CHAPTER 408: CHAPTER 403: LEARNING THE TRUTH BEHIND THE SCAM

Fang Ping’an was puzzled when she heard this and looked at Luo Dahu and his wife, "Why did she cheat so much money all at once? One thousand yuan is not a small sum."

Luo Dahu and his wife exchanged glances and sighed.

Qiu Xiu hesitated for a long time but, thinking of Fang Pingying’s kindness to them, and the help she provided when they were home for the New Year, she couldn’t help but speak up, "I heard that Xu He and Zhiming’s marriage cost a lot of money. Excluding the purchases, just the bride price alone was five hundred yuan."

"Well then, this Zhou Yunmei is really using my elder sister’s money to subsidize those lowlifes Xu He and Luo Zhiming." Fang Xiu cursed bitterly and quickened her pace towards home, saying she was going to call Fang Pingying, "No way, I have to tell my elder sister about it."

Qiu Xiu held onto her, asking her not to be so hasty, "Xiu’er, you can talk to your elder sister about it, that’s fine. After all, it’s not easy for Pingying to earn money, plus she’s been supporting her parents alone all this time, and Zhiyong’s mother is cheating her money, I feel it’s unfair for Pingying as well."

Pausing a moment, Qiu Xiu felt a little embarrassed to say to Fang Xiu, "Xiu’er, but don’t say it was me who told you, otherwise Zhiyong’s mother might just kill me with her scolding." Fang Xiu patted Qiu Xiu’s hand, signaling her not to worry, "Auntie, rest assured, even if you didn’t tell me, there would surely be other people in the village who would, it’s just that we never knew because we’ve always been in the city."

After hearing this, Fang Ping’an felt somewhat regretful and said, "Ah, it’s also my fault. When we came back, your elder sister emphatically told me to give the money to Luo Dashan, but in a fit of anger, I ended up giving the money to Zhou Yunmei. If I had seen Luo Dashan, we would have known everything, and the money wouldn’t have been given away."

"Yeah, I reckon my elder brother still doesn’t know about the money Zhiyong cheated out of my sister-in-law," said Luo Dahu. "Just a few days ago, my elder brother mentioned that he didn’t know whether Zhiming and Xu He’s marriage would make Zhiyong come back."

"Ah, it’s also my fault," Fang Ping’an felt a twinge of heartache thinking that the one thousand yuan given by Fang Pingying might be gone just like that.

Fang Xiu didn’t know how to deal with the situation either and said to Fang Ping’an, "Forget it, let’s not talk too much for now, I’ll go back and make a call to my sister to see what she has to say."

"Alright then," Fang Ping’an nodded.

So, when they got back to the village, Fang Xiu, furious, went straight to the Village Branch Secretary’s house and made a call to Fang Pingying.

Fang Pingying was furious when she heard it over the phone but didn’t feel too surprised.

Because originally, when Li Yuchun told her about it, she had also suspected that Zhou Yunmei was cheating money.

And if one thinks a bit deeper about the reason for the cheating, it was obvious that she must have done it for Luo Zhiming.

There are only so many people in the family, Luo Honglan is in the city, Luo Cuilan is also in the city, leaving only Luo Zhiming, and the only person who could get Zhou Yunmei to ask Luo Zhiyong to cheat money was indeed just Luo Zhiming.

However, Fang Pingying hadn’t anticipated that the cheated money would end up with Xu He, since the last she heard, Luo Zhiming seemed to have fallen out with Xu He and she did not expect such a twist of fate that they were now going to get married.

In Fang Ping’s view, she felt that Xu He would not willingly marry someone like Luo Zhiming, and it turned out to be quite unexpected.

Had it been someone else, perhaps Fang Pingying would have been too lazy to bother, and would just have decided not to send money to Zhou Yunmei in the future, not even living expenses, but since it was given to Xu He, Fang Pingying couldn’t swallow this bitter pill.

