"Mingqiang!"
Su Jianguo turned to his eldest son, his voice laced with suppressed anger.
"When we married her, our family spent a whole thousand yuan on the bride price! We had all the 'three turns and one sound' (referring to a set of three essential items for a house, a bicycle, a watch, and a radio)! A sewing machine, a bicycle, a watch, a radio—weren't they the best available at the time?"
Su Mingqiang stood there, his face ashen.
He had never seen his father so furious; the sharp glint in his cloudy old eyes made him unconsciously take a half-step back.
"dad.."
Su Mingqiang stammered, his eyes shifting between Li Jinhua and his father.
"Shut up!"
Su Jianguo interrupted sharply.
"I haven't finished speaking!"
He turned to Li Jinhua, who was wincing in pain.
"What a terrible daughter of the Li family! She's been married for five years, and not only has she been stealing money from her parents' home every month, but now she even dares to lay a hand on her father-in-law? What kind of upbringing is this?"
Li Jinhua struggled to pull her hand back, her eyes filled with resentment and malice.
"Let me go, you old geezer! Who stole the money? That's my own salary!"
"Your salary?"
Su Jianguo sneered and suddenly released her wrist. Li Jinhua staggered back a few steps and bumped into the dining table, making a clattering sound.
"Once you marry into the Su family, every penny you earn belongs to the Su family! Ask the neighbors, which wife would dare to so openly move things back to her parents' home?"
Su Mingqiang was so angry that the veins on his forehead were bulging.
"Li Jinhua, you have to tell me clearly today, how much money did you send to your family?"
Li Jinhua's expression changed repeatedly before she suddenly sat down on the ground and burst into tears.
"This is outrageous! The Su family ganged up on me, an outsider! I, Li Jinhua, have been treated like a slave since I married into this family, serving the elderly and taking care of the young, and this is how I end up?"
Su Jianguo watched her throw a tantrum with indifference, his heart unmoved.
In his past life, he was fooled by this kind of tactic of crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide, which ultimately led to the disintegration of his entire family.
"Stop acting."
Su Jianguo's voice wasn't loud, but it stopped Li Jinhua's crying abruptly.
"I'm giving you three days to have your family return the betrothal gifts, otherwise..."
"Or what?"
Li Jinhua raised her head, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes.
Su Jianguo said, enunciating each word clearly.
"Otherwise, I'll personally go to your Li Family Village and ask the village secretary which respectable family's daughter is still stealing money from her husband's family every month to support her own family after getting married! I want to see if your Li family still has any face left in the village!"
These words struck Li Jinhua like a heavy hammer, leaving her face ashen.
In rural areas in the early 1980s, reputation was more important than life itself.
If this gets out, not only will she be unable to face others, but her sisters on her maternal side will also be affected, and they may have difficulty finding husbands in the future.
"Dad! You can't do this!"
Li Jinhua panicked and crawled on her knees, trying to hug Su Jianguo's legs.
"I was wrong. I'll never send money back to my parents' home again. Please forgive me this time..."
Su Jianguo stepped aside and looked at his eldest son.
"Mingqiang, what do you have to say about this?"
Su Mingqiang's fists clenched so tightly they cracked. He suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Li Jinhua by the collar.
"You bitch! I toil myself to death at the steel mill every day, and all you do is use my hard-earned money to support your family? Divorce! Let's get a divorce today!"
Li Jinhua was being strangled so badly she could hardly breathe, her face turning bright red.
"Su...Mingqiang...you...let go..."
"Boss!"
Su Jianguo interrupted.
"If you're going to get a divorce, you need to settle all the accounts first! Don't let it escalate to the point of death!"
Su Mingqiang then released his grip, and Li Jinhua collapsed to the ground, coughing violently. Her carefully combed hair was disheveled, and the makeup on her face was washed away by tears, leaving deep lines.
All of Su Jianguo's children stared at him in disbelief.
Their father used to dote on their eldest son the most, so what's wrong with him today? He's suddenly started arguing with him.
It must be that the eldest sister-in-law went too far in taking money from her parents' home, which angered the old man.
Of course, none of the people present felt sorry for the elder brother and sister-in-law; on the contrary, they all felt particularly pleased.
For so many years, my older brother has been taking advantage of the family. If he acted like an older brother and regularly helped the family financially, we wouldn't say anything.
The main problem is that I've never received a single treat from this guy. Every time he comes back empty-handed, he always asks for this or that, but when he leaves, he's always carrying loads of stuff.
Seeing that she couldn't win the argument with Su Jianguo, Li Jinhua's eyes darted around, and she suddenly turned to Wang Xiulan, who had been silent all along. She knelt down with a thud, hugged her mother-in-law's legs, and began to wail.
"Mom! You have to stand up for me! I've worked hard for the Su family all these years, even if I haven't done anything particularly meritorious!"
Her face was covered in snot and tears, which soaked Wang Xiulan's trouser legs.
"You know, I send money back to my parents' home every month because my younger brother is sick; I really have no other choice!"
Wang Xiulan stood there helplessly, her withered fingers twisting the hem of her apron.
She has always been a soft-hearted person, and her heart softened a bit when her eldest daughter-in-law cried and begged her like that.
"Old man, how about..."
Just as Wang Xiulan was about to say something to persuade him, Su Jianguo slammed his hand on the table.
"fart!"
Su Jianguo glared angrily.
"She has three younger brothers and four younger sisters. They didn't starve to death during the famine years, so why can't they survive now?"
Li Jinhua trembled at the shout, but soon cried even harder.
"Mom! Look at Dad... he's trying to drive me to my death!"
Wang Xiulan was caught in the middle, torn between two options, and tears welled up in her eyes.
She quietly tugged at Su Jianguo's sleeve.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
