Chapter 216: Chapter 216

These days, everything at home has been going wrong, and Zhang Lan feels all kinds of exhausted.

The old man hasn’t stopped blaming her, and she knows the sons are dissatisfied with her.

Zhang Lan could endure, but is a mother not allowed a little favoritism? She never thought she would be so openly criticized by Gong Zheng today.

Zhang Lan is not someone who swallows her pride. Even though the family’s reputation has plummeted recently, and she feels embarrassed to go out and chat with her friends, her temper remains.

Looking at Gong Zheng, who kept accusing her, Zhang Lan’s anger couldn’t be contained, and she rushed over and slapped Gong Zheng a few times.

"Is this how you are as a son?"

"For the sake of a woman, you dare to accuse your own mother in all sorts of ways."

"So what if she’s pregnant? It doesn’t make her special. It’s not like I don’t have grandchildren already. Do you think I care about the child in your wife’s belly?"

Zhang Lan said she initially looked forward to this grandson, but now all her expectations are gone. A child born to such a vicious mother can’t be good.

When he grows up, he might end up like the second brother’s child, nothing but a white-eyed wolf causing trouble.

Gong Zheng was stunned by Zhang Lan’s slaps. As far back as he could remember, Zhang Lan had never hit him; he was raised with all sorts of care.

He never thought that at the age of becoming a father, he’d get such a lesson from his own mother.

Gong Zheng wanted to endure it, but why should he? His mother is so biased and says such things.

The slapping of Gong Zheng by Zhang Lan was overheard by Gong Qiang, who was eavesdropping outside, and he was quite amused.

Gong Qiang was staying there to jump out and stop things if Gong Zheng managed to cajole Zhang Lan, but he didn’t expect to hear them fighting instead.

Especially when his own mother disciplined the arrogant Gong Zheng, he felt great. He never had any good feelings for his brother, who always pretends to be good.

Gong Dajiang came in with a drooping face from outside; he’s been in a bad mood recently. Among his old friends, he always had a superior status.

Not only was he doing well at work, but even his children were thriving. Yet recently, the Gong family has turned into a big joke. Even if they didn’t say it to his face, Gong Dajiang felt they were secretly laughing at him. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel{f}ire.net

He was about to go back to his room to rest and think about how to persuade Gong Tao to help with buying ginseng, when he saw Gong Qiang sneaking around his room door eavesdropping.

Seeing his eldest son’s disgraceful behavior, Gong Dajiang felt all kinds of annoyance, wanting to scold him right away; it’s like he’s regressing with age.

Before Gong Dajiang could speak, he heard what was being said inside, and the words left him stunned.

There were things Gong Zheng originally didn’t want to say, as they were things of the past and held no importance, but, with his mother’s attitude, he couldn’t swallow his anger.

"Mom, do you know why someone wanted to bring my second brother down?" Gong Zheng asked calmly.

How could Zhang Lan know about these things? She barely paid attention to Gong Tao’s work, and most things she knew came from Gong Qiang, who worked in the same unit as Gong Tao.

"Originally, if the second brother wasn’t brought down, he would have moved into the factory office, taking over the position of the person who wanted to promote big brother." It’s quite funny in retrospect; they schemed with outsiders against the second brother just for such a position.

In the end, they gained nothing, and big brother shone only for a moment before things got even worse for him.

As for himself, he shouldn’t even mention it. He was just a bystander watching the show, but ended up humiliated; indeed, one mustn’t be too cocky because some things are watched over by the gods above.

What? Gong Dajiang was incredulous. How could this be? How could this be?

What had he done to commit such a foolish act? Gong Dajiang looked at Gong Qiang in disbelief. Previously, he was blinded by his children’s complaints about Gong Tao. He never thought to investigate, and now he learns this.

If back then, Gong Tao hadn’t been unlucky, he would have been promoted to the factory. A young man under thirty capable of such progression means what exactly?

As long as one isn’t stupid, they’d understand the prospect’s significance; it meant a bright future awaited Gong Tao.

But now everything was ruined by him, and Gong Dajiang was so furious he could hardly breathe.

Gong Qiang was also dumbfounded. Of course, he knew about this matter. It was because he knew Gong Tao was about to be promoted that he was consumed with jealousy, leading him to plot against Gong Tao.

Since Gong Tao was disgracefully sent to the Northeast, no one mentioned his potential promotion anymore, and Gong Qiang sighed a breath of relief, thinking the matter had passed.

He never expected Gong Zheng to know about it, let alone make it public. What now?

"Dad, I..." Gong Qiang didn’t dare meet Gong Dajiang’s eyes. He never dared to face Gong Dajiang since he was a child. When the old man gets angry, it’s really no joke.

"Tell me if it’s true," Gong Dajiang shouted angrily, raising his voice.

Zhang Lan was initially all kinds of panicked. She truly didn’t know it would turn out , but in her hectic state, she didn’t know what to do.

She heard the old man’s voice in such a dire moment, adding insult to injury when all the words were overheard—what should she do now?

Zhang Lan gave Gong Zheng a harsh glare. If it weren’t for him leaking this information, this wouldn’t have happened, "Are you satisfied now."

Satisfied? Of course, satisfied. Gong Zheng heard the old man erupting at Gong Qiang and realized how disappointed he was in this so-called eldest son.

It should have been a moment of joy, so why does he feel heartbroken seeing his mom’s displeased expression?

Why feel heartache for such a biased mom? A person so partial is unworthy of his affection. Gong Zheng wiped his tears, "How am I satisfied? I don’t understand what you mean, Mom."

"I only learned about this recently. I just want you not to keep favoring big brother."

"Big brother is because of your favoritism, Mom."

"If you had educated big brother well or not cared for him at all, I think he would have turned out better."

"Mom, you never liked the second brother from the start and never cared for him, yet he has achieved so much."

Since he’s already at odds with Zhang Lan, taking advantage of Gong Dajiang being outside, Gong Zheng unreservedly darkens Zhang Lan’s character, but everything he says is true.

Originally, Gong Dajiang wanted to reprimand Gong Qiang, but hearing Gong Zheng’s words, he paused.

Out of all the children, the one who caused them the least worry, apart from Gong Tao, was no one else. However, it’s precisely this child, who they never troubled for or ignored, who grew so excellently out of their sight or concern. How could Gong Dajiang not feel pained in his heart?