Chapter 28: Returning to Her Parental Home! Chen Dazhu's Suspicions?

Since she was going back to her parents’ home, Ma Yulian thought she couldn’t show up empty-handed. Her mind began to scheme, hoping to wring some money out of Li Junsheng. She reached out to push the door open, only to discover it had been locked from the inside! She couldn’t tell whether it was Li Junsheng’s doing or the eldest couple’s handiwork. It seemed that if she didn’t return with money today, she truly wouldn’t be allowed back in. The eldest and his wife clearly no longer trusted her as before; unless they saw cash, they wouldn’t let it go.

Ma Yulian had never been treated like this before. Anger welled up inside her, and she stormed off, cursing under her breath. “He’s Li Junsheng’s own flesh and blood, yet he’s not on my side at all! All that kindness I showed the eldest… wasted.” “Married a wife and forgot his own mother!” She thought of her daughter-in-law yanking her hair earlier and quickly smoothed her hair, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity.

With her own home shut to her, Ma Yulian decided to go to her parents’ house, hoping to scrape together a little money to pacify the eldest for now. After all, if she asked for too much, even her own family wouldn’t have it to give. It was already lucky enough that they didn’t expect her to bring money home. It was all Li Junsheng’s fault—he shouldn’t have brought up the money she’d saved, or none of this would have happened! Inwardly, Ma Yulian cursed Li Junsheng roundly.

Not far from her house, out on the main road, Ma Yulian spotted Chen Dazhu, chatting idly with someone as he straddled his big, sturdy bicycle. With Li Junsheng landing that job and their son getting into the factory, Chen Dazhu was in high spirits. Just two days ago, Chen Zhiyuan had been boasting about it everywhere. Now, every time Chen Dazhu stepped outside, people stopped him to ask if his son really had gotten a job at the big factory.

Chen Dazhu would beam and reply, “That’s right, my Zhiyuan caught the eye of the leaders—otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten into the factory.” Not a word did father and son breathe about having bought Li Junsheng’s job.

As Ma Yulian walked past, she exchanged a furtive glance with Chen Dazhu. He immediately took the hint, excused himself from his companions, and followed her into a side alley. As soon as they met, Chen Dazhu pressed her, “Yulian, what are you doing out at this hour? What’s going on with our money?”

At the mention of this, Ma Yulian’s face soured. “Don’t remind me. Li Junsheng actually wants to split up the family property with the children—he even wants to divide up the money from selling the job. I tried everything to stop him, but it’s like he’s swallowed an iron weight; his mind is set. Not only does he want to split the job money, he wants me to hand over all the savings from these years. But I don’t have any cash on hand now, so I’ve no choice but to make something up and head to my parents’ place for some money to tide things over.”

Ma Yulian poured out her troubles to Chen Dazhu like water from a tipped jar. “You don’t know how hard it’s been for me at home these days. I don’t know what’s gotten into Li Junsheng—he’s not even afraid when I threaten him with divorce anymore. Maybe he’s found another woman out there.”

Learning that Li Junsheng wanted to divide up their money among the children, Chen Dazhu was both shocked and furious. “How can that be? That money is ours—he can’t just hand it over to his kids.” Yet, he reflected, if even the threat of divorce didn’t sway Li Junsheng, something was truly amiss. In the past, just a hint of divorce from Ma Yulian would make him yield immediately. Now, he seemed indifferent. Recalling all of Li Junsheng’s recent behavior, Chen Dazhu couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath. “I knew it—something’s not right with Li Junsheng these days. He’s changed completely, doesn’t play by the old rules anymore.”

Ma Yulian’s face was full of grievance. “Exactly! Now I can’t even guess what he’s thinking. So what are we supposed to do?” She looked to Chen Dazhu for answers, but he was at a loss as well. Li Junsheng had suddenly become so unyielding that a sense of foreboding crept into Chen Dazhu’s heart. “I have a feeling we’re not getting that money back. You’d better be prepared for it.”

“How can we just let it go? That’s a thousand yuan!” Ma Yulian was frantic, nearly jumping in place, but Chen Dazhu only looked at her quietly, showing no reaction. Of course he cared about the money, but in the end, it was Ma Yulian who had failed. He had truly misplaced his trust in her. Though this was what he thought, he forced a comforting smile and said soothingly, “It’s all right—it’s just a thousand yuan.”

Ma Yulian was always taken in by this gentle act; the more considerate Chen Dazhu seemed, the more guilty she felt. At this moment, his tenderness made Li Junsheng seem all the more lacking in comparison. She grabbed Chen Dazhu’s hand and promised earnestly, “Old Chen, don’t worry, I won’t let you suffer a loss. Let’s just let it go for now, but I’ll find a way to get that thousand yuan back from Li Junsheng!” “Anyway, if he’s insisting on splitting the family, I’ll be the one calling the shots even more after it happens. It’s just…”

She hesitated, and Chen Dazhu pressed her, “Just what?” “Just that now he’s lost his job, it won’t be so easy in the future. But don’t worry, I won’t let him sit idle. While he’s still got some strength, I’ll find a way to make him earn more money for me!”

At these words, a sharp gleam flashed in Chen Dazhu’s eyes—he saw once more the value Ma Yulian held for him. With this in mind, he drew her into his arms, comforting her so thoroughly that she lost all sense of the world around her. “Don’t worry, take your time. If it really can’t be done, then just forget about the thousand yuan. No need to let Li Junsheng bully you over it. And your daughter-in-law isn’t easy to deal with either—she was ready to raise hands against you that day!”

“Right? She tore a handful of my hair out, but she didn’t come away unscathed—I scratched up her face pretty good.” Ma Yulian was rather proud of this, oblivious to the flicker of disdain in Chen Dazhu’s eyes.

“Now that Zhiyuan has a good job, women are lining up to marry him. There’s no rush for the wedding or dowry money right now. But I can’t help thinking it’s odd—Li Junsheng was so quick to sell such a good job at the factory. Makes me wonder if he’s plotting something against us.”

Ma Yulian considered this but dismissed it; she thought Chen Dazhu was overestimating Li Junsheng. “I’ve been married to him for years—I know him inside out. He’s not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. What tricks could he possibly have? If you ask me, he’s just getting muddled with age, so we got lucky with the factory job.”

Chen Dazhu thought Ma Yulian was the one lacking sense, but he still needed her to keep an eye on things for him. He still wanted that thousand yuan back, after all. So he patiently pointed out the oddities in Li Junsheng’s behavior. “Think about it—Guojun knows he willingly sold his job to us. Normally, he’d have made a huge scene with Li Junsheng, but nothing’s happened. Doesn’t that tell you Li Junsheng isn’t as simple as he seems?”