Chapter 63: Poking at the Backbone
“This…”
He Cuifang was at a loss for words. All three of them knew deep down—it was all about money, money that didn’t belong to them.
Mu Zhenzhen saw her hesitation and shifted her attention, turning to Mu Zhenguo, who had remained silent:
“Dad, what do you think?”
Mu Zhenguo stubbornly said, “Everything I do is for his own good!”
“I’m doing it for his own good”—Mu Zhenzhen didn’t like that phrase, but she still responded patiently, “Yes, from your standpoint, you think it’s for his good, and your intentions may be good too. But if what you want to give isn’t what he wants, is that still for his own good? Eggs, in your eyes, are good things, right?”
Mu Zhenguo and He Cuifang both nodded.
Mu Zhenzhen continued, “But Xiao Xing is allergic to eggs. Would you still force him to eat them?”
They both waved their hands in protest. Of course not—serious allergies can be fatal. They had only learned about it later on.
Back in their childhood, eggs were considered precious. If a parent gave them a boiled egg, they could parade it around the village like treasure. They had never heard of someone being allergic to eggs.
Mu Zhenzhen said, “Exactly. You think not agreeing to let little brother be with Huazhang is for their own good, but if you really split them up, can you guarantee that little brother will live a better life?”
Mu Zhenguo lowered his head. Two whole minutes passed before he spoke again: “There’s no wall in this world that doesn’t leak wind. If others find out, people will poke your mom’s and my backbone! We won’t be able to face anyone ever again!”
So this was the real reason behind Mu Zhenguo’s opposition.
The silence now shifted to Mu Zhenzhen.
Another two minutes passed.
Mu Zhenzhen spoke heavily: “Dad, wanting to save face is normal. That’s what people live for—face. Everyone’s the same. You and I included. But have you thought about this? Your youngest son is now grown up. He’s an adult too. He also wants to save face.
So tell me—when your sense of face and his sense of face are in conflict, whose should come first? As a son, he should show some respect to you as his father. But as his father, shouldn’t you also give your son some dignity?”
After saying all this, Mu Zhenzhen’s mouth was dry. She took two sips of chilled orange juice and wrapped it up.
“I’ve said all I can say. Dad, Mom, if you still can’t come around, then I have nothing more to offer. But let me remind you: Lantu is someone with a mind of his own. You can see that from how he bought you a house and a car, and bought me and Wangjun a car and a watch.
If you still can’t accept him being with Huazhang, then one day… he really might become emotionally estranged from you both. Think it over carefully. What’s more important—your reputation, or your son’s happiness?”
Mu Zhenguo and He Cuifang sighed, again and again.
Mu Zhenzhen added a few more words: “If you ask me, people have mouths—how can you stop them from talking? As long as you live better than they do, they’ll be miserable. Everything they say is just sour grapes. Even the president gets gossiped about—do you believe that? Everyone talks, and everyone gets talked about. You can’t control what others say. Think about that.”
Mu Zhenguo remained silent.
He Cuifang stood up with the help of her knees. “Your father and I will think it over.”
Mu Zhenguo opened the glass door and walked out.
Mu Zhenzhen knew it was difficult to change their mindset, and she didn’t expect a full turnaround. She just hoped their thinking wouldn’t go to extremes—and didn’t dare push too hard.
Worried about them crossing the road, she locked the door and walked them back to the supermarket.
“Oh right, Dad, how’s the renovation of the new house coming along? I think you should hurry and get it done. The sooner it’s ready, the sooner you can move in. Otherwise, you won’t even have a quiet place to call your own.”
The supermarket was in a good location and always had customers. The shopkeeper next door liked to chat when bored. It wasn’t even convenient for Mu Zhenguo and Mu Zhenzhen to have a private conversation.
Her words hit home for both parents. In the evenings at Mu Hongtu’s house, even though they had their own room, they didn’t feel comfortable closing the door to talk privately—otherwise, the daughter-in-law would assume they were gossiping about her.
Thinking about how the house was bought by their youngest son, both Mu Zhenguo and He Cuifang felt a little softhearted. Putting aside the matter with Xu Huazhang, their youngest had truly treated them well.
Mu Zhenguo said, “The renovation is coming along quickly. I’ve been keeping an eye on it. Wangjun drops by every few days. He’s been working hard lately too.”
Mu Zhenzhen opened her umbrella. “That’s his responsibility. Alright then, I’ll leave you to it.”
“Go ahead.”
Mu Zhenzhen walked back under the sunshade and returned to her store. Once back, she called Mu Lantu and told him everything she had said to their parents.
Mu Lantu was impressed. “Sis, it had to be you. You said it perfectly. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. I just hope you really live a happy life.” Though she wasn’t opposed, Mu Zhenzhen wasn’t entirely confident in the relationship between Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang. She couldn’t help but remind him, “Any relationship requires effort to last. Since you’ve decided, cherish it. But if he doesn’t treat you right, don’t be afraid. You can always find someone better.”
“Don’t worry. Your little brother isn’t someone who puts up with mistreatment.”
