“Daring to steal my money—I’d call it merciful that I didn’t chop off her third hand.”
Jiang Zihao used to fool around outside all the time, never imagining that his mother lived such a humble existence in this household.
He always looked down on his mother for being busy all day long—busy for nothing, busy serving his father and then busy serving his eldest and second brothers’ families.
No matter how much he tried to talk sense into her, she wouldn’t listen, so he grew even more reluctant to come home.
Who would have thought his mother’s situation in this family was like this?
Seeing his son still daring to glare at him, Jiang Dad jumped up and cursed again, “You little bastard, still daring to have opinions about your old man?”
“Believe it or not, I’ll break your damn legs.”
“Hurry up and get that 200 yuan back for me, or else, don’t you dare come back again.”
“You useless trash, get the hell out of here now!”
Jiang Zihao really wanted to fight his father, but remembering that his eldest and second brothers were still at home, he knew he couldn’t take on three of them.
If he got injured again, what would happen to the two women in the hospital? So, no matter how unwilling he was,
he could only turn around, grab his things, and walk out.
And so, he trudged dejectedly toward the hospital.
Seeing him in such a wretched state, Yang Yiyang felt her anger flare up.
No need to ask—he must have been scolded by his father at home. But now that she was here, she had to understand the whole story.
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
“Speak. What happened?”
Jiang Zihao thought telling her would only add to her worries.
Seeing him remain silent, Yang Yiyang’s anger surged. “Unless you can keep it hidden forever and have the ability to solve it without me finding out.”
Jiang Zihao thought, his father wanted money—what could he do about it?
Besides, he felt that the money was her dowry from her family and shouldn’t be given back to his father.
If they didn’t have a single cent on them when something like a headache or fever came up, it would be just like when his mother got injured this time.
But if they didn’t hand over the money, his father would definitely not let it go.
Yang Yiyang stared at him with a sharp gaze, making him nervous. Finally, he had no choice but to brace himself and speak.
“My dad said if we don’t return that 200 yuan, we can die outside and never come back.”
Yang Yiyang had already guessed it was about money. She was also curious whether this cheap husband of hers was still salvageable.
“So, what do you think?”
Jiang Zihao said, “That’s your dowry, so it should belong to you. But if we don’t return the money…”
“So, I don’t know what to do either.” After saying this, he lowered his head.
Yang Yiyang thought, although this man was pretty useless, he was still salvageable.
“That’s right, that’s my dowry, so it belongs to me. No one else has any say in it.”
Jiang Zihao said, “But what about Dad…”
“Don’t worry, there’s always a way out. A living person won’t be choked to death by their own urine.”
“First of all, it’s wrong for him to say your mother stole the money. What does he mean by ‘his money’? He and your mother are married.
Every cent he earns belongs to your mother as well. That’s called joint marital property.”
“Secondly, you’re his son. You carry half his blood. What’s wrong with using a little money to marry a wife?
Didn’t your eldest and second brothers spend his money when they got married? Haven’t their children been eating the family’s money all these years?”
“When he gets old, it’ll be up to you three brothers to support him. Even if he can’t be fair,
he won’t be able to find fault with you, much less with your mother.”
Jiang Zihao was so stunned by what his wife said that his mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.
Could there really be such a way of thinking? Why hadn’t he ever heard of it before?
But he also felt there was some logic to his wife’s words.
Even so, he thought to himself, his father was used to having the final say at home and would definitely not agree with his wife’s reasoning.
In the end, he timidly said, “I’m just afraid my dad won’t listen to reason.”
Yang Yiyang shot him a glare. “If he won’t listen to reason, there are always places in this world that will.”
“The Street Office, the Women’s Federation, your dad’s factory, your two older brothers’ factories—as long as you’re willing to go all out, what does someone with nothing to lose have to fear from those who have everything to lose?”
Jiang Zihao thought about it and realized she was right. At worst, his dad would just beat him up afterward—it wasn’t like he hadn’t been beaten before.
If Yang Yiyang found out he was this spineless, she’d probably beat him up herself once she recovered.
“But what if my dad kicks us out and doesn’t let us eat?”
“Then we’ll split from the family. If that doesn’t work, we’ll cut ties.”
“Once things escalate, there’s always a way to resolve them.”
Jiang Zihao thought about it and realized she was right. Just that morning, he had thought the situation was hopeless, with no way out.
But now, hadn’t the matter of getting married been settled?
His mother had always nagged him about settling down and starting a family, saying that once he had a family, his heart would settle, and someone would keep him in check. He hadn’t given it much thought before.
But now, thinking about it, it wasn’t so bad. At least when problems arose, there would be someone else to help figure things out.
Just as he was thinking this, he heard Yang Yiyang ask him, “What did you used to do? Who did you do it with? Tell me everything!”
He hemmed and hawed for a while, knowing he couldn’t avoid it today. Whether he spoke up or kept quiet, the outcome would be the same.
Gritting his teeth, he finally said, “I just hung out with a few loyal friends. Sometimes we’d help others settle some matters.”
“Sometimes we’d scare someone or something like that.”
“And if someone couldn’t collect a debt, they’d come to us. We’d help them get it back, and they’d give us a cut.”
His voice grew softer and softer as he spoke.
Well, to put it bluntly, he was a hoodlum—collecting protection money and helping others fight.
In later times, they’d be called gangsters, thugs, or ruffians. Right now, they were just called hoodlums or troublemakers.
Hadn’t she almost starved to death when she first arrived and ended up eating the sponge cake he stole?
Unless she established herself firmly in this world, she’d have to stay tied to him for now.
“Don’t do things like that anymore. If you want to do something, you have to ask me first. Can you do that?”
Jiang Zihao thought, if I tell you, would you even let me do it?
No decent woman would agree.
What he didn’t realize was that Yang Yiyang wasn’t exactly a good person deep down.
She was thinking that people like them, if used well after the reform and opening up, could become a great asset.
But the most urgent matter now was what they could do in the present.
She glanced over and saw that her mother-in-law’s IV drip was almost finished. “Go call the nurse to check if your mom’s fever has gone down, and ask if there are any more IV bags to change.”
After Jiang Zihao left, she sat up as well. She sat on the edge of the bed for a while, and once she felt less dizzy, she slowly walked to the bathroom.
“I need to use the bathroom. You stay here and watch over your mom.”
Jiang Zihao said, “Why don’t you wait a bit? I’ll go with you in a moment.”
If he went with her, how would she have a chance to enter her space?
“No need. My head isn’t too dizzy now. I’ll walk slowly. It’ll be fine.”
“Don’t go anywhere else.”
After saying that, she slowly walked out. Jiang Zihao saw that she was walking quite steadily, so he wasn’t as worried anymore.
He turned his attention back to his mother.
The nurse touched Jiang Fa’s forehead with her hand. "Your mother’s forehead isn’t as hot anymore. The medicine might be taking effect. Stay alert tonight."
"As long as she doesn’t run a fever again tonight, it shouldn’t be a big problem."