Zhong Shu couldn’t stand hearing that. “How can you talk like that? How am I stupid?!”
Honestly, Zhong Yi couldn’t understand her older brother’s way of thinking. If Zhong Shu wasn’t stupid, then why was he so hopelessly in love with Miao Xiuxiu?
Any normal person who heard that the Miao family already had seven daughters, yet Miao Xiuxiu’s parents were still trying to have another child just to get a son, would know to stay away from that family.
Favoring sons over daughters inevitably meant extreme favoritism. As long as they didn’t have a son, the Miao couple would keep having children.
And once they finally had a son, their older daughters would likely be brainwashed by their parents into becoming self-sacrificing people, devoting their lives to their parents and younger brother. They would become the Miao family’s human ATMs, continuously providing financial support for the precious late-born son.
Just imagine it. How could any family live peacefully after marrying a daughter-in-law from such a household?
What kind of daughter-in-law was that? She might as well be a bloodsucking parasite!
Zhong Yi rolled her eyes. “Since you like Miao Xiuxiu so much, does she even like you?”
Zhong Shu straightened his back, looking incredibly proud. “Of course she does!”
“Oh,” Zhong Yi replied. “Since she likes you so much and insists that she’ll marry no one but you, why don’t you ask her to talk to her parents and get them to lower the bride price? Five hundred yuan could get you three wives in the countryside! Besides, if we’re giving them such a huge bride price, what kind of dowry will they provide in return?”
Zhong Shu scratched his head. “How can I do that? Her family worked so hard to raise her. You know what their financial situation is like. Her parents don’t have much money.”
“Didn’t our mother also work hard to raise you? Yet you’re always taking the side of outsiders!”
Zhong Shu opened his mouth but then fell silent. His thick, dark eyebrows furrowed as he clearly got himself tangled up in his own reasoning.
With a brain like his, Zhong Yi suddenly realized she couldn’t expect too much from him.
A little while later, Zhong Huilan finished preparing breakfast. She had made egg pancakes and boiled some soy milk, filling the entire house with the rich, fragrant aroma of soybeans.
“Breakfast is ready! Xiaoyi, hurry up and eat.”
The moment Zhong Shu heard that breakfast was ready, he put down his work and headed straight for the food.
Zhong Huilan grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “You’re staying here to help me work! Let your younger sister eat first.”
Zhong Shu reluctantly answered, “Oh, all right.”
Zhong Yi was indeed hungry. She told her mother that she’d come back to replace her brother later, then went into the kitchen to eat.
The egg pancakes were wonderfully fragrant, and the soy milk was rich, thick, and pure. The ingredients were genuine, with no additives, and even the eggs tasted especially delicious. As for the soy milk, it was simply heavenly.
Zhong Yi drank a large bowl of soy milk and ate three egg pancakes before finally feeling full.
“Since you’re done eating, it’s my turn!”
The moment Zhong Shu saw her coming out of the kitchen, he dashed inside without even caring whether Zhong Huilan would stop him.
Fortunately, Zhong Huilan had something she wanted to discuss with her daughter, so she let him go.
“I’ve heard everything about you breaking off your engagement with the Liang family. Mom wasn’t home at the time, so I couldn’t be there for you.”
Zhong Huilan felt guilty. She thought she had failed as a mother.
Zhong Yi waved her hand dismissively. “Mom, don’t say that. I know you’re busy, too. You were already delayed that morning because you were looking for me. And now that the weather is getting hotter, tofu will spoil if it’s left sitting around for too long.”
Seeing how understanding her daughter was, Zhong Huilan felt an even greater ache in her heart. She couldn’t help reaching out to stroke Zhong Yi’s head.
“Liang Feng is a heartless bastard. It’s a good thing you broke off that engagement. I also heard that Old Master Zhou publicly announced your engagement to Zhou Shu?”
If it was the Zhou family, their circumstances were certainly much better than the Liang family’s. But precisely because the Zhou family was so well-off, Zhong Huilan worried that her daughter might be mistreated after marrying into their household.
At that time, city people generally looked down on those from the countryside.
And it was even rarer for a rural girl to marry into a city family.
Whenever the subject came up, Zhong Yi couldn’t help remembering how Zhou Shu had sought her out before returning to his military unit. A belated sweetness rose in her heart.
“I think Zhou Shu is very reliable.”
From the way he spoke and behaved to the way he handled things, Zhong Yi found him very much to her liking. Of course, his looks were absolutely impeccable, too.
When choosing a husband, one should definitely pick a handsome man. After all, she’d have to look at him every single day. Marrying someone too ugly would only become more depressing the longer she looked at him.
