Chapter 186 Ingratitude
He recalled the day he broke his leg when he was a child.
It was freezing cold, and the mountain roads were icy.
Zhou Shufen carried him on her back, slipping and sliding with each step, as she walked towards the county hospital.
Her thin shoulders trembled in the wind and snow, but she never stopped walking.
As she walked, she comforted her, "Almost there, almost there, don't be afraid, Mom's here..."
He wanted to open his mouth and call out "Mom".
But it felt like something was blocking my throat, and I couldn't utter a single sound.
Everyone knows that the four Zhou brothers conspired to steal from their mother's shop.
Everyone knew in their hearts that these four people were no longer human.
They devoured their mother's flesh and blood, swallowed the debt of gratitude, and even fed the last shred of their conscience to the dogs.
In the old Zhou family house at the west end of the village, Zhou Yongjun stood shakily at the door, leaning on his cane.
“These four kids… from now on, let the state take care of them! I’ve talked myself hoarse and pleaded with them until my skin is sore, but they don’t take it a second thought! They just ignore me! I can’t handle them anymore… and I don’t want to anymore…”
Beside the old mill, several gray-haired old men squatted against the wall, silently smoking their pipes.
“Yongjun is right. That winter, the river froze over. To save money for her sons' tuition, Zhou Shufen reached into the icy river to collect clam shells. Her fingers were cracked, and her fingernails were full of blood, but she didn't utter a sound. She just said, ‘The children's education is the most important thing.’... And now look at them! These ungrateful bastards, once they grow up, they turn around and bite their mother’s back!”
He tapped his pipe hard, sending sparks flying.
“Just two days ago, I saw Zhou Hairong gambling at the village entrance. As he was drawing cards, he kept cursing Zhou Shufen for being heartless. People around him tried to persuade him to stop, but his eyes turned red, and he grabbed the cards and threw them on the ground, spitting as he shouted, ‘This isn’t a mother! She’s a miser!’”
Another old man spat out a mouthful of yellow phlegm.
"Tell me, is that still my own son? He's clearly a vengeful ghost! His own mother starved and thirsted to raise them, and in the end, she's being cursed by her own flesh and blood. Where is justice?"
Just then, a series of heavy footsteps came from the end of the village road.
Village Party Secretary Yang Shikai walked over slowly with his hands behind his back.
"The police station just called, saying that the four Zhou family members sneaked into the town's hardware store last night, ransacked the shelves, and stole several rolls of copper wire and two power tools. Luckily, the surveillance footage was clear, the store owner reported the case, and the police arrested them before dawn."
He paused, staring at the circle of villagers who had gathered around him.
"They didn't smash the shop or touch any other goods, so their attitude is considered acknowledging the situation. As long as they raise the fine and compensation, they'll be released immediately. If they can't raise the money, they'll be locked up for six months. Once the court orders it, they can't escape."
He sighed at this point, his tone softening slightly.
"The two youngest are not yet 18, so they are first-time offenders and should be released according to regulations. But what about the adults? They need to be properly disciplined."
As Aunt Pan listened, the needle and thread in her hand slipped and fell to the ground.
Her cloudy eyes suddenly welled up with tears, which rolled down silently.
"Zhou Shufen's life has been truly bitter... After marrying into the Zhou family, she was treated like a beast of burden by her in-laws. Her husband died early, and she had to raise four children all by herself. She finally managed to open a small shop, and life seemed to be looking up, but her own sons not only failed to live up to her expectations, but instead caused her trouble every day!"
"She worked hard her whole life, saving every penny she could, and these good-for-nothings have squandered it all. If she knew about this, wouldn't she be heartbroken? Her heart would probably tear apart..."
The news swept across the mountains like the wind, reaching the city at noon.
Yang Qingshan was squatting at the back door of the department store, holding a hammer, and working with Xu Lingling to nail iron bars to reinforce the window.
The scorching sun made the metal sheet scorching hot, and Xu Lingling's hands went numb from the impact. Finally, she couldn't help but throw the hammer to the ground.
"Serves you right!"
She was breathing heavily, her face flushed red.
"These beasts should have been disciplined long ago! Lock them up for a few years, let them taste what it's like behind bars, and see if they dare to cause trouble again! How good have I been to them these past few years? Providing them with food and clothing, paying off their debts, and what did they do? They turned around and repaid kindness with enmity!"
She became more and more agitated as she spoke, and her eyes became bloodshot.
Yang Qingshan didn't say anything, but silently bent down and picked up the fallen hammer.
He looked down at the rusty nail in his hand, rubbing his fingertips together.
Then steadily align the nail tip with the gap in the wooden frame.
One, two...
"They chose this path, and no one can stop them."
He finally spoke, his voice hoarse.
"All we can do is protect this shop. When Sister Zhou comes back, we don't want her to stand at the door, looking at the rusty lock and broken glass, feeling like her home is gone."
Meanwhile, in Ningcheng, thousands of miles away, Zhou Shufen was still completely unaware of what was happening.
She was busy on the assembly line in the electronics factory, her forehead beaded with sweat, her hands mechanically assembling tiny parts.
The workshop was filled with the constant roar of machines, and Mandarin training recordings were playing in my headphones.
"Hello customer, how can I help you?"
She quietly repeated the instructions as she operated the device.
......
Zhou Hongxue walked through the long corridor.
The guards opened one iron gate after another, finally leading him to the detention cell.
He stood outside the iron gate, peering through the bars.
The four brothers huddled in a corner, their clothes disheveled, their faces filled with terror.
Zhou Hongxue looked at them coldly.
“You four are just like your father. You only want to take advantage and get things for free, and you never want to put in a single effort. Do you think you have the right to steal or rob our things? What makes you think you can? Just because you have the surname Zhou? Or because your father died young and once freeloaded a meal from our family?”
Zhou Haiwei, who was sitting at the very back, suddenly looked up when he heard this.
Who do you think you are?
Zhou Hairong suddenly sprang to his feet, the veins on his neck bulging, and he roared at the outside with his neck stiff.
"Dressed up properly, you come here pretending to be an elder and lecturing people? Even my dad has never spoken to me like that! Who the hell do you think you are? Trying to act like a father figure here?"
"who I am?"
Zhou Hongxue smiled, but his smile was devoid of warmth.
“Zhou Hongxue, Zhou Shufen’s second brother. Twenty years ago, your father, Zhou Dajun, collapsed on the edge of a field, suffering from a high fever and falling into a coma, on the verge of death. Who saved him then? It was our family. We emptied our savings to hire doctors, buy medicine, and take care of him for three whole months. And what was the result?”
His voice suddenly rose, filled with years of suppressed anger.
"He took the money and ran away, moving to another county to hide from his debts, and then turned his back on us! He even spread rumors and slandered my sister, making her unable to hold her head up in the village, and she almost jumped into the river to commit suicide! Don't you know what you've done wrong?"
As he spoke, he began to slowly pace outside the iron gate.
The leather shoes made a regular, dull echo as they stepped on the cement floor.
The four brothers involuntarily shrank back.
The youngest one, in particular, had buried his face between his knees.
"Your Zhou family's bones are so cheap they're disgusting."
"It's one thing to be ungrateful, but to keep reaching out and using any means necessary. Who do you think you're swindling? A woman's hard-earned money? A mother's last hope?"
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