Wang Chunhua glanced at her husband before declaring firmly, “If he wants to sever ties, fine—but he has to give us money! We didn’t raise him for nothing! If he refuses, I’ll report him to the military—let’s see if he can stay in the army then!”  

As she spoke, Lin Fugui didn’t object. He knew there was no room for negotiation. If they couldn’t keep the relationship, they might as well get some compensation—after all, their third son needed a dowry for his upcoming marriage.  

Hu Haizhi asked how much they wanted. Wang Chunhua held out her hand. “At least five hundred!”  

“Five hundred?!” Hu Haizhi’s eyes widened. “Are you trying to rob him?”  

But Wang Chunhua didn’t think it was too much. “Raising him wasn’t easy—how is five hundred excessive? If Dazhu won’t agree, then he has to support us in our old age—send us living expenses every month!”  

All she cared about was the money. Whether Lin Dazhu called her “Mom” or not didn’t matter—she had her own biological sons.  

Hu Haizhi was stumped and turned to Lin Zhengrong. “What do you say?”  

“I don’t have the money, and even if I did, I shouldn’t give it.” Lin Zhengrong’s heart was completely hardened. “Ever since I was old enough to understand, I did the most work in this family, and the food I earned had to be given to Erzhu and the others first. You say Beibei and Nannan went hungry—but did I ever get to eat my fill in the Lin family?”  

No, he hadn’t. That was why he had sent money to Jiang Qiuyue—he just never expected she would give it all to his adoptive parents. Thankfully, she had come to her senses in time. Otherwise, he dreaded to think how much longer Beibei and Nannan would have suffered.  

Wang Chunhua argued, “Wasn’t that how things were back then? The older ones yield to the younger—which family could afford to eat their fill every day?”

Lin Zhengrong let out a cold laugh, sending chills down the spines of Lin Erzhu and his siblings.  

“If you want to go to the military and make a scene, go ahead. You bought me from child traffickers. I don’t mind letting the army know about this—buying and selling children is a crime punishable by execution.” Lin Zhengrong’s expression turned fierce. “I can live without being a soldier, but do you want to die?”  

At the word “execution,” Wang Chunhua panicked instantly, turning to her husband. “Fugui, what do we do?”  

Lin Fugui’s heart was also racing. “Why must you take things this far? We raised you—is this how you repay us?”  

“I never begged you to buy me.” Lin Zhengrong’s voice hardened. “You took things too far. When I was a child, I wondered why you made me sleep in the woodshed and never let me eat my fill. Now I understand—in your eyes, I was just like Beibei and Nannan: a little bastard.”  

With things laid bare like this, the atmosphere turned ugly.  

The other elders of the Lin family knew Lin Fugui and his wife were in the wrong. They had no intention of antagonizing Lin Zhengrong—after all, he was now an officer in the military. They might need his help someday.  

Lin Jiawang sighed. “Fugui, just agree to it. You’re the ones at fault here—you can’t blame Dazhu for being ruthless.”  

The others nodded in agreement. Even Lin Fugui’s uncle chimed in, “There’s no point arguing anymore. How can you shamelessly demand five hundred from Dazhu? I’d be too embarrassed to even listen to such a thing. If word gets out, our whole Lin family will be shamed. How could you still show your face in the village?”  

“Dazhu hasn’t even lost his temper and hit anyone—that’s already more than generous. Just accept it.”  

“That’s right, Uncle. If you keep making trouble, don’t expect us to associate with you anymore. We won’t stand for this disgrace!”  

…  

Faced with the overwhelming criticism, Lin Fugui’s back slowly hunched under the weight of shame. But Lin Sanzhu refused to back down. “Big Brother can’t just cut ties like this! If not five hundred, then at least three hundred!”  

“Shut your mouth!” Lin Jiawang punched him without hesitation. “All you care about is money—is your family starving? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re scheming. That Zhang girl is already engaged, and you still want to squeeze dowry money out of Dazhu?”  

Lin Sanzhu, caught red-handed, didn’t deny it. “So what if I do? Is it wrong to like Xiaomin? She was forced into that engagement! As my big brother, shouldn’t he help me?”  

“How can you be so shameless?” Lin Jiawang couldn’t bear to look at him—it was too humiliating.  

“Why shouldn’t I be?” Lin Sanzhu, now desperate, knew this might be his only chance. “I’m fighting for my own happiness—what’s wrong with that?”  

“Big Brother, I never bullied Sister-in-law. You can’t just let me stay a bachelor forever, can you?”  

“Lin Sanzhu, whether you did or not, you know the truth.” Lin Zhengrong wasn’t fooled. “Even if you didn’t, did you ever speak up for Qiuyue when others mistreated her?”  

Of course, he hadn’t.  

