Chapter 165 – Rescuing the Transparent High-Ranking Official (part 20)

Li Shu had heard this before. At that time, she thought it was very reasonable. She had pestered Lu Wei for benefits for her family. Her parents got a house and he had arranged a house for her eldest brother. But when Li Shu heard these words now, she found it funny. “Did I make you sell the house? Did I ask eldest brother to embezzle public funds so he could gamble? Does this have anything to do with me?”

Mother Li reddened. “You can’t say that, second girl. No matter what, we are your parents. You can’t ignore us!”

“If I take care of you, do I have to take care of sister-in-law’s family after? Do I have to look after my two nephews when they go to school, get married, and buy a house?” Li Shu asked with a sneer.

“You are the most promising one in our family. You don’t care. Do you want your dad and I to take care of it? We are about to retire and we are just ordinary teachers, so we are powerless. They are your nephews. What about them? You don’t have a son, so you might have to count on your nephews in the future!” Mother Li continued.

Li Shu suddenly laughed. The smiling Mother Li had an inexplicable look on her face. “You, what are you laughing at?”

“What am I laughing at? I’m laughing at the words you said before. I regarded myself as the pillar, the saviour of the Li family. I thought of you and eldest brother as my responsibility. But now I have woken up. Stop daydreaming!” Li Shu said.

“You… You… You…” Mother Li didn’t expect Li Shu to say that. She was speechless.

“It is true that you are my parents. As a daughter, I can’t ignore you. But, I am not your only daughter. You have two sons and three daughters. From now on, I will give you fifty yuan a month for living expenses. This is already too kind. There won’t be more!” Li Shu said coldly.

Mother Li was trembling with anger. She stood up and pointed at Li Shu and was about to get angry. Li Shu wasn’t afraid and crossed her arms, then leaned against the sofa. “Let me remind you that this is the Lu family! I am Lu Wei’s wife and a member of the Lu family. Mum, I still remember the words you said before. When a daughter is married, it is like pouring water out. Do you still expect her to come back and do the laundry?”

Mother Li didn’t expect that Li Shu would use her words back on her. She was so angry that she didn’t know what to do. She knew that at this time, it would be impossible to take a hard stance. She had to be soft. “Second girl, mum knows that mum broke your heart before, but it wasn’t mum’s fault. No matter what, we are still family. The broken bones are still attached by the tendons. Besides, if it wasn’t for dad and I bringing you back from the countryside, how would you even have the chance to marry into the Lu family? You can’t be ungrateful!”

“Oh, I’m ungrateful?” Li Shu seemed to have heard a joke. “What about everything the Li family has now? You and dad’s titles, the house, eldest brother and eldest sister-in-law’s jobs, and youngest brother’s jobs. Are these not things I got for you? Why did third younger sister and I go to the countryside in the first place? You may have forgotten, but I haven’t. The person who should have gone to the countryside at that time was eldest brother. It was you who pushed third younger sister and I out to the countryside instead of eldest brother. You are saying that I’m ungrateful? Hehehe, that’s really funny!”

Perhaps Li Shu spoke too loudly. The auntie that was busy in the kitchen quietly stuck her head out and looked over.

Mother Li’s face was blue and white for a while. “Having said that, we are family after all. You can’t leave us!”

“Family? Leave you? Hehe, third younger sister is also family, but I haven’t seen you or dad mention her. You want to tell me about family? You and dad haven’t retired yet. Even if you do retire, you will still have a salary, and eldest sister-in-law still has a job. All your monthly wages will add up to two to three hundred yuan. Do you know how third younger sister is living in the countryside? Her man is dead. Her mother-in-law is blind. She also has two kids. How about you think about how she has lived?! And what about eldest sister? Have you ever thought about her? No! In your hearts, your daughters are losers. Only your sons are treasures!” The more Li Shu said, the clearer her mind became.

She began to regret how she had listened to their nonsense.

Li Shu took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She opened her wallet and took out 50 yuan. She stuffed the money into Mother Li’s hands.

“Here is this month’s money. Take it. I’ll have someone send you next month’s money. Don’t come here again in the future!”

Mother Li didn’t like the 50 yuan. She wanted more than that. She grabbed Li Shu’s hand. “Second girl, you can’t do this. Fine, let’s not talk about your eldest brother and your nephews for the time being. How about the house? Can you do something about it? There is no place for your father and I to stay. You can’t ignore this. Also, I owe a lot of money for your eldest brother. Can’t you care about that? Think about how long it will take for your father and I to pay it off!”

Li Shu broke free from her mother’s grip. “Find someone else to pay your debt. It has nothing to do with me! I’m tired, so Auntie Zhao will see you off.”

After speaking, she went upstairs.

Mother Li was furious and wanted to get angry. But, she saw the auntie and didn’t want to lose face in front of others. She remembered her identity. She had to swallow her anger and did not forget to take the 50 yuan.

Father Li was waiting anxiously at home. When he saw Mother Li come back, he greeted her with anticipation. Mother Li shook her head in frustration. “This time second girl is determined. No matter what I say, she won’t help. She only said that she would give us fifty yuan a month and no more. I couldn’t cry or make trouble, so I could only come back.”

