The moment Chen Erbao finished speaking—
"Chen Erbao, what did you just say!"
The crowd was suddenly pushed aside as Chen Jiaqi ran out, her eyes red.
"You want to break up with me!"
"All because of the betrothal gift?"
Chen Erbao froze. He hadn't expected Chen Jiaqi to be here.
But he quickly recovered. Instead of regret, his face was filled with resolve.
He looked at Chen Jiaqi and sneered.
"Miss Chen, you've really got some nerve."
"Over a million. You call that a 'small' betrothal gift?"
"Are you even listening to yourself!"
Chen Jiaqi's face flushed, and she shot back, "Is over a million that much!"
"If you just work a little harder, you can make three or four thousand a month. Let's just say it's three thousand. That's thirty-six thousand a year. You can definitely earn enough in thirty years."
"You're almost thirty now. Don't tell me you don't even have a million in savings?"
"Besides, shouldn't your cousin and his wife help you out?"
"And didn't your parents leave you a few large houses?"
"Sell them, and you could get a hundred thousand or so."
"If that's not enough, just go borrow the money."
"It wasn't easy for my mom to raise me. What's wrong with her asking you for a little money?"
"Plus, my brother needs to get married too. Don't you have an obligation to give him some money?"
"And since I'm marrying you, shouldn't you be supporting my whole family? At worst, just think of this money as your support payment for them."
Chen Erbao was numb with rage.
'Good grief.'
'I've seen shameless people before, but I've never seen anyone *this* shameless.'
Yes, he'd been alive for over twenty years and was only three to five years away from thirty. At thirty-six thousand a year, he could indeed earn a million.
'But the fucking problem is, I wasn't earning money before I turned twenty!'
'You can't expect me to have started working the day I was born!'
And why should Chen Dabao and Fang Yun's money be used for him? Let alone a cousin, even a real brother wouldn't have that obligation, would they?
If they were willing to help, it was because they were kind and valued their family bond. If they didn't help, you had no right to go groveling to them for it.
As for the houses Chen Erbao's parents left him—never mind that they'd already been given to Wen Shuqin's family—even if they hadn't been, why should Chen Erbao have to sell them just to scrape together a betrothal gift?
Normally, even if the two families weren't supposed to jointly support a new, fledgling household, the bride's family shouldn't be finding all sorts of ways to make things difficult for the groom's family.
If things were really like this, then Chen Erbao wouldn't be marrying a wife, he'd be taking on a mountain of debt for no reason at all.
He'd heard of people scheming for their own benefit, but never of someone willingly bringing disaster upon himself.
As she watched Chen Erbao's face change, Fang Yun's heart sank.
She knew something of Chen Erbao's temper and was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop himself from saying something cruel, so she quickly stepped forward.
But just as she was about to speak, Chen Erbao beat her to it. "Sister-in-law, you don't have to persuade me."
"Look at this family. What a bunch of scum."
"A shrew, a beast, and a fucking green tea bitch."
"If we actually go through with this marriage, will our family ever have a day of peace?"
Fang Yun was conflicted when she heard this. After today's commotion, she too had seen the true colors of Liu Xiufen's family.
Taking a deep breath, Fang Yun said, "You decide for yourself."
Chen Erbao grinned.
He looked at the stunned Chen Jiaqi and said, "Did you hear that?"
"We're done."
"I'd rather be a bachelor my whole fucking life than marry a slut like you!"
Chen Jiaqi's eyes went wide. She couldn't believe her ears.
Liu Xiufen flew into a rage. After scrambling up from the ground, she glared at Chen Erbao and said, "How dare you! Say that again!"
Chen Erbao was unfazed. "I could say it ten more times and it would still be the same."
"If you want to throw a tantrum, go do it somewhere else. Don't fucking bother me."
"From this day on, our two families have nothing to do with each other!"
Chen Erbao had still held some affection for Chen Jiaqi. But setting aside the fact that she was willing to marry a one-eyed fat man she'd known for only a few days over a betrothal gift of 880,000, her words today alone were enough to make him lose all interest in her completely.
'Over a million,' he thought. 'She said it so self-righteously, using the excuse that it wasn't easy for her family to raise her. Are those words a human being should even say?'
'Originally, the authorities had already declared the practice of betrothal gifts a harmful tradition and even regulated against it.'
'In my view, that wasn't a big deal. Her family raised her, so giving them some money for the wedding was fine.'
'But it has to be within my means.'
'If I were really a multimillionaire, I'd have no problem giving your family half my assets.'
'But he, Chen Erbao, was just a small-town village doctor, killing himself to make a few thousand a month. Asking him for eighty-eight thousand was already like bleeding him dry.'
'He hadn't complained and had scraped together the money by selling everything he had, but now they'd turned around and demanded even more.'
'What the fuck am I supposed to give them now?'
Chen Erbao's face was dark as he looked at the group before him. "I've made myself clear. Get out!"
Fuming, Chen Jiaqi turned and stormed off, but Liu Xiufen and Chen Qing didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave.
Liu Xiufen said, "Fine!"
"Chen Erbao, you shameless piece of trash! You say you won't marry her, but we were looking down on you anyway!"
"My Jiaqi has plenty of other suitors."
"But what about my son!"
"No one saw you hit my son before, but just now, everyone saw it crystal clear, didn't they?"
"Look at the state you've beaten my son into!"
"Pay up! Five hundred thousand, not a cent less, or we're calling the police!"
Chen Erbao was so angry he laughed.
"Call the police?"
"Fine by me."
"If you don't, I was thinking of calling them myself."
"But calling the police is one thing."
"Don't you know perfectly well why your son got beaten?"
"The moment I make that call, you might get some money, but your son will be going to jail!"
"Minimum three years, maximum sentence… death penalty!"
The arrogant expression on Chen Qing's face vanished instantly.
He might be uneducated, but that didn't mean he was an idiot.
What he'd done before... to put it lightly, was hooliganism. To put it seriously, it was a crime!
'Is this something that can be solved by calling the police?'
Chen Qing panicked and quickly said, "Mom, we can't call the police."
"I'll be finished if we do!"
It dawned on Liu Xiufen as well, and she started to panic.
Seeing their bluster disappear, Fang Yun immediately spoke up. "Things have come to this. The wedding is off."
"However, our family is not unreasonable."
"That Chen Qing was beaten is indeed our fault."
"We can give you money."
"But only two thousand."
"Either you take the money and get lost, or we take this all the way."
"The choice is yours!"
Fang Yun took out the money and looked coldly at Liu Xiufen and the others.
Of course, Chen Erbao wasn't happy about this, but before he could say anything, Fang Yun shot him a glare.
Chen Erbao sucked his teeth and shut his mouth.