The younger sister mistakenly identified her brother when visiting relatives and was kissed by the c

"Red plum blossoms!"

A friendly greeting interrupted Zhou Zejun's thoughts. Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw the woman at the next table carrying a chair over.

When her sister-in-law saw her younger sister crying, she felt a pang of heartache and quickly came over to hold Liu Hongmei's hand to comfort her: "Hongmei, don't be sad. To be honest, it's a wonderful thing that we were able to see through that family's disgusting true colors before the wedding! It shows that our Liguang is lucky and blessed! Just think, if that shameless woman had married into the family, she would have definitely turned your home into a complete mess! Listen to me, don't be angry, our Liguang's good fortune is yet to come!"

The elder sister-in-law patted Liu Hongmei's hand and assured her confidently, "Besides, times are changing so fast these days, and medical conditions are getting better every day! I'll get all our relatives to inquire around. Our country is so big, and there are so many talented people; there must be a doctor who can cure Li Guang's leg!"

Hearing her sister-in-law's comforting words, Liu Hongmei finally felt some relief from her inner turmoil.

Her sister-in-law is right! But what her sister-in-law doesn't know is that Li Guang's leg has not only been healed, but he is now in the rehabilitation training stage. Before long, he will be able to walk as fast as a normal person!

"Sister-in-law, don't worry, I'm fine now." Liu Hongmei grasped her sister-in-law's hand, forcing a relieved smile. "I was just so angry that I couldn't calm down. Actually, you were right. It's better to see the true colors of this bunch of ingrates before marriage than to get married and have your family ruined before you do!"

"That's right! That's right..."

-

Meanwhile, in the Qiao family courtyard on the other side, the scene was one of utter chaos and devastation.

Two banquets were held in the afternoon and evening, which were originally intended to be a joyous occasion, but instead, a shocking scandal of incest broke out.

After seeing the spectacle, which of those relatives and friends was still willing to stay? Not even a single person was willing to help clear the table or sweep the floor; they all ran away!

Leftover dishes were piled on the table like greasy little mountains; the table and chairs were overturned and crooked on the ground, littered with sunflower seed shells, candy wrappers, and crushed cigarette butts. Leftover bones, scraps of rice, and soup were mixed together on the table, emitting a nauseating stench in the night wind.

Qiao Shouguo sat alone on the broken sofa under the eaves, his brows furrowed in a deep knot.

He chain-smoked, one cigarette after another, the ground beneath his feet littered with ashes, his face as gloomy as the dark sky before a storm.

After such a disgraceful incident that has brought shame upon their ancestors for eighteen generations, they naturally have no face to keep their relatives around to make a scene at the wedding and help clean up the mess.

After everyone had left, Qin Fangfang could only tie on her apron and begin to tidy up, her face ashen.

She was already quite old, and after so many years of living a life of luxury in the Qiao family, she had never done any heavy physical labor except for cooking.

I had just bent over to tidy up a few greasy chairs and benches when I was so tired that my back ached and I couldn't straighten up.

The hotel has already sent a car to collect the bowls and chopsticks they borrowed, and they've already done so with a grim face. But the dozens of spare sets of plates and bowls that we bought to make a good impression are still piled up in the yard. The work on just a few tables is enough to exhaust a person.

Qin Fangfang grew increasingly frustrated as she worked. Disgusted, she slammed the filthy rag onto the table, seething with anger. Turning around, she yelled towards the second floor, "Qiao Xinxin! Where the hell have you been?! Get down here right now and help clean the yard!"

She rubbed her aching lower back with one hand and plopped heavily into a chair, gritting her teeth: "That brat! During the day she was quiet, and I thought she'd learned her lesson and was being helpful, but now she's hiding somewhere, doing nothing! I've raised her for twenty years; even a dog would wag its tail by now!"

Qin Fangfang called upstairs several times, but the second floor was pitch black and no one responded to her, not even a sound of movement.

Little did she know that Qiao Xinxin had already boarded a green train heading south to the capital with all the belongings she had looted from the Qiao family!

After finishing her afternoon meal, Qiao Xinxin pretended to go upstairs to pack her things, slammed a pre-written "letter of severance" on the table in her room, and then swaggered off to the train station without looking back.

Anyway, Qiao Shouguo and Qin Fangfang only had eyes for that fake heiress and their eldest son, and never thought of their real daughter unless they had something to do.

By the time they realized what was happening and went to look for her in the room, she would probably already be hundreds of miles outside the city!

In the Qiao family courtyard, Qin Fangfang rested for a while, but no one came down.

She could only painfully stand up, clutching her aching back, grumbling, "What an unreliable, money-losing daughter! Mom and Dad are exhausted, and she doesn't even have the sense to help with the chores!"

Just then, the curtain was lifted and Qiao Lijun strode out of the room.

"Mom, don't do it, let me do it." He walked up to Qin Fangfang and said gently, "So many things happened today, you and Dad have worked so hard, come inside and rest, Mingzhu and I will clean up."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Mingzhu, who had been dawdling behind Qiao Lijun, almost lost her composure. Her lips curled into a sneer, and a hint of disgust flashed in her eyes.

She didn't want to do this dirty and tiring work! Getting her hands covered in grease was disgusting! Where the hell was that brat Qiao Xinxin? Why wasn't she allowed to do this lowly work?!

But Qiao Lijun didn't notice Qiao Mingzhu's reluctance at all. He had already rolled up his shirt sleeves and walked to the center of the yard. With a struggle, he began to move those heavy solid wood tables.

Qiao Mingzhu followed behind him. Even though she cursed Qiao Xinxin a thousand times in her heart, she could only force out a weak and obedient smile to help him in front of her parents and lover.

"Mom, should we wipe the table clean?" Qiao Mingzhu walked to the basin, suppressing the churning in her stomach, and disgustedly picked up the rag soaking in the murky water with two fingers. She squatted down, looking aggrieved but pretending to be sensible.

When Qin Fangfang saw that her two children, whom she usually doted on the most, had started to work on their own initiative, her anger subsided by more than half, and she sat back down.

She looked at Qiao Lijun's broad back and smiled warmly and kindly: "Oh my, our Lijun has really grown up, he knows how to care for his mother now. Look at him, this young man is so strong, he carries this table so steadily!"

Hearing the commotion in the courtyard, Qiao Shouguo threw his cigarette butt on the ground and slipped on his shoes as he walked out from under the dark eaves.

He stood under the eaves, watching his son working hard under the moonlight, his face covered in sweat. The raging anger and dissatisfaction he had felt earlier because of the messy things that happened at the wedding had miraculously lessened.

In his traditional and old-fashioned eyes, even if his son made a terrible mistake, he was still a member of the Qiao family! As long as he was still willing to work for the family, he was a good young man.

Qiao Shouguo took a deep breath, his face stern but unable to hide the relief in his eyes, and sighed softly: "Lijun, you've really grown up and know how to take responsibility for the family. Your parents are very proud of you for having this sense of responsibility."

Hearing her parents' generous praise, Qiao Mingzhu gritted her teeth inwardly. To prove herself, she stood aside with the greasy rag and wiped the table even more vigorously, saying softly as she did so, "Dad, Mom, you should go and rest. We'll be done cleaning in a bit."

The family of four was enjoying a happy time together, as if the scandal that had brought them public condemnation and the boycott and isolation by the entire military region during the day was all an illusion.

Little did they know, the real retribution was just on its way.

Qiao Mingzhu took the greasy rag and pretended to wipe it back and forth on the table.