Wang Meijuan pointed at the items on the floor and cried out:
"When have I ever looked down on you for being poor? I just said our family is struggling and asked you to work a little harder to find a second job.
"Look at the man next door. He delivers takeout in the city, working from dawn to dusk, and makes over ten thousand a month.
"What about you? We're buried in debt, and all you do is drink all day. When will there be an end to this?"
The more she spoke, the more heartbroken she sounded. Finally, she just squatted on the floor and burst into loud wails.
Li Jun didn't feel an ounce of guilt. Suddenly, he slapped Wang Meijuan across the face:
"I am in debt, but don't you know exactly why?
"Isn't it because of you? If your family hadn't been so greedy, why would I have had to borrow money from everyone?
"And now you're turning around and blaming me? Wang Meijuan, I'm divorcing you!"
Wang Meijuan cried her eyes out. She grabbed onto Liu Chunlan's clothes:
"Mom! Mom! You have to stand up for me.
"He beats me like this every day. How am I supposed to go on living!"
Without another word, Liu Chunlan stepped forward and slapped Li Jun across the face:
"Bullying my daughter! Li Jun, it seems you really don't want this marriage anymore.
"Apologize to Juan'er right now, or she will divorce you immediately."
Wang Jianguo lit a cigarette. "That's right, divorce him. There are plenty of men in this world. Who says you can't live without him?
"Juan'er, don't be afraid. You're a woman, and there are bachelors everywhere these days. You can marry anyone you want after a divorce, and we can collect another bride price.
"Why should you be afraid of him?"
Thinking about this, Wang Meijuan suddenly felt emboldened.
She pointed at Li Jun:
"You won't get away with this today unless you apologize to me! Li Jun, not only must you apologize, but you also have to buy me a gold bracelet, or I will never forgive you!"
Li Jun suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her by the collar:
"You have the nerve to ask for a gold bracelet? You still want money? When I married you, I paid a bride price of 388,000. Do you know where that money came from?"
Wang Meijuan felt a twinge of guilt and didn't even dare to fight back after being slapped.
Li Jun then turned to the Wang family:
"Dad, Mom, Wang Hao, you all know very well. You know exactly what happened.
"You knew my family couldn't come up with that much money, yet you forced my parents to borrow from everyone they knew.
"The 388,000 bride price was one thing, but what about the 50,000 boarding fee, the 50,000 alighting fee, the 100,000 parting fee, and the 100,000 name-changing fee?
"Just to marry a wife, I spent seven or eight hundred thousand in total.
"Where did all this money come from? Hahaha, my parents had to borrow every single penny!
"Wang Meijuan, you complain every day that my family is poor and that I haven't given you a good life. You ruined my family, so how the hell am I supposed to give you a good life?
"The ones you should blame are your own Wang family! They took all our money! They are the ones who made you spend all these years paying off debt! If you're living a miserable life, don't blame me, do you hear me?
"And you still want a gold bracelet? Why don't you go to hell!"
Wang Meijuan stopped crying, and the Wang family's arrogant momentum deflated by more than half.
Liu Chunlan shouted loudly, "Li Jun, stop spouting nonsense!
"This is just the standard market rate for marriages around here. It's not like my daughter is the only one asking for this much.
"If you go out and ask around, which girl's family isn't doing the same?
"You didn't say anything back then, so what do you mean by digging up old history after all these years?
"If you couldn't afford a wife, you shouldn't have gotten married! It's not like my daughter couldn't find a husband!"
Li Jun's anger had not subsided. He suddenly smashed his beer bottle hard against the ground:
"Wang Meijuan, I am divorcing you! Give me back my 388,000 bride price!
"With that kind of money, what kind of woman couldn't I find? Why did I have to end up with a shrew like you!
"With that much money, I could sleep with a hooker every day for years!"
Wang Meijuan cried and screamed that she wouldn't agree to a divorce, while Liu Chunlan angrily stormed off to find Li Jun's mother.
But less than two minutes later, she was chased out with a splash of cold water:
"Get out! You sold Wang Meijuan to our family, so what right do you have to come to my house and point fingers?
"Li Jun beating her is getting off lightly! Who told her to be so restless? Who told her to complain every single day?
"Hurry up and take her back, and teach her how to be a proper wife and daughter-in-law.
"Don't send her back until she's learned her lesson!"
Liu Chunlan was soaked from head to toe, her teeth chattering from the cold.
She could only curse all the way back home.
In the courtyard, Wang Meijuan cursed eighteen generations of Li Jun's ancestors before asking Liu Chunlan:
"Mom, what should we do? It looks like Li Jun really wants to divorce me. What am I supposed to do?"
"He wouldn't dare!"
Liu Chunlan spat on the ground. "If he really dares to divorce you, I'll tear his house down.
"Juan'er, just relax and stay here at home. Mom will definitely get justice for you.
"In today's society, does Li Jun really dare to get a divorce? If he divorces you, let's see how he finds another wife. He'll just be a bachelor for the rest of his life!"
Lin Wanyi poured a glass of water for Keke, but Liu Chunlan stopped her:
"Are you blind? Can't you see your sister is here? Don't you know to pour her a glass of water?"
Lin Wanyi didn't even bat an eyelid and turned to walk away. Liu Chunlan took a step forward and grabbed her:
"I'm talking to you, are you deaf? Your sister is staying here for the next few days, so you better serve her well."
"Serve my ass!"
Lin Wanyi suddenly smashed the glass in her hand onto the floor.
Glass shards flew everywhere. Wang Meijuan stopped crying, and Liu Chunlan started cursing:
"Lin Wanyi, have you lost your mind?"
Lin Wanyi looked at her. "I told you guys already, didn't I? I am the lady of this house now. This is the Wang family, not the Li family.
"Wang Meijuan, didn't I make myself clear at the hospital the other day? From now on, you are not allowed to come back here.
"Get out. Get out right this instant, do you hear me?"
Wang Meijuan's eyes widened. "Lin Wanyi, this is my maiden home! It's the place where I've lived for decades. Who the hell do you think you are to kick me out?
"Mom, do you see this? She has the audacity to ban me from my own home! This is pure rebellion."
Liu Chunlan raised her hand to strike Lin Wanyi, but Lin Wanyi caught her wrist first and shoved her directly onto the scattered glass shards:
"Mom, you were the one who said it. A married daughter is like spilled water; she shouldn't be running back to her maiden home every day for no reason.
"Eldest sister is a member of the Li family now. She is no longer a Wang. In ancient times, she would even have to change her name to Li-Wang Meijuan.
"Tell me, does she belong here or not? Am I right?
"Tell me, what did I say wrong?"
