Chapter 617 How could he be so outrageous?
"It really is Mom."
The eldest son of the Su family sighed deeply, “I knew it. Mom loves us to the core. My little sister wants to go to school so much, how could Mom bear to let her not have an education?”
"Mom couldn't bear to see her mediocre and unproductive, couldn't bear to see her suffer the hardship of being uneducated and only able to do manual labor, but she didn't care at all about Mom's suffering, and repeatedly caused trouble at the third son's grocery store and Mom's health center..."
Su Lao Er pursed his lips, looking at Su Hongmei with a complicated expression. He was angry at what Su Hongmei had done to Li Banxia, but also felt sorry for Li Banxia for enduring so much and still being willing to silently support them.
Su Hongmei felt a moment of dizziness.
Her suspicions were confirmed. She felt her limbs go weak, she lost her balance, and stumbled backward.
Su Laosan grabbed her, preventing her from falling.
"Third Brother..."
Su Hongmei's heart trembled; she knew better than Su Lao Er what she had done.
Overwhelming regret gnawed at her like ants!
She grabbed Su Laosan's arm and murmured, "It's Mom, it's really Mom... It really is Mom. Back then, I even went to the health center and made a scene, argued with Mom, and said so many nasty things. How could I be such a bastard?"
As she finished speaking, Su Hongmei's voice gradually faded.
The next second, without warning, she raised her hand and slapped herself across the face, followed by another slap. The sound of the slaps echoed in the room, and her face turned red in the blink of an eye.
What are you doing?
Su Laosan grabbed her hand in shock, "When did your mother ever teach you to be so self-destructive?"
"Third Brother..."
Su Hongmei raised her head, choked back tears, and called out "Third Brother" again. Tears streamed down her face as she cried, "I was wrong, I was wrong, I'm so sorry, Mom. How could I have argued with Mom like that? She was already giving me money for books and tuition to support my schooling. How could I have hated her then? What kind of person am I? How can I be worthy of being a daughter? Waaah, Mom, I was wrong..."
Her knees buckled, and she knelt on the ground, one hand held by Su Laosan, the other covering her face as she sobbed.
The cries were so heartbreaking that they were indescribable.
"Get up! What kind of behavior is this?"
Su Laosan tugged at her twice, but Su Hongmei was too limp to be pulled up.
The factory director and secretary were deeply moved as they watched.
The factory manager sighed and tried to comfort Su Hongmei, saying, "What mother in the world doesn't love her child? Your mother repeatedly told us that if you didn't come forward to repay the money, she wouldn't let us tell you about the money she secretly used to pay for your school fees. Hongmei, it's a good thing that you've realized your mistake now. It means you know what's right and wrong. Your mother's efforts haven't been in vain. You've grown into the person she wanted to see..."
"Yes, yes, your mother would be very pleased if she knew you had taken the initiative to pay back the money and had a stable job," the secretary chimed in.
Su Hongmei looked up at them.
The factory manager smiled and said, "Alright, stop crying. I know your mother is doing this for your own good. From now on, be good to your mother. She has worried a lot about you and your siblings. Fortunately, you have all become successful..."
As he spoke, he glanced at his siblings with satisfaction.
I am amazed by Li Banxia's powerful influence. She was able to change Su Laosan's lazy and gluttonous nature and turn him into the business genius he is today; she was able to cultivate the scheming Su Laoer into the third-in-command of the municipal government; she was able to send her love-struck eldest daughter to the port city to become a star; and she was able to motivate her youngest daughter, who was full of negative energy and felt unfairly treated, to strive for success and be admitted to the National Library!
Any one wrong step she takes could ruin a child.
"Your mother is truly an amazing mother."
Su Hongmei's eyes were blurred with tears as she nodded repeatedly, tears streaming down her face like beads from a broken string.
The secretary smiled and praised Li Banxia, "Every time your mother brings money, she asks us about you. Although she doesn't show it on the surface, her concern for you is deep in her heart and very real."
"Mmm, thank you..."
Su Laosan sighed and pulled her up from the ground. "Alright, get up. If you want to kneel down, kneel down in front of your mother to repent and apologize. What are you doing kneeling here?"
Su Hongmei looked up at Su Laosan, choked back a sob, and stood up as Su Laosan pulled her.
She wiped away her tears and thanked the factory director and his secretary with red eyes.
Leaving the auto parts factory area, at the factory gate, Su Hongmei clutched the bank card that had held her tuition and school fees for the years, and said, "Third Brother, I want to return the money to Mom and apologize to her properly."
"Didn't you hear the factory manager say that Mom wasn't planning to tell you the truth at first? Mom doesn't need your little bit of money, you can keep it for yourself," Su Laosan said irritably.
Su Hongmei shook her head. "I've made mistakes more than once or twice. This money should have been paid by Su Youfu, not by Mom. I have to pay it back to Mom. I will try my best to make up for it and get Mom to forgive me for all the mistakes I made in the past."
Su Hongmei wanted to say that she was young and ignorant at the time, but she hesitated and swallowed the words back. It was true that she was young and ignorant, but it was also true that others instigated her and that she went home to cause trouble.
As Mom said, if you make a mistake, you make a mistake and you just need to correct it. Don't keep making excuses for yourself.
She doesn't make excuses or try to justify herself.
She was wrong.
Su Laosan frowned and turned to look at Su Laoda.
The eldest son glanced at Su Hongmei, "You go back first today. We'll ask Mom what she thinks. If she's willing to see you, I'll have your third brother call you, and then you can go over. If Mom isn't willing..."
"……good."
Su Hongmei pursed her lips and nodded.
Su Laosan drove Su Hongmei to her rented place, an old-fashioned courtyard housed by several families. The group of people shared a single hand pump well, and the toilet was located outside the courtyard, a shared toilet for dozens of households in one alley.
Su Hongmei rented a small single room, one of two partitioned rooms in the west wing. It contained a bed, a desk, and a small wardrobe. When the three brothers entered, there wasn't even room to turn around.
"You live in a place like this? The salary at the National Library must be quite high."
Old Su frowned deeply, looking at the old-fashioned wooden window with disdain. It was dark even in broad daylight, not to mention the musty smell that was suffocating.
Boss Su's expression wasn't very good either.
Su Lao Er stood at the door, his gaze sweeping over the two furtive, probing eyes opposite him, his expression frighteningly gloomy.
Su Hongmei smiled and said, "I need to save money to pay back my books and tuition. The rent here is cheap, only ten yuan a month. I've already saved enough money, and I can move to a better place next month after I get my salary."
"That's more like it. Hurry up and move. Living in a house with mold for too long will make you sick," Su Laosan urged her.
Su Hongmei nodded.
The three brothers left the tenement and drove home. They told Li Banxia about burying Su Youfu and the truth that Su Hongmei and her siblings discovered when she went to the factory to repay the money.
"Mom, my little sister said she wants to return the money to you and apologize to you in person, what do you think..."
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