Reborn a day later, I emptied my enemy's possessions beforehand.

Zhou Haibing slowly placed the chopsticks in his hand on the table, making a very soft sound.

Then he raised his head, looked at his father, and said, word by word, "I will not marry Sun Guiying."

The sentence wasn't long, but every word was clear and distinct, like a chisel striking a stone, stroke by stroke.

In his previous life, it was around this time that he was forced to separate from Li Su'e and was forced to agree to his father's request to marry Sun Guiying, the village chief's daughter.

Having experienced Sun Guiying's betrayal and Li Su'e's tragedy in his previous life, he would certainly not separate from Li Su'e again in this life, nor would he marry Sun Guiying again.

Zhou Fuxiang was stunned upon hearing this.

He had just picked up a piece of cornbread and was about to put it in his mouth when his chopsticks froze in mid-air.

The cornbread was hanging less than half a foot in front of his mouth, which was slightly open, as if it had been frozen in place.

Two seconds later, he realized what was happening. He slammed his chopsticks down on the table with a loud crack, making the rough porcelain bowl on the table jump.

"Say that again!" Zhou Fuxiang's voice suddenly rose, his face flushed red, veins throbbing on his forehead, and sparks flying from his eyes.

"Zhou Haibing, say that again!"

Zhou Haibing met his father's gaze without flinching.

His back was ramrod straight, his shoulders were not hunched, his chin was slightly raised, and his voice was as steady and unhurried as before, each word clearly enunciated:

"I said, I will not marry Sun Guiying."

Zhou Hailong stared wide-eyed, dropping one of his chopsticks which rolled onto the table, but he didn't bother to pick it up.

He looked at his elder brother, then at his father, then back at his elder brother, as if he didn't understand what the sentence meant.

Zhou Haiqing was also stunned. He unconsciously put the bowl in his hand on the table, his lips moved, wanting to say something but not daring to.

Zhou Fuxiang suddenly stood up from the chair, the chair legs scraping against the muddy ground with a screeching sound.

His fingers almost poked Zhou Haibing's face, his voice loud and rough, like an enraged bull bellowing:

"Are you crazy? Do you know whose daughter Sun Guiying is? The village chief's daughter! Village chief! If you marry her, our family can walk sideways in the village and no one will dare to say a word against us!"

If you don't marry her, how are we supposed to face the villagers? Where am I supposed to put my face?

Zhou Haibing sat there motionless, neither frightened by the finger poking in front of him nor deterred in the slightest by the roar.

His tone remained calm:

"Dad, I don't like Sun Guiying. I don't like her at all. The person I like is Li Su'e, and I will marry Li Su'e."

Zhou Fuxiang's face turned from red to purple, and then from purple to black.

His chest heaved violently, as if there was a breath stuck inside him that he couldn't breathe.

He suddenly swung his hand, sweeping the rough porcelain bowl on the table to the ground. The bowl shattered into several pieces on the muddy ground, spilling water all over the floor.

"Li Su'e! It's that Li Su'e again!" His voice cracked.

"That capitalist's daughter! A jinx with a bad class background! You're going to marry her? You're just bringing disaster upon our family!"

Her father is a capitalist! Do you even understand what a capitalist is? If she marries into our family, our whole family will be doomed! Family background! Do you even understand what family background is?!

Looking at his father's face, contorted with rage, Zhou Haibing recalled the same scene from his previous life.

In his previous life, he sat in the main room in the same way, and his father smashed bowls, slammed the table, and shouted the same words.

In his previous life, he yielded, he knelt down, he married Sun Guiying, he lost Li Su'e, he sacrificed his life's happiness, and then Sun Guiying sacrificed the last bit of his dignity.

He won't do it in this life.

"I don't care at all about Li Su'e's political background." Zhou Haibing's voice wasn't loud, but each word was as firm as a nail driven into place, unmoved by wind or rain.

"Whether she is the daughter of a capitalist or the daughter of a landlord, it is not her fault. That is something that a person is born into a certain family, and she cannot control it."

All I know is that she's a good person, kind, and gentle, and that she has nothing to do with those things.

Besides, she's a sent-down youth now, working in the production team every day to earn work points, just like everyone else in the village. Why should her class status be lower than anyone else's? Dad, you're wrong."

Zhou Fuxiang trembled with anger, his lips quivering as he managed to squeeze out a single sentence, his voice thin and shrill, as if drawn out bit by bit from between his teeth:

"I don't care what you say, I'm telling you, I forbid you from marrying Li Su'e! You must marry Sun Guiying!"

I've already arranged this marriage with the village chief. If you dare to go back on your word, you're just slapping my old face on the ground!

You've made the whole village laugh at me, Zhou Fuxiang, for breaking my word!

Zhou Haibing shook his head: "I will not marry Sun Guiying."

Zhou Fuxiang's eyes were wide open, and something seemed to be swirling in their sockets, whether from anger or anxiety, it was hard to tell.

His lips twitched, and his entire demeanor suddenly shifted from fury to a tactic he always used and that never failed him—crying and making a scene.

He sat down in the chair, covered his face with his hands, and his voice changed from a roar to a sobbing murmur. His shoulders heaved like a child who had suffered a great injustice.

"I raised you three siblings all by myself with great difficulty. Your mother passed away early."

As a man, I've been both a father and a mother to you all for so many years to raise you to where you are today.

Now that you've grown up and become powerful, you don't listen to me anymore.

What's the point of me living as your father? I might as well just die and go to your mother in the underworld, so I won't be an eyesore to you anymore..."

Zhou Haibing sat on the stool, watching his father's performance. He took a bite of a black cornbread, then put a small piece of pickled vegetable in his mouth and chewed it slowly.

His expression remained unchanged, as calm and undisturbed as a still lake.

In his previous life, he was manipulated by this crying and tantrum for decades—

His heart softened when his father cried; he gave in when his father made a fuss; and he agreed to anything when his father died.

In this life, he saw it clearly: this was nothing more than a play he had been performing for decades, a play he was very familiar with.

Zhou Fuxiang cried for a while, then glanced at Zhou Haibing and found that his eldest son had no reaction at all. He was calmly munching on his cornbread without even lifting his eyelids.

He couldn't cry anymore; his sobs gradually subsided, turning into a few dry, muffled sobs.

He peeked through his fingers again and saw that Zhou Haibing was still calm and composed. A strange, inexplicable anger surged up in his heart again.

He suddenly sprang up from his chair, rushed into the inner room in a few strides, and his footsteps pounded heavily on the muddy floor.

Zhou Hailong and Zhou Haiqing were both stunned, not knowing what their father was going to do.