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Chapter 547: Chapter 537 Mother-in-law, we are all counting on you now
Shen Yunfang was fuming from the bottom of her heart, and she could indulge no one. After hearing Qiu Shuping’s words, she immediately left with a lift of her leg, leaving behind a provocatively charged remark, "If you have the guts, go find help. If anyone refuses to go, they are... the son of a... that." She had wanted to say "son of a bitch", but years of composure ultimately prevented her from uttering such words. Humph, think of it as giving Li Hongjun one last bit of face then.
Watching Shen Yunfang’s spirited departure, Li Hongqi was filled with hatred. He just got kicked for nothing. If he had known it would end like this, he definitely wouldn’t have played the fool.
"Mom, this time we’re really in for it," he said bitterly to Qiu Shuping as he turned his head.
"What’s happened?" Qiu Shuping still hadn’t grasped the gravity of the situation.
"My second sister-in-law just left like that; it seems she really wants to cut ties with us now. If that’s the case, not only can we forget about asking her for money, but even our food and lodgings in the Capital will be a problem. Do you have any money left in your pocket?" Li Hongqi asked with a frown.
"Still... still have three yuan," Qiu Shuping replied, mentioning the last of her reserve, but since her son asked, she couldn’t keep hiding it.
"What’s that good for? Just the lodging for the four of us costs one yuan a day. Add in three meals a day, and your three yuan is only enough for one day’s expenses. What are we supposed to do tomorrow? Are we going to end up on the streets, or should we beg on our way back home?" Li Hongqi deliberately scared the old lady.
Qiu Shuping was truly frightened. She had never been to such a big city and had no idea how much it would cost for food and lodging. Hearing from her son that three yuan was only enough for a day, she started to panic.
"What should we do? Ask your wife and mother-in-law if they have any money left!" The only solution she could think of was to scrape together whatever money they had.
After Shen Yunfang had left, Zheng Guilin’s mother approached with Zheng Guilin, having overheard the mother and son’s conversation without saying a word. She spoke up now: "I didn’t bring money either. When we left, didn’t we say we had relatives over here? I didn’t think too much about it, just thought I’d follow along, and I didn’t bring any money. If only I knew, I would have brought some." After speaking, she pulled on her daughter, gesturing for her to stay silent.
Admitting to having money at this moment would be downright stupid. Why should the Zheng Family’s money be spent on the Li Family? If they have to starve, so be it. If they have to sleep on the streets, so be it. After all, they were not alone in this humiliation; they would bear it together.
Hearing his mother-in-law’s remarks, Li Hongqi’s eyes flickered, but soon returned to normal.
Qiu Shuping hummed through her nose after listening and whispered to her son: "Son, don’t believe her nonsense. How could she possibly not have brought a single cent?"
This was something that everyone understood, but with Zheng Guilin’s mother claiming she brought no money, nobody could say anything. After all, they did indeed say they were going to the Capital to find the second brother, having relatives there, Li Family relatives no less, so Zheng Guilin’s mother really didn’t need to bring any money.
Li Hongqi had no choice but to accept what Zheng Guilin’s mother said: "Yes, now we only have these three yuan you’ve got, Mom. My pockets are empty after taking the bus earlier, and that’s just enough for us to survive one day in the Capital. Now that my second sister-in-law has abandoned us, what do you suggest we do?"
Ah, if you ask me, mother-in-law, you were just too impulsive. How could you just hit someone without making any distinctions? You’ve angered her to the point where she doesn’t even acknowledge her own mother-in-law. And now look, we don’t even have a place to stay," Zheng Guilin’s mother, who had long looked down on countrywoman Qiu Shuping, began to vocalize her complaints, her disdain no longer confined to her heart.
"How can you blame me? When I saw her standing so close to several men, of course, I couldn’t let it go. Although my son isn’t home right now, Shen Yunfang can’t just cuckold him," Qiu Shuping declared, still seeing no fault in her actions. It could only ever be someone else’s mistake, never her own.
"What are you talking about? Hongqi already said that she was just attending a normal class. It’s not like she was having an affair like you claim. This isn’t your rural kang bed; this is the Capital, the Capital," Zheng Guilin’s mother retorted, finding Qiu Shuping inept at handling the situation. Such a valuable connection to their relatives had been severed by her, leaving them in a dire state of calling for help to no avail. It was truly frustrating.
"What does being in the Capital have to do with anything? Just because we’re in the Capital, does that mean I, as a mother-in-law, can’t discipline my daughter-in-law? Where is the logic in that?" Qiu Shuping’s stubbornness matched that of a mule, and having been scorned by her in-law, she felt uncomfortable and even less inclined to admit defeat verbally.
"Oh, come on, enough, enough. I’m not going to argue with you, old lady. After all, it’s your family’s business." Zheng Guilin didn’t deem it worth her effort to argue with Qiu Shuping and gave in to her, waiting to see what she would do next.
Qiu Shuping, thinking that she had won the argument against her in-law, felt superior and held her head high, leaving the others speechless.
"Mom, now’s not the time to argue. Let’s first figure out what we should do," Li Hongqi said, drained of energy. Dealing with a mother who lacked any sense was too much for him.
With that one sentence, Qiu Shuping was struck down, and she also remembered their current situation. But truthfully, she was at a loss. If her second daughter-in-law had given her any respect, she might have flaunted her authority, but now it was clear that she was being disregarded, and she felt powerless.
"Son, you tell me what to do. I’ll listen to you," she said.
Li Hongqi pondered for a moment before finally making up his mind and said, "Mom, even though you had a bit of a misunderstanding with your second sister-in-law in the beginning, we’ve apologized, and I even stood there and let her hit me. Let’s consider that incident settled. But now, the way your second sister-in-law is ignoring us isn’t right."
"Of course not, what kind of daughter-in-law behaves like that?" Qiu Shuping completely agreed with her son. A daughter-in-law should always yield to her mother-in-law. She had never heard of a family where the mother-in-law can hit the daughter-in-law and then be hit back.
"We really are at our wits’ end now, but I think the idea you just mentioned is a good one." At this moment, even Li Hongqi wasn’t willing to play the role of the bad guy.
Qiu Shuping looked puzzled; she couldn’t remember suggesting any idea.
"Didn’t you just say that you wanted to go to the school authorities and report your second daughter-in-law?" Zheng Guilin had always been on the same wavelength as Li Hongqi and understood him very well.
"We don’t really want your second sister-in-law to lose her place in school. We just hope that the school can make her realize her mistakes and take active steps to correct them, which ultimately would be good for her too," Li Hongqi said, making himself sound quite righteous.
"Right, that’s the idea. We’re only doing this because we’re left with no other choice. Your second daughter-in-law doesn’t even let you, her mother-in-law, through the door. That doesn’t make sense anywhere. You go to their principal, cry your eyes out—the more pitiful the better—and properly lay out the situation. I think they’ll definitely have to get involved in this matter," Zheng Guilin elaborated on the unspoken words of her son-in-law.
Li Hongqi nodded in agreement.
"Mother-in-law, we’re counting on you now," Zheng Guilin encouraged Qiu Shuping in the end.
Qiu Shuping turned around and headed to the security department, head held high and chest puffed out, as if she were an old hen about to go into battle.
They had no idea where to find the school authorities. Besides, those officials had such high ranks that it wasn’t as if they could meet them whenever they wanted. So, they planned to reach the school authorities indirectly through the people in the security department.
