Chapter 50: Pay Back the Money Immediately

Listening to her mother's tone and seeing her cold gaze, both men couldn't help but feel their eyelids twitch. Unfortunately, before they could even open their mouths to intervene, Li Xiangqin had already begun her relentless accounting.

"I won't overcharge for the food for your family of four. I'll just calculate it at twenty yuan a month. That's two hundred and forty a year, and one thousand four hundred and forty for six years.

Adding it all up, just pay me three thousand seven hundred yuan directly."

The moment the total sum was announced, Zhang Yanli—whether out of shock or an inability to accept the reality—rolled her eyes back and collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud.

The two children burst into loud wails. Snapping out of his stupor, Zhang Jianguo rushed over to check on her, slapping her face and pinching her philtrum.

"Wife, Yanli, wake up! What's wrong with you?"

"Mom, wake up! Waaaaah..."

"It's you! It's all because of you, you old woman, that my mom fainted! I'm going to beat you to death!"

Zhang Leizi turned around, glared ferociously at Li Xiangqin, and lunged at her with his fists raised.

Watching the grandson she had raised with her own hands lunge to strike her, the corners of Li Xiangqin's eyes twitched uncontrollably. She raised her hand and delivered a sharp slap to his face.

"You insolent brat! How dare you lay a hand on your elder? You need a lesson!"

Zhang Leizi, perhaps not expecting his grandmother to hit him, stood frozen in place with his hand over his face in terror for a long moment before breaking into a loud sob.

"Waaaaah... Grandma is a home-wrecker! She's a bad person! I'm going to call the police to take you away!"

As the two children wailed and howled, Zhang Jianguo looked from one to the other, his forehead throbbing with a headache.

"Mom, what are you doing? Why are you even hitting the children?"

"Are you blind? Why do you think I hit him? To dare strike an elder at such a young age... I raised him from a newborn through every hardship, and not so he could lay a hand on me!

As expected, heartlessness is something you're born with. No matter how good you are to them, it's useless."

Li Xiangqin glared coldly at the father and sons.

"I gave birth to you and raised you. I supported your schooling, got you a wife, and bore your children. I even looked after you during your postpartum period and cared for your kids. I have fulfilled my duties to you. But look at what you've done!

All you do is take; you never give. I'm at an advanced age, and I still have the fifth and sixth children who aren't even adults yet. As the eldest brother, have you ever thought about lending a hand?"

Being berated by his mother and seeing his two children crying until they were breathless, and his wife fainted from anger, Zhang Jianguo could no longer suppress the fury rising in his heart.

"Wasn't it just asking you to help pick up the kids and cook some meals? If you didn't want to, you could have just said so. Was there a need for all this drama?"

"All this drama? Why don't you say that you and your wife have impure intentions? So in the end, it's all my fault?"

Li Xiangqin stood up huffily, her finger poking directly at his forehead, her eyes stern and cold.

"Don't just talk about you; I blame myself too. I blame myself for giving birth to a son like you, for supporting your marriage and children, and for paying for your university education. Most of all, I blame myself for letting you become such a selfish pig who only knows how to demand and never how to contribute.

As the eldest in the family, you lack both the sense of responsibility of an eldest son and the magnanimity of an older brother. You act with nothing but selfishness, but open your eyes and look—your mother is also working to earn money to support the children.

If I were to look after your kids, what would happen to the fifth and sixth children's jobs and marriages? Is it the responsibility of the eldest brother to manage that, or should I just let them fend for themselves?"

Facing his mother's blatant interrogation, the anger rising in Zhang Jianguo's heart collapsed like a house of cards.

He blinked, guiltily averting his eyes.

He truly had not considered the fifth and sixth children; his mind was filled only with his own family of four.

He was a father now, with two children to raise; it was hard enough as it was. How could he have the energy to care about anyone else?

Though he thought this, he knew he couldn't say it out loud.

"Mom, there's no need to be so alarmist. Dad left enough compensation to cover the fifth and sixth children's schooling. It was because of that that I wanted you to lend a hand with the kids. If you can't do it, then forget it. Is it worth getting this angry?"

"Don't give me that nonsense! The fifth is in high school and the sixth is in middle school. School supplies, food, clothing, and daily necessities—what doesn't cost money? It's hard to say how long the money your father left will last.

Take your university years, for example. During college, the state waived tuition and housing, and even provided a five-yuan monthly subsidy. But what did you do? Didn't you still demand money from home?

You claimed the school had many expenses and that you were short on this and that. I sent you twenty yuan a month for living expenses..."

At this point, Li Xiangqin stopped abruptly, her eyes burning as she stared him down.

"Damn it, if you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. During your university years, the state covered everything; there was no reason to spend money. What exactly did you use that twenty yuan a month for?"

Suddenly confronted with his past by his mother, Zhang Jianguo's eyes flickered, and he bit his lip in intense regret.

His mother's combat effectiveness was currently off the charts; she was ready to pick a fight with anyone, and he couldn't hold his own against her alone.

He had truly been looking for trouble by coming here to watch the drama, and now the whole family of four was caught in the crossfire.

"Mom, that's not how it's calculated. Although my tuition and room and board were free during university, I still had to buy books and study materials.

You don't know how expensive books are. Go to the Xinhua Bookstore and check the prices, and you'll understand."

"Stop trying to argue with me! I know exactly what kind of schemes you have in that head of yours; I just didn't bother to nitpick.

But if you're going to play dumb while clearly trying to scheme against me, then don't blame me for being ruthless.

Four years of university, twenty yuan a month, that's two hundred and forty a year, and nine hundred and sixty for four years... Considering this money was spent before you started working, I won't hold it against you."

Li Xiangqin snorted and turned back to sit in her chair.

"Fifth! You useless girl, get out here!"

While she was busy tearing into people in the living room, that girl, the fifth child, was actually hiding in her room, not even showing her head.

She didn't know if it was a failure in her upbringing or if the Zhang family seeds were just bad, but their selfishness seemed etched into their very bones, making one grit their teeth in frustration.

Hearing her call, the fifth child cautiously poked her head out, her eyes darting around, not daring to look Li Xiangqin in the eye.

"Mom~"

"Bring me paper and a pen. Write an IOU."

She would finish dealing with the eldest first, then settle the score with this girl later.

Hearing that she wasn't being in trouble, the fifth child immediately perked up, brought over a notebook, and stood ready.

Li Xiangqin read out the previous calculations line by line, instructing the fifth child to write the IOU. Once confirmed to be correct, she thrust it directly in front of Zhang Jianguo.

"Look closely. If it's correct, sign it and press your thumbprint. Pick a date to pay me back the money you owe."

"Mom, you're really making me pay it back?"

Three thousand seven hundred yuan! Even if he emptied out all his savings, it wouldn't be enough.

(End of Chapter)