“Coco, as long as you obediently give the job to your sister and willingly go to the countryside to get married, you can ask for as much money as you want. Your father will give it to you…”
A rare trace of gentleness appeared on Zhou Wangzheng’s face, and his tone suddenly softened, as though he were speaking to his most beloved daughter.
“What? Wangzheng, you…” Shen Biyun stared at him in disbelief, her eyes filled with confusion.
After all, Zhou Wangzheng had always hated this daughter. More than once, he had viciously said that every time he saw Luo Keke, he was reminded of his former wife—the woman before whom he had once been forced to humble himself and bow his head. He had even repeatedly let slip that he wished she would just die.
“Dad, you really… are going to give her that much money?” Ye Shiyao also frowned slightly, her eyes filled with puzzlement.
She simply could not understand why her father had suddenly become so generous toward the daughter he had always disliked.
“Could it be that you want to go to the countryside?” Zhou Wangzheng shot Ye Shiyao a sidelong glance, his eyes full of impatience.
“I don’t…” Ye Shiyao was startled by her father’s sudden question, and her voice instinctively weakened.
“If you don’t, then shut up!” Zhou Wangzheng suddenly turned his head and roared at Ye Shiyao. His thunderous voice echoed through the room, making everyone’s ears ring.
After shouting, he quickly put on a seemingly gentle expression again and softly asked Luo Keke, “Keke, how much do you want? Just tell Dad…”
“Dad, I don’t want much. I only want ten thousand yuan…” Luo Keke lowered her head slightly, pretending to be timid and embarrassed.
She knew very well that Zhou Wangzheng, who loved money more than anything, would definitely be reluctant to hand over such a large sum.
But she deliberately asked for it anyway. Only by doing so could she make Zhou Wangzheng believe that she was genuinely willing to go to the countryside and get married, further letting down his guard.
“What? Ten thousand? Are you trying to rob us?” Her stepmother, Shen Biyun, widened her eyes, her shrill voice cutting through the tense atmosphere in the room.
After all, she had worked herself to the bone for years in the Luo family just to save twenty thousand yuan in private savings, yet Luo Keke was asking Zhou Wangzheng for ten thousand in one go.
She stared at Luo Keke in disbelief, as though the girl standing before her were a complete stranger.
“You little girl! You always seemed so honest and obedient, but who would have thought you’d have the nerve to make such a huge demand? Ten thousand yuan is enough for an ordinary family to live on for years. You really have the nerve to ask for it!”
Zhou Wangzheng’s expression darkened instantly as well. The warmth he had been pretending to show disappeared without a trace. He stared intently at Luo Keke, his eyes filled with scrutiny.
“Keke, don’t go too far. Although Dad agreed to give you money, you can’t be this greedy. What do you need so much money for?”
Luo Keke’s body trembled slightly, her eyes reddening as she spoke with a choked voice, “Dad, Mom, I don’t want this either. Just think about it. I’m going to the countryside, where I don’t know anyone or anything. How am I supposed to live there? I need to have some money with me.
“And… and I’ve heard that conditions in the countryside are really difficult. I just want to take some money with me so I can live a decent life…”
As she spoke, she covered her face with her hands and began sobbing softly.
Zhou Wangzheng’s expression softened slightly, though he still looked hesitant.
Shen Biyun, however, refused to let the matter go. She stepped forward and pointed at Luo Keke.
“Luo Keke, stop pretending to be pitiful here! Do you really think we’ll fall for this act? You’re obviously trying to use the job to blackmail us…”
Luo Keke sneered inwardly, but on the surface, she cried even harder.
“Mom, I really don’t mean anything by it. I’m genuinely scared. If you don’t give me any money, I… I really won’t dare go to the countryside…”
This time, Ye Shiyao, who had been standing silently nearby and had not dared to speak, finally stepped forward.
She was genuinely afraid that if Luo Keke became desperate, she would change her mind and refuse to give her the job.
That was the position of the hospital director’s assistant!
With that job, she would have the status and confidence to marry into the Chu family and become Chu Xiao’s wife.
Besides, the people from the Educated Youth Office had already come to their home several times, demanding that one of the two sisters go to the countryside to become an educated youth.
Fortunately, her father truly favored her. He had used the excuse that Luo Keke’s fiancé was already in the countryside and that she would soon voluntarily go there as an educated youth to marry him, successfully brushing the matter aside.
So for now, it was better to let Luo Keke have her way. Once everything was settled, they could simply find a way to get the money back.
She looked at Luo Keke, then at Zhou Wangzheng and Shen Biyun, before slowly saying, “Dad, Mom, I think what my sister said makes sense. She’s going to the countryside, after all. It’s only natural that she should have some money with her. Ten thousand yuan may be a lot, but it’s not as though our Luo family can’t afford it…”
Hearing Ye Shiyao’s words, Zhou Wangzheng fell into thought.
“Shiyao, what did you say…?”
Shen Biyun, however, looked at Ye Shiyao in disbelief.
What had gotten into her daughter today? Why was she helping this wretched girl?
The corners of Ye Shiyao’s lips curled up slightly. She blinked at Shen Biyun before walking over and affectionately linking her arm with her mother’s. In a coquettish voice, she said, “Mom, since my sister is so willing to give the job to me, we can’t be too unreasonable either. Asking for ten thousand yuan isn’t that excessive, is it?
“Think about it carefully. Once she goes to the countryside, she’ll be living in some poor and remote place. Her husband is just a rustic peasant. Where is she going to get money to spend in the future…?”
Afraid that Shen Biyun might still object, Ye Shiyao leaned closer to her mother’s ear and lowered her voice.
“Mom, don’t you understand? I have to make sure I get this job first. You know the Chu family has been waiting for news. They’re just waiting for me to get this respectable position as the hospital director’s assistant before they come to propose marriage.
“If we drive this wretched girl too far because of ten thousand yuan and she changes her mind, then Chu Xiao and I will be finished!”
After hearing her daughter’s words, Shen Biyun suddenly understood. The surprise on her face gradually gave way to a calculating expression.
She looked at Luo Keke, then at Zhou Wangzheng, weighing the pros and cons in her mind.
If this could truly make Luo Keke leave for good while also helping her daughter marry into the Chu family, then it was a worthwhile bargain.
Seeing Ye Shiyao put it that way, Zhou Wangzheng also showed a little more of a fatherly affection.
After thinking for a moment, he finally raised his head. His gaze was as sharp as an eagle’s as he stared coldly at Luo Keke.
“Fine. I’ll give you ten thousand yuan. But tomorrow, you must go to the hospital and explain that you’re willingly giving up this job and choosing to go to the countryside as an educated youth to get married. You should know what to say…”
After saying that, Zhou Wangzheng ordered Shen Biyun, “Go. Go to the drawer in my room and take out ten thousand yuan for Keke. Also, have Auntie Wang call a doctor over to take a look at the wound on Keke’s forehead. We can’t let people say that I mistreat my own biological daughter…”
Although Shen Biyun’s heart ached over the ten thousand yuan, when she thought about her daughter’s marriage, she gritted her teeth and turned around to go to the bedroom.
Not long after, she came back carrying a thick stack of ten-yuan bills. Extremely reluctant, she handed the money to Luo Keke and said irritably, “Take it. This is the money your father gave you. You’d better be grateful…”