Zhu Zhe glared at him indignantly.

Zhu Zhe: "How could I possibly hide my marriage from you all?"

Mother Zhu: "Er Niu is married, and you never come back either. There's only your brother left at home, and our New Year's Eve dinner just isn't lively anymore."

"Are you doing okay by yourself? Your brother said you've gained weight and look even younger than Er Niu."

The two listening intently in front raised their eyebrows; this Mother Zhu sounded halfway decent.

She seemed quite concerned about Sister Zhu, so why had things become so bad that Sister Zhu didn't even want to go home?

Zhu Zhe: "I'm doing fine. Work is busy, but at least it's stable."

"How about you all? When my brother and sister came before, they told me you were in great spirits."

Mother Zhu: "Great spirits, my foot."

"Working at home, growing vegetables, tilling the land, raising pigs and chickens—you work all year round and still can't make much money."

Chen Cheng's eyes lit up, and he exchanged a look with Zhu Zhe.

They both knew what was coming was finally here.

Sure enough, Mother Zhu abruptly changed the subject. "By the way, you borrowed money to put your brother through school—have those debts been paid off yet?"

Before Chen Cheng could shake his head, Zhu Zhe blurted out, "Just paid off."

Seeing Chen Cheng's expression, Zhu Zhe realized she had let it slip.

As expected, Mother Zhu immediately began gaslighting Zhu Zhe.

"It's hard to find work around here. Even university graduates can't find jobs."

On the other end of the line, Mother Zhu placed her phone on the table and turned on the speakerphone.

At this moment, Zhu Zhe's brother, Zhu Mingjie, was sitting on the sofa playing on his phone.

"Your brother has gone into the city to look for work several times, but he's hit a wall every time."

"I scolded him, saying he shouldn't have quit his job in the first place."

Hearing these clumsy tactics, Chen Cheng shook his head speechlessly; they were trying to guilt-trip Sister Zhu.

"Think about it, do you have any connections over there?"

Zhu Zhe caught on to the implication and took a breath. "How could it be hard to find work?"

"There are plenty of jobs in the provincial capital; they say they can't even find enough people right now."

"And the wages are about the same as what the factories in the Yangtze River Delta are paying."

Zhu Mingjie, who had been listening intently, grew anxious.

"Those are all sweatshop laborer positions. You have to rely on overtime just to earn a little extra."

"White-collar jobs are all about having connections."

Zhu Zhe was speechless and rolled her eyes in frustration. Her brother was arrogant but incompetent, completely spoiled rotten by their parents.

"What right do you have to look down on manual labor?"

"In our hotel, even students from second-tier universities have to start from the bottom, cleaning. If your cleaning speed can't keep up with the other staff,"

"you'll be let go during your probation period."

"You're not from Tsinghua or Peking University; who's going to care about your degree?"

"If you don't start from the bottom, what makes you think you deserve an office job?"

Zhu Mingjie was immediately displeased. He stood up and shouted into the phone:

"Da Mao next door only finished middle school and got into a factory. I spent four years in university, only to end up in a factory just like him."

"My salary isn't as good as his, and my rank isn't as high as his."

"How can I have the face to go out and see people?"

"I scored twice as high as him in the high school entrance exam; doesn't that make me a joke?"

Zhu Zhe's face twitched with anger at these words.

Wasn't she, the one who didn't even go to high school, also someone Zhu Mingjie looked down on?

Zhu Zhe's temper flared too. "And you have the face to be a parasite at home?"

"If you're so good at studying, why don't you try taking the civil service exam?"

"Take the civil service exam?" On the other end, Zhu Mingjie became even more agitated, almost roaring, "Do you think taking the civil service exam is as simple as eating or drinking water?"

Seeing that her son was about to ruin the call, Mother Zhu quickly tried to smooth things over. "How are you talking to your sister?"

"Alright, alright, go sit down."

By now, Li Na and Xiao Ye could already feel that sense of suffocation.

Mother Zhu hadn't stopped on the other end of the line.

"However, back to the point, neither of you is willing to help your brother find a job. He's a university graduate, yet he's still working as a laborer."

"Doesn't that mean his university education was a waste?"

Chen Cheng shook his head. He had no ability to find a job himself, yet he was too proud to shed his "long gown."

"Forget it, forget it, let's not talk about this. After the New Year, when recruitment starts, we'll pull some strings and spend some money to find your brother a good job."

As she spoke, Mother Zhu changed her tone again. "Ahem..."

"Since... you're not coming back for the New Year, then you..."

"You should just send the money for your travel expenses, plus your overtime pay, back home."

It was finally time to show her true colors.

Zhu Zhe and Chen Cheng exchanged a look, a bitter smile appearing on her face as she spread her hands.

Chen Cheng held her hand, feeling a pang of heartache.

Listening to the call, Li Na and Xiao Ye also felt an endless sense of suffocation.

Is this even a real mother?

She is clearly a vampire.

Mother Zhu continued, "Your father and I will be able to properly find a good job for your brother."

"Once your brother has a good job, we'll be able to spend less on the bride price in the future."

"In short, it won't be wasted."

"Also, didn't you pay off that debt?"

"Then every month... send an extra thousand yuan home."

"Your father and I won't spend your money; we'll save it for your brother's wedding in the future."

Zhu Zhe's temper had already flared up. "If he wants to get married, let him earn the money himself."

"If he can't earn money, why get married? Is he trying to ruin some young girl's life?"

Hearing that her son was being belittled, Mother Zhu immediately grew anxious. "How are you talking?"

"You don't think about it; you're the only one your brother has, and in the future, we'll be counting on him to have your back."

"With someone in your maiden family, you'll be able to stand tall."

"The more successful your brother is, the more confident you'll be."

"I'm doing this all for your own good."

"I wouldn't hurt you."

Zhu Zhe tried to speak, "Mom, listen to me..." but was impatiently interrupted by Mother Zhu.

"Alright, alright, just do as I say."

With that, not allowing Zhu Zhe to refuse, she hung up the phone directly.

Xiao Ye turned her head, fuming. "What kind of logic is that? Sister Zhu, do you really need your brother to have your back?"

"Does the Y chromosome come with a built-in 'having your back' trait?"

As she spoke, Xiao Ye felt a murderous aura and immediately looked at Chen Cheng, suppressing her laughter. "Hubby, I'm not talking about you."

Zhu Zhe and Li Na were immediately amused by Xiao Ye's friendly fire, which had accidentally hit Chen Cheng.

Zhu Zhe chuckled twice and shrugged. "My mom actually believes it."

"My brother is the same; when he's asking me for money, he's absolutely convinced that he'll be able to have my back in the future."

"But if you ask him to do something for you, he'll pretend to be invisible."

"My sister doesn't want to hand over her bride price and wants to keep it for her own small family; I support that."

"But she shifted the blame for this onto me."

Zhu Zhe smiled speechlessly. "It seems I was wrong to think about sending more money home yesterday."

"Now it seems it's safer to keep the money with myself."

Chen Cheng patted the back of her hand. "As long as you have a clear conscience, that's all that matters."

"Your parents aren't waiting for the money to save their lives. Your brother has hands and feet; if he really couldn't survive, he would follow his biological instincts to find food."

"Hmm." Zhu Zhe nodded, forcing a smile.