Father Li frowned. Fifty yuan a month was not enough!

“It really didn’t work. Call A-Wei and tell him to sell his house. Then, write to eldest girl and third girl and ask them to send some money. First, we will pay off the money we owe,” Father Li said after he thought about it.

Mother Li hesitated. “Sell A-Wei’s house? Isn’t that bad? If they sell the house, then where will the family of three live? Qian Li won’t agree!”

“Aren’t they with the Yue family? When the time comes, they can live with the Yue family. As for Qian Li’s opinion, she can’t speak for this family,” said Father Li.

Mother Li had to call Li Wei. When Li Wei saw that it was his parents calling on him, he thought that they wanted to apologise for what happened the day before.

Li Wei didn’t listen to what Mother and Father Li said again. He remembered the facts that Qian Li and him analysed the previous night. He had to admit that she was right. His parents really only had his eldest brother in their hearts. They even offered to sell their house to repay eldest brother’s debt.

“Didn’t you hear what I said? Hurry up and sell the house! When I borrowed money from someone, I promised to pay it back within a month!” Father Li urged Li Wei.

Li Wei suddenly stood up and said with a blank face, “Impossible! I can’t sell the house.”

Father Li became angry. “What did you say? Say it again!”

Li Wei didn’t show any weakness. “I said that I can’t sell the house! My second brother-in-law helped me get the house. What does it have to do with you? Why are you asking me to sell the house?! Don’t even think about it!” Since it has come to this point, Li Wei planned to tear their face.

His parents had always been the most partial towards his eldest brother. Eldest brother had received the most benefits. They should be supported by eldest brother. He wouldn’t join in.

Although eldest brother is in prison now, it was not Li Wei’s fault. Why should he be responsible for all of this? He wasn’t that stupid.

“If there’s nothing else, then I’ll go first. By the way, now that the family is facing difficulties, we won’t come back for dinner in the future. Every little bit you can save counts.” Li Wei got up and left.

Father Li didn’t think that his son would disobey him, so he stood up in anger and wanted to get angry. His eyes suddenly darkened and his body swayed. Mother Li rushed over. “Old Li, don’t get angry! You can’t afford to! What a disaster. This family will be finished!”

Li Wei heard the movement, then paused as if he was hesitating. He then strode forward mercilessly.

When Mother and Father Li saw this, they were both angry and said, “Get back here!”

Mother Li wiped her tears away. “A-Wei has always been selfish since he was young, so it isn’t like this is a surprise. Forget it. I’ll write a letter to eldest girl and third girl tomorrow.”

As a result, eldest girl sent back 5 yuan with a letter saying, “That’s all. There isn’t any more.”

As for third girl, the letter was returned and it was said that there was no such person.

It was only then did Mother and Father Li panic. Out of the 5 children, the eldest had an accident and none of the other 4 helped. What the hell did they do!

However, the house leaked, and it rained overnight. Du Qiao found out that Li Shu had really separated from the family. In order to repay the debt, her in-laws had to live a frugal life. Even her own salary was taken by her mother-in-law to pay off the debt. Du Qiao couldn’t take it anymore.

One day, Du Qiao left home with her salary and her clothes. Since then, she never came back.

Mother and Father Li were left with 2 grandchildren. Every month they received an inflexible wage. They still had to repay their debt and lived a miserable life.

Lu Wei wanted to help them when he saw how pitiful they were, but Li Shu stopped him. “Old Lu, you can’t help them with this! They are my parents so wouldn’t I want them to live well? But, if you help them this time, then what about the next? Do we have to support them for the rest of our lives? If it were just my parents, then it wouldn’t matter. I should repay them. But, in addition to my parents, there are my two nephews and maybe my eldest brother right now. Can we take care of all of them? Besides, it isn’t impossible for them to live right now. My parents still have a wage, so they are much better off than others. Think about my eldest sister and third younger sister. If I had to help someone, I would rather help them!”

Li Shu was no longer the person she used to be. She was smart. Now that her mind was clear, it was even more impossible for her to do stupid things. She knew what her parents were like. Their life was not that difficult. They were just pretending to be pitiful to gain sympathy.

It was a pity that she would no longer be fooled and neither would A-Wei.

Yes, Qian Li had called her and told her that she had broken it off with Li Shu’s parents. Li Shu thought that her stupid younger brother was lucky to marry such a smart wife.

Lu Wei thought about it too. Mother and Father Li were both university lecturers. Their combined monthly salary was almost 200 yuan. Even with 2 children, they earned a lot more than Li Su, who had to raise her family by herself. Li Su didn’t cry out with bitterness or complain that she was tired. Who were they putting a show on for?

Mother Lu nodded approvingly. “What Mingzhu’s mother said makes sense.”

Li Shu was secretly happy when her mother-in-law praised her. Sure enough, she was to be blamed before. Nobody wanted to see their daughter-in-law always dealing with things back at her family’s house. Now she was wholeheartedly devoted to her husband’s family and had gotten a lot closer to Old Lu. Even her mother-in-law had slowly begun to like her.