CHAPTER 416: CHAPTER 411: IRREPARABLE

Zhou Yunmei was left alone in the courtyard, her face looking extremely unsightly.

Luo Dashan said to invite Luo Zhiyong and his wife over, but in reality, it was to have her apologize to Fang Pingying and Luo Zhiyong. If those two didn’t forgive her, then she shouldn’t think about returning home.

Apologizing to Luo Zhiyong was not a big deal for Zhou Yunmei, after all, he is her son, and bowing her head to him didn’t seem like such a big thing.

But Fang Pingying was her daughter-in-law. How could she, as a mother-in-law, bow in front of her daughter-in-law? Wouldn’t she lose face for the rest of her life?

However, Luo Dashan had already spoken, and it seemed like there was no turning back.

Zhou Yunmei sat in the courtyard for a while, dragging her feet and not wanting to go.

Later, seeing that the fellow villagers were arriving one after another, she wanted to go and greet the guests, but Luo Dashan stopped her. He repeated what he said before: to call Luo Zhiyong and Fang Pingying back, or else there would be no feast today.

Luo Zhiming originally didn’t care whether Luo Zhiyong returned for the banquet or not. With the two brothers at such odds, no matter who was right or wrong, their relationship had already been fractured, making it difficult to repair.

But upon hearing what Luo Dashan said, Luo Zhiming also had no choice but to ask Zhou Yunmei to call back Luo Zhiyong and his wife.

Zhou Yunmei really had no other options. Her husband usually didn’t speak much, but once he did, he was stubborn, and his mind could not be changed.

After thinking it over, she decided that she still had to lower her head. Zhou Yunmei could only drag her feet towards the Fang Family’s home, and to have someone to help mediate, she brought Luo Honglan along.

At that time at the Fang Family’s house, Fang Pingying and Fang Xiu were discussing whether to sell the unused dowry to the county, even if at a loss, it could still fetch around US$ 200.

Fang Ping’an was unaware of the details and felt that the situation had blown up rather big. He came over and whispered to Fang Pingying, "Pingying, after our commotion today, will Zhiyong have a hard time in the future?"

"Dad, there are some things you don’t know about, don’t meddle," Fang Pingying finished speaking, then thought of Luo Zhiyong, who had stayed in after returning from the Luo Family and must not be feeling very well.

She went to the room where she used to live, pushed open the door, and saw Luo Zhiyong sitting on the kang, smoking.

Since Fang Pingying became pregnant, Luo Zhiyong had hardly smoked. Now that he was smoking again, it was clear that he was still concerned about today’s events.

In the end, they were all common people. Having lived with their family for so many years, it was impossible not to have any feelings. Perhaps in the heat of an argument, they could say the nastiest things, but later, these issues would still occupy their minds.

But Fang Pingying felt that although they might seem excessively harsh on the surface, if one really looked into it, she was not wrong.

She did not ask Luo Zhiyong why he was feeling upset, but simply asked, "Zhiyong, when do we go back to the city?"

Luo Zhiyong put out the cigarette when she came in and said softly, "It depends on how things are settled here with Dad. When it’s done, we’ll go back together."

Fang Pingying nodded, and then tentatively asked, "Regarding our family’s situation, what are your plans?"

"Let’s just leave it at that. Tonight, I will go back and check on Dad. In the future, unless necessary, we won’t come back," Luo Zhiyong sighed, then continued, "As for the money lost, don’t send money home this year. Next year, when you send living expenses, give them less. It’s enough to cover their food and housing. Anyway, if we give more, it will be wasted by Luo Zhiming."

"Zhiyong, you should know, I’ve never cared much about money," Fang Pingying heard him and thought he was blaming himself for what happened today, looking at him with some displeasure, "If Luo Zhiming hadn’t done those excessive things to me and the child, if he hadn’t married Xu He, if your mother hadn’t lied to us about the money, I wouldn’t have made such a big scene, wouldn’t have insisted on embarrassing the Luo Family in front of the entire village."

Luo Zhiyong looked at Fang Pingying, called her over to his side, held her hand, and gave a faint smile, "I understand, I don’t blame you, and I’m not feeling guilty about today’s events."

Fang Pingying wasn’t quite convinced, looking at him, "Don’t you feel uneasy?"

"I don’t feel it towards my mother and Luo Zhiming," said Luo Zhiyong after pausing for a while and then sighed, "It’s just that I feel somewhat sorry for my dad. He knew nothing about this. If in the future we neglect him too, I would feel somewhat distressed."

"Alright," Fang Pingying responded softly, unsure of what more to say.

A couple is a single entity. Zhou Yunmei and Luo Dashan are a pair, and if Zhou Yunmei is not good, no matter how good Luo Dashan is, she couldn’t just show filial piety solely towards Luo Dashan.

If anyone is to blame, it’s Luo Dashan’s constant indulgence of Zhou Yunmei that has brought their household to such a tumultuous state.

The couple sat in the room for a while, and finally, Luo Zhiyong let out a long sigh. He stood up, wrapped his arm around Fang Pingying, and comforted her, "Forget it, don’t think about it too much. Actually, if it comes to it, Dad’s life isn’t too hard. We give them living expenses every month on time, and they can still earn their keep. Otherwise, how could they possibly bring out so much money for Zhiming’s wedding this time?"

Fang Pingying then remembered about this matter. Seeing the dowry that Xu He wore, she estimated that Zhou Yunmei must have spent at least several hundred yuan.

This indicated that their lives at home were actually quite comfortable, and they usually just cried poor.

Take Luo Dashan, while not as troublesome as Zhou Yunmei, he did indeed favor Luo Zhiming somewhat more in his heart.

Otherwise, why was it that when they got married, Zhou Yunmei didn’t spend any money, and Luo Dashan said nothing, yet when it came time for Luo Zhiming’s wedding, Luo Dashan did not hesitate at all.

Fang Pingying knew that some of the money they had saved up was from after she married into the family, but at least half was from before.

Of course, she didn’t blame Luo Dashan for the past, but it at least proved that their life was comfortable, and even without their money, they could still live.

Moreover, they weren’t that old now, just in their early fifties, and they really weren’t at the point of needing their children to take care of them, indeed no need to worry too much.

Fang Pingying thought about it for a moment, nodded her head, but didn’t say much.

Afterward, she and Luo Zhiyong discussed selling the dowry.

Fang Pingying’s view was that if the loss was too great, they wouldn’t sell it. They could keep it and use it at home, or perhaps when Luo Honglan got married, they could take these items to the city as her dowry.

Luo Honglan and Chen Jie’s relationship was quite stable, and Luo Honglan’s marriage was a matter of the next year or two. When that time came, as the elder brother and sister-in-law, they would need to provide a dowry, so giving these items to Luo Honglan was indeed a good idea, just unsure whether Luo Honglan would mind.

Luo Zhiyong typically didn’t involve himself in these trivial matters of the home, so whatever Fang Pingying suggested, he would follow.