eldest grandson.
As he walked to the door, Li's father grew angrier and angrier. He grabbed a triangular belt from behind his back, grabbed the belt from a farm vehicle, and stormed into the car.
Li's mother saw this scene through the window and hurriedly took out her phone to call Li Qiuyu, but all three calls were hung up on.
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