Chapter 373: Each with Their Own Thoughts

Chapter 373: Everyone Has Their Own Agenda

After the brawl, everyone was exhausted, and the world finally quieted down.

They all sat on the floor, panting, with no one speaking.

The worst off were Zuo Shangdang and Qi Sanmei.

Zuo Shangdang had been beaten by Zuo Nanfu until his head was lumpy with bruises, and his face, shoulders, and back throbbed with pain.

Qi Sanmei had been shoved back by Zuo Shangdang when he blocked her, and her side was bruised and sore from the fall.

Zuo Shangdang had shielded Lu Yazhi completely—she only got a few pinches and hair-pulls at the start and was otherwise unharmed. Su Jiao, however, had been pinned down and pummeled by Qi Sanmei earlier and later struck by Zuo Nanfu’s cane; her injuries were nearly as bad as his.

Lin Zhaodi shrank back, too scared to utter a word. No one dared move, afraid any wrong move could get them killed. But she was so terrified she wet herself again.

Lu Yazhi crinkled her nose at the stench in the air, her eyes flashing with impatience. “Jiao Jiao, get your mother-in-law cleaned up first.”

Su Jiao hurt everywhere. She opened her mouth but, feeling the tension, didn’t dare speak.

With a sullen face, she dragged Lin Zhaodi off to the bathroom, fuming silently.

Once inside, she lowered her voice and began berating Lin Zhaodi: “You useless old hag! All you do is drag people down. If you know how much we hate you, why don’t you just die already? What did I do to deserve this mess…”

Her voice cracked with sobs as she thought of her uncertain future—she was on the verge of breaking down.

Lin Zhaodi was weighing her down here. Her husband was in jail for murder, their home had been ransacked, and she’d taken an unexplained beating.

And judging from things, this beating would go unanswered.

From what she overheard outside, her father-in-law still had a wife and children back home—the mother and husband were just a secret second family. Now the real family was here to claim what’s theirs.

This was nothing like the happy married life she’d imagined.

Her mother, Ji Qingqing, kept nagging her to get pregnant fast, to have the eldest son and take control of the household finances.

Yeah, right. In this situation? If she’d known it would be like this, she wouldn’t have rushed into marriage.

One misstep led to another.

“Wuwu… You’ll outlive us all at this rate!”

Normally, Lin Zhaodi would have thrown a fit, but today, she didn’t dare.

She endured Su Jiao’s venomous curses in silence, though she glared back with pure hatred.

Outside, the mood was no better.

Lu Yazhi looked around the empty house and couldn’t help sobbing again.

“What are we supposed to do now? Forget sleeping—there isn’t even a place to sit. Are we all going to sleep on the floor tonight?”

Zuo Shangdang rubbed the swelling on his forehead, hissing in pain.

Any patience he’d had for his parents had long since vanished. With Lu Jin’an’s troubles, Lu Yazhi had been crying nonstop, and he hadn’t slept properly in two days.

“Mom, Dad, why didn’t you just stay home? Why come here? And how did you even find this place?”

Zuo Nanfu snorted coldly. “If I hadn’t come up myself, I’d never have known you and your mother treated us like trash.”

"While we, your own parents, have nothing at home, you live in splendor—silks, feasts, and golden mansions.

You goddamn monster! Go ask anyone on the street—even the ten-times-removed grandma of your mistress's new bride gets pampered, while your own parents are abandoned in the countryside, not seeing you for half a year!"

Zuo Nanfu’s scolding immediately made Qi Sanmei burst into tears. "This old woman’s life is so bitter, unwanted by anyone. Our daughter-in-law at home walks all over us, and our son is even worse. If we die at home one day, we’d rot unnoticed!"

"Wuwuwu, what did I do to deserve this? Since you were little, what wrong did your father and I ever do to you? We worked so hard to raise you, just so others could enjoy the good life?"

Zuo Shangdang’s temples were throbbing. "Enough, enough! What do you mean we don’t take care of you? Which elderly in town live as comfortably as you? We hired someone to look after you before you even turned sixty. Haven’t I sent money home on time every month?"

His words only made Zuo Nanfu even angrier.

"You send money home—sixty yuan a month, twenty of which goes to Sister Mei’s salary.

"That leaves forty yuan, meaning your mother and I each get twenty a month—barely over six mao a day for food, not counting other expenses.

"We can’t even afford meat every day, and you think you’ve done enough for us? Look at how your mistress lives, then look at what your half-dead mother endures!

"Fridge at home, big TV, ceiling fans whirring, cars to chauffeur her around, maids and drivers waiting on her hand and foot!

"Your mother and I have never even touched a fridge or a car in our lives, you heartless beast! How can you not feel guilty? You have the gall to boast about sending money on time every month? Aren’t you afraid of being smote by heaven’s lightning for saying such things?"

Zuo Nanfu, red-eyed, pointed at Lu Yazhi. "A single dress of that spoiled rich girl could cover your parents’ food expenses for years! Have you no shame?

"You treat your own flesh and blood like this? I’ll report you to the local council! I’ll demand justice from the authorities!"

Zuo Nanfu grew more furious, slamming his cane on the floor and shouting curses at Zuo Shangdang and Lu Yazhi, who shrank behind Zuo Shangdang, shaking like a leaf.

Zuo Shangdang’s face burned red with shame. Seizing a pause in Zuo Nanfu’s tirade, he mumbled defensively, "Mom, Dad, it’s not like that. Let me explain."

"The sixty yuan was from two years ago... I wasn’t earning much then, and that was most of my income.

"Later, I started making more, but I also got busier—too busy to even visit home, dead on my feet by bedtime every night. I just... forgot to raise your allowance."

"It’s my fault, my oversight. Starting next month, I’ll increase it to two hundred a month, okay?

"Please, stop making a scene. I’ve got enough on my mind as it is."

He gestured at the empty house. "If you needed money, you could’ve just asked. Did you have to wreck the place? I’m your own son—did you really think I’d abandon you?"

"I didn’t move you to City A because first, you’re attached to your roots, and second, I’m too busy.

"Sometimes I don’t come home for days. I worried you wouldn’t be comfortable, and I wouldn’t have time to care for you.

"You’re better off in the countryside—Lili and Jinghuan can look after you, plus Sister Mei is there. It’s no worse than here. I’ve got a whole family to support—stop making things harder for me."

Qi Sanmei narrowed her beady eyes. "Cut the crap! No energy to care for your own parents, but plenty for that bedridden crone? As if you’d personally tend to us anyway—you’ve got hired help here too, don’t you? How much trouble would we really be?"