Reborn as a Tough Army Wife

But right after dinner, Zhou Yunmei sneaked into Hong Lan's room to ask Luo Honglan and found out that it cost over 500 yuan. Knowing that her family had to pay half, which was nearly 300 yuan, she was so shocked she could hardly stand.

So naturally, she was unwilling to pay the money. When she returned to her room and Luo Dashan brought up the matter, her tone changed.

Luo Dashan himself was also startled to hear that it cost so much money, but he felt that the more they had to spend, the more their family should help share the burden. Otherwise, if it was only up to the second brother's family, who knew when they would be able to pay it back.

Luo Dashan's intention was that even if they couldn't pay in full, they should at least share half of the burden, which was over 200 yuan. Zhou Yunmei, who would fret over a mere two yuan as if it were her lifeblood, certainly wouldn't agree and flatly refused to pay.

Later, the two of them started arguing. In a rage similar to Luo Cuilan's that morning, Zhou Yunmei shouted furiously, "Logically speaking, the second brother's illness shouldn't be much of our concern. If he hadn't gone to save Cuilan yesterday, our Zhiyong would also have jumped into the pond to rescue her, and Cuilan wouldn't have died. He's already of such an age; he should know his own limits. There's no need for heroics. Now, to ask us to pay so much money – are you trying to drive me to my grave?"

These words completely infuriated Luo Dashan. He already felt sorry for the second brother's family. It was the New Year, yet they had troubled him to the point of falling ill. Not only did they have to spend money, but he also suffered in the hospital, and the family lost all festive spirit.

Zhou Yunmei not only failed to appreciate the kindness of the family but said these things. Luo Dashan couldn't hold back, as if to let out years of pent-up anger, he went up and slapped Zhou Yunmei several times.

Zhou Yunmei was not one to take a beating without fighting back. She retaliated immediately, screaming that she wanted to leave.

That's how the situation escalated.

Fang Pingying saw that Luo Dashan had already entered the house and was throwing Zhou Yunmei's belongings out, loudly shouting for Zhou Yunmei to get lost.

Zhou Yunmei was standing at the entrance to the courtyard, crying miserably.

Fang Pingying felt a headache coming on. Why did it seem that the Luo Family always had more issues than others, with new troubles cropping up every day?

One moment it was a conflict between sisters-in-law, another a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law dispute, and today, it had escalated to Luo Dashan and his wife. It was truly disturbing the peace, leaving no semblance of a New Year celebration.

Zhou Yunmei stood crying at the doorway for a while. At first, her emotions seemed under control as she just cursed and swore. To report errors, please visit the original post on M|VLEMPYR.

But when she saw Luo Dashan throwing her belongings outside, she seemed to break down and suddenly wailed, "I don't want to live anymore."

With that, she rushed to a corner of the courtyard, grabbed a bottle of pesticide, unscrewed the cap, and began pouring it into her mouth.

Her resolve to commit suicide seemed far more resolute than Luo Cuilan's, frightening Fang Pingying so much that she broke into a cold sweat. Fang Pingying rushed forward, knocked the pesticide out of Zhou Yunmei's hand, and spilled it on the ground. A pungent smell of pesticide immediately permeated the courtyard. It was incredibly nauseating.

If Zhou Yunmei had indeed drunk the bottle of pesticide, the Luo Family would probably be arranging a funeral tomorrow.

The scene truly shocked everyone who was already in the yard. They had not expected Zhou Yunmei to resort to such a move.

After recovering from the shock, Luo Zhiming immediately came over, picked up the bottle of pesticide, and threw it outside, fearing that Zhou Yunmei might impulsively attempt suicide again in her anger.

Luo Honglan and the others were completely dumbfounded by Zhou Yunmei's actions.

After snapping back to reality, Luo Cuilan and Fang Xiu stood still, afraid to say anything more. They worried that saying the wrong thing would exacerbate the conflict, unable to predict what Zhou Yunmei might do next.

