Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 388 Revealing the Truth

Lu Wenli was usually pampered by Zhang Zhao, and she had never been treated like this before, so she immediately lost her temper.

"We don't have any money. Where are we going to get five hundred yuan?"

"No money?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhao's eyes turned red, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Leaving aside the past, just considering my salary as a battalion commander for the past two years, our family shouldn't be unable to come up with even five hundred yuan, right?"

Zhang Zhao's sudden move was something Zhang Lide hadn't anticipated, but things were developing in the direction he expected. So he didn't rush to say anything, picked up the teacup on the table, sipped the almost-cooled tea, and watched how things unfolded.

Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law knew perfectly well where her daughter and son-in-law's money had gone. Afraid that her daughter would blurt it out in her anxiety, she quickly spoke up to smooth things over.

“Zhao! Don’t worry, we can definitely scrape together the money. But are you really sure you want to go to the black market? If you get caught, it’ll be a huge problem. I’ve heard that some people might even be in serious trouble. We’re not in that situation yet. Let’s think about it some more. There must be another way.”

Zhang Zhao ignored his mother-in-law's words. At this moment, his mind was filled with his wife's cold face when she said she had no money. Now it wasn't about money anymore; it was about letting him die and pushing him into an abyss.

Husbands and wives are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately. Xiao Zhao, you should be more careful in your daily life. Don't be foolish enough to give all your money to your wife; keep some for yourself so you can get by...

Zhang Zhao stared at Lü Wenli, and suddenly remembered what Ma Xiufang used to nag him about, which made him more and more irritable.

But after all, they were a couple who had lived together for many years, and he was unwilling to believe that his mother, Ma Xiufang, was right, and even more unwilling to believe that his wife would be so heartless.

"I'll ask you one more time, do we have five hundred yuan at home? Are you going to give it to me or not?"

Hearing Zhang Zhao's calm yet indifferent words, Lü Wenli's heart tightened, but years of habit made her think her husband was just throwing a tantrum, so she didn't take it too seriously and continued stubbornly:
“No money. Your salary has increased, but food, drink, and everything else at home costs money. Dongdong has grown up without spending any money…”

Pa~~
Before Lü Wenli could finish speaking, Zhang Zhao stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face.

The suddenness of the event left Lü Wenli stunned, covering her face with disbelief in her eyes. Everyone else in the room stared at the two of them in shock.

The first to react was Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law.

Her face was full of anger. She got up and rushed to Zhang Zhao, swinging her arm to hit him in the face while shouting loudly.

"You heartless bastard! We've been treating you to the best of everything, and you ungrateful wretch still hit my daughter! I'll beat you to death, you heartless bastard..."

Zhang Zhao stood there dumbfounded, taking the beating. His mother-in-law quickly scratched bloody welts all over his face and neck.

If He Yuanchao hadn't been quick enough to pull Zhang Zhao behind him, he probably would have been disfigured; in just a short while, half of his face was covered in blood.

"Auntie, let's talk things out. Fighting won't solve anything."

"I don't care, how dare he hit my daughter, I'm going to teach this little bastard a lesson today."

He Yuanchao and Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law, one blocking the way and the other tearing at it, were about to step forward when Lü Wenli came to her senses.

She had completely inherited her mother's fiery personality; her face was full of hatred as she cried and rushed towards Zhang Zhao like a madwoman.

He Yuanchao tried to stop the mother and daughter, but fearing they might touch something they shouldn't, he didn't dare to forcefully stop them. It was quite difficult for him, and if he hadn't been agile, he would have almost been attacked on the face.

The room was in complete chaos as shouts, cries, the creaking of furniture being slammed together, and the sound of teacups shattering on the floor mingled together.

He Yuanchao, Zhang Zhao, Lü Wenli, and Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law were quick and agile. By the time Zhang Lide and Lü Zhenbang reacted, the four of them were already entangled together.

Seeing Zhang Zhao's bloodied face, Zhang Lide felt a pang of heartache. He cursed his son for being a worthless wretch, but his body honestly shielded him.

Lu Zhenbang also felt sorry for his daughter and wished he could go up and give Zhang Zhao a beating too.

But seeing Zhang Zhao's face covered in blood and the room in complete disarray, he took two deep breaths, suppressed his anger, and shouted:
"Stop it, everyone stop it."

