Chapter 71: A Ruthless Decision

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: A Ruthless Decision

Everyone was stunned by Yang Zhigang’s words, utterly dumbfounded.

Zhang Xiufang was especially frantic. "Yang Zhigang, what are you talking about? He’s our only son! It’s not like we don’t have the money. Why would he marry into her family?"

Yang Jianming was also dismissive. "Dad, I’m your only son. Don’t say things that will hurt our relationship like that again!"

Seeing Yang Zhigang’s grim expression, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang immediately reined themselves in, not daring to be as outrageous as they had been moments ago.

Zhang Lili covered her face and continued to sob.

"What rotten luck I must have had for eight lifetimes to have a son like Yang Jianming. I’d be better off without him! I’ll just fucking treat it as if I’m paying off a debt from a past life!"

"Do you think it’s easy for me to earn money? I’m out in the wind and rain, adrift at sea! But him? If he had even an ounce of consideration for me, his father, he wouldn’t have done such a despicable thing!"

Hearing Yang Zhigang’s words, even Zhang Xiufang felt a flicker of dissatisfaction with her son.

Both Han Xiaorui before and Zhang Lili now were women her son had chosen himself.

But now?

The baby was almost due, yet he was still so immature, fooling around with other women and acting recklessly.

"Jianming, hurry up and apologize to your father!" Zhang Xiufang said, giving him a tug to make him behave.

Seeing his father’s face as black as thunder, Yang Jianming gave an awkward smile. "Dad, don’t be angry!"

Yang Zhigang glanced at Yang Jianming, then at Zhang Xiufang, his gaze finally settling on the three members of the Zhang family.

"A house near the school, I agree to that! The betrothal gift, 1,001! I’m only agreeing because Lili is pregnant. If I didn’t buy the house, it would be the child who suffers!"

’It’s really Zhang Lili’s rotten luck to have fallen for a piece of work like Yang Jianming.’

Although Zhang Lili wasn’t blameless, Yang Zhigang had always believed his son was more at fault.

Mrs. Zhang grew anxious. "But Xiufang just agreed to 10,001!"

"Then go ask whoever promised you. I don’t have the money, anyway!" Yang Zhigang made his stance clear; he would not let the Zhang family take whatever they pleased.

The moment Zhang Lili heard her father-in-law go back on his word, she burst into furious, wailing tears. "I can’t go on living! I’m going to get an abortion!"

The baby in Zhang Lili’s belly was Zhang Xiufang’s biggest concern. "Yang Zhigang, that’s our grandson! How could you say something like that?"

Yang Zhigang stared coldly at Zhang Lili, who was using her pregnancy as leverage.

"So what if he’s my grandson? I can’t even count on my own son. What makes you think I can count on my grandson?"

Zhang Xiufang was so furious she trembled. "Yang Zhigang, if you keep talking like this, I’ll divorce you!"

Yang Zhigang said coldly, "I’d welcome it! You can take that deadbeat son of yours, be his little servant, and go take care of your grandson!"

"I, Yang Zhigang, am not worthy of such a high station. I’m done cleaning up this unfilial son’s messes. He got himself into this, so he can get himself out."

After speaking, Yang Zhigang turned and left without a backward glance.

Yang Zhigang left the hospital, hailed a cab, and went straight home.

The Zhang family, who had planned on making an exorbitant demand, didn’t dare to cause any more trouble now.

Zhang Lili had only been bluffing. She couldn’t bear the thought of actually going through with the abortion.

Zhang Xiufang stomped her foot, thinking Yang Zhigang was only making things worse. However, now that she had calmed down a bit, she was also disgusted by the Zhang family’s outrageous demands.

Zhang Lili shot her mother a look, then gestured toward her mother-in-law.

Mrs. Zhang spoke up. "Xiufang, how could your husband be like that?"

Zhang Xiufang kept her head down. "Actually, our family is quite well-off. We can buy a house just like that. Even you city folk, don’t you live in a cramped two-room apartment?"

