Chapter 242 Kneeling
Lin Dahai's attitude towards her was bad, and Song Lubai's stubbornness flared up.
"He's your relative, not mine! This isn't just your home!"
Lin Dahai glared at her and said, "You're almost thirty and still not married! What girl is like you, eating for free at home every day? How long are you going to let your family support you? Aren't you ashamed to say that?"
Just as Song Lubai was about to retort, Niu Lili next door, cracking sunflower seeds, said, "Why is she still getting married? Whoever she's engaged to is doomed. What man would dare to date her? Anyway, she's almost thirty, she's not getting any younger, why is she still looking for someone!"
Song Lubai spat and said, "If you don't want to look for me, then don't. It'll save you from getting beaten up every day like Aunt Niu."
Niu Lili stared, her face turning bright red.
Song Lubai pointed at Lin Dahai and said, "Who are you calling a freeloader? I don't pay any money to my family every month? You support me? I only come home a few times a month, and I still pay money to my family. You say my family supports me?"
Lin Dahai said with a long face, "How could you have grown up if no one had raised you? Did you feed all the food you ate before to the dogs? You ungrateful wretch."
Song Lu spat and said, "You didn't do anything to make me grow up, so don't try to flatter yourself! You hate me this much just because I'm not married? What good would it do you if I got married?"
Lin Dahai was furious. "You ill-mannered thing, you'd be beaten to death if you married into another family!"
Song Lubai watched helplessly as she slammed the door and left.
The scene is still inside the tenement building, but it has shifted to the interior of the building.
"Uncle, can't you just stop arguing with her? Your relationship is so bad, do you think she'll listen to you?"
Lin Dahai frowned and said, "If I'm polite to her, she'll take advantage of me. If I don't put her down, she won't listen to me properly."
"Don't worry, she's not young anymore, she's practically an old maid nobody wants. If you keep pestering her, I promise I'll send her to your house."
“Jianxi, you can find anyone else, why bother with her when you’re so upset! She has a bad temper, she won’t suffer any loss, and she’s not the type to manage a household. All the people she was engaged to are dead. Aren’t you afraid she’ll bring bad luck to you?”
Lu Jianxi wasn't afraid at all, because he was the one who killed Song Lubai's previous fiancé.
Others believe in feudal superstitions because they don't know the inside story. He's the one who did it, so he's not afraid of Song Lubai bringing him bad luck.
Liu Mei said that the fortune teller said Song Lubai would get married around the age of thirty.
If Song Lubai is to get married, she can only marry him. No matter who she chooses to marry, he will not let that person have a good time.
A moment later, Zhang Cui pushed the door open and came in.
When Zhang Cui entered the room and saw that Lu Jianxi was also there, she frowned.
Zhang Cui asked rather unenthusiastically, "What brings you here? Have you eaten yet?"
Lu Jianxi said, "Auntie, I've already eaten. I've come to bring you some mooncakes."
As Zhang Cui was about to start cooking, Lu Jianxi leaned closer and said, "Auntie, didn't you want Jianshe to come back from the countryside?"
Zhang Cui stopped what she was doing. "You have connections?"
Lu Jianxi said with a smile, "I've been asking around for you lately, but it takes some effort. It costs money to smooth things over, and you need a job to take you back. I'm looking for one now, and I'm starting to see some progress."
Lin Dahai said, "Jianxi, you should take care of things. Just tell us how much money you need."
Zhang Cui didn't object; she didn't want her son to spend his whole life in the countryside. She was willing to try anything to bring him back.
Seeing Zhang Cui's expression, Lu Jianxi's lips curled up slightly.
"Alright, Uncle, Aunt, I'll go ask again soon. If you need anything, I'll let you know. You can cook now. I'll be going now."
After Lu Jianxi left, Lin Dahai closed the door and whispered to Zhang Cui, "Whether Jianshe can come back or not depends on you."
Zhang Cui said, "Money is not a problem. We still have some savings. We'll spend a few hundred yuan to get him back. Tell your nephew to try harder."
Lin Dahai said, "It's not about the money. You know how Jianxi treats your daughter. These past few years, he's only ever had his eye on your daughter."
Zhang Cui said, "Zhao Dongmei was beaten to death by him while she was pregnant. She had also suffered several miscarriages from beatings before. How could I let my daughter marry him?"
Lin Dahai said, "She's an old maid that nobody wants. How long are you going to keep her? What's the use of being pretty? Nobody wants her anyway. She's brought death to three of her fiancés. What good family would want her?"
Zhang Cui fell silent.
Over the past few years, it's not that no one has inquired about him, but none of them have been well-off; they're either widowers with children or people with physical disabilities.
Lin Dahai continued to persuade, "You know how Jianxi treats your daughter. He hit Zhao Dongmei because he never liked her in the first place. Jianxi cares so much about Lu Bai, but Lu Bai has been giving him the cold shoulder for the past few years. When they meet again, won't he still be all smiles?"
“I’m a man, I understand men. If he really likes a woman, how could he bear to lay a hand on her? If he really marries your daughter, wouldn’t he have to take care of her? Your daughter is too old to find anyone else who is good. At least Jianxi has a decent job now, and his previous wife only gave him one daughter. Your daughter’s life won’t be bad in the future.”
Zhang Cui shook her head and said, "Even if I agree, Lu Bai won't agree."
Lin Dahai put on a stern face, "If she doesn't agree, then you, as her mother, are incompetent."
"Do you still want Jianshe to come back? Look at the hard life they lead in the countryside. If he marries a wife in the village and settles down there, will he ever be able to come back to the city? How many more times will we see him in the future?"
Lin Dahai talked a lot, while Zhang Cui sat there without saying a word.
After a long while, Zhang Cui said, "Alright then, I'll talk to Lu Bai about it."
Lin Dahai said, "We need to hurry. What if Jianshe gets married in the countryside if we keep delaying?"
The scene shifts, and Zhang Cui appears in a multi-person dormitory.
There was no one else in the dormitory at the moment, only Zhang Cuisong and her daughter Lu Bai.
Zhang Cui placed the fried small fish she had brought on the table and said, "Since you're not going home, I had no choice but to bring it to you."
Fried small fish coated in batter were Song Lubai's favorite food. She picked up a golden and crispy fried fish and ate it with a smile on her face.
"Lu Bai, Mom is going to arrange a marriage for you. Think about it."
Song Lubai asked dismissively, "Who is it?"
Zhang Cui said cautiously, "Your uncle's nephew, Jianxi."
Song Lubai paused, her face falling.
She closed the lid of the lunchbox containing the fried fish, handed it to her mother, and said, "Take it back. So you didn't come to bring me food today, but to act as a go-between for Lin Dahai. Mom, am I even your biological daughter? How could you treat me like this?"
"You're definitely not my biological mother. My biological mother wouldn't marry me off to someone who beat his wife to death."
"Who does my not getting married bother you? He always says I owe you, that you raised me, and that I've been sending money home every month since I moved out. Over the years, haven't I given you a lot?"
“I will not send money home anymore. Just pretend you never gave birth to me. This unfilial daughter will not come home to cause you any more trouble.”
Before Song Lubai could finish speaking, she saw her mother kneeling down before her.
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