“Bingchen, Dad isn’t telling you to actually divorce Zhao Zhenzhu, Dad just wants you to scare her a little.” Zhou Fugui sensed the displeasure in Zhou Bingchen’s tone and quickly explained.
"Dad, Pearl won't believe it. We have two children together! If Pearl believes it, I'll be without a wife." Zhou Bingchen wasn't going to fall for it.
He is rarely home throughout the year, and Pearl takes care of all the household chores and children all by herself.
Pearl's eyes and heart are only for him. To vent his parents' anger, he'd threaten to divorce Pearl? He's not stupid.
“Bingchen, what are you afraid of? You’re a military officer now. Even if you get divorced, there are plenty of young women waiting to marry you. Zhao Zhenzhu is different. She’s a rural woman who has given birth. No one will want her if she gets divorced. As long as you say you want a divorce, it will definitely scare Zhao Zhenzhu.” Seeing that his son was unwilling, Zhou Fugui hurriedly tried to persuade him.
"Dad, stop talking. I won't divorce Pearl. Is there anything else? If not, I'm hanging up. Phone calls are expensive, and if we keep talking, I'll almost run out of my allowance for the month." Zhou Bingchen said impatiently.
Zhou Bingchen deliberately brought up the phone bill as an excuse to stop sending money home this month.
The experience in his dream made Zhou Bingchen realize that no matter how devoted he was to his parents and how much money he sent them, they would never appreciate him.
Zhou Bingchen had been in the army for twelve years. During those twelve years, except for the first three years as a conscript with a small allowance, he could only send six yuan home a month. Later, Zhou Bingchen became a volunteer soldier, and he could send ten yuan home a month. Later, he was promoted to company commander, and he was supposed to send ten yuan home and ten yuan to Zhao Zhenzhu every month, but unexpectedly, Ding Ermei swallowed all twenty yuan.
Zhou Bingchen and Zhao Zhenzhu have been married for over seven years. If you calculate it that way, Zhou Bingchen should have sent nearly two thousand yuan home over the years.
But what about Zhou Fugui?
Even when he wanted Zhou Bingchen dead, he still managed to do it.
On the contrary, Zhou Bingchen felt that he owed Zhao Zhenzhu too much over the years.
He used to think that since they were family, Zhao Zhenzhu could ask Ding Ermei for money whenever she needed it, and Ding Ermei couldn't refuse.
Looking back now, it seems very difficult.
Ding Ermei makes a scene even over Zhao Zhenzhu eating a few eggs, so she certainly hasn't spent much money on Zhenzhu and the children in recent years.
If he had known, he wouldn't have cared about his parents' feelings and would have sent the money directly to Pearl.
The more Zhou Bingchen thought about it, the more regretful he felt.
“Bingchen, you’ve grown up, your wings have hardened, and you don’t want to listen to your father anymore.” Zhou Fugui said unhappily.
Zhou Fugui has always been like this; no matter how unreliable his ideas are, he likes it when his children listen to him.
Zhou Bingchen had repeatedly humiliated him today, and Zhou Fugui's anger was burning.
"Dad, other parents advise their children to settle down and not cause trouble, but you're forcing me to get a divorce. My heart... it hurts so much! Sometimes I even doubt... whether I'm really your and Mom's biological child." Zhou Bingchen sniffed and said, "Before, my older brothers and younger sister didn't do any chores at home, and you and Mom always smiled at them. If I didn't do any work well, I'd get scolded or beaten. Now, you're forcing me to get a divorce... I..."
At this point, Zhou Bingchen pretended to choke up and couldn't continue, but his ears were perked up, eager to hear what Zhou Fugui would say.
Zhou Fugui was stunned.
Did he and Ding Ermei make it that obvious?
However, Zhou Bingchen was stubborn from a young age, and no matter how much he was scolded or beaten, he would not shed a single tear.
I actually cried today; it seems I was really heartbroken.
“Bingchen, I was strict with you before because I thought you were a promising talent. I wanted you to do more work and gain more experience! If it weren’t for my foresight, you wouldn’t have become an officer in the army, would you?” Zhou Fugui never forgot to flatter himself.
“Yes, I know Dad means well. But Pearl and I really can’t get a divorce,” Zhou Bingchen said firmly.
Zhou Fugui dared not press the matter any further, and could only say sullenly, "Forget it, forget it, I won't interfere in your affairs anymore. I'm just afraid that if the army finds out that you and your wife are unfilial, it will affect your future."
Zhou Bingchen was so angry he laughed.
This is his father, a selfish and cold-hearted father.
From childhood to adulthood, whenever Zhou Bingchen did anything that did not meet Zhou Fugui's expectations, Zhou Fugui would try every means to manipulate Zhou Bingchen.
Zhou Fugui's words were a reminder to Zhou Bingchen that if Zhao Zhenzhu continued to oppose them, he would report Zhou Bingchen and his wife to the military leaders for being "unfilial"!
"Dad, I'm hanging up now. Call me again if you need anything." Zhou Bingchen hung up the phone before Zhou Fugui could respond.
Zhou Bingchen felt ashamed of his past foolishness.
In the past, Zhou Bingchen always felt that he hadn't done enough or done enough, which was why his parents ignored him.
He hadn't confronted Ding Ermei about the allowance before because he wanted his parents to think he was now successful and could make a "big contribution" to the family.
Zhou Bingchen hopes that his parents will give him and his wife and children more attention, considering that he is "useful".
In the end, it all turned out to be Zhou Bingchen's own imagination.
Relationships between people cannot be maintained by money.
Zhou Bingchen has given up on Zhou Fugui.
Hearing the click of the phone being hung up, Zhou Fugui angrily gripped the receiver tightly.
Isn't it just that she wanted Zhou Bingchen to scare Zhao Zhenzhu? Is Zhou Bingchen expressing his dissatisfaction?
"Uncle Fugui, what's wrong?" Zhou Dazhu asked.
"It's nothing, Bingchen said he's busy and told me to call him if I need anything," Zhou Fugui said with a forced smile.
Zhou Fugui didn't want Zhou Dazhu to know that he had a conflict with Zhou Bingchen.
Their family's status in Zhoujia Village was entirely supported by Zhou Bingchen, their "military officer son."
“Uncle Fugui, I just heard you say that you want your son Bingchen to get a divorce? Zhao Qingshan is such a capable person! If you become in-laws with Zhao Qingshan, your family will benefit, won’t they?” Zhou Dazhu asked.
“It’s not a real divorce, I just want to teach the Zhao family a lesson. This time my second sister was taken to the police station, and it was all because of Zhao Zhenzhu. I went to Zhao Qingshan for help, but he said he couldn’t interfere with the police in the performance of their duties. I was furious,” Zhou Fugui said.
“Uncle Fugui, divorce is a big deal, you can’t use it to scare people. Bingchen is the most promising of your children, and you will rely on him a lot in the future! Don’t push him away from you.” Zhou Dazhu kindly advised.
Zhou Fugui has four children.
Zhou Bingchen was not only the most capable, but also the most filial.
The other three are either bad or stupid. They're all short-sighted, only thinking about the little money Zhou Fugui and his wife have. The most cunning of them all, Zhou Meimei, even managed to trick Zhou Fugui into giving her his job.
Unfortunately, Zhou Fugui and his wife never seemed to understand this.
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