Old Madam Li's eyes lit up the moment she spotted her eldest son at the courtyard entrance. She almost leapt to her feet.
"A-Guo! Yunmei! How come you're both here? Come, come, come in quickly," she said, her tone overflowing with warmth. Her gaze flicked behind them, searching. When she didn't see her grandsons, a faint shadow of disappointment crossed her face. Still, she managed a smile. "A-Guo, why didn't you bring my A-Qiang and Xiao Min?"
Chen Lihua rose with her husband to greet them, her smile polite but her eyes cold. She snorted inwardly at Old Madam Li's bias. Not once has she asked about my Weihua when we visit. And she's never greeted us with half this enthusiasm. But the eldest son arrives, and suddenly it's like the Emperor himself has come calling.
The Li couple were dyed-in-the-wool rural folk, their beliefs rooted in the old ways: daughters were dirt—useful when needed, but never cherished. In their eyes, girls didn't belong to their parents' house; they would be married off sooner or later, taking their loyalty and labor elsewhere. Spending money or affection on them was a waste.
It was this thinking that had condemned Li Jianfang and Li Jianrong to servitude in their own home from the age of four, doing chores morning to night. If not for compulsory education, they wouldn't have been allowed to study at all.
When middle school ended, the old couple had tried to stop their daughters' schooling. But both girls were stubborn—especially Li Jianfang. She scrubbed floors, cooked meals, and still managed to keep up with her studies, paying for high school through scholarships and part-time jobs. She even passed the college entrance exam with flying colors, gaining admission to a university in Shanghai.
But before she could leave, Li Jianguo's marriage brought new pressures—and soon after, she ran away from home. What happened next had long since become a scandalous family tale.
Seeing her defiance, the old couple had refused to let Li Jianrong continue her education and married her off within a year to a man in the northern district.
As for Li Jianping, though he was a son, the couple disliked him too—partly because he was useless, having stopped studying after middle school, and partly because of his closeness to Li Jianfang.
Li Jianjun, though useless in his own right, was tolerated. But compared to Li Jianguo—the prized eldest with his so-called "iron rice bowl" government job—everyone else was dirt. Even Chen Lihua and Li Jianjun had to bow to his every word. It was the very reason Chen Lihua's resentment toward him ran deep, though she kept her expression smooth.
"Mom," Li Jianguo said as he stepped inside, "A-Qiang had to go to his extracurricular class. As for Xiao Min—" His face hardened, the memory from yesterday flashing in his mind.
"It's all that Li Ziqing's fault," Wang Yunmei cut in, her tone sharp as steel. "She made my Xiao Min so angry he's been crying since yesterday."
Old Madam Li blinked in surprise. "That fatherless brat?" she asked bluntly. "Didn't Xiao Min always bully her? And she just endured it?" Her voice softened instantly as she glanced at her daughter-in-law, the mother of her two precious grandsons. "Yunmei, tell me exactly what happened. I swear I'll make that fatherless brat pay for making my Xiao Min cry."
"Let them sit first," Old Man Li interjected, gesturing to the space on his left.
Li Jianguo and Wang Yunmei took their seats. Wang Yunmei's nose tilted even higher as she lowered herself onto the stained wooden sofa, her gaze filled with disdain.
Chen Lihua, watching, felt her lip curl in a private sneer. Does she think she's some noble lady? Has she forgotten her father was a butcher in a backwater town outside Wuhan?
"Alright," Old Madam Li leaned forward eagerly the moment her eldest son and daughter-in-law were seated. "Now, tell me everything from the beginning."
Li Jianguo adjusted himself in the chair, his expression dark, and began recounting the incident. From the moment they encountered Li Ziqing at the fruit brand store, to the heated exchange where she humiliated Li Weimin, and finally—what shocked them the most—how she casually purchased an 8,000-yuan mobile phone and a 12,000-yuan MacBook for each member of her household.
The living room fell into stunned silence.
They had always believed Li Jianfang was barely scraping by, eking out a living to keep her household afloat. Earning 18,000 yuan from her food stall was surprising, yes, but still within the realm of possibility. But giving her fourteen-year-old daughter such extravagance to "burn money" on? This was something else entirely.
Unspoken questions prickled in everyone's mind: Just how much money does she actually have?
"Wait…" Li Jianjun's voice broke the silence. "8,000 yuan for four people's phones… plus 12,000 for four MacBooks… that's 80,000 yuan!"
Gasps echoed from Old Madam Li, Old Man Li, and Chen Lihua.
"M–Mom, this is… insane," Chen Lihua muttered, still dazed.
"How could Jianfang possibly have that much money?" Old Man Li's voice carried both disbelief and irritation.
Wang Yunmei let out a cold snort. "Money from her? Don't be so sure. The real shock is this—when Ziqing paid for everything, the card she used belonged to Li Jianping."
"What?!"
The exclamation was louder this time. Li Jianping—who had never worked a real job in his life? The same man who survived by sponging off his sister, wandering the city like an idle punk? How could he have such wealth?
Li Jianguo gave a solemn nod. "I made some inquiries. Apparently, Jianping has been frequenting the stone-gambling markets. My guess? He got lucky, cut a valuable stone, and made a fortune. There's no other explanation."
The initial shock began to fade, replaced by a simmering anger.
"How could he do this to us?" Old Madam Li's voice rose sharply, her face flushing with fury. "I endured the agony of giving birth to him, raised him, only for him to turn his filial piety toward that woman? If he had that kind of money, shouldn't he have come home first and given us our share for raising him?"