But she guessed that now the money had already been given to Zhou Yunmei, it must have already ended up in Xu He’s hands, and it was unlikely that it could be taken back, yet her money was definitely not so easy to take.

Xu He wanted to have a grand wedding? No chance.

Fang Pingying thought for a moment, then said to Fang Xiu, "You first find out when Luo Zhiming and Xu He have their wedding banquet scheduled, then tell me. I’m thinking of finding time to go back and have a look."

Fang Xiu immediately said, "Okay, I’ll go and ask around."

After Fang Pingying acknowledged, she hung up the phone. Li Yuchun was right next to her, not having heard their previous conversation. Only hearing Fang Pingying mention returning home, she asked, "What’s up, you’re going home?"

Fang Pingying looked at Li Yuchun and said calmly, "Mom, you guessed right. Zhiyong’s mother is scamming money to fund Luo Zhiming and Xu He’s marriage."

"I knew it, I just knew it. That Zhiyong’s mother is no good, just your husband and you are foolish," murmured Li Yuchun. Then, feeling that complaining now was of no use, she quickly changed the subject, "So what are you going to do now, are you going to tell Zhiyong about this?"

Fang Pingying thought for a moment, her lips curling slightly with a touch of irony, "Of course, I have to tell him. I will make him come back with me to see how his mother is squandering the money she scammed from him at home."

Li Yuchun also thought this was a good idea. If he didn’t see it with his own eyes, Luo Zhiyong would always be concerned about his family.

However, Li Yuchun was puzzled, "What on earth is Zhou Yunmei planning to do with all that money? Does getting married really need that much?"

"As a bride price for Xu He’s family, to hold the wedding banquet, buy betrothal gifts," Fang Pingying said, followed by a cold laugh, "I heard just the bride price alone is five hundred yuan."

Hearing this, Li Yuchun couldn’t help but exclaim loudly, "That damned Zhou Yunmei! When the Luo brothers married you two sisters, the bride price was only tens of yuan, and she was still nitpicking, talking about what dowries were needed."

Past issues being pointless to discuss, Fang Pingying interrupted Li Yuchun, "Let’s not bring up the past. Fang Xiu and Zhiming are already divorced, there’s no point talking about it."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuchun pressed on, "Did Xiu’er and Luo Zhiming settle their affairs?"

Fang Pingying nodded, "Yes, it was done smoothly early this morning."

Li Yuchun sighed and then nodded, "Good, from now on there will be no more ties, and my Xiu’er can also live her life in peace."

Fang Pingying nodded, the only solace was this. She had been worried that once Fang Xiu returned home, she might be swayed by Luo Zhiming, reigniting their old feelings, or Fang Xiu might not accept Luo Zhiming and Xu He being together and thus refuse to divorce.

Now, a divorce was for the best. For Fang Xiu, it definitely marked the start of a new life.

It didn’t take long for Fang Xiu to get the information; Fang Pingying had only waited about half an hour before finding out that Luo Zhiming and Xu He’s marriage was set to take place in three days.

After acknowledging this, Fang Pingying hung up the phone, then sat on the sofa, thinking about how to effectively bring the matter up with Luo Zhiyong.

This man was soft-hearted and highly responsible, always wanting to shoulder all the family matters. Even though he repeatedly said he wouldn’t care about family affairs anymore, he couldn’t help but get involved as soon as issues arose.

If he knew about this situation now, he might just throw a tantrum here. But once back home, seeing the joyful atmosphere and being persuaded by Zhou Yunmei, he would soften and feel that it wasn’t right to cause a scene during a happy occasion.

Hence, Fang Pingying felt it would be better to have him go back and then let him see with his own eyes how Zhou Yunmei was extravagantly squandering the money she had scammed from him to help Luo Zhiming. It was better to let him have his outburst on the spot. (To be continued. If you like this story, please visit Qidian to cast your recommendation vote and monthly ticket. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)