Wu Hongqin also tried to defend herself.
Xu Changfeng had already understood what Xu Ningyan meant, and his first reaction was to look at Gu Zhiyuan: "Comrade Gu, are you just going to stand by and watch Xiaoyan talk nonsense and shift the blame to her mother?"
Gu Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment: "Then should I close my eyes?"
Xu Ningyan burst out laughing.
Xu Changfeng almost fainted. He realized that not only was Xu Ningyan difficult to deal with, but even Gu Zhiyuan, who looked serious and steady with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, was actually biased.
However, he also knew in his heart that Gu Zhiyuan's actions were to speak out for Xu Ningyan.
He immediately covered the back of his head and lowered his eyelids, concealing the fleeting ferocity in his eyes.
He looked up, his expression completely calm. "In that case, let's get down to business!"
Gu Zhiyuan looked at Xu Ningyan.
Xu Ningyan then curled her lips into a smile: "See, you can actually speak human language! So, let's talk about something practical!"
Xu Changfeng's head injury was just a superficial wound; a piece of broken wood on the chair had cut the back of his head, and the bleeding had stopped after he covered it with a handkerchief.
He pulled Wu Hongqin to his side and thought for a moment: "Back in Jingshan County, I got back two thousand yuan in compensation from your adoptive parents. You've suffered so much these years. Part of this money was the money I used to find a job for your adoptive mother, and the rest was the wages she earned from that job. We don't want a single penny; we'll give it all to you!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Hongqin erupted in anger: "Why should we give her so much money? This money is all ours. Giving her a thousand or eight hundred is the most we can do! What girl needs so much money? If we give her all this money, what will happen to our two children? No way! I don't agree!"
Xu Changfeng smiled wryly: "We've come this far, so let's just consider it money spent to make the child happy! The child is holding back her anger, and if we don't let her vent, she might not be able to forgive us! Besides, this child has suffered so much back in her hometown, so it's only right to give her more money to make up for it! Da Lei and Xiao Jing are her younger siblings, so it's okay for them to suffer a little loss!"
These words are so moving that even outsiders would be touched. It's truly a touching display of stepfatherly love!
Wu Hongqin was so angry that she stamped her foot: "I gave birth to a thankless wretch! I would have been better off having a dog! At least a dog knows to wag its tail at me, but this girl not only doesn't show me any respect, she just sucks our blood!"
Gu Zhiyuan's face darkened, and he was about to speak when Xu Ningyan pulled him aside.
This is her battlefield, what are you men doing interfering? Stay out of the way, so as not to affect her performance!
He clapped with a cold laugh: "I've never seen such a shameless person! Who's sucking whose blood? These people really don't have any sense of right or wrong! Come on, some people are pretending to be confused, some people are denying it to the death. Today, let me settle the score right in front of you and see who's really sucking whose blood!"
Xu Changfeng's eyes flickered, and he smiled wryly: "Xiao Yan, I've already told you I'll give you all the money, why are you still so persistent?"
Wu Hongqin, standing to the side, yelled at the top of her lungs, "Let her calculate! I want to see what she can come up with!"
Xu Ningyan sat down on the bed with an air of authority and began to do the accounting.
"First of all, the initial compensation was 3,600 yuan. My father, who was a company commander, received 90 yuan a month. Based on 40 months' salary, that's 3,600 yuan. Then there was an additional 2,000 yuan, calculated at 20 times the average income of the year. He was a martyr and posthumously awarded a first-class merit, so he received an additional 10%. That's a total of 6,000 yuan! Is that right?"
Upon calculating this amount, both Wu Hongqin and Xu Changfeng's expressions changed, especially Wu Hongqin, who showed signs of panic.
Xu Changfeng forced a smile and said, "No need to calculate it—"
Xu Ningyan ignored him and continued, "Moreover, I am the orphan of a martyr, and I receive a stipend of ten yuan from the army and the state every month until I turn 18, right? I am seventeen and a half years old now, and I will be 18 in a few months. I have not seen a single penny of the stipend over the years. The stipends have all been given to you, right? 17 years and six months, that's a total of 2,100 yuan."
“I am my martyr father’s only child. I should be entitled to at least half of that pension, right? That means I should receive at least three thousand yuan. Adding my allowance, that’s a total of five thousand one hundred yuan. You’re only giving me two thousand yuan now, which isn’t even enough to cover my allowance over the years. Are you telling me I’m leeching off you? Are you telling me you’ve been taken advantage of?”
"Should we go out and grab someone to ask who really got the short end of the stick? Who's sucking whose blood? Your whole family is living off my martyr father's pension and my allowance as a martyr's orphan. You've drained my father and me dry, and you're still trying to shift the blame?"
"I'm going to ask the military leaders who's sucking whose blood! And Deputy Regiment Commander Xu, do you sleep soundly every night? Haven't you ever dreamed of my father who saved your life? Didn't he ask you how you could take care of his widow with a clear conscience, even taking her to your own bed? How you could spend his pension with a clear conscience, sleep with his wife, and then abuse his only child?"
"Come here, Deputy Commander Xu, tell me! Let me hear it! What kind of reason can you come up with?"
Xu Changfeng's face turned ashen, and he was drenched in sweat. He covered his face with shame and squatted down.
Wu Hongqin stared at Xu Ningyan, her face deathly pale: "You, how could you—"
"What about me? I want to ask you too! How could you go against your conscience, embezzle your husband's pension, and abandon his only child in the mountains to feed the wild animals? He couldn't let go of you even before he died, and he was thinking of entrusting you to his comrades! And you, spending his money, and even trying to kill his only child! Haven't you had any nightmares all these years?"
Wu Hongqin trembled violently, her eyes glazed over. After a while, she let out a scream, shoved Xu Ningyan away, covered her face, and ran out.
Xu Changfeng got up and took two steps to catch up, but couldn't. He stood dejectedly at the door, not daring to look at Xu Ningyan and Gu Zhiyuan anymore. He lowered his head and said, "This 5,100 yuan is indeed what you deserve! I'll try to raise it in the next couple of days and give it to you! Over the years, I've let down the old company commander and you because of my own selfishness! It's all my fault!"
“Your mother, she’s a woman, she’s had a hard time too! Please, for the sake of her giving birth to you, have mercy on us! If that’s not enough, I’ll give you another thousand, six thousand yuan, okay? Just let me transfer home safely! I’ll spend the rest of my life atoning for my sins, and when I’m discharged, I’ll apologize to the old company commander!”
Xu Ningyan said coldly, "You have let down my father and me! What you have let down even more is this military uniform you are wearing, the army and the country that trusted and nurtured you!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Changfeng's tall frame hunched over, his entire demeanor crumbling. After a long pause, he managed a bitter smile before saying, "Yes, I've failed this military uniform I wear! I've failed the organization's years of training! That's why I'm thinking of leaving the military; I can't stay in the army and bring shame to it—"
Xu Ningyan softened her voice: "In that case, do what you're supposed to do first—"
Xu Changfeng's eyes lit up, and he straightened up: "You, don't worry, I will definitely raise the money for you as soon as possible!"
After saying that, he hurriedly walked out.
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