As soon as Zhang Jinzhou heard this, he immediately understood: this eldest sister had come to the factory to pressure Li Mingliang.
Yet, he couldn’t help feeling a twinge of disapproval toward Li Mingliang—after all, over more than ten years, he hadn’t given a single penny to his family. Could he even be called a man?
“Comrade, I understand your point! Secretary Liu, go call Li Mingliang over!”
Zhang Jinzhou patted his chest in reassurance: “Comrade, don’t worry. Our factory would never withhold workers’ wages! There must be some misunderstanding!”
When Li Mingliang was summoned, a bad feeling rose in his chest.
Pushing open the factory director’s office door, he saw Liu Meiling, and it hit him—what she said yesterday wasn’t nonsense. She really had come to the factory!
“Comrade Li, your household is a mess! If you can’t even secure your family’s home front, how can I trust you to manage work in the factory? Come explain to this comrade. The factory has never withheld a single worker’s wage!”
Zhang Jinzhou slammed the table and demanded angrily.
In an instant, Li Mingliang’s anger flared. He lunged forward, grabbing Liu Meiling’s sleeve: “What exactly do you want?! You just want to ruin my work, don’t you?!”
Liu Meiling didn’t hold back either. She shrugged him off and slapped him across the face, screaming furiously: “Yes! I want to ruin your work! The whole family has depended on me for so many years! I can’t support you anymore! I can’t!”
“What nonsense! This isn’t the place for this—why can’t you talk about it at home?”
Li Mingliang’s face flushed red with agitation. He had just started work today, with a crowd of people watching him, teasing him about living comfortably all these years while spending his wages on himself.
All the respect he had maintained over the years vanished in an instant.
Already furious, being slapped by Liu Meiling pushed him over the edge. He swung a hand, knocking her to the ground.
Panting like an old ox, he growled: “Have you had enough?”
Liu Meiling paused, looking into his bloodshot eyes. Her heart trembled. In her previous life, she had always obeyed Li Mingliang, but after being out of work for two years, he had started laying hands on her, instilling fear deep in her bones.
Instinctively, she softened her breathing. The commotion had drawn many workers to the office. Their presence calmed her to the extreme—she was in the factory, with witnesses outside.
No one would let her be beaten to death. Even if it cost her life, she would expose Li Mingliang’s hypocritical face!
Even if she had decided not to involve her children, she would never allow them to be deceived by this false man.
Moreover, she needed money—just like in her previous life. If she wanted to run a business again, she couldn’t afford to be without funds.
Within moments, Liu Meiling had made up her mind. She went all out.
“Not enough! Not enough! Not enough!”
Like a raging bull, she shoved into Li Mingliang’s stomach, pinning him down, swinging fists wildly.
“Did you hear me? Not enough! Not enough! Not enough! The factory said they never withheld a penny of your wages. Where did your money go?! Tell me! My son is getting married! Where did your wages go for over ten years? Answer me!!”
She shouted until her throat hurt. Behind her, her second and third sons were shocked.
The second son shrank back, swearing to obey his mother from now on, as long as she didn’t hit him.
The third son, sensitive and emotional, had tears welling up instantly. His mother was doing this all for them.
His heart ached: “Dad! Where did you spend the money? Just tell us!”
“Bang!”
The office door was pushed open by a crowd of familiar colleagues.
Li Mingliang turned, shocked, and spat a mouthful of old blood.
Darkness loomed before his eyes, and Liu Meiling’s next slap brought him back.
He couldn’t dodge her overwhelming strikes. Defeated, he stammered: “It’s just money! Fine! I’ll give it! I’ll give it!”
Liu Meiling let go and fell back, only to be caught by her third son.
Seeing his tear-streaked face, she froze. Tilting her head, she muttered through her running nose, hoping it wouldn’t drip on her.
“Mom! I’m sorry! Now I realize how hard you’ve worked day and night for us brothers, and I never understood. I even thought you were biased! Mom! I was wrong! I thought you favored eldest brother, but it turns out you gave the best to us! Mom—”
The third son cried, snot and tears streaming. Liu Meiling shivered—her son had never cried so hard before, even in death.
She trembled, patting his hand: “Third son, tell me what you want. Don’t… don’t be like this. Mom’s scared…”
In her last life, the third son had only been gentle when he needed something. This brief period of care, when the mother-in-law had fallen and needed tending, had been the best time he ever treated her kindly.
Li Baohai was even more distraught, sobbing uncontrollably: “Mom! I’ll be a good son from now on!”
Zhang Jinzhou was deeply moved as well, wiping away tears.
He turned to see Li Mingliang rolling his eyes: “Old Li, you’re a team leader. You should set an example! Your monthly wage is 96.8 yuan, nearly a level-five worker. You can’t have problems now!”
Li Mingliang clenched his teeth: “It’s my fault. I thought the household expenses were enough, so I saved money. I didn’t communicate with my family properly, causing a bad impression at the factory. I’ll give all the money to her when I get home. Sorry, Director!”
Liu Meiling stopped fussing. Her goal had been achieved. Her limbs weakened, and she let her second son carry her home.
Once inside, Li Mingliang knocked over the teacup on the table, chest heaving, wanting to hit Liu Meiling—but recalling her crazed behavior at the factory, he forced himself to stay his hand.
“Is it just money? How did I never notice you were so petty? Why couldn’t you just talk to me instead of causing a scene at the factory?”
Liu Meiling glanced at the cup and spoke coldly: “If you’re not petty, why haven’t you ever given me any money, not a single cent? You’re a technician at a steel factory. Every year you need eight new sets of clothes—spring and autumn suits twenty yuan, shoes 3.5 per pair. In autumn and winter, your leather shoes are five yuan, cotton 1.5 per pound, a full outfit with cloth costs fifteen yuan, and you need three sets to rotate. I paid for all of it.
If you’re not petty, why do you need new clothes and shoes? Give me the money, or I’ll go to the factory again tomorrow. You’ll lose your job, fine. You’ve never given me a penny anyway. Big difference, huh?”
Li Mingliang had no solution for her but, fearing she really would return to the factory, waved his hand impatiently: “Fine! I’ll give the 800 yuan for eldest son’s bride price. You don’t have to worry…”
Liu Meiling slammed the table with her right hand, eyes sharp:
“No! I want the money! Don’t you understand? Ten years ago, your salary was 36 per month; five years ago 52; two years ago over 80. I’ll calculate it as 80.
Five years at 36 is 2160, round down to 2000.
Five years at 52 is 3120, round down to 3000.
Ten years total: 5000.
Add nearly two years at 80, 1920. Total nearly 7000.
Round up—we’ll say 7000 yuan. Give me 7000 yuan.”