Chapter 75 I Have Even More to Do
Zheng Xiulan's expression changed slightly.
Li Banxia slowly shook her head, "No wonder you only had three sons and no daughters, in-law. I guess when the children were choosing a mother in heaven, they were afraid to choose you because you are two-faced."
The office fell silent instantly.
Zheng Xiulan's smile almost crumbled. "My in-laws have misunderstood me. I didn't mean that. I genuinely think Hongying is wonderful..."
You know very well whether or not you have in-laws.
Li Banxia glanced around, then at Zheng Xiulan's colleagues, and slightly raised her chin, indicating to everyone, "You all have your own judgment, and you'll know the purpose behind what you just said."
"If you don't believe me, ask your colleagues. After hearing what you just said, do any of them still think your eldest daughter-in-law is a good person? Or, do they think your second daughter-in-law, who is not yet married to you and is asking you for a thousand yuan in dowry, is a good person?"
Zheng Xiulan's eyes darkened.
A group of people looked at each other with strange expressions, exchanging bewildered glances.
Many people realized Zheng Xiulan's true purpose, and their gazes towards her changed.
Zheng Xiulan's usually gentle face suddenly sharpened as she glanced at Su Hongying.
A slight smirk played on his lips, but there was no real joy in his eyes. "My dear in-law, you're quick-witted. You've ruined the good reputation I've built up over the decades with just a few words. We're in-laws, haven't you gone too far?"
"Has this been calculated?"
Li Banxia met her gaze, a half-smile playing on her lips, "I have even more to say, do you want to hear them?"
"What?"
Zheng Xiulan's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition inexplicably struck her, putting her on high alert.
Her mind raced, and before Li Banxia could speak, she preemptively said, "You mean the bicycle? I told Hongying that every family is different, and I told her not to go back to talk about it. But this child... insists that since her sister-in-law's family gave her a dowry, she's convinced that her sister-in-law can give her a dowry too. If it doesn't work out, then so be it. We didn't mean to ask our daughter-in-law to give her any more dowry. Please don't misunderstand, in-law."
She finished speaking in one breath, quickly and fluently, as if afraid that Li Banxia would say something unpleasant. She also downplayed the main points and pushed all the responsibility onto Su Hongying.
In short, it was your daughter's own stupid mistake, and it had nothing to do with me.
Did you hear that?
Li Banxia looked at Su Hongying and said, "Tell me honestly, who brought up the matter of your sister-in-law's family giving her a bicycle as part of her dowry?"
Su Hongying subconsciously looked at her mother-in-law.
The others followed her gaze and looked at Zheng Xiulan.
Zheng Xiulan pursed her lips, her expression not changing much, and sighed softly, "It was my fault for bringing it up. Hongying is a good child, raised by you, my in-law. She knows how to consider her elders. When she heard me worrying about my second son, she volunteered to go back to her parents' home. It's my fault too. I... I thought you had already reached an agreement. My in-law, I apologize for this."
After saying that, he looked at the other colleagues in the office and gave a wry smile.
"I misunderstood, I was too presumptuous..."
The words were left unsaid, but the implication was clear.
The colleagues exchanged glances. One of them frowned and said to Li Banxia, "Even if Sister Zheng misunderstood and said something wrong, isn't it a bit too aggressive of you to come to her door and force her to back down?"
Li Banxia ignored the person, stared at Zheng Xiulan, and nodded.
"Yes, you misunderstood this matter. What about the bicycle you let Hongying borrow? Was that also a misunderstanding?"
Zheng Xiulan frowned sharply, and opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped by Li Banxia.
“I understand that you want to get your second son married as soon as possible, but using other people’s things to show off your own family’s status is wrong. I called your neighborhood committee, and you told Hongying to ride the bike back, but you’re actually going to keep the bike for your second son so he can ride it to pick up his future wife from get off work every day. Is that right?”
"this……"
"How could this happen?"
Some people in the office were confused. If they really refused to give it to her, then Zheng Xiulan was indeed in the wrong.
Hearing her colleagues' whispers, Zheng Xiulan's expression stiffened, and her face turned somewhat gloomy.
She forced a smile and said, "My dear in-law, it's not what you think..."
She glanced at Su Hongying.
Su Hongying hurriedly stepped forward to stop Li Banxia.
He whispered, "Mom, that's enough, stop making a scene. How am I supposed to get along with my in-laws if you keep acting like this?"
"Su Hongying!"
Li Banxia glanced at her, her gaze slightly cold. "You took Lin Jiefang's bicycle without my permission. His mother came to my workplace on Saturday demanding that I return it. If what she said gets spread by malicious people, it will ruin your reputation! Su Hongying, I'm cleaning up your mess. Think carefully about whose side you're on today."
"Aunt He? How could that be?"
Su Hongying was stunned for a moment, not taking Li Banxia's words to heart at all. She frowned and pouted, "It's all your fault. You wouldn't let me push the family's car. If I had pushed the family's car, none of this would have happened..."
They didn't consider how their mother, older brother, and sister-in-law would get to and from get off work if the car was moved.
The coldness in Li Banxia's eyes instantly turned to frost, and she gave her a cold look, "Alright, shut your mouth!"
No longer giving Su Hongying a chance, Li Banxia turned to look at Zheng Xiulan.
"My dear in-law, could you please call your second son and ask him to bring the bicycle to the cotton mill? It belongs to Su Hongying and needs to be returned."
Zheng Xiulan's face looked extremely ugly.
She gritted her teeth, trying to force a smile to give Li Banxia a couple of days to recover, but when she looked up and saw the changed gazes around her, she felt too embarrassed to smile at all.
"I didn't say I wouldn't pay it back. I'll go make a call right now..."
As soon as she finished speaking, the office phone rang abruptly. Zheng Xiulan's colleague answered the phone and put the receiver back down.
The office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
All eyes were on Zheng Xiulan. Feeling embarrassed and humiliated, she made a phone call and asked her second son to bring his car over.
The man's voice on the phone sounded puzzled, "Why? Didn't you say I could ride as long as I wanted, and you'd take care of my sister-in-law's family?"
The man's voice wasn't loud, but the office was so quiet that many people heard it.
For a moment, the gazes directed at Zheng Xiulan became even stranger.
Zheng Xiulan took a deep breath. "Ride it over first. I'll explain to you later when we get home that your sister-in-law's mother came to ask for the bike back. We have to return it, otherwise people will think we're some kind of family."
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then a "okay" was said, and the call was hung up.
Zheng Xiulan put down the microphone and looked at Li Banxia, "Your bike arrived in half an hour. Is there anything else, in-laws? If not, please go outside and wait. We need to start work..."
Now that things have come to a head, Zheng Xiulan is no longer willing to pretend.
Li Banxia glanced at her and said, "There really is. Su Hongying has only been married into your family for three months. All the things and money you made her take from her parents' home are here. In-law, let's do the math."
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