Battalion Commander Han treated Zhou Lihua badly for several reasons. Firstly, Zhou Lihua had lived with his family since she was very young, and he had become accustomed to bullying her. Secondly, he was ugly, and he was afraid Zhou Lihua would look down on him, so he wanted to keep suppressing her. Finally, he became arrogant after becoming battalion commander.
However, when Zhou Lihua actually wanted a divorce, he suddenly became hesitant. He wanted to apologize to her. But he had always been aloof and superior in front of Zhou Lihua. Now, he couldn't bring himself to apologize.
Commander Kong was capable of leading troops, and he was quite shrewd. He quickly devised a plan. "Pear Blossom," he said, "no matter what, you've given me five children. If people knew you were homeless, they'd gossip about me behind my back."
“I will tell them that I am leaving on my own.”
“They won’t believe it. Pear Blossom, how about this? You can stay at home for now, and move out once you have your own house. Don’t worry, I’ll go through the paperwork with you once you have your own house.”
Battalion Commander Kong thought that Zhou Lihua would need to save money for at least two or three years to build a house. He was confident that he could persuade Zhou Lihua to change her mind during those two or three years.
Zhou Lihua objected: "This is not appropriate."
"What's inappropriate about it?"
Zhou Lihua looked at Battalion Commander Kong: "I'm here, why are you looking for someone else?"
"I...I'm not in a hurry."
"That won't work either. Don't worry, I'll explain it to others."
Battalion Commander Kong thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I let you live here for the sake of the children."
"For the children?"
“Yes. You are their mother. You are homeless, shouldn’t they take care of you? If they don’t take care of you, what will people say about them? People will say: Look, the children of Battalion Commander Kong don’t even care about their own mother.”
Zhou Lihua's eyes immediately reddened: "What they said is right."
Battalion Commander Kong choked for a moment: "That's why you absolutely can't leave. If you leave, the children will be ruined."
Zhou Lihua didn't understand: "How did the children get ruined after I left?" No matter how ignorant the children were, Zhou Lihua still wanted them to be happy.
“Now, everyone knows that the children are not good to you. If you leave, the children will be seen as unfilial to their mother. If the children get such a reputation, it will affect everything they do in the future. I ask you, would you want our daughter to marry someone who is unfilial to his parents? You certainly wouldn't. Would you want our son to marry someone who is unfilial to his parents? You certainly wouldn't.”
Battalion Commander Kong stopped and looked at Zhou Lihua: "If you were a leader, would you want to employ someone who is disrespectful to their parents? You certainly wouldn't. Tell me, if you leave, won't our children be ruined?"
Zhou Lihua glanced at the room where the children lived: "I'm no use to them. In their eyes, I'm just a servant."
“As long as you’re here, I can make them take care of you. Pear Blossom, if you leave, the children will be ruined.”
Zhou Lihua glanced at the children's house again: "Alright. Let's agree on this first: once I've built the house, you can go through the formalities with me."
"Okay." Battalion Commander Kong moved Zhou Lihua's quilt to the bed: "You sleep on the bed, I'll sleep on the floor."
"I'll sleep on the floor."
Battalion Commander Kong carried his quilt to the floor: "You're a woman, you sleep on the bed."
Zhou Lihua looked at the bed and then at the floor mat. She used to be a woman too, so why didn't he give way to her?
As Battalion Commander Kong spread out the blankets, he chatted with Zhou Lihua: "Lihua, how did you and Wang Xiaoman spend your time in the mountains?"
Zhou Lihua didn't want to talk to him: "I'm sleepy."
Battalion Commander Kong paused for a moment, then said, "Then you should go to sleep."
"Um."
Zhou Lihua fell asleep quickly. Battalion Commander Kong, however, couldn't sleep at all. He couldn't understand how things had turned out this way.
The next day, Battalion Commander Kong got up early. As soon as he got up, he went to knock on his son and daughter's doors. "Eldest son, second son, third son, fourth son, fifth son, get up, all of you!"
Battalion Commander Kong was very respected at home. Soon, the children all got up.
Eldest son: "Dad, why are you up so early?"
Battalion Commander Kong glanced at the eldest brother: "From today onwards, you all get up at this time too. If you can't get up, you won't get any food."
The children were stunned.
The second son asked, "Dad, why are you making us get up so early?"
"Help your mother with the chores." Battalion Commander Kong pointed at the eldest son: "You, go fetch water."
"Carry water? Didn't my mother always carry it?"
Battalion Commander Kong glared at the eldest brother: "You're sixteen years old and you still don't help your mother with chores? If you don't want to work, then get the hell out of here."
The eldest brother dared not utter a sound.
Battalion Commander Kong glared at him again: "Aren't you going?"
The eldest brother carried the buckets of water and left.
Battalion Commander Kong pointed at the second brother: "You, go boil some water."
With the eldest child's example in mind, the second child obediently went to boil water.
"Third brother, fourth brother, fifth brother, sweep the yard clean."
The third, fourth, and fifth brothers obediently went to sweep the yard.
Zhou Lihua came out of the house.
Battalion Commander Kong: "Why didn't you sleep a little longer? Was my voice too loud?"
The three children who were sweeping the yard were stunned.
Zhou Lihua initially didn't want to pay him any attention, but seeing the children staring at them, she said indifferently, "I'm not going to sleep."
Battalion Commander Kong: "Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, come here."
After the fourth and fifth sisters came over, Battalion Commander Kong looked at them and said, "You two are girls. From today onwards, you will help your mother cook."
When the eldest son returned with water, he saw the third son sweeping the yard, the second son tending the fire, and the fourth and fifth sons helping Zhou Lihua. After pouring the water into the vat, the eldest son went to the second son's side and asked, "Second son, what's wrong with Dad today?"
"have no idea."
"Won't Dad make us do chores for her every day?"
"No……"
"ah!"
The second son had barely uttered a word of "no" when the eldest son collapsed to the ground. The second son turned around and exclaimed, "Dad, you... what are you doing in the kitchen?"
Battalion Commander Kong looked at the eldest brother and said, "Help her with chores? Who is she?"
The eldest son got up from the ground: "She is...she is my mother."
Battalion Commander Kong called in the third brother as well: "Eldest brother, second brother, third brother, fourth brother, fifth brother, listen to me carefully. She is your mother. If you dare to disrespect her, I will throw you out of this house."
The eldest brother rubbed his butt.
The second son wondered: Is Dad possessed by an evil spirit?
The third son thought: Things are about to change at home.
The fourth son wondered: From now on, will I have to listen to my mother too?
The fifth son thought: In the future, if there is anything delicious, should I also share some with my mother?
After the meal, Battalion Commander Kong told the eldest and second eldest brothers to wash the pots. The eldest brother didn't want to go, but after Battalion Commander Kong glared at him, he obediently went.
After the children left, Battalion Commander Kong looked at Zhou Lihua and said, "Look, the children are starting to be filial to you."
Zhou Lihua said expressionlessly: "They're not being filial to me, they're afraid of you."
Commander Kong was speechless for a moment.
Xiaoman was processing medicinal herbs at home when Hanbin brought Naonao and Tengteng back.
As soon as Nao Nao and Tengteng returned, they rushed towards Xiaoman.
Tengteng: "Mom, I want to be the eldest."
Nao Nao: "Mom, I want to be the eldest too."
Xiaoman looked at Han Bin and asked, "Why did they suddenly ask this?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com