Zhao Yunzheng had never really thought about the compensation payment from the military, but he could guess it would happen.
After all, during his mission he had exposed numerous people, preventing major losses, and he had been seriously injured in the line of duty. It was only natural for his superiors to approve compensation funds to support his recovery.
So when Zhou Yu had mentioned the compensation money earlier, he hadn’t been surprised.
But at the time, Zhou Yu had also said that his family would definitely pocket the money and never give either of them a single cent. Zhao Yunzheng hadn’t believed her. He thought she was deliberately smearing his family and trying to drive a wedge between them.
Yet everything Zhou Yu had said had come true.
Now his mother and younger brother were openly claiming that the money order receipt belonged to them and had nothing to do with him or his wife.
They had even come over to accuse his wife of stealing their money!
A chill settled in Zhao Yunzheng’s heart.
How could his family do such a thing?
Was it because he hadn’t woken up yet? Because they thought he had become a burden?
“Mom, is this even a matter of whether I should let it go? You’re slandering me!”
As expected, Zhou Yu neither panicked nor lost her composure.
Instead, she responded with calm but justified indignation.
“What do you mean I’m stealing his money order receipt? I didn’t even know such a thing existed! And even if it did, how do you know it was really meant for Zhao Ziming? How does he even know Big Brother Zhao’s military comrades?”
She looked suspiciously at Zhao Ziming.
“You’ve only been working for two years. You barely have enough money to support yourself and the family. How could you possibly save up a large sum for someone else? Unless you’ve been engaging in illegal profiteering behind everyone’s back?”
The moment those words came out, panic flashed across Zhao Ziming’s face.
He knew that next year policies would loosen and small private businesses would become legal.
But not yet.
If he became associated with profiteering and black-market trading now, the consequences could be severe. He could be publicly denounced and sent for re-education.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Zhao Ziming shouted sharply.
“I… I haven’t saved much money. But my brother has always treated me well. He set aside some money in advance to help me get married and start a family. That money order receipt was for that money.”
Wang Hongmei glared at Zhou Yu.
Her youngest son was the apple of her eye.
She couldn’t tolerate anyone speaking badly of him.
“We’re all family. How can you accuse him of profiteering? Is that how an elder sister-in-law behaves? You’ve become completely outrageous!”
She pointed a finger at Zhou Yu.
“Kneel down and reflect on how a Zhao family daughter-in-law should behave!”
Zhou Yu replied coldly,
“You were the ones who falsely accused me first. Am I not even allowed to say a single word in return? Fine then. I’ll go to the production brigade right now and ask for justice!”
With that, she headed toward the door.
Zhao Ziming panicked and quickly urged Wang Hongmei to stop her.
If Zhou Yu went to the brigade and started talking nonsense, it would be bad enough if people learned about the money order receipt. But if she spread rumors about profiteering, it could seriously damage his reputation.
Wang Hongmei was furious as well.
As she grabbed Zhou Yu, she even raised her hand to hit her, cursing her for not behaving like a proper wife and for causing chaos within the family.
Lying helplessly in bed, unable to move, Zhao Yunzheng finally lost his composure.
For the first time, he felt that perhaps he truly was the useless burden his family claimed he was.
In a situation like this, he couldn’t even wake up to protect his wife.
All he could do was listen as his family bullied her.
Fortunately, Zhou Yu wasn’t the type to stand there and take a beating.
She caught Wang Hongmei’s wrist and shoved it away, determined to leave.
Just then, a loud shout came from outside.
“Stop it! What kind of scene are you making? The neighbors are already gathering outside to laugh at you!”
Zhao Changdong had been thinking about the money order receipt all day.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
While working in the fields, he couldn’t concentrate.
Eventually, he couldn’t resist any longer. Wanting to see what a five-thousand-yuan money order receipt looked like, he spoke to the scorekeeper and came home early before noon.
He never expected to return and find his family on the verge of a fight.
