Reborn as a Tough Army Wife

Fang Pingying, on her end, had given the renovation workers two days off due to the extreme cold these past couple of days, with rain and snow falling outside. She told them to resume work after two days. After all, the shop's renovation was almost complete, with only some finishing touches left.

Moreover, because of Luo Zhiming's affair, Fang Xiu would either cry or make a scene in the shop. Fang Pingying thought it was unsuitable for others to witness.

With the cold weather, they weren't making cakes in the shop, so Fang Pingying and the others sat around a stove to keep warm indoors.

Fang Xiucai was having a nice chat with them when she suddenly brought up Luo Zhiming, and she started crying with a sense of grievance, "Luo Zhiming treats me like this, I just can't go on living like this. Sometimes I think it would be better if I were dead."

"Fang Xiu, stop talking nonsense. If you really had the heart to die, you wouldn't have waited until today," Fang Pingying had been pushed to the brink of a mental breakdown these past few days by such outbursts and snapped irritably at her, "Besides, it's not your fault. If anyone should die, it's not you."

Fang Xiu's crying stopped abruptly, and she looked at Fang Pingying unhappily, "Are you saying that Luo Zhiming should die?"

If people could just die so easily without consequences, Fang Pingying indeed wouldn't find it a pity if Luo Zhiming were dead, but unfortunately, it wasn't that simple, and the problem still needed to be solved.

She glanced at Fang Xiu, "Even if he dies, it wouldn't solve anything, but it would leave behind a whole host of troubles."

After a pause, she continued, "As I see it, Fang Xiu, you only have two choices now. If you really feel you can't go on with Luo Zhiming, then just get a divorce."

"I..." The mention of divorce clearly made Fang Xiu unwilling.

Fang Pingying looked at her helplessly, "Look at you, you still don't want to divorce, so stop this crying and tantrum-throwing. It's no use, and besides, Luo Zhiming isn't here to see it even if he could. If he did, it would probably just annoy him and cause further estrangement between you two, making life even harder in the future."

"What should I do then? My man has done such a thing, and I can't even cry about it?" Fang Xiu felt wronged, and now aside from crying and making scenes, she had nothing else she could do.

Fang Pingying said, "It's not that you can't cry, but it's useless. Crying won't solve any problems."

"So what do we do about this? We can't pay the US$ 500." Fang Xiu was at a loss.

"As I've said before, if you're willing, the money isn't impossible to pay back." Fang Pingying analyzed for her, "The woman didn't say you have to pay it all back at once, but you can pay back a little each month. If the matter disgusts you and you don't want to pay, just make it clear to Zhiming. Crying won't solve the problem."

"I think, when your older brother brings Zhiming here tomorrow, have Zhiming take the woman to the hospital first to check if she's really pregnant. If she is, then just abort the child right there in the hospital, and then sign some sort of contract stating that once this money is paid off, you two are even, and at least this matter will be temporarily resolved."

Hearing this, Fang Xiu made a bitter face, "Fifty yuan a month, how much does Zhiming's salary amount to in a month? How can we pay it back?"

"Sister-in-law, then just have your brother extend the time. If you can't pay it back in ten months, then pay it over the course of a year. Besides, you and your brother earn US$ 60 a month. Even after paying US$ 50, you still have ten yuan left over, which is enough. I haven't spent a penny living with my sister-in-law for a month," Luo Honglan was an honest person and had actually wanted to say this for a while.

In her opinion, since Fang Xiu hadn't said she was unwilling to live with her brother, they should just pay the money back.

Based on their salaries, they could indeed pay back the money, and they would still have over ten yuan left each month. There was no need to make a scene every day.

Fang Pingying knew that Luo Honglan was young and unmarried, and had never even been in love, so naturally, she wouldn't understand Fang Xiu's thoughts. Perhaps for Fang Xiu, money was secondary; what really bothered her was the issue with Luo Zhiming and that woman. If she were in Fang Xiu's shoes, she probably would have the heart to chop Luo Zhiyong to pieces, so she didn't urge her to help pay off the debt. However, she also didn't speak up about it.

"I..." Fang Xiu had certainly thought it over, but asking her to help Luo Zhiming pay off this kind of debt felt like a huge injustice. "I don't want to. This is trouble Luo Zhiming brought upon himself. I won't be a beast of burden and pay off his debts for him."

"Indeed, this matter is Luo Zhiming's fault. If you can't accept it, then my suggestion is that you should just get a divorce." Fang Pingying thought it was straightforward—she wouldn't hesitate to suggest that Fang Xiu divorce Luo Zhiming.

Considering Luo Zhiming's current situation, it might turn out to be even worse than in his previous life. It would be better for Fang Xiu to extricate herself while she was still young rather than ending up in the same situation as her past life.

She couldn't have children, Luo Zhiming would no longer want her, getting remarried would be difficult, and eventually, she would end up living the second half of her life with a sickly daughter in Li Yuchun's home.

But when Fang Xiu heard the suggestion of divorce, she reacted very strongly to it and even blamed her, so Fang Pingying felt it was not her place to say more.

On the other hand, if she wasn't willing to divorce, then she would have to think of a solution to the problem. Crying and making a scene in the store every day—who was that for?

After thinking it over, Fang Xiu said, "Let's wait for Luo Zhiming to come over and talk about it. Relying on us alone, I can't pay off the debt. If it really comes down to it, I'd rather just divorce." The M|V|LE&MPYR team worked hard on this chapter.

Fang Pingying knew what Fang Xiu meant by that. She probably hoped that the family could chip in to cover the debt; maybe Zhou Yunmei could contribute something, she and Luo Zhiyong could provide some, and then with just a small amount left, they could pay it off themselves, and that would be acceptable to her.

However, Fang Pingying had made up her mind not to contribute even a single cent to this matter. Even if Luo Zhiming were to be taken to the Police Station, she wouldn't pay.

The money she had worked so hard to earn was meant for her and her spouse to live better, not for cleaning up their messes.

She was certain that if they helped Luo Zhiming pay off this debt, he would make the same mistake again within two months. With someone to clean up after him, what would he have to fear?

Besides, expenses for the store's rent and renovation also required a sum of money.

Moreover, she had already arranged with Uncle Zeng since the store's profits would be hers. With the contract signed early, she had to start paying rent once the store was up and running.

In a little over a month, her net profits were about one thousand yuan. She needed to keep some in reserve, as there would be plenty of expenses once the store was operational.

What was more important—and as she had told Fang Xiu—was that even if she didn't contribute the money, it didn't mean the problem couldn't be resolved. As she had said before, the issue wasn't too difficult to handle.

Whoever made the mistake should be the one to shoulder the responsibility.

The next day, the weather was great, and the renovation workers arrived early to finish up the final touches.

In fact, the store's renovation was almost complete; only some of the carpentry work needed finishing touches.

To maximize space, Fang Pingying had discussed with Zeng Weiguo to add built-in shelves and cabinets around the store during the renovation, and several rows of overhead cabinets had been installed at the top of the room to display goods.

(To be continued. If you like this work, please head over to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote and support us with a monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)