Looking at her father who was almost sixty years old, who had worked hard all his life and raised four sons and three daughters, she saw him now hunched in front of her, sobbing and wiping away tears.

Li Hongyan felt bad, but said, "Dad, I really don't mean to say anything bad to you. My mom has been asked to take care of me all her life. Now that she's old, you still can't take care of me?"

"What's wrong with you?"

From childhood to adulthood, she has seen her mother Chen Xiaoying being timid and afraid to speak in front of her father Li Pingwang.

Her father, Li Pingwang, has a bad temper and would hit people when he gets angry.

Sometimes, when she was beaten so severely, her mother would crawl on the kang and cry. No matter how hard she cried, she would still get up when it was time for dinner to cook for the family, wash clothes, and work in the fields.

Her father Li Pingwang is the head of the family, but now her mother Chen Xiaoying has turned against her will and no longer listens to her father.

Li Pingwang was criticized by his eldest daughter, and he didn't know what to say: "Who knows what's wrong with her? I guess she made money and thinks she's capable now."

But what’s the use of saying this now?

After the father and daughter returned to the yard, Zhao Faliang stood up from his chair, and with a sullen face, he asked Li Hongyan in a reproachful and complaining tone: "What about the money?"

Li Hongyan immediately understood the meaning of his words, which was what she would do if her mother didn't pay her back. She must not let him get involved.

"He would have gone to whoever has money. Why are you asking this? Do you have money to pay back?" Li Hongyan was furious when she saw the coward Zhao Faliang.

Zhao Faliang snorted and turned away: "I don't have any money!"

Li Pingwang looked uncomfortable all over.

People who are poor, afraid of things, and have strong self-esteem are most afraid of being disliked.

When he saw his son-in-law's attitude, he said to Li Hongyan: "Hongyan, it's okay, I will go back by myself."

"It's almost dark, what happened to you? What if you fall?" Li Hongyan's face was not looking good: "Sleep for a night first, and leave tomorrow morning after you have breakfast."

When Li Pingwang heard this, his heart was boiling. It was his daughter who loved him and worried about him, unlike the ungrateful eldest brother Li Hongwei. What was the point of having sons like them?

Three or four sons are not as good as his one daughter, Hongyan.

Chen Xiaoying returned to her home in the village and asked Zhao Xueyan when she saw her: "Did Jiejie pick up the phone?"

Students need to be picked up and dropped off at Jiefang Primary School in the morning and evening.

"Grandma." Li Yujie ran out of the house and called her, followed by Li Yuhan. The two little sisters were playing in the house.

Since going to school in the county town, the originally taciturn Li Yujie has become much more lively and knows how to call people.

"Just take it back."

The eldest daughter-in-law Liu Lanxiang quickly asked: "Mom, where is my dad?"

I haven't seen anyone yet: "What did my eldest sister say about the money?"

How could she possibly pay off a debt of 28,000 yuan? Asking her to sell her house is impossible. She would not sell it even if they wanted to divorce. Why should I sell her house?

Chen Xiaoying shook her head: "Sit down, everyone. Let's talk later."

"Brother, what's going on?" The second brother Li Hongjian asked Li Hongwei hurriedly.

The boss, Li Hongwei, had a gloomy face and said, "There's nothing we can do. She said she has no money."

When Liu Lanxiang heard this, she became anxious: "She has no money? How could she have no money? The money has only been borrowed for more than a month, and the betrothal gift has just been given out. It's not too late to ask for it back now. Any amount that can be paid back is a little bit. What's the point of saying that she has no money?"

"She doesn't want to pay it back?"

After hearing the eldest sister-in-law say that his eldest sister was not good, the third child, Li Hong, said: "Why are you so anxious? When did my eldest sister say that she would not pay it back? She said that she would pay it back when she had money."

Liu Lanxiang was so angry at the third brother: "She has money? She will never be rich in her life. Let alone who would complain about having too much money? What about her three sons! After junior high school, they went to high school, and after high school, they went to college. They need money for tuition, books, food, drinks, and daily necessities, building a house, marrying a wife, and having children. Everything costs money. Just the few acres of land she cultivates will cost her all her life."

"Sister-in-law, why do you say such things? Don't you hope that others will be better?" The third brother Li Hongqiang was most annoyed by his sister-in-law Liu Lanxiang who was always trying to sow discord and causing problems between his mother and his eldest sister.

Seeing the third brother's attitude, Chen Xiaoying glared at him and said, "What your sister-in-law said is true. Your eldest sister gave birth to three sons. Except for Pengfei who graduated from high school, the other two are still in school. Tell me yourself, can your eldest sister afford to support the few acres of land she cultivates?"

Can't afford it!

The third brother, Li Hongqiang, frowned and said nothing.

"If you think your elder sister is good, you can pay back the money for her." Chen Xiaoying didn't want to see his face as if he owed him something.

When Li Hongqiang heard this, he became anxious: "Mom, where can I get this money?"

"What do you mean? Your eldest sister has dug such a big hole. The IOU was written in your father's name. Your father can't pay it back, so you, the sons, have to pay it back. You still don't understand and you still want to speak for her? Did you sell yourself for her and you are counting the money for her?" Chen Xiaoying couldn't help but feel heartbroken. How could the third brother be so stupid?

"Didn't my dad tell my eldest sister to ask my eldest brother to sell the house first..." He didn't finish his righteous words.

Liu Lanxiang was going crazy: "Why should I sell my house? Why should I sell my house? Did I borrow the money or did I spend it? Why should I pay back the money when she spent it?"

"Old Third, do you think you are speaking human language? Huh?"

It was the first time that Li Hongqiang saw his sister-in-law so aggressive, as if she was ready to kill someone: "We are all family, she is in trouble now, how can we not help her?"

"Then why don't you sell the house?" Liu Lanxiang mocked him.

"I don't have it." said the third brother Li Hongqiang.

"You are a scoundrel. You and your sister are the same." Liu Lanxiang cursed with gritted teeth.

"That's enough. Stop talking." Her husband, the boss Li Hongwei, felt ashamed and yelled at her to stop.

Liu Lanxiang cried: "I can't sell the house, it's my house."

Li Hongwei had nothing to say.

From the very beginning, it was his wife and her mother who started the business together, and he just followed to help out.

Chen Xiaoying also said coldly: "Lanxiang is right, Hongwei, you said that I was in business with you, but you didn't do anything. When we went to the market, it was the mother-in-law and I who made sesame cakes. When we opened the fried skewers shop, Lanxiang helped when she was free, and Li Yutong also helped. The current restaurant was opened with the money earned from the fried skewers shop. What money do you have?"

"If you weren't Lanxiang's husband, this would be considered the couple's property, and this restaurant would have nothing to do with you."

Li Hongwei was so embarrassed that he couldn't even raise his head: "Mom, I know."

Liu Lanxiang felt so aggrieved that tears were streaming down her face. Wang Xiaoqin, the second brother's sister-in-law, was scared. She thought her eldest sister-in-law was too cruel and put so many blames on her brothers.

"Mom, what should we do now?" the eldest son Li Hongwei asked Chen Xiaoying.

Chen Xiaoying sat on the chair and thought for a long time before she said dejectedly, "I guess this restaurant can't be run anymore."

"Why?"

Li Hongwei was unwilling to do so, as he knew that running a small restaurant was very profitable. If he gave up, he would go back to the village to farm. He would work all year round, facing the loess and back to the sky, sweating profusely and working himself to death. After paying the public tax, what would be left?