NOVPUB
Chapter 340: Chapter 330 Scolding
Wang Guifen was not about to let Shen Yunfang off the hook so easily. To her, it didn’t matter whether the Li Family had split their household or not; her money had been loaned to Li Hongjun’s mother, and it was because of Li Hongjun that she had lent the money in the first place. Who was Qiu Shuping to her? Therefore, it was Li Hongjun and his wife who must pay her back.
Before she could say anything else, however, the phone on the table rang again.
Everyone in the room turned to look at Shen Yunfang, all thinking that it was likely a call from the other party again.
Because they were in someone else’s office, Shen Yunfang hesitated to answer the phone casually. The leader noticed this and quickly picked up the phone, "Sister-in-law, this is Hongqi. Our parents are so upset they’re sick. Don’t be rash, let’s talk things over if there’s a problem."
Right off the bat, he labeled Shen Yunfang as unfilial. Indeed, after taking a single call from Shen Yunfang, the old couple had both gotten sick. Wasn’t that a direct indictment of Shen Yunfang’s lack of filial piety as a daughter-in-law?
The leader frowned but said nothing, handing the phone to Shen Yunfang.
Shen Yunfang took the call and greeted the caller.
"Sister-in-law, I know our parents might have handled things improperly, but they are elderly. Everyone says there are no perfect parents, and we, as their children, should be more patient, right? Is my second brother there? If my second brother were there, this matter would surely have been settled. How about you wait for my second brother to come back, and you two can discuss how to deal with this? Our parents are old; let them be free from these worries," spoke Li Hongqi, sounding righteous. But in essence, his words still implied that Shen Yunfang was unfilial, and he deftly pushed the responsibility back onto Li Hongjun and his wife.
Shen Yunfang let out a cold laugh, her words no longer courteous, "Hongqi, so you’re saying I’m unfilial."
There was no response on the line, which was as good as an admission.
"Heh, Hongqi, you’re a college graduate now; you should understand things better than a rural woman like me. Let’s straighten this out then. When your second brother and I got married, our households split. You were there at the time, you should remember. Each of the three brothers was in charge of different things. Your second brother and I were responsible for giving parents one hundred yuan a year for elder care, am I right?"
Still no sound from the other end of the phone, but Shen Yunfang continued, "We’ve been married for two years, and we haven’t shortchanged a penny of what we owe our parents. We have fulfilled our duty as their children, right?"
"Logically speaking, once we’ve paid the elder care money, the other affairs of our parents are not our couple’s responsibility anymore..."
"Second sister-in-law, it’s not like that. Filial piety to our parents is never enough; the very life we have is given by our parents, and everything we have should also be theirs." Finally, there was a response from the other end of the phone.
"So what you’re saying is, only Li Hongjun is your parents’ child, and you and your elder brother were picked up from a trash heap?" Shen Yunfang laughed.
The other end of the phone fell silent again.
"I agree with what you’re saying, showing filial piety to our parents is never enough, but our dad and mom have a total of three sons and two daughters. I won’t speak for the daughters, but the remaining three sons must show equal filial piety."
"And why do our parents, who barely have any money, insist on going to the South to see you, Li Hongqi? Can you explain that to me? If our parents had money, I wouldn’t say anything. They could spend it however they like, but now they’re broke and still pretending otherwise. What’s this all for? In the letters our parents sent us, they clearly stated it was because you kept writing, begging them to visit you, right? Li Hongqi, what are you really up to? Do you feel unhappy unless you’re causing trouble in this family?" Shen Yunfang’s words grew harsher as she spoke. She didn’t intend to have a good relationship with Li Hongqi. So what if he was a college student? With that kind of character, they couldn’t rely on him, that white-eyed wolf, anyway. Besides, she was going to be a college student herself eventually. Who’d rely on whom in the future was yet to be seen.
"Second sister-in-law, how can you say that about me? You’re misunderstanding me. I just missed our parents, I never expected them to actually come..."
"Stop with the nonsense. I know whether it’s a misunderstanding or not. Anyway, our parents borrowed two hundred yuan from us because of you, so you figure out how to deal with this money. Since you said our parents should no longer be involved, you take care of it. After the family split, our parents will be your responsibility to care for."
Shen Yunfang kicked the ball squarely into his court.
On the other end, Li Hongqi clenched his fist so tightly that his nails broke through the skin of his palm, revealing the extent of his anger. A rural woman was daring to yell at him, a college student, on the phone. She really was spoiled. He wanted to smash the phone in his hand, but he couldn’t. This was at school, with a hundred pairs of eyes watching him. What would the teachers think if he actually did it? What would his classmates think? He, a college student with a bright future ahead, couldn’t take that risk. So he could only bottle up his frustration, hoping to pacify the other end and prevent the matter from escalating.
Just yesterday’s call had already spread the news that his parents had borrowed money to visit him, albeit in a limited scope. Although the specifics hadn’t leaked, if he didn’t stop it, there was no telling how it might develop. Having often used this tactic to deal with others in the past, he was acutely aware of the power of rumors.
"Second sister-in-law, I know you’re upset right now. How about I formally apologize to you on behalf of our parents? I’m really sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you," Li Hongqi said sincerely, waving his hands to stop Qiu Shuping, who was about to rush forward and snatch the phone away.
"What are you doing, why are you apologizing to her..." 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
"Li Hongqi, I won’t beat around the bush with you anymore. It’s indeed caused me a lot of trouble that our parents have come to me and just left after borrowing money. And it’s not a problem I can resolve by myself, which is why I’m calling you to discuss with our parents. Should I give your creditors our parents’ address, or your school’s address?"
Li Hongqi understood the threat; if his parents didn’t deal with it, then he would have to.
"Second sister-in-law, I’m sure my second brother isn’t home, right? If he was, he could surely handle this. Couldn’t you wait for my second brother to come back before we continue this conversation?" Li Hongqi deduced that his second brother must be away, otherwise his second sister-in-law wouldn’t be making this threatening call to him.
Li Hongqi knew Li Hongjun’s temper well; his second brother was the type who would always stand in front and protect the family as long as he was standing.
"Your second brother is out on a task, and it’s unclear when he’ll be back. I can wait, but the creditor who lent the money can’t. They’re out of rice and don’t know where their next meal is coming from. You wouldn’t expect them to starve while waiting for your second brother to return, would you?"
These words left Li Hongqi on the other end of the phone choking and sputtering.
