Yun Mei was momentarily stunned before she spoke with an undertone of frustration towards Pingying, saying, "What are you talking about? Why wouldn’t she be a wife of the Luo Family? Since she married into the Luo Family, she belongs to the Luo Family alive or dead. Luo Family’s matters are her business to care about." Zhiyong listened to Yun Mei’s words with growing irritation, too agitated to argue over the phone, and went straight to the matter of repaying the money, saying, "About repaying the money, there are two ways." "Tell me." At this moment, Yun Mei was holding her breath to hear if Zhiyong was agreeing to help repay the debt. Zhiyong said with resolute certainty, "Firstly, when Zhiming married Xu He, didn’t you spend a lot of money on their wedding? All those gold necklaces, gold bracelets, and such, I think if we gather them all, we could come up with quite a bit. For the remaining amount, you could plead with those high-interest lenders to let Zhiming repay slowly, say three or five hundred at a time, they probably won’t push too hard." Upon hearing that, Yun Mei immediately objected, "No, those things cost a pretty penny when originally purchased. Selling them now as second-hand won’t fetch much." Zhiyong curled his lips, blatantly ignoring Yun Mei’s words, and continued with what he was saying before, "Second, you just wait for the loan sharks to show up. From now on, my family’s messy affairs are no longer my concern, and don’t call my home anymore. I’m not living there now; Pingying and I have separated. You mind your own business." For more chapters visit NovєlFіre.net Then Yun Mei sensed something was wrong and immediately inquired, "Zhiyong, not living there, separated, what’s going on?" Zhiyong didn’t respond to her, and continued to say what he intended, "If Zhiming wants to continue dodging his debts, that’s his choice. But if the high-interest lenders come knocking again, I’ll have them go to the family home." After a brief pause, Zhiyong added, "As for you and Dad, if you make the situation clear, just tell them it was Zhiming who borrowed the money, let them find Zhiming, and you won’t get involved, then it won’t fall on your heads. If you can’t let go of Zhiming and insist on getting involved, there’s nothing I can do. I’ve already done a lot for the family over the years, I’ve tried my best." After finishing, Zhiyong made sure Yun Mei had clearly understood his words, then he directly hung up the phone without heeding Yun Mei calling out Zhiyong’s name through the phone. Realizing that the call had been disconnected on the other end, Yun Mei hung up the phone with a sense of helplessness. After all, they were at the village secretary’s home, and it was not appropriate to discuss more there. Once outside, Zhiming quickly approached Yun Mei, looking agitated, and asked, "Mom, what did my brother say? Did he agree to help me repay the money?" Yun Mei shook her head, "He didn’t agree to pay." Upon hearing that, Zhiming felt chilled, his face glooming as he began to complain, "What should I do then? How could my brother be so ruthless? I’m his own brother after all. Is he really willing to watch others come and chop off my hands and feet? What good does it do him if I end up with severed limbs?" As Zhiming continued his complaints all the way, no one else spoke. Two thousand yuan was not a small sum, and the family had been extremely distressed recently. After a while, Xu He told Zhiming to stop nagging, since Zhiyong wasn’t there to listen, and that thinking of ways to repay the debt was the practical thing to do now. She rarely showed such affection, holding Yun Mei’s arm while she grimaced, saying, "Mom, I’m sure it’s all Fang Pingying’s doing. Those words must have been forced out by her. Otherwise, my brother would never just watch you and Dad get chased down by loan sharks." "Exactly, that sister-in-law is truly up to no good." Zhiming spat vehemently upon hearing that, adding, "I heard she makes good money in the city, at least several thousand yuan a month. There’s no way she can’t cough up two thousand yuan." "She is indeed formidable," Yun Mei also complained, but then glanced at Zhiming and scolded him while hitting him a few times, "But it’s also your fault for being so useless. Why on earth did you go and take such a high-interest loan? You really are..." Seeing this, Xu He couldn’t be bothered to intervene, her disgust for Zhiming having reached its peak. Lazy and lacking any sense of responsibility, and most importantly, unable to father children—hardly a real man by any measure. If it weren’t for the Luo Family’s circumstances still being bearable, she would have left long ago. Staying with such a man made Xu He feel nauseated. Finally, when Yun Mei’s scolding started to wane, Xu He softly called her out, "Mom, it’s too late to say these things now. Those debt collectors are not to be provoked lightly. If they really come to our place, who knows, they might even strip our house bare." "No way, we can’t let them strip our house bare." Yun Mei pondered and came up with an idea, "Here’s what we’ll do. Tomorrow, Zhiming and I will make a trip to the provincial city. I’ll personally ask Fang Pingying for the money to repay. I refuse to believe that I can’t deal with her." The moment Zhiming heard that, he immediately shook his head, "Mom, I’m not going. If I go, I’m sure to be caught by those loan sharks. I might never come back." Yun Mei looked at him with exasperation and roared, "Do you think by not going to the provincial city that the loan sharks really can’t find you?" After a slight pause, Yun Mei laid out her plan, "You follow me. You stay out of sight at first, and I’ll handle everything. I’ll go straight to my brother’s home to get the money. If they don’t give it, I’ll just squat at their place, eating and drinking, until the loan sharks show up. I don’t believe she, as a daughter-in-law, could truly just watch me being taken away by loan sharks." With a sneer forming on her face, Yun Mei continued, "And even if she doesn’t care, Zhiyong surely cannot just stand by and watch me being carted off by loan sharks." Upon hearing this, Xu He immediately agreed, "I think this could work. Big brother is still filial after all." What she wanted was exactly this kind of response—the more strained the situation between Yun Mei and Fang Pingying, the better. It would be the best if Luo Zhiyong and Fang Pingying broke up. She had just heard that there seemed to be some tension between Fang Pingying and Luo Zhiyong due to this matter. If Luo Zhiyong and Fang Pingying split, that would open up opportunities for her. But just as Xu He had finished speaking, Luo Dashan, who had been silent all along, suddenly pulled Yun Mei over to him and said fiercely, "What’s okay about this? It’s his mess, so he’s the one who has to deal with it. If he can’t pay it back, he deserves to be chopped to death. You, don’t you go anywhere tomorrow, just stay home." Having said that, Luo Dashan frowned at Zhiming and said, "Zhiming, you find your own way to pay back the money. Your mother and I will give you all the money we have on hand. You figure out the rest. If it’s not enough, pawn the things we got for your wedding to cover the debt. If it’s still not enough, go to your father-in-law’s relatives for help, but don’t cause any more trouble for your brother."