"Mom, what are you doing? You're seeking death over such a trivial sum of money." As Luo Honglan came to her senses, she immediately ran to Zhou Yunmei's side, hugged her, and tearfully said, "If you can't produce the money, I will. I've saved some from working; I can come up with 200 yuan."

Fang Pingying also helplessly looked at Zhou Yunmei and said, "Yeah, Mom, why are you so agitated? We can sort out the money issue slowly; there's always a solution. How can you stake your life on being angry? If you really drink this pesticide today, what will become of our home?"

Zhou Yunmei, who hadn't managed to drink the pesticide, sat down on the ground and started wailing. While crying and howling, she said, "I don't want to live anymore, that Luo Dashan is worse than a pig or a dog. I've followed you for so many years, enduring hardships and suffering, never having seen a single good day. Now, you want to chase me away for the sake of your brother, and even threw my belongings out. There's no point in living."

Then, she fiercely shrugged off Luo Honglan and Fang Pingying's hands that were holding her back, and said with determination, "You may be able to prevent me from drinking pesticide now, but later I might go jump in a pond, or hang myself. You can't watch over me every second."

"Mom, stop making a fuss. Honglan said she has the money, there's no need to die over it." After Luo Cuilan spoke, she called out to Luo Dashan inside the house, "Dad, can you say something? Do you really want my mom to die before things get better?"

Zhou Yunmei's previous extreme behavior had also frightened Luo Dashan. He was now somewhat worried. Although he had blurted out in anger that he wanted a divorce from Zhou Yunmei, it was merely to scare her. At their age, there was no point in a divorce, which would only be a laughingstock to others.

Seeing Yunmei seeking death in desperation, he was still somewhat concerned. After so many years as husband and wife, he knew that when Zhou Yunmei got worked up, she would be capable of anything. If he continued in this manner, Zhou Yunmei would definitely seek death again.

Zhou Yunmei's temperament was different from that of Luo Cuilan. Even though their purposes were the same—to make the others capitulate—Luo Cuilan's threats to jump into a pond were feigned, whereas Zhou Yunmei, once she became impulsive, could actually take things to the extreme.

But at this moment, he definitely would not admit his mistake out loud. Instead, he went and sat on the kang bed to smoke his tobacco pipe.

Deep down, Zhou Yunmei wished that Luo Dashan would come and apologize to her. Seeing that he didn't react, her lips pouted, and she immediately began to wail again.

Luo Honglan, Luo Cuilan, and the others tried to comfort her by their side. Fang Pingying and Fang Xiu also chimed in with a few persuading words from time to time.

Originally, due to the cold weather and it being nighttime, most people in the village would have probably gone to bed to stay warm. Even if they heard some noise coming from the Luo Family, nobody would come over. But with Zhou Yunmei continuing to howl like this, the disturbance made it impossible for the neighbors to sleep, and soon someone came knocking on the courtyard gate.

The first to arrive was naturally Qiu Xiu, who lived closest to their house. She knocked on the gate from outside, "Big Brother, what's going on at home? Why do I hear Big Sister crying?"

Hearing Qiu Xiu's voice, Luo Dashan immediately responded, "It's nothing. We just spoke too loudly, there's no issue. Go back to sleep; it's cold."

Qiu Xiu, not seeing Luo Dashan immediately open the gate and guessing what might have happened, simply shouted, "Big Brother, whatever the problem is, talk it out nicely, don't make a fuss."

"Yeah, got it, you go back quickly." Hearing Qiu Xiu's footsteps retreating, knowing she was going back, he looked at Zhou Yunmei and softened his voice a bit, "Why are you still sitting on the ground? Come inside. Do you really want to make a spectacle for people to see?"

Zhou Yunmei twisted her body and glared at him, "I won't go back, I won't share a room with you tonight."

"You…" Luo Dashan truly couldn't bear to look at her anymore, afraid that she would continue to make a scene as before. He simply bent down, picked her up horizontally, brought her into the house, and dropped her directly onto the kang bed.(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)