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"Zhiguo, you’re not a young man anymore. You should think more carefully about the consequences of your actions. Uncle is old now and can only help you this one last ti. Any more than that, and Uncle will have to beg forgiveness from your father down in the grave."
Zhang Hongqiang clasped his rough, calloused hands into a fist and heavily pounded on Zhang Zhiguo’s back. How could he be entirely indifferent towards the only son left behind by his elder brother?
But the disappointnts had been too many, and he had beco numb. His nephew, Zhang Zhiguo, was simply useless!
"Thank you, thank you, Uncle!" Zhang Zhiguo wiped away his tears and snot with a look of surprise, kowtowing fiercely three tis on the muddy ground.
"Zhiguo, don’t thank too soon. This is the last ti I will help you, and from now on, you must listen to your cousin Zhiming. No more foolishness!"
"Yes, yes, Uncle, I will listen to Zhiming from now on, I won’t behave recklessly anymore." Zhang Zhiguo, smacked hard on the face by his own son, finally realized the truth: his son, Zhang Dongliang, was utterly unreliable!
At the end of the day, the real filial respect ca from his youngest daughter, Zhang Shanni, yet she was ruthlessly sold off by Lin Zhaodi and her son, cutting ties with the family!
Thinking of the deed he had signed two days ago, Zhang Zhiguo truly began to feel regret!
However, at this stage, his regret couldn’t change anything. Zhang Zhiguo silently hung his head, secretly cursing:
It’s all Lin Zhaodi’s doing! After reflecting on his own mistakes, for the first ti, he also soberly realized his wife was exactly as his aunt had described—a troublemaker and ho-wrecker!
"I hope you can truly do as you said, don’t disappoint your uncle again." Zhou Dahua looked coldly at Zhang Zhiguo and then told Lin Jianmin, ’Wait a bit, I will go ho to get the money,’ before leaving with her daughter-in-law’s support.
When Lin Zhaodi heard that Zhang Hongqiang was willing to help, she was overjoyed, completely unaware that after Zhiguo finished kowtowing, he purposely looked back at her and her son for an instant, then quickly turned his head away with a face full of disappointnt.
Zhang Yunni and Zhang Baonni, hearing that their great uncle was willing to help their family, felt relieved and exchanged glances with shy smiles, completely missing the profound look from their father, as they stood happily behind Lin Zhaodi.
In the end, it was Zhiming who helped Zhiguo to stand up. Before standing, Zhiguo kowtowed six more tis to his uncle. During this, Lin Zhaodi and her daughters simply stood by and watched.
Zhang Zhiguo wiped away the newly ford tears in his eyes and silently stood up. At that mont, he recalled the harsh words his aunt had hurled at Lin Zhaodi and her daughters in the past — truly heartless and ungrateful!
Also, he rembered his dying mother holding his hand and nagging him not to listen to everything his wife said. Whether he could end his life well would not depend on his son but on whether his youngest daughter had a conscience...
"Uncle, I was wrong." Zhang Zhiguo muttered in a hoarse voice, his ntality finally ’growing up’ at over forty years of age, no longer like the naive young man of the day before—who only cared about his own happiness, neglecting his family, living only in his own fantasy world.
The departure of Zhou Dahua had left the Zhang Family Mansion under the blazing sun eerily quiet. Zhang Zhiguo’s words made the onlooking crowd stare at him in surprise and honesty.
Is it going to rain red soon?
A person who has always been self-centered and selfish actually apologized so sincerely.
"Knowing your wrong and correcting it is the greatest virtue. Realizing your mistake ans you have finally grown up. Your dad, if he knew in the afterlife, would be smiling," Zhang Hongqiang said to his nephew, who hung his head in sorrow, with a look of relief.
"Money is nothing but an external possession, it’s gone when it’s spent. Zhiguo, you must understand that for a family to continue, those in charge must have a scale in their hearts—justice, virtue, and sincerity are the ways to manage a household."
No matter if his nephew truly ca to a realization or was just temporarily placating him, Zhang Hongqiang still needed to display this stance.
Unusually, even the rough n from Old Lin Village brought by Lin Aiguo, upon hearing Zhang Hongqiang’s words, all hung their heads in ashad guilt, standing obediently without any further skew or slant.
Zhang Zhiguo, looking at his kind-hearted uncle, suddenly felt a twinge of pain in his heart, his eyes uncontrollably welling up with tears, "Uncle... it’s my fault for being unfilial, making you worry about at your old age."
"Silly boy, no matter how old you grow, you are still my direct nephew, the only child of my elder brother!" Zhang Hongqiang’s eyes beca misty, he gently patted his shoulder and said emotionally.
Zhang Zhiming, standing beside them, seeing his father’s joyful eyes, heartily agreed and patted his cousin’s arm half encouragingly and half threateningly, "Brother Zhiguo, it’s priceless for a prodigal son to return. It’s never too late if you change for the better! But don’t just say it, and upset our dad again, then I will not let you off lightly!"
"Zhiming, I will definitely make a fresh start and live my life properly."
Zhang Zhiguo shivered at the thought of the well-known fate of the destitute elders in the brigade; now with an unreliable son, a mindless wife, and selfish daughters, he was already in his forties— if he didn’t stand up now, he could only wait to be worn down by his son! Thus, taking his cousin’s words to heart, he solemnly promised.
Lin Aiguo’s eyes flickering and his complexion dimd, he held back again and again, then anxiously paced a few steps, looking at the Zhang family elders who had reconciled, feeling very disdainful. Yet, Zhang Hongqiang still held a lot of respect in Shanglin Village as well as in the Qingshan Team, so he really didn’t dare to be too presumptuous in front of this old man.
From far, hearing the approaching footsteps and seeing Zhou Dahua reappear, the most nervous was Lin Aiguo.
When Zhou Dahua handed a wad of cash the size of a small fist to her son, everyone clearly heard Lin Aiguo’s agitated heavy breathing.
The remaining matters were handled by Zhang Zhiming and Lin Jianmin, who based on the facts at hand wrote down all the details, had Zhang Zhiguo and Lin Aiguo press their fingerprints, signifying the end of the relationship-change between the Zhang and Lin families when the money was handed over to Lin Aiguo.
It also clarified that Zhang Dongliang had indeed married Lin Aii—had the pair who eloped with a large sum of money returned to the village, it would have stirred up who knows what turbulence in both families.
Opposite to Lin Zhaodi and Zhang Dongliang’s mother-son pair, when Zhang Zhiguo proposed that Lin Aii also sever ties with Lin Aiguo, Lin Aiguo imdiately opposed, saying if Lin Aii really wanted to break off relations, then produce another five hundred!
Indeed, in Lin Aiguo’s heart, Lin Aii was his cash cow. Although Lin Aii was not present, it didn’t an she would never return to the Qingshan Team! For him to cut ties with his cash cow was unthinkable—his brain wasn’t broken, how could he take action that would cut off his financial ans!
When Lin Jianguo and Lin Aiguo left with the strong n of Old Lin Village, Zhang Zhiguo, who had been tense all along, finally relaxed. With a pale face, he glanced at Lin Zhaodi, waved his hand, and told the Zhang sisters to each return to their husbands and not to co back to their maternal ho for a while.
The shrewd Zhang Yunni and Zhang Baonni also knew that in the short term, their maternal ho wouldn’t allow them any benefits, so they obediently left.
As the sky darkened, Zhang Hongqiang and Zhou Dahua looked at each other, both sighed deeply: it seed they wouldn’t be able to attend Zhang Shanni’s wedding banquet, they could only wait so days later for their son to fetch San Ni ho for a visit.
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