Chapter 61
“Which family doesn’t divide like this? Parents always follow the main household,” said Team Leader Jiang, frowning, with an air of righteousness.
“I absolutely won’t agree if you want to separate us,” Su Xiaoxiao said, her cheeks slightly puffed up from anger. She looked like a frog about to burst from holding its breath, tempting someone to poke her.
Jiang Yexun watched her fiercely argue on their behalf, not yielding an inch, and felt his heart grow warmer.
“So what do you want then?” Team Leader Jiang realized he couldn’t deal with this situation and eventually surrendered.
Su Xiaoxiao thought for a moment before saying, “After we split, you and Aunt Guo can come and live with us, the third household. Otherwise, we won’t split, but from now on, Aunt Guo won’t need to do any housework. All of it will be handled by Jiang’s daughters-in-law. As for me, I’ll have to wait until I’m officially married into the Jiang family before I can start.”
After Aunt Guo had an accident while Jiang Yexun was briefly away from the production team after their previous split, it was clear that she hadn’t had an easy time in the main household. Su Xiaoxiao wouldn’t allow Aunt Guo to be exploited by the main and second households again.
“I won’t allow it!” Hu Yuezhen retorted anxiously when she heard Su Xiaoxiao’s suggestion. “In every family, parents always stay with the main household. If we set a precedent here, we’ll be the target of ridicule forever.”
Moreover, her in-laws were still healthy and capable of earning a total of sixteen work points every day. In contrast, the three of them couldn’t even earn three work points per day. The rest of their earnings were used to support them.
This Educated Youth Su had some ulterior motives in her heart; don’t think she didn’t know.
A city girl with money…
A high school student…
Pah!
She was still a money-minded person!
“I disagree with splitting the family. We’ve had a dispute today, and everyone is angry. Splitting the family in such a rash manner, we will surely regret it in the future,” Jiang Quansheng said firmly.
Su Xiaoxiao then turned to look at Jiang Quansheng, who had spoken up. She raised her eyebrows, puzzled. “What are you still doing here? Your wife is pregnant and not feeling well; why aren’t you with her?”
Jiang Quansheng awkwardly touched his lips and didn’t respond to her comment. He knew very well that if something had happened to his wife’s pregnancy, she wouldn’t have sent her older sister-in-law to fetch Su Xiaoxiao.
The most important thing at the moment is not to let this family split apart. Otherwise, their second household would be the ones to suffer the most, and they wouldn’t gain any benefits.
Team Leader Jiang, on the other hand, was relieved. His second son didn’t go to find his wife even being satirized like this, which suggested that nothing had happened to her and the child in her belly.
“Then let’s not split up! But from now on, you cannot bother your mother with any housework,” he nodded in agreement.
Hu Yuezhen was shocked, and she couldn’t believe her ears. Did this mean that all their quarreling had been in vain? Did this mean they would still have to work for nothing in the future?
However, the rest of the Jiang family didn’t care about what Hu Yuezhen thought. As long as Su Xiaoxiao was satisfied and didn’t cause any more trouble, that was enough.
Thinking that he, as the father, would be controlled by his son, Team Leader Jiang gave his other two sons a stern look. “Why are you still standing here? Go and find them quickly. If something happens to a pregnant woman, I’d like to see how you’ll handle it,” he scolded with a hidden implication, then glanced at Su Xiaoxiao surreptitiously.
However, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t hear his words at all. Her gaze was fixed firmly on his youngest son.
Forget it, if they have no conscience, so be it.
Team Leader Jiang sighed and could only call his eldest son and daughter-in-law, as well as his second son, to go together to find Yu Siping.
After they all left, Jiang Yexun and Aunt Guo looked at Su Xiaoxiao with guilt on their faces.
“Xiaoxiao, we’re sorry; it’s our fault we didn’t manage those troublesome brats.”
“Auntie, it’s not your fault. Why are you apologizing to me? There will always be conflicts between in-laws. They will never learn to behave properly in their lifetime. As long as we don’t let them take advantage of us, it’s fine.”
Su Xiaoxiao smiled carefreely, but it made them feel even more guilty.
Jiang Yexun’s lips moved slightly, still wanting to say something, but Su Xiaoxiao quickly spoke up, “By the way, Brother Yexun, last night, the folks from our educated youth dormitory made plans to go fishing together during the day today. You can take a nap at noon, and in the afternoon, we can join them for some fun, okay?”
Jiang Yexun stared at the charming young girl in front of him, and once he confirmed that she genuinely didn’t want to dwell on the previous matter, he nodded. “Alright, after lunch, I’ll take you back for a nap, and we can go fishing at 4 in the afternoon.”
Last night, the little educated youth said that it was rare for them not to work, and she wanted his mother to get some extra rest in the morning so she could have biscuits and cake after waking up. But with the commotion this morning caused by those two troublesome brats, he wasn’t sure if she had a proper breakfast.
“I don’t need a nap. I woke up late today, around nine o’clock. But I made a cake, and it hasn’t been steamed yet,” Su Xiaoxiao said, suddenly feeling a bit worried. She had just placed the enamel pot in the Jiang family’s kitchen, thinking that the chaotic situation might knock over her cake. What if Hu Yuezhen, who never cared about manners, decided to take a liking to her cake…
Thinking of this, Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t sit still any longer. She stood up and headed for the kitchen.
Jiang Yexun quickly got up and followed her.
By this time, Aunt Guo was already in the kitchen, continuing to prepare salted duck eggs.
When she saw the two educated youth entering, she smiled affectionately and said, “Xiaoxiao, these duck eggs were specially bought by Yexun for you to make salted duck eggs. They taste great when we have porridge or dumplings.
Ducks were rare in the production team, and duck eggs were more expensive than chicken eggs. These eggs were clearly wild duck eggs, and they had a unique and delicious taste.
“Thank you, Aunt Guo,” Su Xiaoxiao said sweetly and gratefully.
She then looked at Jiang Yexun, who appeared somewhat hesitant.
“During the winter, what else would you like to eat? We should start preparing for it now,” Jiang Yexun asked.
“I’d like some frozen pears and pickled cabbage. I heard that frozen pears are really delicious here. Are they available?”
“Yes,” Jiang Yexun immediately agreed without much thinking. He didn’t want to disappoint her, especially since he could easily procure these items.
“Is there anything else?” he asked.
“That’s all for now. I’m not sure what other winter delicacies are available in this area,” Su Xiaoxiao replied innocently.
“Do you want to buy some more star anise? Then, you and Aunt Guo can come to my place, and we can have a hotpot together,” She suddenly suggested with excitement.
She had never tried hotpot before, mainly because it was a rare luxury due to limited resources. Sesame paste, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise were all scarce commodities. During every major festival, each household in the city would only have one or two of these items.
Decades later, on television, she saw many people enjoying it. Even the servants in Jiang Yexun’s family secretly made and ate it themselves. Watching all this, she, a poor ghost who had passed away, would have to squat on the side, desperately swallowing her non-existent saliva