Xu Xiaodong was drinking and bragging with a few buddies, saying that he and his uncle were taking on projects outside and could earn at least several thousand yuan a month.

Several of his buddies were people who lived in a small county town. They were all extremely envious of him and praised him for his abilities.

Outside the courtyard gate, Chen Xiaoying pushed open the Xu family's courtyard gate without hearing any noise.

The broken bricks paved in the yard looked relatively flat. In one corner of the yard was a pile of what looked like picked-up firewood. In front of me was a two-story bungalow that had never been painted. It was made of bare cement, which was not only gray but also looked very old. Over in the kitchen, the black smoke had blackened the walls all the way to the roof.

Xu Xiaodong was sitting under the eaves. In front of him was a small square table filled with drinks. Three or four young men about his age were drinking.

"Xiaodong."

When Li Hongli saw Xu Xiaodong, she felt guilty. She called out cautiously and quickly hid behind her mother Chen Xiaoying.

Seeing her like this, Chen Xiaoying wanted to hit her twice. Why is she so useless? Why is she shrinking like a turtle?

Of course, Li Hongwei couldn't let his mother Chen Xiaoying and sister Li Hongli take the lead, so he walked over with a cold face: "Are you Xu Xiaodong?"

It's obvious that he's looking for trouble.

Who could Xu Xiaodong befriend? He immediately started yelling, "Who are you? Why are you here at someone's house?"

"Yeah, do you want to fight? We brothers will not hold back when we fight. If we beat you up, we won't care."

Although Li Hongwei has a bad temper, he never takes the initiative to cause conflicts with others. He only fights back when he is bullied. This time, even though the other party has more people, he is not afraid. He said coldly: "This is a matter between our Hongli and Xu Xiaodong. It has nothing to do with you?"

"Before you beat me up, I'll fight you first. See if your parents are willing."

It's not your own business, why do you have to get involved?

Xu Xiaodong's friends looked at Li Hongli, then looked at Xu Xiaodong, and they understood.

"Well, you guys go back first." Xu Xiaodong felt that there would not be a fight. Besides, these wimps looked not as strong as Li Hongli's elder brother. If one of them was really beaten to a point of illness, and the Li family didn't pay compensation, their parents would have to find his family and ask him to pay for the medical expenses.

The young men then left.

Xu Xiaodong was still playing dumb with Li Hongli: "Hongli, who are these? Why did you bring them to my house?"

Li Hongli pursed her lips and said with a bit of grievance: "Xiaodong, this is my mother, and this is my eldest brother."

At this time, a middle-aged woman in her forties, who looked thin but had a shrewd face, came out of the house. She knew Li Hongli.

He immediately became unhappy: "Hongli, what are you doing? If you have something to do with our Xiaodong, just go out and tell him. Why did you call your mother and your eldest brother here?"

"Are you bullying our Xiaodong because he has no father? Let me tell you, Xiaodong has no father, but he has an older brother. You villagers have no right to act wildly here."

She felt that she had a keen eye and knew at once that Li Hongli's family was in such a state that it was not a good thing.

She even said she was going to sue her Xiaodong for forcing her. It was Li Hongli who was willing to lie down and let Xiaodong do it. She was willing, so how could she be forced? Isn't this blackmail?

She is not someone who can be easily bullied.

Seeing Xu Xiaodong's mother like this, Li Hongli hurriedly said, "No, no, aunt, my mother and my eldest brother are just here to discuss the matter between me and Xiaodong. We are not here to cause trouble."

People are so scared even before they even enter the door.

Once you enter the door, you will be bullied even more.

Chen Xiaoying looked at her much younger mother-in-law and said straight to the point: "Hongli is pregnant for more than three months. The wedding must be arranged as soon as possible, otherwise it will not look good if we wait until her belly is big to get married."

When Xu Xiaodong heard this, he looked at Li Hongli and blinked. Not only was he short, but his eyes were also small, and his triangular eyes were narrow and squinty. It was obvious that he was not an honest man.

"Hongli, is this true?"

Li Hongli nodded: "Xiaodong, it's true."

Xu Xiaodong looked at his mother, a little panicked: "Mom, what should I do?"

Xu Xiaodong's mother, Cai Xiufen, glanced at Li Hongli and said, "Marriage? Didn't you break up? Why are you still getting married?"

This was the excuse Chen Xiaoying expected.

She also understood that Xu Xiaodong was probably already secretly dating the other person's only daughter, and was planning to kick Li Hongli out.

Chen Xiaoying didn't say anything else: "Three days ago, the two of them came back together by car. The child is already more than three months old. It means that when she was pregnant, they were still boyfriend and girlfriend. Now, Xu Xiaodong has to take this responsibility."

Chen Xiaoying didn't look like an old country woman who was easy to fool. Cai Xiufen felt that she looked familiar. After thinking carefully, she realized that she was the old woman who ran the breakfast shop on Renmin Street.

At first, she thought the conditions were good enough and worthy of her son Xiaodong.

However, the girl her daughter Xiaodong is dating now has a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment in the county town. Her parents are both working and will have a pension in the future. The girl also said that if they get married in the future, she will definitely arrange a good job for Xiaodong.

Therefore, compared with her future prospects, the little money earned by Li Hongli's mother is nothing to regret.

"No, Xiaodong, tell me, is the baby in her belly yours?" she asked her son Xu Xiaodong, but winked at him.

Xu Xiaodong had no father since he was a child, and he had to look to his mother for help. His mother was his backbone, and she immediately said, "Hongli, you have taken protective measures when you are with me. You should find the one who owns the baby in your belly. Why are you looking for me? I am not a sucker."

After hearing what Xu Xiaodong said, Li Hongli was completely dumbfounded.

She just knew that Xu Xiaodong was sometimes impatient with her and was not very enthusiastic about marrying her, so she didn't want to embarrass herself by mentioning marriage.

She never expected that he would turn his back on her so quickly.

She couldn't hold back her tears at that moment: "Xiaodong, I've only been with you, and this child is yours. If you don't acknowledge it, how can I live?"

Li Hongwei could not help but say angrily, "We sent Hongli to college, but you coaxed her into not studying hard and just dating you. Now the child is born, and this is the second one. Did you know that you took her to a small clinic for the first child and injured her uterus?"

"If this baby is not born, Hongli may not even be able to get off the operating table. Two lives are at stake. Are you so cruel?"

Xu Xiaodong was stunned for a moment and didn't say anything.

His mother Ma Xiufang immediately shouted: "Don't have any ideas. We are all adults. We have chosen our own path and we have to walk it ourselves. She has to take responsibility for it. If you are willing, I will give you 50 yuan as a living allowance. Leave as soon as possible."

"Otherwise, I don't even have fifty dollars."

Li Hongli cried and looked at Xu Xiaodong with tears in her eyes: "Xiaodong, do you think so too?"

Do you want to send her away and let her die just for fifty dollars?