NOVPUB
Chapter 141: Chapter 135 Mom Gave Birth to You in Vain
After crying for a while, and seeing that her son wasn’t trying to comfort her, Qiu Shuping wiped away her tears somewhat disinterestedly, thinking that her second son really was as her daughter-in-law had said, determined to marry that woman. It was like he had forgotten his mother for a wife. He wasn’t even married yet, but his heart was already completely biased towards that woman. If they really got married, his eyes probably wouldn’t have any place for her, his mother.
Qiu Shuping wiped her tears and started making threats, "You’re capable now, and I can’t stop you from getting married, but let me make it clear, once you’re married, I won’t be meddling in you young couple’s affairs. You go to the army and let her live outside alone; if something happens by chance, don’t come back crying to me." There were so many couples who spent little time together and ended up with the wife running off with someone else—even that was with the in-laws nearby. As for Yunfang, who demanded to live at her parents’ home even before getting married, it would be strange if she didn’t run off later on.
"You might not know this, but her cousin got involved with an educated youth back at home and was caught on the spot in the cornfield. Think about it, with a cousin like that, how could she turn out good?" Qiu Shuping brought up Shen Yunxiu’s incident to make her point.
It goes without saying that if a girl makes a mistake, the conduct of all the female relatives in her family will be questioned.
"Furthermore, can’t you see why she’s clinging to you? She’s after your money. Let’s not talk about anything else, just these past two years, how much money has she coaxed out of you? Don’t try to deceive me, I know it all." She had already done the math in her heart, it was at least a couple hundred.
Qiu Shuping talked on and on, but it was like talking to herself, as her son just stared up at the sky. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
"Are you going to speak?"
Li Hongjun turned his head and looked at his mother very seriously.
"Mother, when you and father arranged my betrothal because I was too young, I won’t say anything about that. But now I have grown up, I’m engaged, and more importantly, I am a soldier. Since I have made a promise, as long as Yunfang doesn’t betray me, I will keep my word and protect her for life," Li Hongjun said, enunciating every word with grave seriousness.
Qiu Shuping’s mouth hung open, not knowing what to say. Everything about the original arrangement now seemed to be her fault. If she had persisted, maybe there wouldn’t be a Yunfang in the picture, and now her son didn’t seem like her son anymore, and she regretted it bitterly.
"Mother, Yunfang is a good girl. Don’t speak for a moment and just listen to me." Li Hongjun used his gaze to stop Qiu Shuping from interrupting, signaling her to let him finish. "I don’t care about what others say about Yunfang, those are their thoughts, which are echoes of others. I only believe in my own judgment. I may not understand other times and have no right to judge, but since Yunxiu’s mother passed away, I have communicated with her every month through letters, and from between the lines, I can see that she is a good comrade who is firm politically, strong-minded, and practical in her approach. She is absolutely clear-headed, holds staunch principles, and stands firm on major issues of right and wrong."
His set speech almost made Qiu Shuping dizzy.
"You say Yunfang is deceitful, lazy, gluttonous, and slippery. I don’t believe that. The Yunfang I know understands what she should and shouldn’t do firmly sticks to the right things and resolutely refrains from what she shouldn’t do. Moreover, I believe that a girl with her confidence and determination is definitely not a flower that was raised in a greenhouse."
Qiu Shuping became even more unhappy hearing her son’s high praise for Yunfang.
"If she’s really as good as you say, then why does she need your money every month? Is this what a good woman would do?" Qiu Shuping seized on this point, which was actually her biggest concern. She had a premonition that if Yunfang became her daughter-in-law, she could kiss her second son’s salary goodbye; it would surely be tightly grasped by Yunfang.
Li Hongjun countered, "Mom, isn’t that normal, no matter how much money Dad makes, he hands it all over to you when he comes home, right? Isn’t a man supposed to earn money to support the family? That’s what you always say."
"You little rascal, I should never have borne you. Can she compare to me? I’m your mother, who is she? To put it bluntly, as long as you haven’t married her, she’s nothing at all." Qiu Shuping became somewhat enraged with embarrassment.
"If you think she’s nothing, not a part of the Li Family, then why do you keep going to her for grain over and over again? Do you think she’s easy to bully?" Li Hongjun asked coldly.
"You, who are you talking to like this? I’m your mother, even if I really did do something wrong, it’s not your place to talk down to me this way. Is this how the military teaches you, to be disrespectful to your own mother?" Qiu Shuping, at a loss for words, grasped at straws.
"What the military values most is seeking the truth from facts. What I’ve said doesn’t carry any personal bias, I’m just stating the facts. Besides, it’s my responsibility to protect my fiancée and my duty to help her when she’s in trouble. So I don’t think giving her some money each month is wrong."
"You, you’ve made up your mind to marry her, haven’t you? Nothing I say matters anymore, does it?" Qiu Shuping said, her eyes brimming with tears.
Li Hongjun turned his head and continued to stare at the ceiling.
"She’s my fiancée."
"Wuu wuu wuu, my life is so hard, bringing home such a fearsome daughter-in-law, she’s going to be the death of me. Fine, once you marry her, I’ll just find a rope and hang myself. I’d be dead and out of your way." Qiu Shuping covered her face and began to sob once more.
"Mom, it doesn’t have to be like this. Once we’re married, I’ll move to Gaijiatun with her. That way you won’t have to see each other like you do now," Li Hongjun said indifferently.
"Oh my goodness, you’re draining the life out of me. My son, whom I’ve raised through hard work and never enjoyed a day’s blessing from, is now going to be someone else’s live-in son-in-law. I can’t live with that shame. I can’t keep living." This time, Qiu Shuping truly cried, snot and tears streaming down her face.
"Son, with such promising prospects, why do you have to hang yourself on this crooked tree? With your qualifications, you could find a girl from the city. Is she really that great, bewitching you so completely? Oh, my son, please show some pity for your poor mother. Let me have a few days of peace," she pleaded.
"Mom, why don’t you have some sympathy for your son? Just look at this one time; Yunfang was able to come and take care of me as soon as she received my telegram, which shows she’s a thoughtful girl. Mom, she’s the girl I like. Can’t you try to accept her for your son’s sake? If you just live with her for a while, you’ll discover..."
"Shut up, I don’t care whether she’s good or not, I just don’t like her, and I don’t want her to be my daughter-in-law."
Li Hongjun closed his eyes, took a deep breath, turned his head towards Qiu Shuping, and said, "Mom, I want to tell you something..."
