Before he could kneel down, Shen Banxia stopped him, forcing him to half-squat. "You, Shen Banxia, let me go."
Shen Banxia simply and bluntly straightened him up, "Alright, just tell us what you have to say. We are the younger generation and cannot accept your grand gesture. You know it will shorten our lifespan, right?"
Zhou's mother glared angrily at Shen Banxia. She had never gotten along with her from the beginning, but her eldest son never listened to her. Now she felt more and more regretful.
"Zhou Mingqian, how can you stand by and watch your wife treat me like this? No matter what, we raised you, so we weren't wrong, were we?"
“Of course it’s right. Actually, I’m very grateful. So, I’ve never fallen short in taking care of my parents and being filial. Mom, do you think this is right?” If Zhou Mingqian were easy to manipulate, he would have compromised back then.
He never condoned blind filial piety.
"You, I'll say one thing and you'll have ten more to say. Alright, alright, you've become too powerful, we can't afford to offend you. All we asked you to do is help your brother, right? Once he gets better, he'll help you too. Isn't that how it is between brothers?" Zhou's mother was still unwilling to give up.
“Mom, I’m still a student and I have a son to raise. We need money to rent a place and hire someone to take care of the baby. Everything costs money. I really can’t help you,” Zhou Mingqian explained directly.
"Don't think I don't know. Shen Banxia's family is from Kyoto. Do you think they wouldn't help you?" Zhou's mother thought of finding Zhou Mingqian and his family because she knew this.
"Mom, I'm a man, not someone who married into the Shen family. Raising my son is my own responsibility," he said, refusing to mention that his grandmother and the others were helping to take care of the child.
"Zhou Mingqian, I think you did this on purpose. You have money to hire someone to take care of your son, but you don't have money to help your brother," Zhou's mother said, heartbroken.
“The fourth brother is able-bodied, and now he’s been allocated land. As long as he works hard, he won’t have to worry about not having enough to eat,” Zhou Mingqian said, feigning ignorance.
"Alright, you two go back now," Zhou's father said, seeing his eldest son's determination, knowing that saying anything more would be useless.
After they left, Zhou's mother glared at Zhou's father angrily, "Why did you let them go? The matter hasn't been settled yet!"
"What good will it do to stop them from leaving? Can't you see they won't listen to us?"
"Why should they? They have the money to hire people, so why can't they help out his brother?" Zhou's mother couldn't understand it at all.
“Because that’s not his biological brother,” Zhou’s father could tell that Zhou Mingqian was a very solitary person.
“Even if they’re not blood relatives, didn’t they grow up together? Besides, I don’t believe that Shen Banxia’s family didn’t help them at all. You know, those two went back to the capital a long time ago. I heard that those who went back made up for their previous wages. How could they not help the young couple?” Zhou’s mother thought a lot. She felt that they should get a share of the benefits.
"Even so, so what? Didn't you realize that Zhou Mingqian treats us like strangers?" At this point, he couldn't help but blame Zhou's mother, "See? It's all your fault for being so ruthless back then. Now look what's happened, they're ignoring you."
"Hey, you're blaming me now? Didn't you agree to it in the first place?" Zhou's mother refused to admit it.
"No matter what, it's all your fault. You just spoil Zhou Mingjiao. Don't think I don't know. A couple of years ago, you secretly sent her things. But look at her now, does she care about you? She probably doesn't even remember who you are anymore," Zhou's father said, piercing Zhou's mother's heart.
As she spoke, she grew increasingly angry. "I really regret it now. If I had known it would turn out like this, I would never have let my family pay that money. Look at her, because of her, which of our sons doesn't resent us?"
Zhou's mother was a little unsure of herself at this moment. "Wasn't I fooled by that big monk back then? He said we would live a life of luxury with our little girl, but what happened?"
"You, you... didn't you go to look for her?" Zhou's father asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.
Zhou's mother shook her head. "After they left, we couldn't contact them anymore. By the way, the eldest brother and the others must know, right? Do you think we should go and ask them?"
Mr. Zhou nodded, "Putting everything else aside, we should at least get that money back." He no longer expected his sons to support him in his old age.
Sometimes, it's really ironic. When the family divided the property, they agreed on the money for filial piety. The eldest son gave it to the second son on time, and at first, the second son gave it to the second son just to complain about being poor.
As for the third son, he's a cunning fellow, always complaining that he has no money.
The fourth child is even worse off; he and his wife still have to subsidize him.
There's still no word about that girl. Of all the children I've raised, only the one who isn't my biological daughter is somewhat useful; the rest are just decorations.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. "I don't care what method you use, you have to get that money back for me. Also, you should contact Su Yin. She's our daughter after all."
"I'm afraid it wouldn't be good if Mingjiao came back," Zhou's mother thought, still feeling sorry for the daughter she had raised.
Mr. Zhou couldn't help but roar, "You're worried about her? Look at ourselves! If this continues, you and I are probably going to die. All you care about is her, isn't it? You should show more concern for your own daughter!" He thought his wife was incredibly stupid.
"I understand," Zhou's mother said with a sigh.
When Zhou's mother came to inquire about Zhou Mingjiao, Shen Banxia told her her address without saying a word.
Isn't Zhou Mingjiao scheming? Let's see if she can handle Zhou's mother.
The little field mouse, who had disappeared as soon as they returned to Zhoujiazhuang, is back now, chattering excitedly, "Where's Banxia? Let me tell you, Dabai has kids now, hahaha."
Shen Banxia was also happy.
"But that's not the most exciting part. You were looking for Du Heng, right? Well, I'll tell you, we found it too! We're so lucky! Actually, it was Da Bai's wife who told me. You should really thank them!" The little field mouse was practically dancing with joy.
"Really? Don't worry, I'll definitely thank them properly."
"Of course! Look who's behind this! Let me tell you, this Du Heng is no ordinary person. There's a whole patch of them over there!" The little field mouse was incredibly excited. Some things it thought were gone were still there. Did this mean that one day its dream would come true?
Although it looks very energetic now, it can actually feel its life slowly slipping away. Even though it has lived for hundreds of years, it still wants to live.
For no other reason than to watch its cub grow into an adult.
"Shall we go take a look now?" Shen Banxia couldn't wait any longer.
The little field mouse rolled its eyes. "It's getting dark."
Kyoto.
Su Su looked at the documents in her hand and fell silent.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com