"Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say those hurtful things to upset you. I was just saying them in anger. Please don't be angry." Seeing Yu Qiuying's dazed look, Zhou Jiadong's anger dissipated considerably. After thinking for a moment, he took the initiative to apologize. His mother always responded better to gentleness than force. If he really angered his mother to the point of injury at this critical moment, then his marriage with Xiaolan would really be on the rocks.
"Tch, those weren't just angry words; you probably really thought that way," Zhou Jiahong muttered.
Zhou Jiadong glared at him angrily, "Even food can't shut you up!"
"Alright, stop arguing. Look how angry Mom is." Zhou Cailian sensed something was wrong with her mother and was very worried, so she couldn't help but scold her two younger brothers.
"Mom, I have to go back. Tingting is still at her uncle's house, and I'm worried about her. I'm leaving now." Zhou Caiping stood up, holding her child.
Today is the 16th day of the eighth lunar month, a day when married daughters return to their parents' home for a family reunion. Zhou Caiping was just going through the motions of returning to her parents' home today. She had already finished lunch and didn't want to get involved in family matters, so she left with her child after saying that.
"I have an exam coming up soon, I'm going back to my room to study." Zhou Caixiang also went back to her room. She didn't care how much money her older brother would spend on getting married, as long as it didn't affect her studies.
Zhou Jiahong scoffed, stuffed the remaining mooncakes in his hand into his mouth, stuffed two more into his pocket, and dashed out. He was only fifteen years old, and it was too early for him to get married. Anyway, no matter how much his older brother spent on his wedding, he couldn't be any less than his older brother in the future.
Zhou Jiadong breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that the people who had caused the trouble had left.
"Mom, I really like Xiaolan. Her parents only have her and her sister as daughters, so I understand if they ask for a higher dowry. Besides, Xiaolan is a city girl, how can you compare her to someone from the village..."
"Mom, please give me a thousand yuan so I can marry Xiaolan. My master said he'll start calculating my wages after the New Year, and I'll help pay off the debt when I earn money in the future," Zhou Jiadong said gently, suppressing his anger.
The master he was referring to was a bricklayer who taught him construction. These days, apprenticeship doesn't pay wages, and you have to send gifts to your master's family during holidays. He had been learning construction for more than half a year, but the local custom is that apprentices are only paid after a full year.
Yu Qiuying came to her senses and realized that she had been reborn back to 1995, the day her eldest son forced her to borrow money to pay for Zhong Xiaolan's betrothal.
She looked at her son coldly. He had said the same thing in her past life, but after he got married, he handed over all his money to Zhong Xiaolan for safekeeping. He didn't help pay off debts, and he didn't even give her a penny for living expenses.
Zhong Xiaolan, that troublemaker, still harbored resentment towards her for opposing the marriage in the first place. After the marriage, she often sowed discord and caused no peace in the family.
Later, he even went so far as to slander her, claiming that she had miscarried. The third son, that ingrate, forgot his mother after marrying a wife. He believed everything his wife said, and because of Zhong Xiaolan's words, he resented his mother for the rest of his life.
She would never let that troublemaker Zhong Xiaolan into the house again in her lifetime!
“I can’t raise the money. If you really can’t live without her, then go and become her son-in-law. She doesn’t have any brothers, so her parents should agree.”
In her past life, the third son used these words to threaten her and force her to compromise. At that time, she was unwilling to let her son become someone else's live-in son-in-law, so she could only grit her teeth and borrow money from all over the place to scrape together a thousand yuan for him.
"Forget it for now. Whether I become a live-in son-in-law in the Zhong family or remain a bachelor, whatever, Yu Qiuying doesn't care anymore."
Zhou Jiadong stared at Yu Qiuying in astonishment, raising his voice in disbelief, "Mom, what did you say?!"
“I’m telling you, since you like Zhong Xiaolan so much, you can go and become her son-in-law.” Yu Qiuying looked at him coldly.
"Mom, how could you do this?! Are you even my own mother?!" Zhou Jiadong's anger, which he had finally managed to suppress, suddenly flared up again.
He didn't believe his mother would really let him become a live-in son-in-law in the Zhong family; she was probably just saying it out of anger. But the more she said that, the angrier he became.
With tears welling in his eyes, he demanded, "So, in the end, you just don't agree to me marrying Xiaolan, do you?!"
"Mom, why are you always like this?! Why have I always had to listen to you no matter what I do, since I was little? I've had enough! I'm all grown up now, why can't I even decide my own marriage?!"
The more Zhou Jiadong spoke, the angrier and more frustrated he became.
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