Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Conditions
"Whether it works or not isn’t your call. If you’re really not going to agree, then I have no choice but to call my parents to come get me in person," Ye Rong said coldly.
"Rongrong, please don’t be like this. Just wait a little longer. Wait and see how I handle things, okay?" Gu Lihuang was terrified. If his father-in-law and mother-in-law really came in person to take her, he wouldn’t dare refuse. ’Forcing Ye Rong to stay and preventing her from contacting her family isn’t realistic anyway,’ he thought. ’She calls them at least once a week. If they can’t get ahold of her, I have no doubt they’ll show up at our door.’
’During those years living with the Yue Family, it’s not like I was blind. I saw how much my in-laws doted on their daughter. I even benefited from it for a few years, loved by association.’
"...That’s not out of the question, but I have three conditions." Ye Rong thought for a moment before finally relenting.
"Name them," Gu Lihuang said, his face lighting up with joy.
"First, I don’t plan on going out to work. Our son is still little, and I need to look after him. You’re the man; providing for the family is your responsibility. If one of us has to work, it’s you. You need to find a job quickly. I don’t care how you give your mom money, but at least half of the salary you earn must be turned over to me. If you have any other income, you’re not allowed to hide it from me—that has to come to me as well. Second, as I said, our son is still little, and he already has quite a temper. For his own good, I need to start disciplining him. So from now on, no one is to interfere with how I raise our child. When it comes to him, I have the final say. Third... I’ll tell you the third condition when I think of it." Ye Rong stared intently at Gu Lihuang. "As long as you agree to these conditions and can guarantee your mother and sister won’t come looking for trouble, I’ll agree to stay."
"Okay, I promise." Gu Lihuang nodded eagerly. To him, these so-called conditions were nothing. He used to hand over even more of his salary and side income; being allowed to keep a quarter would have been a miracle. Getting to keep half was a delightful surprise.
Gu Lihuang conveniently ignored the portion he was supposed to give to Chen Suxiang.
’Mom has more than one son. Give her money? I’d rather not. Even if I give her some, who knows if my older brother is giving her anything on the side. It’s no secret Mom dotes on her eldest. Am I supposed to use my hard-earned money to support my big brother’s family? Hmph. Even if my brother pays, I can’t. He has two kids, and I only have one. No matter how you slice it, I’m the one getting the short end of the stick. I’m not about to make a losing deal.’
The thought flashed through his mind. As if afraid Ye Rong would go back on her word, he quickly put on his shoes and headed out. "I’ll go talk to my mom right now. I’ll make sure they don’t give you a hard time."
Watching Gu Lihuang hurry out, thoughtfully closing the door behind him, Ye Rong sank onto the wooden bed, lost in a daze.
’In reality, I’m not short on money. I’m my parents’ only child. Besides my usual savings, just before I came here, Mom gave me three thousand yuan because she was worried I wouldn’t have enough to spend. Not even Gu Lihuang knows about it. So, cash isn’t an issue. At first, since my mother-in-law seemed polite enough, I was even considering giving her some money for groceries to get on her good side.’
’I’m so glad I haven’t taken that money out yet. If I had... hah. I’m afraid it would have been a bottomless pit. Not only that, I’d end up just like my sister-in-law, having to give away my own money while being treated like a pushover. My mother-in-law’s torment would have become something I was expected to endure.’
She took a deep breath, wondering if she had made a mistake by deciding to stay.
Gu Lihuang had almost reached the door to the main hall when he suddenly remembered he hadn’t asked Ye Rong if the people from the Zhang family had left. He paused and hesitated for a moment before mustering his courage and carefully peeking inside.
"What are you doing, skulking about?" Gu Wu strode out, his expression stern.
"Dad," Gu Lihuang called out with a grin. ’Unlike my two older siblings, I’m not that scared of Dad,’ he thought. ’He has a short fuse, but he doesn’t just hit people for no reason. I figured it out when I was a kid. As long as you don’t provoke him, try to stay on his good side, and lie low when he’s angry, you’ll be fine.’ "They’re gone?"
"Gone."
Gu Wu shot his youngest son a sidelong glance. ’He’s supposed to be the cleverest of my three children, but it’s a pity he picked up all his mother’s bad habits growing up.’ His eyes darkened, and his mood soured.
"Good, that’s good they’re gone. You’re still the master, Dad. You sent them packing just like that, no fuss at all. You have no idea about my eldest brother’s brother-in-law..." Gu Lihuang rubbed his neck, his expression shifting as he trailed off.
"You brought it on yourselves," Gu Wu said unsympathetically, glancing at the finger marks still visible on his son’s neck.
He wasn’t wrong.
Gu Lihuang pursed his lips. "I was just collateral damage. Taking the blame for someone else."
"Your father-in-law may not have any sons, but your wife has plenty of cousins on both sides of her family," Gu Wu said pointedly. He felt it was necessary to give his youngest son, who was often too clever for his own good, a reality check.
"..."
Gu Lihuang was rendered speechless. Now that his dad mentioned it, he realized he’d completely forgotten. While cousins weren’t as close as one’s own brothers, they could be just as reliable in a pinch. Plus, his in-laws were incredibly generous to their relatives on both sides of the family. They weren’t the least bit stingy about maintaining those relationships and visited them often. Among Ye Rong’s paternal and maternal uncles and aunts, there were more than a few influential people...
Sweat beaded on his forehead. ’Forget about now. Even in the future, after Ye Rong’s parents are gone, with relatives like that, I’ll never have the leverage to bully her.’
Gu Wu glanced at his youngest son’s shifting expression, then clasped his hands behind his back and walked straight back into the main hall.
’I’ve always believed you can’t help someone who won’t help themselves. No amount of talking will do any good. Just look at my eldest son and my daughter—dull-witted and unreasonable, just like their mother. You can’t talk sense into them. Every generation has to make its own way. I’ve said all I can to my youngest son. Whether he understands or not is up to him now.’
Gu Lihuang stood rooted to the spot for a long moment before collecting himself and heading toward the kitchen.
"...The thing I like most about my second daughter-in-law is that she has no siblings. Her father is a capable man, too. In the future, everything they own will belong to our second son, won’t it? And what belongs to our second son naturally belongs to our Gu Family. But what I hate is that her family has no idea how to be frugal. They’re always squandering what’s essentially our family’s wealth."
Chen Suxiang spoke through gritted teeth. She only knew how much her second son’s in-laws and wife spent because her daughter had told her. Every time she heard about it, a ball of fury would build inside her. "Back when my second son and his wife were in the city, I couldn’t manage them. But now, I can’t let her be such a spendthrift. I’d better have her go back and tell her parents they’re old, with one foot in the grave. They shouldn’t be so selfish; they need to think more about their children and grandchildren."
"Exactly, Mom! With your skills, taming a daughter-in-law is a piece of cake for you," Gu Jinhua said, deeply agreeing with her mother and seizing the chance to kiss up to her.
"Heh heh. A woman’s husband is her whole world. If she doesn’t listen, a few smacks will make her obedient. Your two younger brothers are both softhearted fools, not like your father, who could never bring himself to hit his wife. That’s no way to be! My eldest must be regretting it now. If he’d just beaten that bitch into submission years ago..."
Standing at the kitchen door, the more Gu Lihuang listened, the more wrong it all sounded. His expression grew strange. ’Shouldn’t my things be... my own? On what grounds does what’s mine automatically belong to the Gu Family?’
He clenched his fists. With no desire to listen to his mother’s tired old lecture, he pushed the door open and walked in.
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