Reborn in 78, I made my fortune by working in the mountains, supporting three families on my own.

"I won't lend it to you," Zhao Lei interrupted her directly.

"I bought this car for my own use, not to show off to others. You can go back now."

Li Xiuying opened her mouth, still unwilling to give up: "Lei Zi, I'm begging you, just three days..."

Zhao Lei frowned: "I said I won't lend it. If your son can't find a wife, go find someone else to help. Don't come to my house and linger."

Several women watching nearby listened intently to the scene, but none of them dared to interrupt.

Standing at the courtyard gate, Li Xiuying was embarrassed when Zhao Lei rejected her in front of so many people. She stood there with tears in her eyes and didn't leave.

Qin Yuchan glanced at her, tugged at Zhao Lei's sleeve, and lowered her voice, saying, "Sanshi, how about..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Lei turned around, glanced at her, and shook his head.

Qin Yuchan didn't continue.

Li Xiuying stood there waiting for a long time, but seeing that Zhao Lei's family no longer paid any attention to her...

Li Xiuying was overwhelmed by her son's situation, and today she was determined to get a result no matter what.

So she gritted her teeth, sat down on the ground, and started throwing a tantrum, just like those shrewish women in the countryside.

She slapped her thigh and wailed, pointing at Zhao Lei and yelling, "Oh dear! You have no conscience at all! Your aunt's family is in such a terrible situation, and you won't even lend a hand! You won't even lend us a small tool! If your mother were still alive, how could you bully your uncle's family like this?"

Zhao Lei was displeased upon hearing this.

Looking coldly at Li Xiuying, who was throwing a tantrum on the ground, he said, "Li Xiuying, don't try to use your crying,闹ing, and threatening suicide tactics on me. They won't work on me."

Qin Yuchan still had some familial affection for Li Xiuying, thinking that Li Xiuying was only coming to her door for help because she had nowhere else to turn.

But seeing her acting like a shrew, with so many villagers gathered around, she completely lost her temper and pointed at Li Xiuying, cursing:

"Li Xiuying, don't try to act like an old lady! It's a favor if we lend you the things, and it's perfectly reasonable if we don't! What? Are you trying to freeload off our family?"

Li Xiuying was not about to give up, and shouted even louder, "Oh my! You heartless people! Your nephew and niece-in-law are ganging up on your aunt! Everyone come and see!"

Her shout drew a crowd of villagers and construction workers from the surrounding area.

The men were still holding trowels and shovels, craning their necks to look this way.

Zhang Sangong put his trowel down on the pile of bricks, frowned, and asked, "Hey, Lei Zi, what happened here?"

Qin Yuchan explained coldly, "What else could it be? They wanted to borrow a heavy wooden paddleboard from my house to help their son get married and make a good impression. When I refused, they started crying and making a scene. What kind of nonsense is this?"

Zhang Sanpo, who was standing nearby, immediately understood what was going on.

She had a lot of dealings with Zhao Lei's mother, Zhou Guilan, back then, and knew Zhou Minghong and his wife's character very well.

Granny Zhang stepped forward, pointed at Li Xiuying, and began to berate her: "Li Xiuying, stop crying and making a scene here! Don't you have any idea how many terrible things you and Zhou Minghong did when you were young? Now that you know Lei Zi is successful, you come here to claim kinship. Why should we lend you money?"

Among the villagers watching nearby, several older ones recognized Zhou Minghong.

Upon hearing the name, I immediately thought of that person and started cursing along with him.

"Oh, so you're Zhou Minghong's wife! Humph, Zhao Lei's mother has suffered a lot since she got a sister-in-law like you!"

"We all know about the awful things you did when you were young. You still have the nerve to come here and claim kinship? Get the hell out of here!"

"Exactly! Li Xiuying, this is our Heping Production Brigade, not your Sanhe Township! Given Zhou Minghong's character, it's already a good thing Leizi didn't settle accounts with him. You still expect him to help your family? It's laughable!"

"Borrowing things to save face and get a daughter-in-law? How could you even think of that! What, you want to lure your daughter-in-law into your house first and then see what happens? Tell us, which girl is dating your son? I'll go and break this engagement up right now!"

"That's right! We're really unlucky to have run into your family! You think you can fool us into having a daughter-in-law? Li Xiuying, you're really unscrupulous! How wicked can you be?"

People were all talking at once, and they were all speaking in Zhao Lei's favor.

Li Xiuying had originally thought that by playing the victim here, and with so many people watching, she could put some pressure on Zhao Lei through public opinion.

Unexpectedly, everyone was criticizing her, and they ended up giving her a thorough dressing-down.

She sat on the ground, her face flushing red and then turning pale.

But she still managed a few words of rebuttal: "Uncle Zhao Lei did make some mistakes when he was young, but now Zhao Lei only has this one uncle! We've seen the error of our ways and have treated their family well! No matter what, a junior shouldn't hold a grudge against an elder, right?"

Upon hearing this, Granny Zhang immediately launched into a tirade: "What utter nonsense! Can you even be considered elders? You don't act like human beings, so why should anyone respect you? Get out of here!"

A chorus of agreement immediately rose from the crowd, and they launched into another tirade against Li Xiuying.

"Get out of here! Stop embarrassing yourself!"

"Don't come again. No one will pay you any attention!"

"Zhou Minghong, with his demeanor, has the nerve to let his nephew help him? He's shameless!"

Seeing that all her plans had fallen through, Li Xiuying was starting to feel overwhelmed by the insults from so many people.

She got up from the ground, covered in dust, and patted the dust off her bottom.

She glared fiercely at Zhao Lei: "Fine, fine, Zhao Lei! You're heartless, you don't even recognize your aunt and uncle, we'll remember you!"

Zhao Lei glared at her disdainfully: "You should just leave!"

Li Xiuying could only turn and leave angrily, muttering to herself as she went, "You, Zhao Lei, have no family ties at all! You've made our family unhappy, so you won't have a good life either!"

Li Xiuying walked further and further along the ridge of the field until she could no longer be seen.

Granny Zhang walked up to Zhao Lei and sighed, "Leizi, are you really not going to acknowledge this maternal uncle anymore?"

Zhao Lei shook his head, his attitude resolute: "Why acknowledge him? He's just a parasite who sucks our blood. When my mother was still alive, our family subsidized him quite a bit. Now that he's old, seeing that our family is doing a little better, he comes back wanting to take advantage. It's better to cut ties with this kind of relative as soon as possible!"

Zhang Sangong gave a thumbs up from the side: "Well done, Leizi! You should cut ties with these kinds of treacherous relatives as soon as possible, lest they cause your family a miserable life."

Granny Zhang nodded in agreement: "That's true. If your mother hadn't been concerned about her younger brother's reputation, she would have turned against him long ago for the things he did when he was young. It's actually easier for you to stand up for yourself now."