Talking about the crab congee incident, Luo Zhiming had nothing to say since he indeed had overdone it. Knowing that he had no face to see Luo Zhiyong, he stayed quiet on the side, merely pushing Zhou Yunmei in the corner, signaling her to speak up.
Although Zhou Yunmei didn’t like Xu He, she was also displeased with the way Luo Zhiyong and Fang Pingying were handling the marriage setup - stirring up trouble .
Of course, her inner fear was that if the marriage arrangement got disrupted and Xu He refused to marry Luo Zhiming, and Luo Zhiming started threatening to die again, as a mother, how could she stand by and watch her own son die?
So, she had no choice but to side with Luo Zhiming.
As she walked toward Luo Zhiyong’s group, she called out, "Zhiyong, wait a minute."
When she reached Luo Zhiyong, she lowered her voice, her expression somewhat pleading, "Zhiyong, for my sake, let’s just drop the matter this time. I promise this will never happen again, and I won’t lie to you anymore about family matters."
"Mom, I’m so disappointed in you." This time Luo Zhiyong was truly disheartened by Zhou Yunmei. Moreover, such incidents happened all the time at home, which not only affected his work but also wore him out. He was truly tired and had no more energy to deal with these issues.
He sighed and said to Zhou Yunmei, "I don’t want to handle these family matters anymore. Whether you lie or not doesn’t matter to me, but I need to deal with this incident first."
Seeing Luo Zhiyong unbending, Zhou Yunmei lost her temper and shouted, "Then what exactly do you want to do?"
Luo Zhiyong didn’t want to argue, so he just glanced at her indifferently and said, "Fang Pingying just mentioned having Xu He return the betrothal money first. You can continue with the wedding arrangements, and we’ll discuss what to do with the other money afterward."
"Once the money’s in her hands, why would she want to return it?" Zhou Yunmei was both anxious and helpless as she whispered to Luo Zhiyong, "Besides, if the wedding gets messed up, Zhiming will again think about dying, what should I do then?"
Luo Zhiyong’s anger had already dissipated, but upon hearing Zhou Yunmei’s words, it flared up once more. He glanced at Luo Zhiming and almost roared, "If he wants to die, let him die! He always threatens to die, it will happen one day anyway. You saved him once, but you can’t save him a second time."
Zhou Yunmei was stunned by his shout, and after recovering, she stammered, "Zhi, Zhiyong, no matter what, he’s your blood brother, you can’t treat him ." Get full chapters from novｅlfire.net
"Mom, you’re so worried about him now, but when he wanted to kill your grandson, why didn’t you worry about me?" Luo Zhiyong’s expression was full of heartache as he looked at Zhou Yunmei, "Do you really only see Zhiming as your son in your heart, and am I just a stranger?"
"I..." Zhou Yunmei was at a loss for words, not knowing what to say next.
Luo Zhiyong looked at her sharply, "If you say yes, then I don’t want the money. This one thousand yuan can be considered payment for the kindness of you raising me all these years. How about that?"
Luo Zhiyong was so serious that Zhou Yunmei became frightened. Her words came out haltingly, "I didn’t say that, when did I ever say you were a stranger, I..."
Zhou Yunmei hadn’t finished her words when Luo Dashan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly roared, "Stop talking, just do as Zhiyong says. Have Xu He’s house return the betrothal money; they can proceed with the wedding if they want, and if not, it’s up to them. We, as parents, have done enough for him."
"Besides, we are just ordinary people with ordinary abilities. If he wants to spend lavishly on a wife, let him solve it himself. It’s our fault as parents for not being more capable. As an elder brother, Zhiyong has no obligation to take on so much for him. He has his own family to support, and he can’t neglect his own family for the sake of his brother’s marriage."
Hearing Luo Dashan also speak up, Luo Zhiming discontentedly shouted towards Luo Dashan, "Dad..."
Luo Dashan glared at him and bellowed, "Do as I said. If you don’t agree, get out of the Luo family."
Upon hearing Luo Dashan’s words, Luo Zhiming turned to look at Xu He, who gestured with her eyes, indicating he should figure something out.
What could Luo Zhiming do? He resorted to his old tricks, "Dad, if you really mean that, I’ll die..."
As soon as Luo Dashan heard the word ’die,’ he furiously took off his shoe and chased Luo Zhiming with it, "Go die then, do it now. If you really want to die, I can’t care too much."
Luo Zhiming ended up dodging around the yard before hiding inside the house, not daring to come out.
After the yard quieted down, Fang Pingying asked Xu He one more time, "Xu He, what do you think? Do you still want to go ahead with this marriage?"
Xu He stubbornly replied, "Yes, why wouldn’t I?"
Fang Pingying coldly smiled and countered, "Then, are you willing to give back the money you tricked out of me?"
Xu He let out a sneer, glaring at Fang Pingying, "Don’t even think about it."
Not to mention thousands of dollars, she wouldn’t hand over even a hundred. She believed no one would be foolish enough to give away money they have in hand.
Fang Pingying had anticipated she wouldn’t return the money and called out to Fang Ping’an and the others, "Then there’s nothing to discuss. Let’s move the stuff."
So, Fang Pingying, too tired to talk further, along with Fang Ping’an, Luo Zhiyong, and Fang Xiu, started packing things in the yard, getting ready to move back to the Fang Family.
While they were moving things, Mr. Xu and Duan Fenghua hurried over.
According to the local customs, parents shouldn’t send off their daughter in marriage, so they weren’t aware of the recent events until they heard about it from others at home.
Mr. Xu was not such an awful person; knowing that Luo Zhiyong and his wife had quite a good reputation in the village, and hearing that they had returned to cause a scene, he could guess that something was amiss.
Plus, he had always found it odd that his daughter was marrying Luo Zhiming, but Xu He had told him that Luo Zhiming treated her well and that she genuinely liked him. And since he thought that the issue between Luo Zhiming and Fang Xiu was resolved, he reluctantly approved the marriage.
At home, he pressed Duan Fenghua until he learned about the money issue, severely scolded her, and then brought the money with him.
Naturally, as a father, he was upset to see his daughter’s wedding turn out .
He glanced around the yard and then looked somewhat displeased at Luo Zhiyong, "Zhiyong, you’re a soldier and Zhiming’s elder brother. Don’t you think causing such a scene is a bit too much?"