Chapter 342 I'll Choose for You
"Do I really have to choose?"
Su Laosan clenched his hands, which were resting on his knees, and asked, "Mom, can't I... have both?"
"cannot."
Li Banxia didn't let him escape, and met his gaze, saying, "You can only choose one."
"mom……"
Su Laosan licked his dry lips, suppressing his panic. He glanced at Aunt Qiu and Li's father, then forced a dry smile at Li Banxia. "What... what happened again? You suddenly made me choose. I'm really in a difficult position. You're my mother, the one who gave me life, and you raised me with such hardship. I've been lazy and good-for-nothing for so many years, and you've never abandoned me. Of course, I can't abandon you, not in this lifetime, but..."
He paused, unable to continue.
Li Banxia looked at him quietly.
Su Laosan scratched his head in distress, clenched his fist tightly, and said to Li Banxia, "I really love Erniu too. She loved me even when I was so reckless. She didn't want any dowry and was willing to marry me. We went to the countryside together, endured so much hardship and suffering, and finally opened the grocery store. Just when things were about to get better, her family ruined it all. Mom, now she only has me left. I can't abandon her. She's already trying her best, really. Mom, please give Erniu and me some more time, okay..."
"I know."
Li Banxia nodded and said, "Third brother, I also want to give you time and opportunities, but..."
"mom!"
Su Laosan suddenly called out to her, his face beaming with joy.
"Erniu is about to gain control of her family. Her sister-in-law has her parents completely under her thumb. Erniu plans to take her two nephews to the city to study in September. In two or three years, the children will be in junior high school, and they will be mature enough to distinguish right from wrong. Even if Erniu's older brother gets out of prison, his son might not listen to her anymore..."
Li Banxia frowned.
“Mom, the next generation of the Fang family all listen to Erniu. That way, my child and Erniu’s child will have a cousin with sound values. Then, we can have her sister-in-law keep the Fang brothers confined to the village and make them go to farm or work for the Yang family. Their family won’t affect our family at all. Mom, really, you have to believe me…”
Li Banxia looked at him, thought of Fang Erniu's bright smile, and sighed deeply.
He said, "Third brother, you're oversimplifying things. Fang Jianhua became the village secretary, do you think he'd listen and compromise? How capable is his wife to keep all of them trapped in the village? If Erniu's sister-in-law could really live off her parents, would she have suffered so much grievance after marrying into the Fang family all these years?"
Su Laosan was stunned for a moment, and opened his mouth to argue, but Li Banxia raised her hand to stop him.
She continued, "Erniu brought her nephews to school, and I can't say it's bad. I just want to ask you, do her nephews have to pay for all the school fees, tuition, and extracurricular activities that other children have? Without children, it's easy for them to feel inferior and unsociable, but with them…"
She stared at Su Laosan, "Is this money coming from the two of you? Okay, this is all just money. You're probably thinking of getting a lot done with a little money, but let's talk about something else. You two want to use two or three years of financial assistance to help them go to school, but you're trying to sow discord between them and their biological father. Don't you think that's too frivolous? And..."
Li Banxia took a breath and continued speaking.
"...Third brother, are you sure you want to gamble on whether Fang Jianhua has any conscience in his genes? If he did, he wouldn't have gone to prison shouting that our family was the one who said we needed someone in politics and instigated him to do all those illegal and disorderly things..."
Su Laosan stared blankly at Li Banxia, his mind completely blank.
His lips moved, forcing out a wooden smile, and he said, "Mom, what are you saying? This idea was given to us by Sister-in-law Yao..."
"How about I call her now and have her confront you in person?"
Li Banxia glanced at him coldly, "Why don't you mention that Sister-in-law Yao gave you advice to start your own household and not involve me and your brother and sister-in-law?"
Su Laosan's expression changed.
He stood up and knelt at Li Banxia's feet, hugging her knees and saying, "Mom, I really can't live without Erniu. I really want to marry her. She's different from the other members of the Fang family..."
"Is marriage a matter between the two of you?" Li Banxia asked.
Su Laosan paused for a moment, then shook his head.
Li Banxia nodded and said, "No, it's a matter between two families. I don't expect the Fang family to help, but at least don't drag our family into the abyss. I'm unwilling, your elder brother and sister-in-law won't be willing, and their children won't be willing either. I want to help them out of consideration for our in-laws. They made a mistake and got arrested, and now they want to harm us. Is that right?"
Su Laosan pursed his lips and shook his head.
Li Banxia sighed.
"Third brother, I said that day that if you insist on marrying Erniu, you either have to marry into the Fang family. I have no objection if you are willing to raise their children, parents, or even the whole family for Erniu. But you can't drag me, your eldest brother and sister-in-law, your nephew and niece, your uncle and cousin into supporting the Fang family and being burdened by them. We don't owe anyone in the Fang family anything, and we don't owe you anything either."
The panic in Su Laosan's heart was like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, and he couldn't suppress or pull it back no matter what.
His eyes were filled with panic and fear of loss, and he pleaded for his mother.
"Don't call me that, it scares me..."
Li Banxia gave a self-deprecating laugh and raised her hand to block it.
She said, "I'm afraid that if you choose me and break up with the person you love, you'll blame me for the rest of your life, like an enemy; I'm also afraid that if you choose the person you love, you'll blame me for being unreasonable and not fulfilling your wishes, for only having eyes for others and not for you..."
As she spoke, she suddenly gave a mocking laugh.
"Look, I raised you all, but in the end, everything I do is wrong. Forget it, you don't need to make a difficult choice anymore. I'll make the choice for you!"
"mom!"
Su Laosan exclaimed in surprise and knelt down to stop her, "Mom, you're not wrong, it's my fault, I..."
Shouldn't he like Erniu?
Erniu is such a good girl, why can't he like her?
It was clearly her family's fault, so why should she bear the consequences? She did nothing wrong.
But what did his mother do wrong? He said he wanted to marry Erniu, and his mother, who had some money, wanted to give them a half-grand wedding. Who would have thought that Erniu's mother would suddenly cause trouble?
Things just kept happening one after another. In the end, Fang Jianhua ruined himself. What does that have to do with them?
What right does he have to smear their family like that from prison?
Is there no other way for him to separate from Erniu in this situation?
"...Once the new house is renovated, your older brother, sister-in-law, and I will move out. You don't need to live with us anymore. At the same time, I will also announce to the public that I am severing my mother-son relationship with you. Whether you want to marry into the Fang family or go back to your father's side and let the Fang family cause trouble for your father is up to you."
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