Chapter 241
She thought about her daughter who had married into the neighboring production team, the dowry back then was only twenty-five yuan, which was considered low compared to nearby production teams. That’s why for so many years, whenever she was beaten at her husband’s home, their family never dared to stand up for her. They were afraid that her in-laws would demand the dowry back and take her daughter away.
Now thinking back, it seemed that she had never let her daughter live a good life. There were two daughters-in-law in her home who always pushed her daughter to bring more things back to compensate their maternal family. Even though they knew that every time they brought something, after their daughter returned, she would inevitably face a beating.
The more she thought about it, the more uneasy the aunt felt sitting there. Watching Aunt Guo and the others made her even more ashamed and wanting to bury herself.
But the other two aunts just felt Aunt Guo was foolish, and that she had even taught her son to be foolish. Nevertheless, she was fortunate to have found someone rich yet naive, willing to be deceived by them. He provided them with money and now even supported their married-off daughter.
Su Xiaoxiao felt like sparks were flying from her back because of their scrutiny. Only when Jiang Yexun turned around to glare at them did these people quiet down a bit.
Since he brought someone with him this time, and it was still early, Uncle Wang parked the ox cart at the supply and marketing cooperative. Aunt Guo then went to the supply and marketing cooperative, grabbed some of the rationed milk powder, and finally carried it with her to her daughter’s house.
The door was opened by Hua Shoucheng, who was supposed to be at work by now. He saw that Jiang Yexun and Aunt Guo were carrying things and felt a bit embarrassed, scratching his head.
“Mom, why did you bring so many things again? I just took a lot home a couple of days ago.”
“I’m here to nourish my daughter. With the snow yet to fall, people are still willing to sell these things, so I rushed to buy some. If I waited any longer, no one would be selling them. Plus, I’m heading to Shanghai and won’t be back until after the New Year, so I had to stock up for her.”
Aunt Guo didn’t doubt her son-in-law’s care for her daughter, but men are often careless, and she worried he wouldn’t think of such things. Even if he did, he might just buy some malted milk or meat, nothing too thoughtful.
“Thank you, Mom,” Hua Shoucheng quickly expressed his gratitude. After ushering them inside, he pulled out two large bills from his pocket, intending to give them to Aunt Guo, only to be met with a stern glare.
“Do I need your money to buy something for my daughter?”
Hua Shoucheng laughed awkwardly. “I just thought I could use your kindness to show mine. I haven’t been thoughtful enough to get anything nourishing for Xinyue, and I worry she might think I’m neglectful.”
Meanwhile, Jiang Xinyue, who had been listening from the living room, noticed they were still talking in the hallway and hadn’t come inside. Supporting her belly, she walked out, only to see the money in Hua Shoucheng’s hand.
Feigning anger, she said, “Didn’t you hand over all your salary? Where did you get this extra money from? And twenty yuan, no less?”
Hua Shoucheng was startled, quickly moving to support her. “Xinyue, don’t be upset. This money is from your mom. She told me to buy more food for you during the New Year to make sure you’re well-nourished. She also said you should eat small, frequent meals now that you’re further along. I had planned to rest for a few days and then go buy some enriched flour and peanuts, but when I saw what my mother-in-law brought, I realized that those things might not be the best for a pregnant woman.”
“Alright, keep your money, think about what to buy for Xinyue yourself,” Aunt Guo looked at her usually obedient son-in-law, whose face was red with embarrassment, and waved her hand with a smile. Then, she handed all the things in her hands to Hua Shoucheng in one go.
After taking them, Hua Shoucheng immediately put the things away in the kitchen. When he came out again, he looked at Aunt Guo and Su Xiaoxiao with some hesitation.
“Mom, this job was not easy to obtain. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate for Xinyue to go to work? If she gets a regular job, she won’t have to work in the fields anymore.”
“After I married Brother Yexun, I don’t have to work either,” Su Xiaoxiao said confidently.
But she was right, and her words were certainly correct. Nowadays, those educated youths sent to the countryside, male or female, only marry locals because they can’t endure the hardship of farming. It’s just a matter of reputation that doesn’t sound good. However, Su Xiaoxiao was well aware that she wouldn’t stay long in the Hong Feng Production Team.
Once she left, they would never have the chance to meet again in their lifetime. So, whatever they said didn’t matter. If they were so afraid of what they said, there would be plenty of places they could gossip about. They would not work in the fields, earn less than eight work points per day, deliberately pretend to be weak when pregnant, not work hard, not be filial to their father-in-law, eat too well, dress too well… Rather than endless internal strife, it is better to ignore others directly.
“But this is a regular job, it’s so rare,” Hua Shoucheng was still a bit embarrassed.
“But I don’t want to go to work,” Su Xiaoxiao said helplessly. However, she also knew what seven hundred yuan meant at this time. Some people may spend their entire lives, pay all the price, and get nothing from either of these two.
It was not surprising that Hua Shoucheng was so determined to return to them. “You see, I told you that the decisions made by Xiaoxiao and Yexun are not going to be changed. We should just remember their good intentions.”
Jiang Xinyue was joking with her husband on the side. There is no need to be so polite with her younger brother. She was straightforward by nature, quite the opposite of her husband, who always worried about owing too much to others, unsure how he could ever repay such kindness.
Hua Shoucheng glanced at Su Xiaoxiao, then back at his wife, and finally resigned himself to the situation. “Alright, let’s do it your way.”
But even as he agreed, he was already pondering in his mind how he could repay such a significant favor in the future.
Jiang Yexun noticed his contemplative expression and finally spoke up, “We bought this job with the intention of selling old items to the recycling station.”
In other words, now that they were in charge, it would be easy to purchase what they needed. The recycling station’s items were rarely scrutinized as long as the final tally and accounts were correct.
If the recycling station received an old item, they could record it as scrap paper. Then, they could buy that so-called scrap paper at a slightly higher price. As long as no one skimmed money, there would be no issues.
If necessary, they could even buy old dishes or bowls from the black market and swap them out. This way, when the higher-ups conducted checks, they wouldn’t notice anything missing or out of place.
However, Jiang Yexun, fearing that Hua Shoucheng might not want to get involved, decided to lay it all out plainly.