The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 574 - 573: Zhou Hui and He Liyi, Dog Eat Dog

Chapter 574: Chapter 573: Zhou Hui and He Liyi, Dog Eat Dog

Zhou Hui comforted her daughter not to worry too much, but deep down, she couldn’t help feeling anxious, fearing her daughter had contracted pneumonia, so she took her to the hospital for a thorough examination.

After a series of tests, Liang Xiaowen was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was immediately transferred to an infectious diseases hospital for anti-tuberculosis treatment.

Zhou Hui was dumbfounded and couldn’t understand how her daughter could have contracted the disease.

Once she confirmed that she had not been infected, she called Zhao Dafa right away to remind him and to curry favor.

She was counting on Zhao Dafa to transfer the Lanxin Garden property into her name sooner rather than later.

On the phone, upon learning that Liang Xiaowen had contracted tuberculosis, Zhao Dafa began by consoling her and then brought up He Liyi.

"... I had just found out that she has tuberculosis. She hid it not only from you but also from Xiaoyun. Luckily, Xiaoyun was not infected by her."

"To prevent her from further pestering Xiaoyun, I gave her ten thousand yuan for her to sign an agreement waiving her parental rights, just hoping she would leave Fengcheng soon."

It turned out to be that bitch He Liyi!

Zhou Hui felt like her lungs were about to explode with anger.

Wait a minute, Zhao Dafa gave that bitch ten thousand yuan?

Zhou Hui immediately stormed off to He Liyi’s rented room.

Although He Liyi had signed the agreement to give up custody rights, she hadn’t taken the money back to Wencheng.

Rather than returning to be harried by creditors every day, she’d prefer to stay in Fengcheng with the money and start a small business.

Moreover, although she had lost custody of Zhao Yun, he was still her son, and he would have the obligation and responsibility to support her in the future.

With this in mind, she decided to wait until she had recovered from her tuberculosis before asking her husband to bring the children to Fengcheng to settle down permanently as a family of five.

When Zhou Hui came knocking, He Liyi was about to leave for the hospital to get her medication.

"Why are you here?"

"He Liyi, you whore, spreading your disease everywhere!"

Zhou Hui launched into a torrent of abuse, and He Liyi, caught off guard, could only cower and scream.

The commotion quickly drew the other residents of the building to watch the drama unfold.

To save money, He Liyi rented in an old tube building, where no fewer than twenty households lived on each floor.

Soon, the crowd at He Liyi’s door was three layers deep, inside and out.

He Liyi was new to the building and didn’t socialize with the other residents, so when they saw her being pinned down and hit by Zhou Hui, nobody stepped forward to break it up; instead, they were happy to watch the spectacle.

Zhou Hui, exhausted from hitting, turned and began smashing things inside the house.

Pots, pans, spoons, kettles, teacups, medicine bottles—anything she could throw, she threw to the ground. She even took out the clothes from the bed and the wardrobe, cutting them to shreds with scissors.

He Liyi, screaming, stepped forward to stop her but was shoved away by Zhou Hui.

"Everyone be careful, this bitch is He Liyi, she has tuberculosis and deliberately hid it, coming to my house every day, causing both my daughter and me to be infected. I’m here today to settle the score!"

What?

Tuberculosis?

That stuff is contagious!

In an instant, the onlookers at the door stepped back far away, afraid of getting infected.

Naturally, He Liyi would not admit it, "Don’t talk nonsense, who knows where you picked up your filth from, stop trying to pin it on me!

"You dare say you don’t have tuberculosis? Zhao Dafa told me everything. You’re so wicked at heart, you even drag your own son into this, are you an animal?!"

Seizing the opportunity while He Liyi was stunned with guilt, Zhou Hui pushed her aside and continued to rampage through the house.

She came not only to confront He Liyi but also for the ten thousand yuan.

He Liyi had promised to give her ten thousand yuan as a benefit.

She had done her end of the deal, and now her daughter had been infected with tuberculosis as a consequence; she was determined to get her hands on that money no matter what.

The room, barely twenty square meters in size, was turned upside down by Zhou Hui, but she couldn’t find any trace of the money.

Zhou Hui turned her head, her gaze falling on the floral cloth bag slung around He Liyi’s waist.

Sensing Zhou Hui’s intent, He Liyi turned and ran for the door.

The people in the hallway saw He Liyi coming out and wanted to make way, but they were packed too tightly; there was simply no room to move.

Just then, Zhou Hui chased after her and grabbed He Liyi’s bag.

"What do you think you’re doing? Let go!"

"You still owe me ten thousand yuan, and you’re going to give it to me today!"

In the tussle, the floral cloth bag ripped open, and its contents, along with a stack of banknotes, cascaded to the ground.

Both of them bent down and started to grab for the money.

During the struggle, the elastic band around the money snapped, scattering the notes across the ground like petals in the wind.

The onlooking crowd, like rabid dogs going after food, pounced to pick up the money.

"Don’t pick them up, that’s my money! Stop, all of you!"

No matter how loudly He Liyi screamed, it did no good; the money on the ground was quickly snatched up.

By the time the police from the station arrived, the crowd had long since dispersed, leaving only a few kids standing at a distance to watch the commotion.

Enraged, He Liyi grabbed Zhou Hui, claiming Zhou Hui had stolen her money and demanded compensation of ten thousand yuan.

Zhou Hui, of course, denied it, countering that it was He Liyi who hadn’t held on to her own money, and when it fell to the floor, the onlookers picked it up; she herself hadn’t taken any.

In fact, she had picked up a few bills, but she adamantly denied it.

He Liyi also accused Zhou Hui of assaulting her, smashing her house, and trying to steal her money.

Zhou Hui retorted that it was He Liyi who had the contagious disease and had deliberately concealed it, causing her daughter to be infected, and she had come to demand an explanation.

One said this, another said that.

Considering He Liyi’s contagious disease, the station sent He Liyi to the infectious diseases hospital for isolation, while Zhou Hui was taken back to the police station.

After the station’s investigation, both parties were equally punished.

Zhou Hui was guilty of assault and property damage, but as there was a reason for her actions and she showed a good attitude in admitting her mistake, she only received a warning and a fine to compensate He Liyi for property damage, totaling four hundred.

The exact amount she had picked up.

He Liyi, since she had intentionally concealed her disease history, was found guilty of endangering public safety and sentenced to three months of re-education through labor.

As for the ten thousand yuan that was "picked" from He Liyi, the police investigated for several days, but not a single household admitted to picking up any money, and in the end, the matter was left unresolved.

Zhao Dafa found some time to tell Shen Hongmei about He Liyi’s situation and current status.

Shen Hongmei, in turn, gossiped about it to Shen Mingzhu.

"So you see, Heaven is always fair and just; what shouldn’t be yours will always be returned eventually."

Shen Hongmei believed He Liyi losing her money was an act of fate, but Mingzhu thought it was engineered by someone.

He Liyi had promised Zhou Hui a "reward" of ten thousand yuan, and Zhao Dafa’s severance gift to He Liyi was exactly ten thousand yuan, no more no less. Coincidentally, Zhou Hui came to know about it.

Too many coincidences meant it was a scheme long in the making.

Zhao Dafa told Shen Hongmei everything without intending to hide it, it’s just a pity Shen Hongmei was too naive and simple-minded to read between the lines of Zhao Dafa’s intentions.

And this purity, in Zhao Dafa’s view, might well be a precious quality.

"How have you been getting along with Brother Zhao lately?"

Shen Hongmei nodded, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush, "President Shen, I would like to take a day off next Tuesday."

Shen Mingzhu teased her, "What, are you going to get your marriage certificate?"