Lin Wanyi just treated her like a madwoman.
"Your family took 388,000 yuan in bride price from them and only gave back two quilts in return. What does that have to do with me?
"Wang Meijuan, you should be looking for your mom or your dad. Why are you looking for me?"
"What do you think?"
Wang Meijuan stared at her intently.
"Who did my parents spend all their money on? Wasn't it you two?
"She used my bride price to get Haohao a wife. Didn't it all go to you?
"Lin Wanyi, don't act innocent after taking all the benefits!"
Lin Wanyi laughed, and she laughed loudly.
Her laughter gave Wang Meijuan and Liu Chunlan the creeps.
Especially Liu Chunlan, who felt incredibly guilty because when Lin Wanyi got married, she hadn't asked for a single cent of bride price, yet Liu Chunlan had gone around the village claiming she gave 480,000 yuan.
Even Wang Meijuan believed it; Liu Chunlan hadn't even told her own daughter the truth.
"What are you laughing at? Am I wrong? Lin Wanyi, do you dare say you didn't take 480,000 yuan in bride price from my mom?
"My mom is just an old woman from the countryside. Did you ever think about where she would get that much money?
"That was all the bride price Li Jun gave for me. Mine, do you understand?"
Lin Wanyi laughed even louder, even laughing until tears came to her eyes.
Liu Chunlan shot Wang Hao a look, signaling him to pull Lin Wanyi away, but Lin Wanyi did not budge.
"Wang Hao, since your older sister suspects I took her money, then today I am going to make it perfectly clear to her exactly whose hands this money is in."
"Let's not talk about this, honey. Talking about money hurts relationships. That's a family conflict between my sister and brother-in-law, let's not get involved."
"I'm not getting involved in their conflict. I just want to tell Wang Meijuan that I haven't seen a single cent of her bride price.
"Because when I got married, your family didn't give any bride price at all!"
"What?"
Wang Meijuan couldn't believe it.
"How could they not give a single cent? Lin Wanyi, my mom explicitly said she gave you 480,000 yuan, and you didn't bring any of it back.
"Not even a single quilt."
Lin Wanyi stared at Wang Hao.
"You say it. You tell her, did I or did I not ask for a single cent of bride price from you?"
Wang Hao stammered and couldn't speak. Lin Wanyi turned her head to look at Liu Chunlan.
"You say it. Back then, wasn't it you who said that there was no custom of giving a bride price around here?
"Did you say that or not?"
Liu Chunlan felt a chill under Lin Wanyi's stare and backed up continuously.
"I did say that, but you didn't insist, did you?
"I had already prepared the money. It was you who cheapened yourselves. You didn't insist on asking for it, so was I supposed to just hand it over to you?
"Lin Wanyi, when it comes down to it, you're the one who is worthless. You didn't even dare to ask for it yourself, so who can you blame?
"Look at my daughter, a pure and innocent girl. I asked for 380,000, and the Li family had to obediently give 380,000, otherwise they could forget about marrying my daughter."
Lin Wanyi felt an unspeakable sorrow in her heart.
At the time, her father was afraid that she would be bullied by her mother-in-law's family since she was marrying far away.
He deliberately said they didn't want a bride price to show their sincerity. She never expected that in Liu Chunlan's heart, this would be seen as cheapening herself!
Wang Meijuan finally understood too. So Lin Wanyi really hadn't asked for a single cent of the bride price.
She asked Liu Chunlan.
"Mom, since you didn't give the money to Lin Wanyi, where is it? Why didn't you give it to me either?"
"Why should I give it to you? This is my money. From ancient times to the present, the bride price has always been given to the parents. Why should I give it to you?"
"But!"
Wang Meijuan was having an emotional breakdown.
"But other families let their daughters take the bride price back to their new homes! Back then, you said you needed to get Haohao a wife, and you asked me to be understanding.
