Chapter 79

“WeiWei…”

Hearing Lu Baiwei’s words, Tang Yunling could no longer put on a brave front.

Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. “I’m so unwilling to accept it. I treated him so well, and yet he still had thoughts like that.”

“But these past few days, I’ve figured it out.”

“WeiWei, you’re right. If I had really married Zhao Yongsen and he got involved with some Liu Zhiqing or Li Zhiqing later on, I’d have no one to complain to. With my personality, I’d drag it out with him even if it killed me—I’d never divorce him.”

Lu Baiwei chimed in, “Exactly, that’s why stopping the loss in time is always better than suffering the full brunt later.”

“Sis, your good days are still ahead of you!”

Lu Baiwei affectionately nudged her shoulder. “My sister is the luckiest person. Without Zhao Yongsen, your future is nothing but open roads.”

“Yes, without Zhao Yongsen, it’s all open roads ahead.”

“I won’t ever let myself worry about Zhao Yongsen again. I won’t let my family—my parents, my brothers, or you, WeiWei—worry about me anymore.”

Tang Yunling’s fiery spirit returned, and she declared, “WeiWei, from this day on, I’m kicking Zhao Yongsen out of my mind. He’s no longer part of my world.”

“Now, that’s the way to go!”

Lu Baiwei gave her a big thumbs-up. “My cousin is amazing. Once we’ve stewed the rabbit meat, you and Xiao Ranzi get the first bowls as a reward.”

Having decided to banish Zhao Yongsen from her world, Tang Yunling resolved to let him completely disappear from her heart.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yongsen, who had been bailed out of the Red Flag Brigade’s office by Zhou Xiaohong, was filled with regret.

“Mom, have you paid back the 200 yuan we owe the Tang family?”

“Not yet!”

Zhou Xiaohong had pulled out all the stops, spending an entire night trying to win over Secretary Yang.

She had barely managed to stop the brigade members from sending Zhao Yongsen to the commune.

These past days, she had been living in fear, worried that her son would be charged with hooliganism—a label that would ruin his life forever.

Now, even she regretted losing Tang Yunling as her prospective daughter-in-law, gaining absolutely nothing from Liu Zhiqing in the process.

“I’ve been too busy trying to get you out of the brigade office to even think about repaying the 200 yuan we owe the Tang family.”

Its really complete a mess!

Truly, it’s a case of “the chickens have flown, and the eggs are smashed!”

Zhou Xiaohong sighed, “The people in the Tang family are ruthless. Take Lingling’s cousin, for instance. She doesn’t seem like much of a talker, but she’s the one with the sharpest ideas.”

“If she hadn’t tripped me and then poured a bucket of water all over Liu Zhiying, you and Liu would already have your marriage certificate by now.”

“With the Tang family’s temperament, they should’ve come and wrecked our house by now. But we haven’t seen a trace of them all these days. They must be planning something big.”

Zhou Xiaohong was worried. “Tang Jinghe is the team leader of Xiangyang Brigade. Do you think he went to the commune to report you?”

The thought sent Zhou Xiaohong into a panic, and Zhao Yongsen broke into a cold sweat as well.

“Mom, let’s not scare ourselves.”

Zhao Yongsen offered a suggestion: “When I was locked up in the brigade office, I overheard Secretary Yang mention that Tang Yunling’s cousin’s house is finished, and they’re hosting a housewarming banquet these days. You should go to the bank at the commune and withdraw all our savings.”

“If it’s less than 200 yuan, ask Grandpa for a little extra. Once we have enough, I’ll go to Xiangyang Brigade.”

“Also, prepare a two-yuan red envelope for the housewarming banquet.”

Tang Jinghe’s silence so far made Zhou Xiaohong certain he was planning a big move.

Having worked so hard to get her son out of the brigade office, she couldn’t afford for Tang Jinghe to report them to the police and ruin her son’s future.

At this point, money was the least of her concerns. Keeping her son safe was the priority.

Zhao Yongsen’s suggestion gave her a new perspective.

“Son, are you planning to ask Lingling for forgiveness?”

