Chapter 18: The Perfect Mother Causes a Stir in the Courtyard

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Zhou Susu looked at her, feeling the pulse pounding at her temples.

“Mom, what are you doing here?” She tried to keep her tone as calm as possible. “Also, the money is from my husband; what does that have to do with you?”

“How could it have nothing to do with me!” Wang Cuifen slammed her cane onto the ground. “I’m your mother! If your husband has money, doesn’t that mean I have money too? Isn’t it only right for you to support me?”

Her twisted logic wasn’t entirely without merit.

Beside her, Zhou Baogen chimed in: “Exactly, sis! Look at Mom’s injured foot, and you don’t even go back to see her. You just hide out in the city enjoying yourself! That’s so unfilial!”

Looking at this comical mother and son pair, Zhou Susu felt that even getting angry was a waste of effort.

She didn’t want to argue and went straight to close the door.

“You’re not welcome here. Please leave.”

“Hey! What are you doing!” Wang Cuifen was quick-handed and used her cane to block the door.

She squeezed inside, her sharp eyes greedily scanning the newly renovated room.

When she saw the smooth wooden floor, the brand-new curtains on the walls, and An’an’s corner piled high with toys, her eyes lit up.

“Well done, Zhou Susu!” she said, pointing around the room, her voice full of anger. “You spoiled brat, now that you have money, you spend it on useless things like these. You don’t even think to bring some back to support your mother or help your brother!”

“Why should I support him?” Zhou Susu sneered, glancing at Zhou Baogen, who was staring hungrily at a plate of pastries. “Is he missing an arm or a leg? He’s a grown man; can’t he earn his own living?”

“How dare you talk to your brother like that!” Wang Cuifen immediately took offense. “Your brother hasn’t found a suitable job yet! As his sister, what’s wrong with helping him a little?!”

Her voice grew more excited as she laid out her demands.

“I don’t care! Now that you have money, you have to support the family! Give me five hundred yuan first, so your brother can start a small business in the city.”

Five hundred yuan?!

She really had the nerve to ask for that!

Zhou Susu laughed bitterly with anger.

“No,” she refused outright.

“No?” Wang Cuifen’s eyes widened. “I don’t care if you have it or not! You have to give it today! If you don’t, I won’t leave!”

Not only did she refuse to leave, but she also pushed her demands further.

She pointed to the small side room that Lu Zhan used as a bedroom.

“And this house is so big; what’s wrong with your brother living in a room here? It’s good for him to see the world in the city, maybe he can find a wife later!”

This was no longer just mooching.

This was blatant squatting, treating her home like a poverty relief station!

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Zhou Susu’s patience was completely gone.

She strode to the door, flung it open, and pointed outside with a voice as cold as ice.

“Right now, immediately, get out of here!”

“You… you dare kick me out?!” Wang Cuifen didn’t expect such disrespect and trembled with anger. “I’m your own mother! You unfilial daughter! Aren’t you afraid of heaven’s retribution?”

“I don’t know if I’m afraid of retribution,” Zhou Susu said coldly, “but I do know that if you don’t leave now, my husband will be back soon. And he won’t be nearly as patient as I am.”

Mentioning Lu Zhan noticeably weakened Wang Cuifen’s resolve.

The last time, Lu Zhan’s murderous glare still made her legs feel weak just thinking about it.

But she wasn’t willing to leave just like that.

Seeing her intimidation fail, Wang Cuifen’s eyes darted around as she switched tactics instantly.

Leaning on her cane, she plopped down onto the courtyard ground.

Then she tore into her classic routine of “crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang herself.”

“Oh, no! This is so unfair! Everyone come and see!”

“My daughter has flown up to the branches and become a phoenix, and she doesn’t want me as her mother anymore!”

Her wailing was piercing and soon attracted the attention of everyone in the courtyard.

Housekeeper Li, Zhang Cuihua, and others, like cats attracted by the scent of blood, immediately gathered around, wearing expressions full of schadenfreude.

Seeing an audience, Wang Cuifen put even more effort into her performance.

She slapped her thigh, tears and snot streaming as she lamented:

“I raised her with such hard work and found her a good husband! And now? She has money and a good life, and she just throws this old woman aside!”

“I only wanted her to help support the family a bit, help her good-for-nothing brother, and she just pushes me away!”

“Why is my life so bitter! I raised such an ungrateful child! An unfilial daughter!”

“Oh, my heavens! Open your eyes and see! Send down a thunderbolt to strike this unfilial one dead!”

Wang Cuifen’s crying was practically professional.

Her voice was loud, penetrating, and filled with emotion.

It even carried a rhythmic cadence.

Her words always centered on “unfilial,” “ingrate,” and “heaven’s retribution.”

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As if afraid no one knew how “disrespectful” her daughter was.

More and more curious neighbors gathered in the yard.

Li and Zhang Cuihua led the charge in this spectacle.

The two fanned the flames with their back-and-forth.

“Oh, Sister Wang, get up, the ground is cold,” Li said hypocritically as she tried to help her up, adding, “But still, Susu really wasn’t right. After all, you are her real mother.”

“Exactly!” Zhang Cuihua chimed in loudly, as if she feared peace might break out. “Even after a daughter marries out, she can’t forget her family, right? Especially when there’s a brother at home. As an older sister, can’t she help out a little? If she doesn’t care, people will point fingers at Captain Lu, saying he married a heartless wife!”

Their pushing and pulling made it seem as if they truly cared about Zhou Susu’s well-being.

The neighbors began whispering and pointing fingers at Zhou Susu’s door.

“Look at Zhou Susu, she seems to have improved, but to be so cruel to her own mother.”

“You never really know a person’s heart; I thought she had changed.”

“Filial piety is the foundation of all virtues. What she did was really a bit too much.”

Hearing the tide of public opinion turn in her favor, Wang Cuifen cried even harder.

But inside, she was smug.

That little brat dared to defy me?

I am your own mother!

All those skills you have, I taught you!

Let’s see if you give me any money!

Inside the house.

Zhou Baogen, hearing the commotion outside, was getting restless.

“Sis, Mom is crying like that. Why don’t you just give her some money? This is getting way too ugly,” he urged.

Zhou Susu glanced coldly at him.

“You want to get kicked out too?”