"You..." Mrs. Zhang was flustered and angry. "Yang Jianming, is that what you think too? Besides, the car would be for the two of you. For you to drive!"

Yang Jianming had long been envious of others who had cars. "Mother-in-law, I’ll talk to my dad again when I get back. He’s just blowing off steam. I’ll talk to him once he’s cooled down."

’Yang Jianming was already scheming how to get his father to buy him a car, completely unconcerned with his father’s toil.’

Yang Zhigang took the cab straight to the seafood wholesale market and saw Yang Jianguo cleaning up.

’He had raised them both, so why was his nephew, Yang Jianguo, so obedient and sensible, while his own son, Yang Jianming, was so selfish and self-absorbed?’

When Yang Jianguo saw his uncle smoking nearby with a troubled expression, he hurried over and pulled him inside. "Uncle, is Zhang Lili all right?"

Yang Zhigang sat on a stool, cupping the mug of hot water Yang Jianguo had poured for him. "The doctor said it’s nothing serious. Jianming was laughing and joking with some female student, which set Zhang Lili off. She used it as an opportunity to make exorbitant demands and lay out her terms to me!"

Yang Jianguo’s heart ached for his uncle. "Uncle, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ll go to a small diner and get you a bowl of seafood noodles."

With that, Yang Jianguo ran out to get food for Yang Zhigang.

Watching his nephew’s retreating figure, Yang Zhigang came to a decision.

After finishing a bowl of fresh shrimp noodles, Yang Zhigang felt a little better. "Jianguo, I’m thinking of leasing out this seafood stall. I don’t want to run it anymore."

"The root of why Jianming acts so recklessly and cheats on women is that he has too much money. I don’t give him any, but Zhang Xiufang does."

"I’m the one going out to sea and running the wholesale stall. I can’t manage it all, and all the money from the stall ends up in Zhang Xiufang’s hands anyway. I don’t want you to be mistreated here either, so after thinking it over, leasing it out is the best option."

Yang Jianguo saw that his uncle was thinner than before, and there was more white in his graying hair. A lump formed in his throat. "Uncle, whatever you decide is fine. I just hope you can look on the bright side a little more."

"Alright!" Yang Zhigang reached out and patted Yang Jianguo’s shoulder. "Your father and mother would be so proud to know you’ve grown up so well."

"Uncle!" Yang Jianguo cried. His aunt and many of the villagers had said he was only nice to his uncle for his money.

But that wasn’t true at all. When he was very young, his parents were lost at sea. It was his uncle who had raised and protected him.

In his heart, his uncle was no different from his own father.

「The next day.」

Yang Zhigang moved quickly. He sublet the stall that very same day, arranging to collect an annual rent.

After taking care of everything, Yang Zhigang went home and had a good night’s sleep.

With the boat maintenance complete, Yang Zhigang and his crew set sail. Fishing on the open sea allowed him to forget all his troubles.

Han Xiaorui and Liang Xiaoyu watched Yang Zhigang’s large boat depart, their eyes filled with envy.

"Xiao Rui, if you keep working hard, you’ll get a big boat of your own one day," Liang Xiaoyu said with a laugh, knowing Han Xiaorui had the money to afford one.

Han Xiaorui roared with laughter. "Deal! When I buy a big boat, I’ll be the captain, and you can be my first mate."

"You’ve got a deal," Liang Xiaoyu joked. She had really grown to love fishing.

Bringing in a catch every day filled her with happiness and a great sense of accomplishment.

Wang Gensheng and the others were even more eager to follow Han Xiaorui’s fishing boat, as their catches had doubled since they started.

When the little sea snake saw Han Xiaorui setting out, it grew especially excited. It darted ahead, leading her toward a better spot.

Han Xiaorui hadn’t believed in the little sea snake’s abilities at first. But ever since it led her to the ambergris that sold for so much money, she had unilaterally declared the little sea snake her partner and adorable pet.

This time, it led them even farther out.

They finally stopped after more than three hours.

When Han Xiaorui used her Water Ability to probe the depths, her vision was filled with a sea of red.