Before being reborn and getting married, the pampered young lady emptied her family's assets to

Chapter 157 Who exactly forgot their roots?
Liang Yi rode his bicycle and took An Min home.

Unbeknownst to the two, Li Hongmei was already in an uproar.

Zhao Caihua is not someone to be trifled with.

In particular, Li Hongmei's husband had no idea that Zhao Caihua existed.

"Hongmei, you may not acknowledge me, but I still gave birth to you. You can't be so heartless and ungrateful to me, can you?"

Zhao Caihua sat on the ground, looking at Li Hongmei.

Li Hongmei's husband stood to the side, his face already darkened.

He glanced at Zhao Caihua, who was throwing a tantrum, and then at Li Hongmei, who was tense all over, his brow furrowed.

"Hongmei, what exactly is going on?"

This question made Li Hongmei feel a little guilty.

She never told Zhang Jianjun about her own affairs.

Zhang Jianjun had no idea he had such a scoundrel of a mother.

Li Hongmei's lips trembled as she tried to explain, but Zhao Caihua beat her to it.

"What's going on? I'm her own mother! Back then, we were poor, so we gave her away to make a living. Now that she's doing well, she's completely forgotten about her own mother!"

Zhao Caihua slapped her thigh, tears and snot welling up again.

Before she started crying, she glanced at Zhang Jianjun.

“Her husband is rich and powerful, how could he remember us poor relatives? Even when I was sick and hospitalized, she refused to pay a single penny. Isn’t she trying to drive me to my death?”

"You bullshit!"

Li Hongmei was so angry that her heart ached: "When did I ever disown you? It was you who kept making exorbitant demands and even tried to drag Li Deyang into my house."

“When Liang Yi’s parents died, you didn’t go. Now that they’ve become successful, you’re bringing your whole family here to freeload.”

“When Li Deyang failed to extort money, he even beat up the man’s wife. You guys almost made me lose my job at the supply and marketing cooperative.”

As she spoke, Li Hongmei approached Zhao Caihua.

"You've almost ruined me, and you still have the nerve to say I didn't pay you?"

"No amount of money could possibly be enough for you to bully me here!"

These words immediately caused an uproar among the onlookers.

"Oh, I see. They looked so pitiful, I didn't expect them to be dishonest?"

"Exactly! What kind of mother would treat her daughter like this?"

The murmurs made Zhao Caihua's face turn pale and then red, and she suddenly jumped up and pointed at Li Hongmei.

"You're slandering me! I was just borrowing it! I needed the money urgently!"

"Borrow? When have you ever paid it back?"

Li Hongmei sneered and pulled out several crumpled remittance slips from her pocket.

"This is the hundred yuan I sent you two years ago when you said your brother was getting married. You immediately took it and gambled it away. And you still dare to say I'm heartless and ungrateful?"

The date and amount on the remittance slip were clearly visible. Zhao Caihua's face fell instantly, and she muttered, "You're talking nonsense."

However, his words lacked the arrogance he had displayed earlier.

Li Laonian was watching anxiously from the side and was about to speak up when she was given a cold glance by Li Hongmei's husband.

"Sir, what exactly do you want?"

His voice was not loud, but it carried an air of authority.

Li Laonian is a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong; he's lost all his arrogance from before he arrived.

He shrank back and stammered, "We...we just wanted her to give us some travel expenses to go back to our hometown..."

"Travel expenses?"

Li Hongmei's husband took out a ten-yuan note from his wallet and threw it in front of Zhao Caihua. "This is enough for you to build a house back in your hometown. Take the money and don't cause any more trouble for Hongmei, or don't blame me for being impolite."

Zhao Caihua stared wide-eyed at the money on the ground. Just as she was about to reach out to pick it up, Li Hongmei kicked her away.

They don't deserve it!

Li Hongmei, her eyes red, said, "When you abandoned me in the snow back then, did you never think this day would come? Can the money you gave me repay all the suffering I've endured over the years?"

Zhao Caihua was kicked and staggered. Looking at Li Hongmei's resolute eyes, she suddenly collapsed to the ground and burst into tears.

"I was wrong... I was really wrong... Hongmei, please give me another chance..."

But Li Hongmei had already picked up the money and turned to walk home.

"Stop!"

Zhao Caihua quickly stood up and ran towards Li Hongmei.

She grabbed Li Hongmei and tried to snatch the money from her hand.

During their argument, Li Hongmei pushed Zhao Caihua hard.

Zhao Caihua was no match for Li Hongmei; she swayed and fell to the ground.

Just then, a motorcycle appeared out of nowhere and ran over Zhao Caihua's legs.

"Ah!!! My leg!!!"

Before the sound of the motorcycle engine had completely faded, Zhao Caihua's heart-wrenching screams pierced the noise of the onlookers.

She lay on the ground, her trouser legs quickly soaked in blood, turning them a dark brown.

The motorcyclist was a young man in his early twenties, who was clearly also stunned by the sudden turn of events.

He slammed on the brakes, and the motorcycle skidded.

His hands and feet were shaking when he jumped down. Looking at Zhao Caihua groaning on the ground, his lips trembled and he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

"I...I didn't see anyone suddenly fall down..."

Zhang Jianjun rushed over with a livid face. He first glanced at Li Hongmei, and seeing that she was only pale with fright, he turned to the young man and said sternly, "What are you standing there for? Go and call the doctor!"

Only then did Li Laonian realize what had happened, and he rushed to Zhao Caihua's side, wailing and crying, "Old woman! What terrible things have you done!"

But his hand hovered in mid-air, staring at the pool of blood, and he dared not touch it.

The crowd erupted in a frenzy; some rushed towards the health center, while others chattered amongst themselves about what had just happened.

"I saw it. She lunged at the money herself and was pushed and fell down!"

"That motorcycle was going way too fast. How could anyone drive that recklessly in this alley?"

Li Hongmei stood there, feeling as if all her strength had been drained away.

She looked at Zhao Caihua rolling on the ground, her ears filled with her heart-wrenching cries, and her stomach churned.

The push she had just made now felt like a heavy stone pressing down on her heart, making even breathing painful.

Zhang Jianjun walked over, put his arm around her shoulder, and said in a low but reassuring voice, "Don't be afraid, it's not your fault."

Zhao Caihua's cries gradually turned into weak moans, her eyes fixed on Li Hongmei as if she were about to spit fire.

"You...you did this on purpose...you wanted to kill me..."

"I didn't! You're the one trying to rob me!"

Soon, a doctor from the health center rushed over with his medicine kit, followed by two nurses who helped carry the stretcher.

The doctor knelt down to examine Zhao Caihua's injuries and said with a grave expression, "Her bones are broken. She needs to be taken to the hospital for surgery immediately."

Upon hearing that surgery was needed, Old Li panicked: "How much will the surgery cost? We don't have any money!"

As he spoke, his eyes glanced at Li Hongmei and Zhang Jianjun, the meaning of which was all too clear.

Zhang Jianjun's face darkened: "We have no money."