Chapter 22: Ma Yulian Wants a Divorce? Li Junsheng: Divorce, Then So Be It!

Ma Yulian immediately shouted at her eldest daughter-in-law, “No, why should we split up for no reason? I don’t agree to dividing the family!”

“…If the family splits, who will help you two?”

A hint of mockery appeared in Wang Xiuhua’s eyes. All this fuss, just over a job. Her mother-in-law still claimed everything was fine—how could she possibly think that? And as for helping them out, it had always been her father-in-law who did that!

As for her mother-in-law, not only did she rarely help, she insisted on holding onto all her father-in-law’s wages. No matter how attentive she and her husband were, the old woman was as stingy as could be, never parting with a single cent. Anyone would think she was hoarding the money for her own coffin!

Other than bossing everyone around at home, what real help had her mother-in-law ever offered? Wang Xiuhua truly couldn’t think of anything. And now, with her father-in-law on strike these past couple of days, her mother-in-law immediately started ordering her about, acting like some dowager empress—splitting the family didn’t sound so bad after all.

Unable to take it anymore, Wang Xiuhua rolled her eyes at Ma Yulian and walked away, not wanting to exchange another word with her.

With her daughter-in-law ignoring her, Ma Yulian turned her questions to Li Junsheng.

“Li Junsheng, is what your daughter-in-law said true? You want to split the money and the family? And you didn’t even discuss it with me? I don’t agree!”

Li Junsheng snorted and ignored her, instead turning to his eldest son, Li Guojun. “Guojun, your mother doesn’t want to split the family. What do you think?”

“Whether or not Mom wants to doesn’t matter much,” Li Guojun replied carelessly, the very image of someone who would side with whoever benefited him most, a true fence-sitter.

His words made Ma Yulian flush with anger, almost hopping with rage. “You’ve really grown wings now, haven’t you?”

“Whatever Dad decides, he has his reasons. Dad’s fine, Mom, you don’t need to worry so much,” Li Guojun said, flattering his father while also speaking frankly. If it weren’t for Dad, with Mom’s attitude, there’s no way they would have gotten that money from Chen Dazhu and his son!

At this moment, Li Guojun clearly sided with Li Junsheng.

Seeing how furious Li Guojun made Ma Yulian, Li Junsheng laughed coldly to himself. The eldest hadn’t even really started yet—if he said something harsher, she wouldn’t be able to take it at all.

The truth was, Ma Yulian simply didn’t want Chen Dazhu’s money to be divided. Gritting her teeth, she decided to play her trump card and try to intimidate Li Junsheng.

“Li Junsheng, I don’t care what you say. If you dare split this thousand yuan, I’ll divorce you.”

She thought he’d be as afraid as before, that he’d back down for fear of divorce. But Li Junsheng was hoping for nothing more than this, so he nodded deliberately. “Fine, divorce then! I think you’ve been wanting to divorce me for years, haven’t you?”

“I don’t understand you. At your age, why must you keep all the money for yourself? These children are our sons and daughters. If there’s money, shouldn’t it be shared with them?”

Li Junsheng purposely threw the question back, believing his eldest son would see through Ma Yulian’s selfishness after hearing this. Let him consider: with all that money in Ma Yulian’s grasp, just who was she planning to give it to?

Ma Yulian was dumbfounded, not expecting Li Junsheng to be unafraid of divorce. Now that he wasn’t scared, she had no idea how to manipulate him further!

Moreover, Li Junsheng had exposed her intentions without mercy, leaving her feeling guilty. Even Li Guojun began to doubt his mother’s love, and impatiently urged, “Mom, stop making a scene. Dad and I haven’t even had breakfast yet. Hurry up and make it!”

Ma Yulian pointed to herself. “You want me to make breakfast? Your father always does it.”

“Yes, Dad usually cooks, but can’t you show him a little more consideration? Besides, isn’t this your responsibility anyway?”

Ma Yulian didn’t want to make breakfast; she only wanted to eat what was already prepared. So she turned to command Wang Xiuhua.

“Eldest daughter-in-law, it’s your duty to be filial to your parents-in-law. Go make breakfast!”

“I can’t. My hands are covered in scratches—if I get them wet, they’ll get infected and I’ll have to go to the hospital,” Wang Xiuhua replied stoutly, holding out her hand to show the wounds Ma Yulian had inflicted, openly shaming her.

Ma Yulian’s face turned from green to purple with rage—she was beside herself! This Li Junsheng, what was he up to? He’d changed completely, wasn’t even afraid of divorce. Could it be there really was some seductress outside? Was he unafraid of divorcing her just to bring in another woman?

But whatever the case, Ma Yulian still wanted Chen Dazhu’s money back. Since Li Junsheng wouldn’t be intimidated, she could only try coaxing him, however unwilling, and went to make breakfast herself.

During breakfast, Li Guojun kept probing Li Junsheng, trying to find out if he intended to split the money equally among all the family members, or in some other way. Li Junsheng gave nothing away, and after he’d eaten, wiped his mouth with a cloth.

“We’ll talk about the details tonight when both the third and fourth sons are here. I have something to do and need to go out.”

With that, Li Junsheng went back to his room, took his 4,472 yuan, and headed to the bank. There, he deposited 3,000 yuan, keeping 1,472 on hand.

He never felt secure leaving so much money at home, afraid the eldest couple or Ma Yulian would take it if he turned his back for a moment. He couldn’t carry that much cash with him, and if it were stolen, it would be a disaster. After much thought, saving it was best.

As for the money kept aside, after preparing to share with his children, the rest he intended to use to legitimize his own small trading business.

The first step, as he’d considered last night, was to get a proper status so he could legally buy leftover materials from Section Chief Zhou. His plan was to work through the township enterprise and get an official letter of introduction. With that, he’d have a proper identity, and buying from Section Chief Zhou would be above board.

But to get things done, to ask favors and pull strings, would inevitably cost some money. If he wanted things to work out, this was not an expense he could skimp on.

Still, there was no need to rush the introduction letter—he would take his time with that.

After leaving the bank, Li Junsheng bought some fruit, sweets, sunflower seeds, and similar snacks that children liked, and went to the hospital to visit his second son’s family.

He felt guilty towards them; in his previous life, he’d always favored his eldest son, and by extension, the eldest son’s children. Whenever he had snacks, they went to the eldest’s kids, while the second son’s children watched enviously.

Thankfully, in this life, he had a chance to make amends.

Carrying the snacks, Li Junsheng arrived at the hospital, but didn’t know which ward his grandson Xiaowei was in. He could only set the items down and go to the nurse’s station to ask.

He hadn’t expected, just as he approached, to see Li Guohua and his wife carrying their son Xiaowei, both looking grim as they went through the discharge procedures.