Exposed in front of everyone, Lin Sanzhu fell silent.  

Lin Zhengrong found pen and paper, wrote out two copies of the severance agreement, signed his name, and pressed his thumbprint onto them.  

Lin Zhengrong: “Enough talk. Sign it. If you refuse, I’ll go straight to the police station in town.”

Wang Chunhua was truly afraid of death—her legs trembled uncontrollably. Lin Fugui cursed loudly, saying Lin Zhengrong would face retribution.  

But Lin Zhengrong remained unmoved, staring fixedly at Lin Fugui, waiting for him to sign.  

“Fine, Lin Dazhu, you really are a bastard that no one wanted! I’ll be watching you—you’d better hope you never fall on hard times!” Lin Fugui angrily signed the document, while Wang Chunhua pressed her thumbprint onto it.  

Hu Haizhi and the other witnesses also signed. With the matter settled, Lin Zhengrong took his copy of the severance document and walked out without the slightest hesitation.  

At the entrance of the Lin family home, Lin Zhengrong thanked Hu Haizhi and the others, “Uncles, I appreciate your help today. Even though I’ve severed ties with the Lin family, you all are still my elders. Things happened suddenly today, so I’ll visit another time with gifts to express my gratitude.”  

Originally, Lin Jiawang and the others had been regretful about losing such a promising relative like Lin Zhengrong. But hearing that he was still willing to maintain ties with them, they all smiled.  

“Dazhu, you really know how to show respect. This was the least we could do,” Lin Jiawang said, completely ignoring Lin Fugui’s cursing in the yard. Compared to his money-grubbing cousin’s family, Lin Zhengrong—a soldier—was a far more valuable relative!  

After seeing off the Lin family, Hu Haizhi patted Lin Zhengrong’s shoulder. “You’ve really got guts. Most people wouldn’t have been so decisive. But I’m curious—if your father had stubbornly refused, would you really have gone to the police?”  

“If I said it, I was absolutely certain. After living with them for so many years, I know exactly what kind of people they are,” Lin Zhengrong replied without directly answering.  

Hu Haizhi tactfully didn’t press further. “Alright, I won’t say more. You haven’t been back in so long—go get some rest. When you’re free, I’ll invite you for a meal.”  

Lin Zhengrong smiled and agreed. Only after Hu Haizhi had walked away did he head home.  

But as soon as he entered the courtyard, he heard a man’s voice and couldn’t help but frown.  

Jiang Zeyu was examining Lin Beibei’s wound. “Good, Qiuyue, you’ve taken great care of her. Beibei’s wound isn’t inflamed.”  

He crouched in front of Lin Beibei, looking up at Jiang Qiuyue with a warm smile.  

“Thank you, Dr. Jiang. I’m sorry to trouble you to come all this way,” Jiang Qiuyue said, pouring tea for Jiang Zeyu, still unaware of Lin Zhengrong standing at the gate.  

Jiang Zeyu took the teacup and drank it all in one go. “I was passing by anyway, so I thought I’d check in. Since Beibei is fine, I’ll head out now. If anything comes up, you can always come to the clinic to find me. And you should take care of yourself too—even though the wound on your head has healed, you still need to rest.”  

Jiang Zeyu waved at Lin Beibei, and as he turned, he finally noticed the tall figure of Lin Zhengrong at the gate.  

Jiang Qiuyue followed his gaze and smiled in introduction. “Dazhu, you’re back. This is Dr. Jiang. You probably haven’t met—he’s an educated youth from the city and now works at the village clinic.”  

Jiang Zeyu hadn’t yet arrived in Taohua Village when Lin Zhengrong left for the military, so this was their first meeting.  

Lin Zhengrong walked over to Jiang Qiuyue’s side, their shadows merging as he studied Jiang Zeyu with a measured look. “Hello, Dr. Jiang.”  

“Hello, hello! So you’re Qiuyue’s husband,” Jiang Zeyu said. His appearance was completely different from Lin Zhengrong’s—he wore glasses, had a scholarly demeanor, and much fairer skin. “Ever since I arrived in Taohua Village, I’ve heard about how impressive you are. It’s an honor to meet you.”

He extended his hand, and after a brief pause, Lin Zhengrong gave it a light, fleeting shake.  

Jiang Qiuyue offered to walk Jiang Zeyu out, and Lin Zhengrong followed along. When Jiang Qiuyue turned to come back inside, she accidentally bumped into Lin Zhengrong’s chest.  

Tsk.

His muscles were so hard!  

Even through his clothes, she could feel the scorching heat radiating from his body.  

Jiang Qiuyue’s face slowly warmed, and she couldn’t help but think—with a physique this good, if I could just give it a squeeze, the texture must be amazing.

The only question was, would Lin Zhengrong be that generous?