Zhou Xiaohong slapped her thigh. “Exactly! If we give this money, so be it. Knowing how much the Tang family dotes on their daughter, when Lingling marries into our family, that 200 yuan will probably come back to us as part of her dowry.”

“Wait here; Mom will go withdraw the money right now…”

Zhou Xiaohong withdrew all the family savings and convinced Zhao Yongsen’s grandfather to chip in with his funeral savings, finally scraping together the 200 yuan they owed the Tang family.

Thinking the money would eventually come back as part of Tang Yunling’s dowry, Zhou Xiaohong felt no heartache. Cheerfully, she handed the money to Zhao Yongsen, along with a generous three-yuan red envelope, and sent him off to Lu Baiwei’s house for the banquet.

While the mother and son were busy dreaming and scheming, Lu Baiwei and Tang Yunling had already started stewing the rabbit and pork they’d prepared.

The pork for the banquet was actually the result of another hunting trip by Tang Yuanliang and He Ting, who had managed to catch a big one.

A single leg of pork was enough for the banquet, and the rest…

As for the others, He Ting and Tang Yuanliang followed the old rules and took the meat to the county town, letting Shen Junqian deal with it on the black market.

The rest of the meat, as per the usual arrangement, was taken by He Ting and Tang Yuanliang to the county town, where Shen Junqian handled it discreetly on the black market.

Since their trip to the county to meet Shen Junqian, even Director Shen knew about the new house being built. Shen Junqian sent word through an intermediary that he planned to attend the housewarming banquet at Xiangyang Brigade.

Lu Baiwei had been thinking about making spicy rabbit heads for Director Shen.

After receiving a pulse diagnosis book from him, she initially hadn’t had time to study it due to the sudden arrival of Xiao Qi and Xiao Ranzi at Xiangyang Brigade, which had caught her off guard. On top of that, building the new house had kept her incredibly busy.

Only recently, when she had some downtime, did she finally open the pulse diagnosis book. That’s when she realized that Director Shen had shared a truly invaluable resource with her—a treasure passed down from his private collection.

This immense favor couldn’t be repaid with mere plates of spicy rabbit heads, but since Director Shen and Shen Junqian were coming to the banquet, the dish had to be on the menu.

The main dishes for the banquet included braised rabbit meat, red-braised pork, spicy boiled fish, and marinated pork head—four hearty dishes.

This housewarming feast was attended not only by Lu Baiwei’s uncles but also by Tang family relatives who had helped build the house and some members from the educated youth station.

Unlike previous family-only gatherings, a housewarming banquet with four main dishes was more than enough for the era. The rest were small side dishes.

The remaining offal was saved by Lu Baiwei to cook later for the family’s dinner. As for the rabbit heads from the slaughtered rabbits, they were all made into spicy rabbit heads for Director Shen to take back to the county after the meal.

Director Shen was Lu Baiwei’s mentor, and He Ting had given him and Shen Junqian the seat of honor at the table, alongside Lu Baiwei’s uncles, Secretary Liu, and Cadre Qian from the commune.

Director Shen, who had an insatiable appetite, was impressed when the four main dishes were brought to the table. Not only were the portions generous, but they also looked and smelled amazing. He felt he’d made the right choice to attend this housewarming banquet.

“Last time, Weiwei told me she was a great cook. I didn’t believe it then,” he remarked.

As He Ting invited everyone to start eating, Director Shen eagerly picked up his chopsticks. “These dishes smell so good, I can’t resist. Let’s all dig in!”

Just as Tang Jinghe and the others were helping Director Shen and Cadre Qian to some rabbit meat, an angry voice came from the doorway.

“What are you doing here?”

The source of the voice was none other than Tang Yunling, visibly upset, as she confronted Zhao Yongsen standing at the entrance to the clinic’s main room.

Tang Jinghe frowned deeply at the sight of Zhao Yongsen, placed his chopsticks down, and said to Director Shen and the others, “You go ahead and eat. I’ll check on what’s happening.”

Zhao Yongsen had deliberately chosen to show up at the housewarming banquet in Xiangyang Brigade because he believed people wouldn’t turn him away after he came bearing a red envelope and goodwill. The Tang family would find it hard to kick him out under such circumstances.