Chapter 16

Chapter 16

On the table, in the money box, the scattered coins added up to less than three hundred!

"Mom, this isn't right, is it? How come we have so little money?" The first one to jump up was Wang Laosan, Wang Qingzheng.

Although he didn't handle the money, almost everyone in their family were able-bodied workers! Even if Old Fifth's wife had just married into the family, there were still eleven people working. The annual work points divided down, how could it possibly result in such a small amount of money?

Zhao Guifen glared with her arms akimbo and shot him an annoyed look. "What do you mean? Didn’t your marriages cost anything? Do you think wives just blow in with the wind? You all eat like horses. It’s already good that we have this much money left in the household."

Zhao Guifen spoke with confidence, but she felt guilty inside.

Had she hidden too much?

But if she hadn't, how would Old Fifth and Second Brother buy jobs for themselves?

Even if Old Fifth's wife said she would find a way back home, they couldn't really let her do that! Old Fifth's wife's family would help Old Fifth later on.

Now, they had to spend the family's money on him!

Otherwise, when the day came for the division of assets, wouldn't it all go to Eldest Brother?

Why should he get any of the family's money!

Wang Qingzheng frowned, feeling that the amount of money was incorrect.

Compared to him, Wang Qingliang beside him exploded directly: "Mom, almost everyone in our family can earn ten work points. Just last autumn, the money we exchanged from our work points amounted to more than seven hundred yuan. Why is there none now?"

Zhao Guifen was taken aback.

She remained silent.

Bai Xiuxiu sighed and smiled. "Don't blame Mom."

Zhao Guifen froze, disbelieving.

This was Eldest Brother's wife? She...

"How much pressure must Mom be under for hoarding so much money?" Bai Xiuxiu smiled.

At her words, Zhao Guifen wished she could strangle her.

Why couldn't she learn from past experiences! How could she believe that Eldest Brother's wife would say something nice?

"Mom, our family's food and drink for the year come from the autumn harvest. As for meat, most of the time, it comes from Qinghe's hunting expeditions and winter storage. There aren't many expenses. You wouldn't be telling us that Old Fifth gave several hundred yuan as a dowry for his wife, would you?"

Bai Xiuxiu asked in amazement.

With her words, the others also remembered. That was true! They didn't usually spend much on food and drink at home!

Zhao Guifen's face darkened. "You don't know anything about running a household. Isn't this how every family lives? Who can save several hundred yuan a year? Wouldn't that be better than a factory worker?"

"Mom, a factory worker can't save several hundred yuan a year alone, but two or three of them can. Our village may not compare, but we're not just a few people. Altogether, eleven people work. After a few years, there's only three hundred yuan left?"

Bai Xiuxiu glanced at Zhao Guifen. Her mother-in-law was truly stupid!

Stupid and black-hearted!

Zhao Guifen blushed with embarrassment at her words.

"Mom, this is too much. If you don't want to take it out, just say so. Why play us like fools?" Fourth Brother, Wang Qingliang, was very unhappy.

Third Brother, Wang Qingzheng, also had a dark expression.

They were all part of the same family. How could Little Wu and Second Brother be considered people, but not them?

Smack!

Just as everyone was dissatisfied, Wang Shoucheng slapped Zhao Guifen: "You heartless fool! What are you waiting for? How much did you hide? Hurry up and take it out!"

This slap stunned the whole family.

In their household, hitting one's wife wasn't practiced!

Moreover, how old was their mother?

Zhao Guifen didn't expect that at her age, she would still be hit. She cried out in anger: "You hit me? Who do you think I'm doing this for? Take it out? Fine, take it! Let's just forget about living together!"

Crying and shouting, she took out some more money.

Bai Xiuxiu was initially surprised by the sudden violence.

Seeing the amount of money taken out, she understood.

This was clearly a ploy.

This time, Zhao Guifen had learned her lesson and painfully took out eight hundred yuan.

"That's it! We've used the rest of the money over the years for food and drink. This, plus what I took out earlier, totals one thousand and one hundred and seventy yuan." Zhao Guifen covered her face, looking utterly dejected.

So much money!

The Wang family members' hearts raced at the sight.

They no longer suspected that money was being hidden. After all, this was already a large sum!

Moreover, their mother had been hit. How could she still be hiding money?

Looking at their expressions, Bai Xiuxiu realized that it was impossible to make Zhao Guifen take out any more. This amount wasn't even half of what Zhao Guifen had!

But every bit helps, and there's still a long road ahead.

"You've seen it for yourselves; this is all the money we have. It'll take at least a hundred for Little Wu's house. From this pile, I'll give each of you brothers a hundred. The rest will stay with your mother and me.

As one family, since we haven't split up households, the money should remain in the hands of us elders.

Once the autumn harvest comes, we'll distribute some more to each household.

I understand that as grown men, you'd like to have some cash on hand.

But there won't be any more disturbances next time, agreed?"

Seeing that things were settling down, Wang Shoucheng spoke gently to smooth over the situation.

Normally, the money was handled by the elderly couple, so how much could the sons have seen?

To receive a hundred each would naturally fill them with joy!

Zhao Guifen handed each son ten large bills.

When it came to Wang Qinghe and Bai Xiuxiu, however, she couldn't help but feel pained!

What right did they have? Why should they take the family's money?

Bai Xiuxiu paid no heed to her thoughts, easily taking the money from Zhao Guifen's hand and flashing a bright smile: "Thanks, Mom."

Zhao Guifen felt her heart ache.

This was her money!

"Now that the money's been given, don't just stand there. Get out! Go to work!" Zhao Guifen grumpily shooed them away.

Once everyone had left, Zhao Guifen wore a worried expression. "Old man, they're going against us."

A trace of displeasure also marred Wang Shoucheng's face. "With all our sons causing trouble together, we couldn't avoid giving them something. While we're around, they have no reason to split the household. But if they all insist, then we'll have no choice but to divide it.

For now, let's stabilize the situation and secure jobs for Little Wu and the second son.

Once Little Wu and the second son become successful, we won't fear a split. We can send the eldest away and live quietly as a family.

Let the second and fifth sons support the third and fourth, and that should do it."

"That makes sense, but... I have a bad feeling about the eldest's wife!" Zhao Guifen couldn't help but feel angry whenever she thought of her daughter-in-law.

Wang Shoucheng fell silent. "Leave the daughter-in-law to them."

In the western room.

Bai Xiuxiu placed the money in a box, her mood greatly improved. "Finally, we got back a hundred. Oh, by the way, I've already obtained the medicinal herb seeds. Later, I'll show you what they can do."

Wang Qinghe watched his wife bustling about and handed her a cup of brown sugar water, speaking calmly. "Alright, I'll look forward to it."

Seeing his calm demeanor, Bai Xiuxiu wanted nothing more than to surprise him!

As for hiding her special ability from Wang Qinghe, she had never considered such a thing. She had spent decades observing him from behind, using that time to determine his trustworthiness.

Unfortunately, he couldn't see the space, so she would have to wait until the honeysuckle matured to show him the results!