"I was understanding, and I gave it to you. But since Lin Wanyi clearly didn't ask for anything, why didn't you give such a large sum of money to me?
"You didn't even mention it? And you lied to me, saying you gave it all to Lin Wanyi?
"Mom, I am your daughter. Are you scamming me too?"
Liu Chunlan took two steps back.
"How am I scamming you, Juan'er? You've been brainwashed by Li Jun.
"This happened so many years ago, why are you bringing it up again?
"Don't fall for his tricks. Back then, he married you willingly. Isn't this the price for any family taking a wife?
"Now that you've given the Li family a son, he can't go back on his word.
"There's no rule that says you can ask for the bride price back after so many years."
Wang Jianguo was also smoking angrily.
"We used that money to build the house a long time ago. Neither of you should even think about it."
Wang Meijuan could barely stand steady, while Li Jun was still making sarcastic remarks.
"Wang Meijuan, this is your maiden family. The maiden family you keep defending.
"They didn't leave a single cent of that 388,000 for you, hahaha. Do you still want to stay here?
"Do you have any shame left? Hurry up and come back to the Li family with me."
Wang Meijuan actually went to pack her clothes. As she was heading out the door, Liu Chunlan grabbed her.
"You silly girl, if he's coming to find you now, he definitely needs something from you. You can't just leave with him like this.
"You have to at least make him bleed a little."
Wang Meijuan knew what she meant, and she was overwhelmingly disappointed.
"Mom, is 388,000 still not enough to satisfy your greed? How much more do you want?
"All these years, I haven't been able to hold my head up in the Li family. My parents-in-law don't like me, and the family has constantly been in debt.
"By now, every household in the village has bought a house in the city, but our family can't even afford a down payment.
"What else do you want? How much more blood do you want him to bleed for you?"
Liu Chunlan punched Wang Meijuan, furious at her for failing to meet expectations.
"What are you complaining about? It's clearly because Li Jun doesn't work hard. Look at your brother, he makes over ten thousand a month. What about Li Jun?
"Four or five thousand a month. He's incompetent, and you blame me?
"Listen to me, make him cough up fifty thousand yuan, otherwise absolutely do not go back with him!"
"Fifty thousand?"
Li Jun laughed.
"Wang Meijuan, you listen to me carefully. Come back or don't, I don't care.
"I'm only coming to pick you up this once. In the future, even if you want to come back, I won't take you."
Wang Meijuan panicked; she didn't want a divorce.
She knew that if she divorced, she wouldn't be able to take her son with her, and Liu Chunlan would definitely find her a second man immediately.
Who knew what kind of man that would be?
Rather than getting married a second time to raise someone else's children, it was better to swallow her pride and stay with the Li family.
Thinking of this, she got onto Li Jun's motorcycle.
Liu Chunlan was furious. She pointed at Wang Meijuan's nose and cursed.
"You useless thing! How did I give birth to such a useless thing?
"Don't you ever come back to the Wang family again! Get lost!"
Before leaving, Li Jun deliberately glanced at Lin Wanyi.
"Sister-in-law, I really feel it's unfair for you. Look at Wang Meijuan, she asked for 388,000 in bride price back then. How could you not ask for a single cent?
"Let me tell you, every man for himself, or heaven and earth will destroy you.
"Listen to your brother-in-law, go get that 480,000 back. Don't believe in anything, only believe in money!"
Wang Hao, who had been silent all along, darkened his face.
"Brother-in-law, just live your own life. We don't need you meddling in our family's affairs.
"I'm warning you, if you dare hit my older sister again, I definitely won't let you off.
"Remember that!"
Li Jun scoffed and rode his motorcycle away.
Liu Chunlan chased after the motorcycle, cursing.
"Wang Meijuan, you idiot! If you leave with him now, you'll live to regret it!"
Wang Jianguo also viciously stomped out his cigarette butt.
"Useless thing. If you can't stand on your own two feet, who can you blame?
"Beaten, she deserves to be beaten!"
