"Xiao Shi, are you really going to submit a report to be discharged from the army?"
The person who came in was none other than Zhang Sao, the regimental commander's wife. After she came in, she didn't even glance at Old Lady Shi, but stared directly at Battalion Commander Shi.
“Yes, I’m too ashamed to stay in the army now. Rather than being threatened, I’d rather retire voluntarily. I can earn a living for my wife and daughter at home, and I won’t be targeted by anyone if I don’t have money. It’s pretty good.”
He was half telling the truth and half lying. He really didn't want to part with the clothes he was wearing, but if his parents really made a fuss, he would have no choice but to go home.
Zhang Sao didn't say anything more to him, but instead turned her fire on the three old women, including Old Lady Shi, who were stunned by the unexpected turn of events.
"I used to respect you because you're Xiao Shi's mother and I called you sister-in-law, but I never expected you to be such a clueless idiot!"
After being called a fool, Old Lady Shi finally realized what was happening, "Why are you saying that to me! I'm just..."
Aunt Zhang had wanted to scold her for a long time, how could she let her have a chance to do so? "What do you mean, 'you'! Calling you a fool is an understatement. I overheard a couple of things at the door just now. They even want Xiao Shi to give you 80% of his savings and salary to raise his grandson. What? Their parents are all dead, and they want their uncle to pay for their upbringing?"
"You...you..."
The old lady Shi was so angry that she could barely hold her knife after her beloved eldest son was cursed to death.
"If you can't speak properly, then listen to me! You've driven Xiao Shi to the point where he's already started submitting his discharge report. If I hadn't happened to run into Xiao Hui, that discharge report would have already been submitted to the higher-ups, do you even know that?!"
Aunt Zhang waved a piece of paper in front of her. Old Mrs. Shi didn't believe that Battalion Commander Shi was willing to retire from the army. She snatched the paper, but she was illiterate and could only call her eldest grandson. Although her eldest grandson had attended school for half a year, he was good for nothing but causing trouble. How could he recognize those words? She could only grab Battalion Commander Shi and ask, "Second son, is this really a discharge report?"
Battalion Commander Shi showed no remorse whatsoever; he had written this document himself. “Yes, if you don’t believe me, I can ask other people.”
Old Mrs. Shi didn't trust her son and daughter-in-law, nor did she trust Zhang Sao. So she pushed open the door and went out, showing each person what was written on the paper.
As a result, everyone who could read told her it was a discharge report.
"You're just being unreasonable. Would I lie to you? If Xiaohui hadn't found this thing and come to me, your son would have been forced to go back to the village to farm!"
“Tell me what you’re thinking. I heard that Battalion Commander Shi sends his allowance home every month. Even if he’s not at home taking care of you, he hasn’t missed a single duty. What more could you want?”
As the regimental commander's wife, Aunt Zhang was always the one who mediated when problems arose in the family compound. So everyone agreed with her when they heard her say this, except for Old Lady Shi.
"What filial piety! He earns so much a month, yet he only sends us so little. He's filial! My eldest son is even more filial. His wife even gave me two grandsons. We're poor. What can we do if my second son doesn't lend a hand?"
Grandma Shi never expected that her second son would be just as ruthless as she was, retiring from the army without warning, catching her completely off guard.
"Ha! I only just learned what it means to lend a hand today. It turns out that lending a hand means asking a young couple for their savings. It turns out that lending a hand means asking for 80% of their salary. Ladies and gentlemen, let's see if we have any good relatives at home. Let's ask them for a helping hand."
Gu An'an was always one to join in the fun, so how could she not come at a time like this?
As soon as she finished speaking, a commotion arose from the crowd. "My God! She calls this helping out? If anyone dared to ask me for help like that, I'd give them a piece of my mind."
"Tsk! I've seen plenty of shameless people, but this is the first time I've seen one this shameless. She's only doing this because she's Battalion Commander Shi's mother; otherwise, she would have been kicked out long ago!"
"Oh my! She was telling me yesterday how unfilial Battalion Commander Shi and his wife are! So this is what she meant by filial piety. If I were Battalion Commander Shi, I'd be willing to be called unfilial too."
"Having taken 80% of her salary, did she ever consider whether the remaining money would be enough for her family of three to live on?"
"What are you thinking? She has her eldest son and grandson, that's enough! As long as Battalion Commander Shi is still alive and making money for her, that's enough."
Faced with ridicule from all sides, Old Mrs. Shi's hands trembled with anger. "What did I do wrong! My second son's wife can't have children, and they'll have to rely on their two nephews in the future. What's wrong with contributing some money now? I'm doing this for their sake, okay?"
These days, there are indeed many people who prefer sons to daughters, and some people in the family compound also think that sons are more important than daughters, but no one would go that far.
"We have Niu Niu, we don't need anyone else!"
Xiao Hui screamed until she was hoarse; she couldn't bear to see her beloved daughter being treated so badly.
"Fine, you remember this: you said you didn't need me or my brother, so don't come begging to us again."
“My brother is right. If you come begging us to take care of you in the future, we won’t pay any attention to you unless you give us all your property.”
This statement clearly shows that this is how the Shi family taught their children from top to bottom; otherwise, how could the two children say such things?
"Don't worry, my husband and I would rather beg for food than come to your Shi family's door."
Battalion Commander Shi shielded his wife behind him, then said to Sister Zhang, "Sister-in-law, you don't need to persuade me anymore. If I were still in the army, they wouldn't let this go. Not only me, but the neighbors would also be disturbed."
He spoke with even greater conviction than before, and Zhang's heart skipped a beat when she heard this, fearing that the capable person the army had worked so hard to cultivate would be driven home by that ignorant person.
The more this happened, the worse her tone became towards Old Lady Shi. "Fine, you heard it too. Battalion Commander Shi is determined to go home now. Once he really goes home to farm, you won't even have that little bit of money you look down on each month. You can go eat dirt with your eldest son and your grandson."
Things took an unexpected turn, but she felt things shouldn't be like this. She gritted her teeth and said, "Don't try to fool me. Even if he's discharged from the army, with his current position, he can be assigned a job. Why would he go back to the village to farm?"
At this point, she slapped her thigh and said, "It's good to be discharged from the army. I can go home after being discharged and be assigned to the county. It will be easier for me to find people and I won't have to travel so far with my two children."
She only saw profit; the Shi family was completely out of her consideration.
Gu An'an felt that she had seen a lot of weirdos, but every time someone would still refresh her understanding.
One can imagine that as long as Battalion Commander Shi has a job, this kind of trick will be played out again and again until the family can no longer be squeezed dry.
"Isn't this easy to handle? Battalion Commander Shi, you just don't need to work. Anyway, no matter what you do or how much money you make, it's all for others to earn. You might as well go back to the village, farm, and relax."
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