NOVPUB
Chapter 554: Chapter 544 The High Leader Summons Again
"Son, why would someone just give us money for nothing?" Qiu Shuping’s voice trembled as she spoke, having never seen such a thing before.
"What’s the big deal about that? If people want to give us money, we just take it." Li Hongqi was indifferent; after all, he hadn’t actively asked for the money. If someone was willing to give, who could stop them? So he felt perfectly entitled to take the money.
"Exactly, if someone gives it to us, we just take it and that’s that, no need to worry about anything else. It’s just a little bit less than I’d like." Zheng’s mother was shameless; she didn’t care why people gave her money, she was only concerned that they were giving her too little.
"It’s not less, if we save a little here and there, it could last us several days." Zheng Guilin hadn’t yet mastered the essence of her mother’s philosophy, so her skin was still of a normal thickness.
"Enough of this; we didn’t come to the Capital to eat a couple of meals at the Agricultural University’s canteen. We need to think about how we can reconcile with our sister-in-law, at the very least so that we can stay in her house." Even in this situation, Li Hongqi didn’t want to give up. Getting leave from work wasn’t easy for him; even if his immediate superior was his father-in-law, he couldn’t afford to overstep too much.
"Your sister-in-law is simply inhuman. How can she just abandon us, her own relatives, like this?" Zheng Guilin now loathed Shen Yunfang, her sister-in-law. So when she spoke, she had no restraints, speaking as harshly as possible. After all, her mother disliked her sister-in-law even more than she did and would never criticize her for it.
"Xiaolan’s right. I think your wife is quite headstrong. With things as they are, even if we talked ourselves hoarse or cried our eyes blind, I’m guessing she wouldn’t so much as glance our way." Zheng’s mother naturally supported her daughter.
"That’s why I’m saying we need to come up with a plan," said Li Hongqi, who clearly understood this.
"What other plan can we think of now? We’ve already approached that vice-chancellor and it did no good." Qiu Shuping was feeling rather dispirited, even thinking that if she had a train ticket, she would head home immediately and not suffer under her daughter-in-law any longer.
But Li Hongqi didn’t see it that way. "Even though Vice Chancellor Tao wasn’t helpful, didn’t he tell us to go see the head chancellor? I think if the head chancellor knew the full details of this matter, he would probably step in and help, which would definitely be better than our current situation."
"Right, Hongqi makes a good point. We’ve come all this way, we can’t just go back empty-handed. Now that we’ve got this opportunity, we might as well talk to the top leader. We’ve got nothing to lose, after all," Zheng’s mother supported her son-in-law. Her goal was clear; she came to get money for her daughter, and she wasn’t about to let go of even the slightest hope. 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝘤𝘰𝑚
Zheng Guilin had no objections, she just went along with whatever her mother and Li Hongqi decided.
"Mom, after we finish eating, we’ll wait outside the chancellor’s office at the Agricultural University. You’ll have to make your move then," Li Hongqi still planned to take the route of a sorrowful plea, believing there was nothing more effective than an old woman crying her heart out.
Qiu Shuping felt apprehensive. She could put on an act, but she was not very courageous, and the thought of doing so in front of the top leader unnerved her. "Can this really work? Would such a high-ranking official care about our petty affairs?"
"Mom, don’t worry about it, you just cry. I’ll do the talking." Li Hongqi also didn’t trust his mother’s capability to articulate the situation; from the events of the past few days, he realized his mother was better suited to causing a scene at home on the kang than outside. Outside, she couldn’t really hit the mark, so he decided he would take the lead.
After agreeing on a plan, they took the meal tickets that their fellow student Wu had forcibly given them and, under the gaze of many eyes, went to the canteen for breakfast. Then the four of them went to wait outside the chancellor’s office where Vice Chancellor Tao had taken them the day before.
By the time Shen Yunfang finished her class, Teacher Zhu Zhengqi’s figure appeared at the door.
Shen Yunfang took the initiative to go over and greet him, "Teacher Zhu, what brings you here?" Teacher Zhu taught foundation courses, and after their class went down for internships, Teacher Zhu took up the role of class advisor for another group. So, he was still very busy and under normal circumstances wouldn’t appear in the laboratory building.
"I came to find you," Zhu Zhengqi said, feeling quite helpless. He hadn’t imagined that even after stepping down, the leaders could still find him.
"Oh?" Shen Yunfang immediately understood that someone from the higher-ups wanted to see her, hence they sent Teacher Zhu to fetch her, "It wasn’t Vice Principal Tao who sent you, was it?"
"No, this time it’s the principal. Those relatives of yours ran to the principal’s door this morning to block it. Principal Wang was so annoyed that he couldn’t stand it anymore, and that’s why he sent me to see you, hoping you could have a good talk with your relatives. If there’s an issue, it’s better to resolve it. It’s best to deal with family matters at home. Bringing them into the school like this disrupts the school’s normal order and isn’t good for you either," Teacher Zhu repeated the leader’s words verbatim. "Personally, I also think that avoiding them isn’t a solution. It would be better to discuss things face to face and clear the air, so they don’t go around campus grieving about it. Don’t you agree?" This was Teacher Zhu’s own suggestion.
Shen Yunfang laughed, "Okay, I’ll listen to Teacher Zhu. I also want to know why they are so persistent. I haven’t given them the chance to speak these past few days; now it’s time to listen."
So, Shen Yunfang and Teacher Zhu headed towards Principal Wang’s office together, chatting about the current situation of their classmates on the way. Shen Yunfang had been to the principal’s office before, and when she arrived at the door this time, she could hear the muffled crying from inside.
Teacher Zhu glanced at Shen Yunfang as if to say, "You hear that, right?" The principal in there had already listened for over an hour and was at his limit, which is why he sent me to call you.
Shen Yunfang expressed her understanding; she had come over for this reason as well.
After the two entered the room, the crying inside appropriately stopped, and the few people in the room turned to look at them.
Shen Yunfang first looked towards Principal Wang, nodding respectfully at him and receiving a kind, gentle smile. Despite being forced to listen to someone cry for over an hour, he could remain so composed, which was enough to show that Principal Wang was a cultured leader.
Shen Yunfang then turned her attention to the other people in the room. Vice Principal Tao wasn’t there, leaving only Li Hongqi and his family of four. Qiu Shuping’s face still showed tear stains, and her eyes were red and swollen. It was clear she had cried quite a bit. Beside her was Zheng’s mother, who also had tear stains but did not seem as distressed as Qiu Shuping, though she seemed to have contributed her fair share. However, at this moment, her look towards herself had a trace of triumph.
Shen Yunfang snorted inwardly, truly clueless as to why this woman felt triumphant.
She then looked at Li Hongqi and his wife. Li Hongqi needed no introduction, his seriousness clear as he frowned while looking at her. His wife, on the other hand, glared fiercely at her, clearly having a big issue with her.
"Shen, you’re here now. Come, have a seat. And you too, Teacher Zhu, please sit down."
