Zhou Yunmei thought about her purpose for coming and stopped fussing with Luo Zhongyong about how much living expenses to give each month, and simply said, "Whether you give us more or less money doesn’t really matter, dad and I only need so much at home. But regarding your brother Zhiming, could you help pay off some of his debts..."
Originally, Zhou Yunmei planned to directly ask Luo Zhongyong to help pay them off, but upon seeing his displeased expression, she hesitated and tried to broach the subject.
Luo Zhiyong smiled wryly, having guessed Zhou Yunmei’s main purpose for coming, and raised an eyebrow at her, "Mom, did you come here just to ask me to pay off that US$ 500 for Zhiming?"
Seeing Luo Zhiyong look at her quietly, Zhou Yunmei suddenly felt embarrassed to say it directly, swallowing her words before speaking some comforting ones, "Zhiyong, mom knows you’ve done a lot for our family these years. Without you, we wouldn’t have had such good days. Now, asking you to suddenly cough up US$ 500, you probably can’t afford it, but your wife might have it, right? I heard Zhiming say her shop is doing well."
After hearing Zhou Yunmei’s words, Luo Zhiyong looked at her intently for a while, making Zhou Yunmei very uncomfortable. He then asked self-deprecatingly, "Mom, years of toiling for the family still aren’t enough, and now you want my wife to slave away for the family too?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yunmei was displeased, "What are you saying? Who’s slaving away? The family hasn’t mistreated you."
"Hasn’t it? Over these years, do you really value Zhiming and me equally in your heart?" Luo Zhiyong sighed with a complex expression and looked around his newlywed house of a few months, "Not to mention anything else, just look at my room, and then look at Zhiming’s. I don’t need to say more, do I?"
At this point, Zhou Yunmei indeed felt guilty. She waved her hand, "Let’s not bring up the past. Once things get better at home, we’ll definitely redo your house."
Now, his wife has joined the army and Luo Zhiyong had no plans of returning soon. Moreover, his real intention wasn’t about wanting a better house, but rather feeling his wife was being mistreated.
He rubbed his forehead and frankly shared his thoughts, "Mom, let me tell you the truth. Yes, my wife and her partner opened a shop, and they’ve made some money these days, but that money she earned is hers. I know how hard it is for her to earn that money, and I won’t let anyone just take away the fruits of her labor so easily. Not just you, even I have no right to demand it."
"As a man, not only can I not support my wife, I can’t even provide her a peaceful life at home. Now that she has made some money, if I let you force her to hand it over, I would be utterly despicable."
Pausing for a moment, Luo Zhiyong looked up at Zhou Yunmei and said firmly, "In any case, mom, if you really force Pingying to hand over the money this time, then our marriage is essentially over. Even if she agrees to give the money, I wouldn’t be able to face her afterwards, I would feel utterly useless."
After Luo Zhiyong said this, Zhou Yunmei didn’t dare say any more. Even though she didn’t quite like Fang Pingying, if this really made it impossible for the couple to continue being together, it seemed a bit too much.
Thus, she didn’t bring up money again, but anxiously sighed, "So what should we do now? We still can’t come up with US$ 500."
"We’ll see what Luo Zhiming himself says. When he was fooling around with that woman, why didn’t he think about these things?" Luo Zhiyong thought for a moment and instructed Zhou Yunmei,
"And also, mom, regardless of how this matter gets resolved later, let Zhiming figure it out on his own in the next few days. Let him feel cornered and see if we can figure something out. With his temperament, he needs a good lesson. If we easily solve it for him now, I think he’ll make the same mistake next time. If it really comes down to it, just let him spend a few days in jail."
"No, he can’t go to jail." At the mention of jail, Zhou Yunmei was absolutely unwilling.
Seeing her react so strongly, Luo Zhiyong explained, "Detention isn’t jail. It’s just to scare him a bit, let him experience the hardships of jail so he can learn from it."
"Don’t mention it anymore. Since you asked me to stay at home, I will stay at home tomorrow and go back to the provincial city with Luo Zhiming the day after tomorrow." Finally, Luo Zhiyong emphasized again, "As for the matter of compensation, I’m not handling it. Don’t come to me and Pingying for that, we definitely don’t have it. Even if we had, I wouldn’t give it. That woman was not brought by me."
Luo Zhiyong finished speaking and pushed Zhou Yunmei out of the door.
He lay down on the kang himself, contemplating how the issue with Luo Zhiming could be resolved.
The couple really had a tacit understanding; the solution Luo Zhiming came up with was the same as Fang Pingying’s—the money Luo Zhiming had already written an IOU for, he must pay it back himself.
When the time comes, let him go to the lumber mill or somewhere to find some work. As per the previous agreement, pay back fifty dollars each month.
Although it’s a bit more, if the two of them work together wholeheartedly, they can pay it back.
Moreover, paying it back month by month can also serve as a constant reminder of his mistakes, to see if he dares do it again in the future.
But Luo Zhiyong did not immediately tell Luo Zhiming this solution, only telling him to figure it out himself, and if nothing works, let that woman go to the Police Station.
The next day, Luo Zhiyong got up early to wash his face and brush his teeth in the courtyard.
To his surprise, he ran into Duan Fenghua and Xu He in their courtyard.
Upon seeing Luo Zhiyong, the two warmly greeted him.
Duan Fenghua even smiled and said, "Zhiyong, I heard from your mom this morning that you came back, so I came to see you. The last time you left, I was planning to see you off, but I missed it."
As soon as Duan Fenghua finished speaking, Zhou Yunmei also smiled and added, "Yes, Zhiyong, Aunt Fenghua missed that last time."
For Luo Zhiyong, since Duan Fenghua and Xu He were folks from the village, and particularly since Duan Fenghua was his elder, it was said that they came especially to see him, he felt it wasn’t good to refuse, so he sat down with them in the courtyard and chatted for a bit.
While they were talking, suddenly Duan Fenghua mentioned there was something at her house she wanted Zhou Yunmei to come and check, leaving only Luo Zhiyong and Xu He in the courtyard.
Luo Zhiyong felt a bit awkward sitting there with Xu He, whom he did not know well, and thought about making an excuse to leave.
But just as he was about to stand up, Xu He suddenly spoke, "Brother Zhiyong, is the monthly salary for a job in the county good these days?"
Luo Zhiyong, hearing that she had something to ask, sat back down, and responded, "It’s alright, better than at home. Usually, it’s thirty or forty, depending on the job."
Xu He gave Luo Zhiyong a gentle smile, flipped her hair back from her shoulders, and said softly, "That’s good, my uncle helped me find something to do in the provincial city, and I’ll be taking the train there in a few days."
"That’s great, work hard," Luo Zhiyong responded very concisely, and with each phrase, he seemed ready to leave at any moment. (To be continued. If you work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com).