"What do you think?" Zhou Lina, without waiting for a reply, asked again.
"If you feel there’s no way out, it’s okay, you can start packing up your stuff."
"I can go to the factory union tomorrow and ask them to step in and talk to the person who lent you the house."
Zhou Hong probably felt dizzy by now and hadn’t completely understood, but that’s fine; she could repeat it if necessary.
What? Zhou Hong was stunned by Zhou Lina’s words and, after swallowing a few times, said, "It’s okay, it’s okay."
"I can handle this. I’ll have the house emptied by dinner time tomorrow." Zhou Hong thought he definitely needed to go back earlier tomorrow.
As a junior, he couldn’t criticize Zhou Dajiang for his excessive actions—he could only let his grandparents and parents step in.
"By the way, whether Uncle Zhou changes his mind or not, whatever the misunderstanding, the surrounding neighbors all heard and came out to watch. He claims he didn’t hear it, which really shows a lack of sincerity."
"Even if it was a misunderstanding, some things are enough after one experience, and no one wants to go through it a second or third time."
"Brother Hong, don’t you think so?" Zhou Lina looked up at Zhou Hong.
How could Zhou Hong respond to that? He couldn’t guarantee that Zhou Lina wouldn’t cause more trouble.
"Say something." Zhou Lina, seeing Zhou Hong silent, immediately got angry.
"You’re not planning to let go of the house, are you?" Zhou Lina took a step back.
"Since you think so, I can only go to the mechanical plant director, the union, and your workshop supervisor tomorrow."
"It’s unfair to bully us, not allowing us to live there, nor returning our house."
"What’s this? Bullying us, a mother and daughter on our own," Zhou Lina couldn’t help but raise her voice.
"When you first lent the house to us, you said you’d return it as soon as your unit allocated you a house."
"Later, you said the house from the unit was too small for you, not spacious enough to live in, and you promised me that the minute I wanted it back, you’d return it."
"But now that I really need it, you just play dumb."
"Forget it, I’ll go to your family’s leaders tomorrow."
Zhou Lina didn’t want to continue talking with Zhou Hong, as it was just a waste of time; it would be better to let those who could make the decisions handle it directly.
Zhou Hong didn’t want to return the house, though he knew he would eventually have to, but he hoped he could delay it a bit.
It hadn’t occured to him that Zhou Lina wouldn’t wait for his reply, nor would she discuss it further; she just stated directly that she would go to the leaders to resolve the issue.
He truly was frustrated, completely unable to understand Zhou Lina’s thought process. For most people, they avoid meeting leaders unless necessary.
But for her, when an issue arose, she would go straight to one leader after another, and unfortunately, this was one situation where involving the leaders was absolutely out of the question.
"By dinner time tomorrow, we will definitely return the house to you, and we will make sure it’s clean," Zhou Hong insisted.
Zhou Hong initially wanted to suggest that she shouldn’t be hasty and that later, Zhou Dajiang would teach her a lesson or two.
But on second thought, if she really cared about that and feared Zhou Dajiang’s scolding, would she have acted this way?
To act this boldly meant she simply didn’t care about Zhou Dajiang’s reaction at all.
With this in mind, Zhou Hong took a sharp breath. Yes, do Zhang Shifen and her daughter need to take Zhou Dajiang’s feelings into consideration?
A man who hadn’t provided for his own father and son for over half a year, could he command respect?
Even though he was his own uncle, Zhou Hong had no respect for Zhou Dajiang; it was truly a disgrace for all men.
"The doodles on the wall, I’ll also have someone come and repaint it."
"The broken furniture, I’ll also buy new ones to replace them." Zhou Hong felt that his actions were truly commendable.
Buy new replacements? Think I’ll be grateful for that? Zhou Lina smirked, "That’s true, you lend your house, and someone pays you ten yuan a month, over a hundred in a year, and after all these years, five or six hundred yuan. That’s enough to buy a whole house full of furniture, with money to spare."
Zhou Lina left after speaking, thinking that if she lingered any longer, Zhang Shifen, who was waiting at home, would surely be worried.
She had actually found out. Zhou Hong hadn’t expected Zhou Lina to have even inquired about the price of renting a house, causing him to shudder involuntarily.
He knew Zhou Lina was manipulating him, that he definitely wouldn’t have the courage to approach his superiors.
If he approached his superiors, it would be he who would suffer the consequences.
Forget it, he would tidy up first, then discuss with his parents to see if they could move back temporarily.
Whether to find a house for the young couple or to have them rent outside, that could be decided later.
As for living arrangements, his family of three would take one room, and his grandparents, parents, and younger brother would share another room.
As for Zhou Juan, she was going to become an ’educated youth’ in the countryside anyway; there was no need to keep a room for her.
After moving back, they should be able to save a considerable amount on expenses; they would just pay some living costs.
Zhou Hong had been a bit worried, but now his worries had dissipated completely. They would live a little less comfortably, but that shouldn’t be a big problem.
Zhou Hong’s wife woke up groggily to find the room empty. Getting up, she went to the bedroom door and saw that their front door was wide open with Zhou Hong standing at the doorway.
Yawning, she asked, "What’s happening, did someone come by?"
At this time, it was unlikely for anyone to visit.
Zhou Hong slowly closed the front door, then came back into the bedroom and recounted Zhou Lina’s visit.
What? Zhou Hong’s wife, planning to turn over and go back to sleep, had not expected to hear such groundbreaking news.
Now fully awake due to the landlord possibly evicting them during the night, she found it impossible to sleep.
Even less so considering the man beside her was entertaining the absurd idea of moving back in.
If possible, she really wanted to give this man a piece of her mind.
Indeed, she admitted that ever since she had given birth to their first son, the great-grandmother and mother-in-law were both quite satisfied.
But their attitude towards her hadn’t improved much, and only Zhou Hong and his father felt that things were better there.
Her colleagues, sisters, and friends had been envious that she didn’t have to live crammed with her in-laws and that a family of five could enjoy such a spacious house.
Yet in a turn of events, she found herself becoming an object of pity.
Zhou Hong’s wife who had grown used to a spacious house had long forgotten the days when she shared a bunk bed with three others back at her parents’ home.
Just the thought of ten people living in a space smaller than this house, with two mothers-in-law above them, was unbearable.
"Can’t we negotiate with them?" Zhou Hong’s wife, normally reluctant to spend money due to their large household expenses, believed in saving wherever possible.
But now she felt that some expenses were necessary and shouldn’t be scrimped on, "We can pay rent."
Pay rent? Zhou Hong truly thought his wife was out of her mind, "Don’t you know about the recruitment at the steel factory?"
"You should be aware of her good grades."
"As long as her grades aren’t bad, she’s guaranteed to get a permanent position." This wasn’t explicitly stated but it was an obvious fact.
As for anyone harboring any objections, there genuinely weren’t any; both Father Zhou and Zhang Shifen had good reputations at their workplaces.
"Do you think their family is short on money?"
"What they want is the house."
"Zhou Yong will be getting married by the end of the year at the latest. You said you knew his girlfriend. Think about her temperament; could Zhou Lina tolerate it?"
In the past, she might have tolerated it, but the current Zhou Lina definitely wouldn’t.
Alright, Zhou Hong’s wife sighed. No matter how exhausted, all she could do was start packing, "Pack up the things."