Chapter 19: Not a Single Penny? No Way!

Zhou Baogen shuddered under her gaze and immediately shut his mouth.

Zhou Susu took a deep breath and straightened her clothes.

Then, she opened the door.

She did not come out in a panic to explain, nor did she storm out angrily to argue, as Wang Cuifen had expected.

She was calm.

She stood quietly at the doorway, watching Wang Cuifen throwing a tantrum and rolling on the ground, watching Sister Li and Zhang Cuihua fanning the flames beside her, watching the neighbors pointing and whispering around them.

Her gaze swept across every face present.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines, and the murmurs gradually quieted.

Wang Cuifen’s crying stopped the moment she saw Susu come out, then her voice rose an octave.

“You unfilial daughter! You finally dare to come out! If you don’t give me an explanation today, I’ll stay at your door forever!”

“An explanation?”

Zhou Susu smiled, but the warmth never reached her eyes.

“What kind of explanation do you want?”

“Money! Let your brother move in to live here!” Wang Cuifen shouted righteously.

“Oh.”

Zhou Susu nodded slightly.

Then, in front of everyone, she slowly took out a neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket.

It was the “Cooperation Agreement” she had signed with Lu Zhan.

Everyone was stunned.

What was this for?

Had she given up the fight and was about to read a confession?

Zhou Susu ignored their gazes. She unfolded the paper, cleared her throat, and in a measured tone as if reading an important official document, began loudly:

“Cooperation Agreement!”

“Party A: Lu Zhan. Party B: Zhou Susu.”

“After friendly consultation between both parties regarding the joint upbringing of Comrade Lu An’an, the following agreement has been reached...”

She skipped over the earlier clauses and went straight to the most crucial part.

Her voice suddenly rose, ensuring everyone present could hear clearly.

“Article One: Financial Management Rights!”

“From the date of signing this agreement, all wages, allowances, subsidies, and any additional income earned by Party A, Lu Zhan, must be handed over in full to Party B, Zhou Susu, on the day of issuance, to be centrally managed and allocated for household expenses!”

She paused, glanced at the sudden gleam in Wang Cuifen’s eyes, and a slight curve appeared at the corner of her mouth.

She continued reading:

“Key point! All expenses must prioritize the food, shelter, health, education, and all other necessities for the growth of Comrade Lu An’an!”

“Every expenditure must be recorded for Party A to review at any time!”

Wang Cuifen’s smile froze.

The neighbors wore expressions of surprise.

They hadn’t expected Captain Lu’s family finances to be so strictly controlled.

But it wasn’t over.

Zhou Susu cleared her throat and read the clause specially tailored for people like Wang Cuifen.

“Supplementary Clause Three: To protect the legitimate rights of Comrade Lu An’an, Party B, Zhou Susu, solemnly promises never to use a single penny or grain of rice from the Lu family privately to support her natal family!”

“If this is violated...”

She deliberately paused and looked at Wang Cuifen.

“If violated, Party B, Zhou Susu, voluntarily forfeits all property and will leave the household completely penniless!”

She emphasized the phrase “leave the household penniless” with heavy weight.

The neighbors listened silently.

Everyone was shocked by this “bizarre” agreement.

Could it really be done this way?

Wang Cuifen was utterly dumbfounded.

Her mouth hung open as she sat on the ground, forgetting to cry, slowly coming out of her stupor.

Leave penniless?

Didn’t that mean if Susu dared to give her a single penny, she would be kicked out by Lu Zhan?

Then what was she hoping for?

Hadn’t she worked so hard to marry in just for the money?

After finishing reading, Zhou Susu carefully folded the agreement and put it back in her pocket.

She walked over to Wang Cuifen, slowly squatted down to meet her eyes.

There was even a trace of “concern” and “filial piety” on her face.

“Mom,” her voice was so gentle it seemed to drip with water, “do you understand now?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to give you the money.”

“It’s that I can’t, I dare not.”

She sighed, wearing an expression of “dilemma.”

“Lu Zhan said this money was left by his comrade for his daughter. No one else can touch it. If I dare to have any ill intentions, he will kick me out, and I won’t see An’an for the rest of my life.”

She even exaggeratedly wiped away imaginary tears.

“Mom, tell me, if I gave you this money, what would become of me for the rest of my life?”

“You wouldn’t just watch your own daughter end up on the streets, would you?”

“Do you want me to be swept out by Lu Zhan?”

This string of rhetorical questions left Wang Cuifen utterly confused.

What could she say?

Could she say, “Yes, I want you to be kicked out”?

Wouldn’t all her previous tearful pleas about mother-daughter love become a joke?

But if she didn’t get the money, wouldn’t all this fuss be in vain?

Wang Cuifen sat on the ground, caught between moving forward and retreating.

Her old face flushed red as she struggled to speak.

Sister Li and Zhang Cuihua were also dumbfounded.

They had wanted to enjoy Zhou Susu’s downfall, but she had counterattacked effortlessly.

Now it was clear.

She wasn’t “unfilial,” she just “dared not”!

No one could find fault with that.

The neighbors’ attitudes turned a full 180 degrees.

“Oh, so that’s how it is. No wonder.”

“Captain Lu is right! A comrade’s money should be managed like this!”

“Now Sister Wang has nothing to say, right? You can’t really push your own daughter into the fire just for money.”

Wang Cuifen burned with humiliation as she heard the neighbors’ whispers.

She knew today she wouldn’t get the money.

This Zhou Susu—when had she become so shrewd?

She even had this trick up her sleeve! I don’t remember teaching her that.

She scrambled to her feet and stopped crying and making a scene.

She glared fiercely at Zhou Susu, as if trying to see through her daughter’s heart.

“Fine! Zhou Susu, just you wait!”

Knowing she would gain nothing by continuing to cause a scene, she grabbed the still stunned Zhou Baogen and limped away without looking back.

Watching her unwilling retreating figure, Zhou Susu knew this matter would not end so easily.

With Wang Cuifen’s ruthless and vindictive nature, she would never let it go.

Within a few days, new rumors about Zhou Susu began circulating in the military district compound.

Some said they saw Zhou Susu struggling with a strange man outside late at night.

Others said worse things—that she was secretly seeing someone behind Lu Zhan’s back.

The rumors spread with vivid details and grew more rampant.