"Exactly!" Li Jianjun added irritably. "Eighty thousand yuan on phones and laptops—what's the point? Why would Jianfang or her kids need those things?"
"A Qiang and Xiao Min are his nephews," Old Madam Li snapped. "Shouldn't they have been the ones to receive such gifts? What's the use of wasting money on those fatherless bastards?" Her words grew sharper, laced with venom.
Chen Lihua seized the moment. "My Weihua is an excellent student. A computer would have helped him tremendously," she said pointedly, then added with calculated sweetness, "And if Jianping had given us even half of what he spent, we could have launched our business already."
"Exactly!" Old Madam Li barked, slamming her palm against her thigh. Her face was now a deep shade of red, her breathing heavy.
It was then that Wang Yunmei, who had been silent for a while, spoke in a soft, almost hesitant tone. "Dad, Mom… Jianguo didn't want to tell you this because he didn't want to trouble you at your age."
Chen Lihua, who had already noticed the discreet glances exchanged between Li Jianguo and Wang Yunmei, smirked inwardly. She could smell a performance from miles away.
But the old couple missed the subtext entirely. "What is it, A Guo? Tell us. What's going on?"
Li Jianguo sighed deeply, wearing an expression of reluctant helplessness. "Yunmei, please… there's no need to bring this up now. We can talk about it later."
His wife, however, put on a carefully constructed mask of indignation mixed with sorrow. "No. I must tell them today." She turned toward the old couple, her eyes glistening. "A few days ago, someone informed Jianguo that a high-ranking position in the Health Department—a Bureau Chief post—will soon be vacant. You know Jianguo has been stuck as Section Chief in the Environmental Department for years, all because we didn't have the means to 'grease the wheels.'"
Her voice wavered, just enough to sound sincere. "This is a prestigious position. But Jianguo only earns three to four thousand yuan a month. We have A Qiang in his final year of high school, Xiao Min who just started middle school, and Meiling who will enter middle school next year. After tuition fees, your monthly allowance, and living expenses, there's nothing left for this kind of opportunity." Two tears slid down her cheeks as she spoke, her hand brushing them away with the grace of someone who had practiced the gesture.
Li Jianguo lowered his head and sighed again, perfectly in sync.
Chen Lihua's patience snapped. "Well, in that case, the answer's obvious—we should ask Jianping and Jianfang for help. After all, both are earning tens of thousands now." She let her tone drip with faux thoughtfulness. "Oh, and eldest sister-in-law, did you know Jianfang earned 18,000 yuan in just three days? That's your six months' salary, brother-in-law. Times have changed. In the past, you wouldn't even associate yourself with Jianfang or Jianping. But now? You'll have no choice but to ask her for money. You'll have to 'associate' yourself."
Wang Yunmei's soft sobbing ceased instantly, her head snapping up to glare at Chen Lihua. But the latter was already smiling at the old couple, her words hanging in the air like a poisoned blade.
"That wretch even has connections with the Mayor," Old Madam Li interjected suddenly, her voice brimming with excitement. "She must help you."
"What?!" Li Jianguo and Wang Yunmei's voices rose in unison.
Chen Lihua's eyes gleamed. "Oh, my mistake—I forgot to tell you, eldest sister-in-law. Just two days ago, Mayor Han Zhiyuan of Wuhan personally visited Jianfang's house. The entire town saw it—I saw it myself. He left carrying large tiffin boxes, and from the way they interacted, they seemed… very close."
Old man Li's eyes narrowed, his knuckles tightening on the wooden cane. "This can't be tolerated! We're their parents—no, the elders of this family. If they are making money now, they have an obligations to support us. That's filial piety!"
Old Lady Li slammed her teacup onto the table with a clang. "Obligation? Hah! They owes us! Did they think they grew up eating dirt? We raised them, fed them, clothed them, and now they wants to live a good life without repaying us? Shameless!"
Li Jianjun scowled, puffing up his chest. "Exactly! And they knows my situation. I'm barely making ends meet, I'm their real brother! Their second eldest brother! They should be helping me first!"
Li Jianguo spoke immediately. "And mom, this Li Jianfang. Three days, eighteen thousand yuan? If she kept that up for a month, that's nearly two hundred thousand. And for what? Frying noodles and making buns? Ridiculous!" He snorted. "She's clearly hiding something. Maybe she's been holding back her earnings all along. She must give our share
Old Man Li nodded vigorously. "And we'll make it clear—either she gives it willingly, or we'll remind her who raised her. Blood ties can't be cut off just because she wants to play independent!"
Li Jianjun leaned forward, his tone dripping venom. "Exactly. And if she dares refuse, we'll tell everyone in the district that she's an unfilial daughter who lets her parents starve while she eats meat every day. Let's see how her stall survives after that!"
Chen Lihua's eyes glinted. "Then why are we wasting time talking? Let's go find her now. Before she hides the money somewhere."
That set them all in motion instantly. Old couple Li were already adjusting their cloths, muttering about "teaching those bastards a lesson." Li Jianguo adjusted his coat, Wang Yunmei fixed her hair, and Li Jianjun along with Chen Lihua stomped toward the door with the air of a couple preparing for battle.
Li Ziqing unaware of everything was altoughter fighting a different battle today. The day is going to be very tiring today, she thought.