On one hand, Zhong Huilan trusted the Zhou family’s character. On the other, she couldn’t help worrying about her daughter.
But when she remembered that her own marriage had been a failure, she wondered whether she was even qualified to offer her daughter any advice.
For now, Zhong Yi wasn’t interested in worrying about the distant future, either.
“Mom, there’s something else. Over the years, we’ve spent quite a lot of money on the Liang family. Now that Liang Feng and I have broken off our engagement, we need to get all that money back. Help me calculate the total. I don’t want them getting away with even a single cent.”
“There’s no need to make things so complicated,” Zhong Huilan said.
“Huh?”
Zhong Yi looked at her in confusion.
Her mother continued, “Your mother makes a living selling things. Sure, all I do is ride around the streets and alleys selling tofu, but I’ve always kept accounts. Over the years, I’ve recorded every bit of money we spent on the Liang family that passed through my hands.”
Zhong Yi’s eyes lit up. That was an excellent habit!
Unfortunately, the original Zhong Yi had also secretly given Liang Feng quite a bit of money from her own pocket. She had done so willingly, believing that keeping a record of such expenses would tarnish the purity of their love.
Even so, it wouldn’t be difficult to estimate the exact amount.
After Zhong Shu finished breakfast, he was called back to help make tofu. Meanwhile, the mother and daughter sat down to calculate the accounts. Zhong Huilan was quite skilled at doing arithmetic mentally.
They counted all the grain, clothing, fabric, and other supplies, along with the additional financial support and direct cash payments.
Over the course of eight years, the total came to approximately 1,500 yuan.
Fifteen hundred yuan!
If the Zhong family hadn’t had their tofu-selling business, they wouldn’t have been able to save that much money even after eight years of hard work.
Zhong Yi wasn’t the only one shocked. Zhong Huilan felt her heart clench painfully, too.
Sometimes, you really didn’t know how bad things were until you added everything up.
The moment Zhong Shu heard that such a large sum was involved, he rushed over.
“Little sister, let me discuss something with you. Once you get the money back, give me five hundred yuan so I can marry Xiuxiu!”
Zhong Yi told him to go find somewhere cool to stay and stop bothering her.
In response, Zhong Shu let out a miserable wail.
Zhong Huilan and Zhong Yi unanimously decided to ignore him.
Once the tofu was ready, Zhong Huilan rode her tricycle out to sell it from street to street.
As for Zhong Yi, her mother didn’t want her taking the risk. She was still young and unmarried, and going around the streets and alleys alone could be unsafe.
Zhong Shu, meanwhile, was simply too concerned about his pride. He claimed that selling tofu like that was embarrassing.
Before leaving, the mother and daughter agreed that once Zhong Huilan returned from selling the tofu, they would go to the Liang family together, show them the accounts, and demand repayment.
After that, the two families would have absolutely nothing to do with each other!
After Zhong Huilan left, Zhong Shu went back to his room to catch up on sleep. Zhong Yi, however, had slept too much earlier and wasn’t sleepy at all.
As the saying went, When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
She took the opportunity to clean every corner of her room. When it was nearly time, she also put some rice on to cook.
A little after ten o’clock, Zhong Huilan returned from selling tofu, and the mother and daughter headed straight to the Liang family.
Meanwhile, the Liang household was shrouded in gloom.
The scandal had become so serious that Liang Feng’s mother no longer dared to leave the house. Whenever she stepped outside, people would point fingers at her and curse her to her face.
Liang Feng had also requested two days off from work. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to return to the city. The problem was that whenever he tried to leave, the villagers would keep an eye on him and prevent him from leaving Laotianwan.
Liang Feng had even considered going to the Zhong family’s house to look for Zhong Yi, but he hadn’t even managed to knock on the door before Zhong Huilan chased him away with a large broom.
“What on earth is wrong with Zhong Yi? She said everything would be fine as long as we paid the compensation. Two whole days have passed already, so where is she?”
Liang Feng was growing increasingly anxious.
Part of it was because of his leave from work, but his biggest concern was Meng Lina.
Falling out with the Zhong family meant he had lost his last foothold in the countryside. Since he had nowhere else to turn, Meng Lina was now his final hope.
He couldn’t possibly let her go. That was why he was desperate to return to the city and soothe her feelings as soon as possible.
“They’re here! They’ve arrived!”
Liang Feng’s mother was facing the doorway. When she saw Zhong Huilan and Zhong Yi approaching, she was initially startled with excitement, but then fear quickly took over.
She began trembling uncontrollably. Before the two women had even reached her, she was already shaking like a leaf.