Su Qing couldn't help but marvel at what a piece of work Er La Niang was, screwing over her own son for the sake of her nephew.
"What happened next? How was it resolved?" Su Qing asked.
"What happened next," Aunt Tao said, "is that Zhang Erlai went straight to Er La Niang with an ultimatum. He told her if she agreed to sever their relationship, he'd give her a lump-sum payment for forty years of support, based on five yuan a month. If she refused, he'd just walk away. Then she'd never be able to find him, let alone get any money for her retirement. He told her to choose one of the two options."
Aunt Tao clicked her tongue. "You have no idea. When Zhang Erlai said that, everyone in Lihua Village was stunned. If you do the math, that's a one-time payment of 2,400 yuan! Good heavens, most families probably couldn't save that much in a lifetime. Everyone started guessing that Zhang Erlai must have struck it rich somewhere."
