Chapter 40: Zhou Dakui and Xie Fenglan

Jiangzhou City, old town district, Xihuanli Xiaoqu.

At 9:30 at night, an old Mazda pulled up under a residential building.

Zhou Yue got out of the car, looked at the cars parked everywhere on the ground, and thought of the several laps she had to circle before finally finding a parking spot; she felt both angry and aggrieved.

Compared to the houses in the city center, this old residential area, which was nearly forty years old, was truly too dilapidated; it was dirty, messy, and poor everywhere, and a smell of trash floated in the air.

The moment she got out of the car, Zhou Yue felt the urge to leave immediately.

But thinking of Lin Dazhi and Bai Weiwei at home, doing that kind of shameless thing, even if she had no backbone, she couldn't bring herself to make that decision.

Moreover, she also needed to discuss the matter regarding Lin Dazhi with her family.

From where she parked to the bottom of the building where her parents lived was a full hundred meters. Zhou Yue was still wearing her newly bought high heels, and after walking so far, her ankles were sore.

In the pitch-black stairwell, a foul odor permeated the air. Zhou Yue endured it, turned on her phone's flashlight, and carefully walked up the stairs, step by step.

Xihuanli Xiaoqu was all old buildings with a traditional 6+1 structure, and there were no elevators installed. Before she was married, Zhou Yue lived here with her parents and didn't feel there was anything inconvenient about it, but ever since she moved into Shangcheng Huafu with Lin Dazhi, she had grown accustomed to living in an elevator building; now that she had to climb stairs again, she was extremely unaccustomed to it.

After finally climbing to the fourth floor, Zhou Yue raised her hand and knocked on the door. After waiting for quite a while, the door inside finally opened.

"Xiaoyue? Why are you back at this hour?" The one who opened the door was Zhou Dakui, Zhou Yue's father. Seeing her come home so late, there was some surprise on Zhou Dakui's face.

As soon as Zhou Yue entered the door, she smelled a strong odor of cigarettes and alcohol, and couldn't help but frown as she said, "Dad, have you been drinking again?"

"So what if I'm drinking? You don't buy me liquor, yet you still control my drinking?" Zhou Dakui said in a slurred voice; when he spoke, it was as if there was thick phlegm in his throat, which sounded very unpleasant.

"Where are Mom and Xiaobing?" Zhou Yue entered the room, looked around, didn't see her mother or younger brother, and asked casually.

"Your mom went to do square dancing. Didn't Xiaobing just start seeing someone? The two of them went out to play, said they were going to see some concert," Zhou Dakui said, then sat back down on the sofa to watch TV.

"See what concert? With his level, where even his singing is off-key, can he understand a concert?" Hearing Zhou Dakui's words, Zhou Yue scoffed and said.

"How would I know? Maybe it was his partner's idea," Zhou Dakui said while watching TV.

"Right, Dad, I remember you told me last time that Xiaobing's partner is named something like Li, but I forgot again." Zhou Na took off her high heels, found a pair of slippers to change into, and went to the dining table to pour herself a glass of water, saying this while she drank.

"Zhang Xiaoli. The young girl is quite good; she's pretty and speaks nicely, it's just that she's a bit short," Zhou Dakui said.

"Short is fine. Xiaojun isn't tall either. I saw them together once at the mall, and they look quite well-matched. By the way, what does this Zhang Xiaoli do?" Zhou Yue asked.

"They say she works at a beauty salon. She earns quite a bit a month, seven or eight thousand, and can make over ten thousand when things are good," Zhou Dakui said, his tone filled with a sense of pride.

"That kind of job has fluctuating income and isn't stable. Although our Xiaojun works at a factory and earns a little less, at least he has the three insurances and one fund; he's more than enough for her," Zhou Na said while carrying her water glass to the coffee table in the living room and pulling up a small stool to sit on.

"That's true. Sigh, I say, you coming back in the middle of the night, what exactly is it for?" Zhou Dakui saw his daughter's poor complexion and asked again.

"Don't ask, it's all because of that Lin Dazhi, I'm almost furious to death!" Zhou Yue said hatefully.

"Lin Dazhi? Aren't you two already divorced? How did he anger you? What? Did he lay hands on you at home again? If he dares to do that, we'll sue him for rape!" Hearing his daughter's words, Zhou Dakui glared and said.

When Zhou Dakui was young, he worked in the security team at the Jiangzhou Leather Shoe Factory. His temper wasn't very good, and when he was young, he was one of those hoodlums and rascals. Although he was older now and couldn't handle the fighting and killing anymore, whenever he encountered trouble, his first thought was still to play dirty and act like a bully.

Regarding the matter of his daughter divorcing Lin Dazhi, Zhou Dakui gave it his full support. In fact, Zhou Yue's divorce from Lin Dazhi stemmed largely from the instigation of him and his wife, Xie Fenglan.

Xie Fenglan was a rural woman who, in her youth, was a famous snob in the village. Her eyes only looked upward and never downward, and her mouth was especially vicious; she was the type who wouldn't suffer even the slightest loss.

Her marriage to Zhou Dakui was a case of "a turtle looking at a green bean"—they were a perfect match. Neither of them was a good person, and for so many years, they had been birds of a feather, living a decent life. It was just that their reputation among relatives and friends was extremely poor; everyone knew this family was not to be trifled with and kept their distance whenever anything happened.

When Zhou Yue chose Lin Dazhi as her partner, the two of them were quite happy at first. After all, at that time, Lin Dazhi ran a training institution and earned quite a bit of money a year, and he had already bought a house in the city. Although he didn't have a formal teaching position like Zhou Yue, he earned a lot of money, so the old couple both agreed.

But who would have known that after three years of turmoil, every industry was in a slump, and Lin Dazhi's training institution closed down. The once-prosperous Lin Dazhi became a food delivery driver, and the old couple started to look down on this son-in-law.

Especially two months ago, because of Zhou Xiaobing needing to borrow money to buy a car, Lin Dazhi couldn't even produce a single cent, which made the old couple even more angry at Lin Dazhi from the bottom of their hearts.

It just so happened that at that time, Zhou Yue was also arguing with Lin Dazhi about divorce, so the old couple egged her on from behind, telling Zhou Yue to divorce Lin Dazhi.

Not only divorce, but also take away one of his houses, and furthermore, to divorce without moving out, so she could continue to live in a good house for free and save on rent and utilities. The old couple's calculations could be called shrewd.

Just imagine, how could such an old couple watch their daughter suffer a loss? So, hearing Zhou Yue's words, Zhou Dakui immediately lost his temper.

"Oh, Dad, don't guess blindly, it's not what you think," Zhou Yue said hurriedly upon hearing Zhou Dakui's words.

In her heart, she thought, "I actually wish he would lay hands on me."

If Lin Dazhi laid hands on her, wouldn't there be a chance for remarriage?

The villa, the luxury car, and those 32 million in savings—wouldn't they all be hers?

Just as Zhou Yue was thinking this, the door opened, and her mother, Xie Fenglan, also returned.