Chapter 225: Making an Exorbitant Demand

Chapter 225: Making an Exorbitant Demand

After talking with Su Lai Di, Su Zhaozhao and the others entered the main room again.

Battalion Commander Lian was talking to Gu Heng, hoping he could talk some sense into Su Zhaozhao and keep things from getting messy.

"...We see each other all the time... I also have difficulties... If it weren't for my family back then... this child, Xiao Shu..."

Gu Heng listened and, upon seeing Su Zhaozhao and the others enter, said, "I'll go with what my wife says."

Battalion Commander Lian: "..."

Hao Da Ni pursed her lips and muttered, "A grown man, and he’s letting his wife call the shots? How pathetic."

Some people are just strange. It's fine if her man listens to her, but if another man listens to his wife, it becomes a shame and a loss of face in her mouth.

Battalion Commander Lian: "Have you two sisters reached an agreement?"

Su Zhaozhao nodded and sat back down, "Battalion Commander Lian, first tell us how you plan to compensate my sister."

Battalion Commander Lian said, "I don’t agree with what Mrs. Su said about treating her like a slave. Mrs. Su also mentioned that wages should be paid, so fine, I'll give money—a hundred bucks. The old house in the countryside will also be given to her. When she returns to the countryside, I'll prepare two sets of clothes and thirty catties of fine grain for her. She can exchange it for coarse grain and have enough to eat until next spring. From now on, Mrs. Su, don't talk about enslavement anymore."

Su Zhaozhao almost wanted to reach out and clean her ears, "How much?"

Hao Da Ni: "A hundred bucks! You're not still thinking it's too little, are you?"

Are you kidding me?

It was already too little!

Battalion Commander Lian said, "A hundred bucks is nothing to sneeze at. In the countryside, a family might only have ten or twenty yuan left after a year's expenses."

Su Zhaozhao sneered, "You said that’s the money left after covering all the expenses, which means the family's annual costs are already deducted, right? Lai Di, in the countryside, had to take care of your parents and work in the fields. Are you telling me that her years of effort are only worth a hundred bucks?... By the way, how many years has it been since your divorce?"

Su Zhaozhao turned to look at Su Lai Di.

Su Lai Di: "It's been ten years."

Su Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow, "So you divorced just after Xiao Shu was born?"

Su Lai Di nodded.

What a jerk. If you wanted a divorce, why have a child with her?

"That means it's been a full ten years. Before the divorce, she was your family's daughter-in-law, taking care of your parents and the household. You could say it was her duty, fulfilling the filial piety your family raised her with. After the divorce, she had no further connection to the Lian family. She worked for your family for free for ten years. Every bit of labor she contributed to the Lian family during those ten years should have been compensated. First, pay her for those ten years."

Su Zhaozhao looked at him, "Don’t even think about offering just ten yuan a year. If you dare to offer that, I'll make sure the whole base knows how generous Battalion Commander Lian is!"

"..."

Battalion Commander Lian didn't know how to calculate this payment.

Hao Da Ni pinched him and whispered, "A hundred bucks is nothing to sneeze at!"

Battalion Commander Lian pushed her hand away and asked, "What’s your price?"

He didn't believe she would dare to make an exorbitant demand!

"You’ve got it all wrong. It's not about how much I want, but about how much you should pay based on the market rate over the years. It's not like there haven't been wealthy families hiring people to cook and clean. Paying her based on the going rate for that kind of work is only fair."

Hao Da Ni jumped up immediately, "What are you saying? You really treat your sister like a servant! If your sister is a servant, then our Lian family isn't made up of capitalists! We can't afford this bill! Nor can we afford to hire servants!"

Su Zhaozhao glanced at her, "Although your Lian family isn't capitalists, in action, you indeed treated my sister as a servant! Paying this compensation is only fair!"

Battalion Commander Lian gritted his teeth, "We can't calculate it like this!"

If we calculate it this way, even if he emptied all his savings, it might not be enough!

"I think it should be calculated this way. If not, how else should it be calculated? Surely not by using the excuse of her being a sister to get a discount?"

Su Zhaozhao didn't bring an abacus. If she had, she would have definitely calculated with him how much should be paid for the ten years of labor.

Battalion Commander Lian didn't expect Su Zhaozhao to be so meticulous. How can the expenses of a family be so clearly calculated?

After thinking, he said, "The countryside is not like the city, and we never treated Lai Di as a servant. Although my parents are old, they are still working themselves. It's not about who takes care of whom. If we really calculate according to the city's wages for hired help, it's not appropriate."

Su Zhaozhao: "Fine, let's take a small loss. How about ten yuan a month? That's one hundred and twenty yuan a year, and one thousand two hundred yuan for ten years."

Hao Da Ni's eyes widened!

What? This is called taking a small loss?

Does she think one thousand two hundred yuan grows on trees?

She pinched Battalion Commander Lian hard, "You speak!"

Battalion Commander Lian smiled bitterly, "Sister-in-law, you're asking for too much. Even if you sold me, I couldn't come up with that much money."

Su Zhaozhao: "Let me say it again, this isn't what I want; it's the compensation you owe. Whether you have that much or not is your business. It has nothing to do with me."

A battalion commander earns one hundred and one yuan a month. Is it really possible he can't come up with over a thousand yuan?

Anyway, Su Zhaozhao doesn't believe it.

Whether Su Zhaozhao believes it or not, Battalion Commander Lian doesn't want to give that much.

He gritted his teeth, "Five hundred yuan!"

Su Zhaozhao snorted coldly, "If that's your final offer, we'll stop here today. Tomorrow, we'll go straight to the leader and let him decide how much should be paid for Lai Di's ten years of hard work for your family."

After saying that, Su Zhaozhao stood up, took Su Lai Di's hand, and wanted to leave.

Battalion Commander Lian quickly stopped her, "Let's talk again."

Hao Da Ni went to pull him, "What's there to talk about with them! They really dare to say that? Let them go to the leader. I want to see how a divorced woman can face everyone if this gets out!"

Su Zhaozhao looked at her coldly, "Why should she be embarrassed? She's taking what she's owed and getting what she deserves. Even if everyone finds out, they should praise her. After all, she's been the one fulfilling your filial duties as a daughter-in-law all these years. If anyone should be embarrassed, it's you!"

Su Zhaozhao seemed to suddenly realize something as she spoke, "Oh... right, if you hadn't scolded, I wouldn't have remembered."

She turned to ask Battalion Commander Lian, "When you divorced my sister, did you divide the property you both owned?"

Battalion Commander Lian: "..."

Hao Da Ni's mind was shocked, "What property? Where is the property! Why should it be divided with her!"

Su Zhaozhao sighed and shook her head, "It's terrifying not to know the law! Since the founding of our country, the marriage law has stipulated that both husband and wife have equal ownership and control over family property. That is to say, when they divorced, the family property must be divided equally."

Su Zhaozhao looked at Battalion Commander Lian with a half-smile, "You didn't give it to her, did you! As a military officer, it seems you don't know enough, or do you know, but pretend not to, seeing her as easy to bully, deliberately deceiving her?"