Mu Zhenguo and He Cuifang watched their daughter walk off, then returned to the supermarket. Sitting behind the counter, they were speechless.
So much had happened today, and it was all so sudden. Their heads were still buzzing. One moment they were anxious over the falling out between their sons, the next moment they were worried that their eldest and daughter-in-law might really get divorced, and then again worried about their youngest son’s unusual love life. It was all tangled and overwhelming. The frustration in their hearts couldn’t even come out—it turned into nothing but heavy sighs.
He Cuifang mulled things over for a long while and decided to address the most urgent issue first.
“Zhenguo, if Yang Xiurong really wants to divorce our eldest, what should we do? Xuan Xuan and Xiao Yu are still so young!”
Mu Zhenguo lit a cigarette. “They won’t get divorced.”
“Huh?” He Cuifang didn’t believe it. “How do you know?”
Mu Zhenguo was annoyed and his tone wasn’t great. “Didn’t you hear what Lantu said at the breakfast shop? He plans to buy a house for Xiao Xing in the future! Once Hongtu gets home, do you think he won’t tell all of that to Yang Xiurong? If she knows that Lantu might also buy houses for Xuan Xuan and Xiao Yu someday, there’s no way she’d actually divorce him.”
He Cuifang thought he was being overly optimistic. “Lantu didn’t even buy them a car or a watch—why would he buy them houses?”
Mu Zhenguo sighed helplessly. “Let’s just wait and see. If they really insist on divorcing, we won’t be able to stop them.”
“We have to stop them!” He Cuifang was agitated and started pacing. “If they didn’t have kids, I wouldn’t care whether they got divorced or not. But Xuan Xuan and Xiao Yu are still so young. If they divorce, what’ll happen to them?”
Mu Zhenguo just kept smoking, saying nothing.
Mu Hongtu had returned home straight after leaving the breakfast shop.
After Yang Xiurong had been dismissed from her job, she hadn’t looked for work again. She either stayed home watching dramas and scrolling on her phone or went out to play cards. After some time, she got lazy and lost all motivation to work. But without a job, she had to pinch pennies when spending, which only made her desire for money stronger.
This morning, after breakfast, she had gone to the mahjong parlor. When she got a call from Mu Hongtu telling her that Mu Lantu had returned, she hurried home, waiting to hear the outcome of the brothers’ conversation.
The TV was playing her current favorite show, but she wasn’t in the mood to watch it. Every so often, she checked the time on her phone.
When she heard the door open, she knew it must be Mu Hongtu and rushed over to open it.
“Well? How did the talk go?”
“We fell out! He’d rather sever ties with me than give me a cent—and he said he’s going to buy a house for Xiao Xing in the future!” Mu Hongtu frowned at the pile of melon seed shells on the floor and sat down hard on the sofa. “Aren’t there trash bins? Why’d you throw them all over the floor? Look how messy the living room is!”
Mu Hongtu had never spoken to her in such a cold tone before. Yang Xiurong frowned too. “Who threw them on the floor? They just fell. I’ll sweep it up.”
She got a broom and cleaned the floor.
“So what are you thinking?”
Mu Hongtu picked up a slice of watermelon from the coffee table. “What can I think? If he’s not willing, then forget it. We’re brothers—I can’t really cut him off. Might as well make peace with him. Who knows, maybe one day he’ll buy houses for Xuan Xuan and Xiao Yu too.”
“Pfft!” Yang Xiurong scoffed, flipping her hair. “You wish! He wouldn’t even buy us a car or a watch—why would he buy our kids houses? We’d be better off getting that 300,000 first. Otherwise, how could you be okay with this?”
Mu Hongtu flung the watermelon rind into the trash bin. It hit the edge, splashing a few drops of red juice onto Yang Xiurong’s white short sleeves, leaving faint pink stains.
“This is all your fault! If you hadn’t gone around saying he was being kept by someone, would he be talking about cutting ties?”
Yang Xiurong got angry too. “What are you trying to say? Back when I said that at home, didn’t you stay quiet? Don’t pretend like you didn’t suspect it!”
“You—” Mu Hongtu’s face turned red with frustration.
Yang Xiurong, knowing he cared about appearances, softened her tone and lowered her head. “Honey, let’s not fight. We should be united against outsiders, okay?”
Mu Hongtu snorted.
Yang Xiurong said, “That 300,000—your brother owes us. We have to get it. Otherwise, we’ll be at a huge loss.”
Mu Hongtu asked, “So what do you want to do?”
Scheming glints flickered in Yang Xiurong’s eyes. “I was thinking about it wrong before. We shouldn’t ask your brother for the money—we should ask your parents. They definitely don’t want us to get divorced, so they’ll pay it. If they’re out of money, your brother will give it to them. And if he doesn’t, then he’s being unfilial!”
Mu Hongtu nodded slightly. “It’s worth a try.”
Neither of them had truly taken Mu Lantu’s words about severing ties to heart.
“If your parents refuse to give us the money, would you really divorce me?” Mu Hongtu wanted to know what his wife was really thinking.
Yang Xiurong replied confidently, “They’ll definitely give it to us!”