Several neighbors had already gathered outside to watch the spectacle.
Concerned about saving face, Zhao Changdong felt deeply embarrassed.
He barked at everyone to get inside, slammed the door shut behind them, and scolded,
“Can’t you talk things out properly?”
Wang Hongmei had never imagined that a daughter-in-law would dare fight back against her mother-in-law.
She immediately opened her mouth to complain to Zhao Changdong.
Zhao Ziming was about to speak as well.
But Zhou Yu beat them both to it.
“Dad, it’s good that you’re back. I really can’t stay in this house anymore. Neither can Big Brother Zhao!”
She raised her voice.
“We might as well split the family and live separately!”
The room instantly fell silent.
Even Zhao Yunzheng was stunned.
For a moment, he couldn’t process what he had heard.
“Split the family? Absolutely not!”
Zhao Changdong’s voice shot up.
“You’ve only been married into this family for a few days and already want to split the household? If word got out, it would be humiliating! What would people think of our family’s reputation?”
If the villagers found out that their eldest son had just gotten married and his wife was already demanding a separate household, what would they think?
Zhao Changdong firmly refused.
Tears instantly welled in Zhou Yu’s eyes.
“Then, Dad, look at how Mom and Third Brother are treating me! They keep saying Big Brother Zhao left them money and that a money order receipt arrived today, but they never told me a thing! Fine, maybe they didn’t tell me. But now that the receipt is missing, they’ve come here accusing me of stealing it!”
After hearing her explanation, Zhao Changdong’s eyes widened.
“What did you just say? The money order receipt is missing?!”
“That’s right!”
At last, Wang Hongmei found her chance to speak.
“Husband, such a huge money order—gone!”
Zhao Ziming stared at Zhou Yu.
“Other than Mom, she’s the only one who touched the package sent by my brother’s comrade. If it wasn’t her, who else could it be?”
Now Zhao Changdong truly panicked.
Five thousand yuan!
He had been counting on that money to support him comfortably in his old age.
Turning toward Zhou Yu, he demanded,
“Daughter-in-law, where’s the receipt?”
Instead of answering, Zhou Yu shot back a question.
“So, Dad, you knew about the receipt too? Everyone in the family knew except me? Why? Am I not Big Brother Zhao’s wife? Or have you all simply never considered either him or me part of this family?”
For a moment, Zhao Yunzheng felt his breathing tighten as he listened for their answer.
But he didn’t hear what he hoped to hear.
Instead, Zhao Changdong coughed awkwardly and put on a stern face.
“How would I know? Nobody was intentionally hiding it from you. We just hadn’t had the chance to tell you yet.”
Zhao Ziming immediately changed the subject.
“Finding the receipt is what’s important right now!”
“That’s right.”
Wang Hongmei chimed in.
“Eldest daughter-in-law, stop being unreasonable and find the receipt first!”
Zhao Yunzheng could hear the guilt in their voices.
If he had still held onto any lingering hope before, it was completely shattered now.
Over the years, he had never been particularly close to his family.
When famine struck years ago and there wasn’t enough food to go around, he had volunteered for military service. He left his grain ration behind for the family and departed with virtually nothing.
Later, military training was harsh, missions were demanding, and leave was rare.
He seldom came home.
Whenever his family wrote letters or sent telegrams, aside from a brief greeting of a few words, the rest was usually a request for his military allowance.
He understood that life was hard for them.
He told himself it was normal for them to need money.
He even convinced himself that his parents favored his second and third brothers because he was quiet and awkward with words, while they were more charming and stayed by their parents’ side.
But now he finally understood.
It had never been about that.
They simply wanted his money.
Then Zhou Yu’s voice rang out again, trembling as if she were holding back tears.
“Fine. Since you’re all convinced it was me, go ahead and search. Search our room. See if you can find the money order receipt anywhere in my room or Big Brother Zhao’s room!”
Instantly, Zhao Yunzheng’s heart clenched.