He called out twice, but no one paid any attention to him. He quickly took two steps forward, grabbed his wife with one hand and his daughter with the other.

With Lü Zhenbang's intervention, this 'small-scale conflict' finally came to an end. Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law, being pulled along by Lü Zhenbang, looked displeased and panted as she said:
"Old Lu, why are you pulling me? Didn't you see that little bastard Zhang Zhao hitting our daughter? Let me tell you, if this happens once, it will happen again. If we don't teach him a lesson, who knows how he'll bully our daughter in the future!"

Lu Wenli, standing to the side, listened to her mother's words without saying a word, and just kept sobbing.

Lu Zhenbang was at his wits' end looking at the mother and daughter in front of him, but he couldn't just abandon them, so he had no choice but to patiently try to persuade them.

"What are you saying? Every couple has disagreements; even the tongue sometimes clashes with the teeth..."

Zhang Zhao, head drooping, was being lectured by Zhang Lide.

"How old are you! Why are you still so impulsive? Can't you talk things out? Will violence solve anything..."

He Yuanchao wasn't idle either. While both sides were trying to persuade their own families, he quickly tidied up the house, picked up the tables and benches that had been knocked over and put them back in their original positions, and then picked up a dustpan and broom from the wall to sweep up the broken pieces of porcelain and glass on the ground.

After about half an hour, thanks to the patient persuasion of Zhang Lide and Lü Zhenbang, the Zhang and Lü families finally sat down again.

Everyone in the room had a stern face, not a smile on their face, and no one spoke first.

With noon fast approaching, Zhang Lide, thinking about his trip to the black market, decided not to delay any longer and spoke up first.

“Brother Zhenbang, mother-in-law, Wenli, it is my fault for not educating Zhang Zhao well. I apologize to you.”

But right now I have to talk to you about food. Xiao Zhao was right earlier. These days, no one will lend you food. Going to the black market is the only way.

"I think if you have no other choice, you should let Xiao Zhao give it a try."

"We tried it, but the family didn't have the money to give him, so we told him to find a way himself."

Before Lü Zhenbang could speak, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law interrupted Zhang Lide, saying indignantly.

Zhang Lide glanced at Lü Zhenbang, and seeing that he remained silent, he knew that Lü Zhenbang had tacitly agreed to this statement.

Things were developing as expected, and Zhang Lide was secretly pleased. He continued to push things along:

"Don't laugh at me, my in-laws, but I came in a hurry this time and I don't even have a hundred yuan on me. Otherwise, the young couple wouldn't have quarreled over this."

Today, I'm going to swallow my pride and ask again, "Mother-in-law, could you give Zhang Zhao five hundred yuan first, consider it a loan, and he'll pay you back after he gets his salary from work? Is that alright?"

In the past, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law might have agreed.

But right now, Zhang Zhao has lost his future and just hit his daughter. She's furious and not only didn't agree, but she also said some very hurtful things.

"Give it back? How can you give it back to me? I've been discharged from the army. It's hard to say whether I'll be able to find a job in the future. Where will I earn money? Besides, I'm not going to lend money to an ingrate."

If outsiders heard Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law say this, judging from the current situation, they would definitely think it was just something she said in anger. But the Lü family knew that she was speaking from the heart.

He Yuanchao was somewhat angry, but Zhang Lide had given him instructions before he came, so he didn't say much and sat down to take out a cigarette and smoke.

After hearing Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law's words, Zhang Lide became even more determined to have his son get a divorce. Just as he was thinking about how to bring up the topic of divorce, Zhang Zhao suddenly stood up and offered him a way out.

"I'm an ingrate? You all know how I've treated you all these years. How dare you say I'm an ingrate?"

After saying this, Zhang Zhao stopped looking at his mother-in-law and turned to stare directly at his wife, Lü Wenli, saying:
"I'm asking you one last time, are you going to give me this money or not?"

Lu Wenli was looking down with a wronged expression when she heard Zhang Zhao's words. She looked up at him coldly and said, "I'll tell you again, I have no money. Even if I had money, I wouldn't give it to you. I'll just watch you go squat in the jail."

"it is good."

Seeing Lü Wenli's heartless attitude, Zhang Zhao trembled with anger and said with a livid face, "I don't want the money anymore, let's get a divorce!"

(End of this chapter)