Seeing the gleaming cleaver in Wang Meijuan's hand, Liu Chunlan panicked intensely.
"Put the knife down, Juan'er, put it down first.
"Listen to me, Mom really only has thirty thousand yuan left, only thirty thousand in total."
She didn't even dare to say fifty thousand. She was afraid they would divide it all up and leave her with nothing.
If that happened, she might as well just go and die.
"How much?"
"What?"
All three of them exclaimed in shock.
First was Wang Hao: "Mom, what are you talking about? How could you only have thirty thousand?"
Wang Kai also chimed in, "Yeah, I left you two hundred thousand when I got married, and my oldest sister left you three hundred and eighty thousand when she got married.
"That's five hundred and eighty thousand right there. How could you only have thirty thousand?"
Wang Meijuan was even angrier: "Mom, you're almost sixty, with one foot in the grave. Why are you still holding on to so much money?
"People say parents should think of their children in everything they do. Is this how you act as a mother?
"Do you even deserve to be a mother?"
Seeing her three children cornering her like this, Liu Chunlan's heart turned to ashes.
She looked at the three people in front of her with disappointment:
"I am your mother, the mother who gave birth to you and raised you.
"I worked hard my whole life to bring you up and help you settle down and start your careers.
"Now it's time for me to enjoy my old age, time for you to serve me and give me money to spend.
"I never expected that you wouldn't give me a single cent, and instead, you want to divide my money. What kind of logic is this? What kind of logic is this?"
They were still arguing when Chen Qingxiu walked in with the police.
"Officers, they are the ones acting crazy in my house, and they even pulled a knife. Please take them all away."
Wang Meijuan's knife was confiscated by the police, and all three of them were kicked out of the house by Chen Qingxiu.
Liu Chunlan refused to leave because she had nowhere else to go.
Wang Hao's house was gone, and she didn't want to go back to Wangjia Village.
Going back would definitely make her a laughingstock.
Especially Zhang Cuihua and Wang Xiu'e; they would laugh her to death.
She could only squat at Wang Kai's place.
But Chen Qingxiu wasn't going to indulge her.
She threw all of her belongings into the trash can:
"You damn old thing, get out of here right now!"
Wang Meijuan didn't get a single penny and went back to the hospital. Of course, Liu Chunlan, having nowhere to go, followed her to the hospital.
At least there, they wouldn't be exposed to the wind and rain.
Wang Meijuan stood outside the ward for a long time, afraid to go in. Sure enough, as soon as she opened the door, she was pushed out by Li Jun.
"Where's the money? Did you bring the three hundred thousand I asked for?"
Wang Meijuan lowered her head: "Where am I supposed to get three hundred thousand? Li Jun, let me go in and see our son."
"See my ass!"
Li Jun grabbed her hair and slammed her against the wall:
"I trusted you and left him with you, and what happened? Look what you've done to him!
"Wang Meijuan, there are only two paths now. One, bring me back three hundred thousand.
"The other is divorce. Of course, if we divorce, your family must return the three hundred and eighty thousand in bride price to me, not a penny less."
Liu Chunlan, who had been hiding on the side, heard this and jumped out:
"What nonsense are you spouting? What do you mean return the bride price to you?
"It's been over ten years, Li Jun. You've been married for over ten years, and Juan'er has worked hard to take care of your whole family all this time.
"She even gave birth to an heir for you. What right do you have to ask for the bride price back?
"Let me tell you, don't even think about it."
The thing Liu Chunlan cared about most in her life was money, but all the money she had painstakingly scraped together from everywhere ended up being given entirely to Liu Dabing.
It was truly laughable.
Wu Guixiang pointed at Liu Chunlan's nose and cursed:
"How dare you even speak! Wang Meijuan is just a jinx.
"If I had married my son to any other girl back then, we would definitely be prosperous by now.
"Would we still be living such poor days like now?
"I've figured it out. We don't want this jinx anymore. We want a divorce.
"I am going to find a new wife for my son, so you must return this bride price.
"If you don't return it, how can we go find a new one?"
Liu Chunlan was not to be outdone:
"I won't return it, so what? Sue me if you have the guts! Have the police come ask me for it! Bah!
"Asking for the bride price back after over ten years, you're just using my daughter for free.
"Even if you slept with a prostitute for over ten years, it would cost more than three hundred and eighty thousand."
Liu Chunlan was kicked out of the hospital by the security guards again.
She sat on the steps:
"Juan'er, what should we do? Tell me, what should we do?
"I don't want to go back to Wangjia Village."
Wang Meijuan rolled her eyes in thought:
"Mom, why don't you buy an apartment in the city? Once we have our own place, we'll never have to look at other people's sour faces again."
Liu Chunlan thought she was crazy: "Where am I going to buy an apartment? Where would I get the money?"
Wang Meijuan rolled her eyes at her:
"Mom, are you still pretending? Wang Kai and Wang Hao aren't here, so what are you faking for?
"I'm your daughter. I understand your mind best, and I'm the most considerate.
"I've thought of a great idea for you. When you buy the house, put it under my name, so Wang Kai and Wang Hao won't keep eyeing your money.
"In the future, I'll live with you. I'll be filial and take care of you, so you won't have to deal with your daughters-in-law's attitudes. Isn't that great?
"The Li family won't be able to look down on me then either. Everyone wins, right?"
Liu Chunlan was a sly old fox; how could she not hear the sheer calculation in Wang Meijuan's words?
She stood up, dusted off her rear, and got on a bus.
Forget it, she'd better just go back to Wangjia Village.
This city, just like her three children, was completely unreliable.
None of them were any good. Going back, at least she'd have a roof to block the wind and a mouthful of porridge to keep her alive.
Chen Qingxiu was still angry, but Wang Kai told her:
"Don't be mad anymore. My mom has seven or eight hundred thousand in her hands. I'll help you figure out a way to get half of it."
"Really?"
Everyone loves money, and Chen Qingxiu was no exception. Hearing about hundreds of thousands, she also began to scheme.
"Hubby, even though you married into my family, you're still her son.
"The law doesn't care whether you married in or not; family assets must be divided equally. If worst comes to worst, we'll go to court.
"I can still afford that bit of lawyer's fees."
On the bus, Liu Chunlan sneezed several times in a row.
Over on the other side, Lin Wanyi's flight finally landed smoothly.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
She felt now that the air itself was free, and the wind was sweet.
Leaving the airport, she said goodbye to Liu Renzhi:
"Brother Liu, let's part ways here. Thank you so much for everything recently.
"If it weren't for you, I don't know how long my divorce would have dragged on. Maybe I wouldn't have been able to get divorced at all.
"I don't even know what to say, just... just thank you."
Lin Jiajun was more practical; he bowed directly to Liu Renzhi.
Liu Renzhi quickly helped him up:
"Don't do this. I told you, it's because you are kind and you helped Siyue first.
"From now on, I will always be your big brother. In City A, my words still carry some weight.
"If you encounter any difficulties in the future, come to me anytime. Please don't hesitate."
Lin Wanyi and Lin Jiajun both nodded. Just as they were about to leave, they heard Liu Siyue's voice:
"Sister, Jiajun, I'm here to pick you up."
Lin Wanyi didn't expect her to come, but Liu Siyue had already linked arms with her:
"Sister, my oldest brother told me yesterday what time you'd be back.
"He is very busy and has delayed too much work recently, but I have plenty of free time, so I came to pick you up and take you back."
Lin Wanyi did not decline and got into the car with Lin Jiajun.
It was only gradually that she realized the car was not heading in the direction of their home.
