"I'm getting married!"

After the whole family sat quietly around the dining table, Zhan Chunhua spoke her first words.

However, no one in the family was surprised, after all, she had already dragged it out long enough. Other people might find someone through blind dates in a month or two, but Zhan Chunhua had been going on and on for almost a year. If she dragged it out any longer, it wouldn't have a good reputation.

Zhan Chunlan knew that she had never married because she wanted to wait and see if Zhan Chunyun or Zhan Chunlan had any other options. If they had good jobs, what was wrong with helping the older sister who had raised them since childhood?

Now that Zhan Chunyun has been sent to the countryside, her future looks bleak. Although Zhan Chunlan has a good job, this ungrateful wretch won't listen to reason. She's so capable, what's wrong with giving the job to her sister? When she was little, if it weren't for taking care of her, how could she not have gone to school? If she had gone to school, she could definitely have found such a good job. Now she could choose someone better, but she's still clinging to Jiao Lei, unwilling to let go, yet unwilling to pick him up again.

"Heartless ingrates!" Zhan Chunhua thought to himself. "None of them can be relied on!"

Ultimately, the tug-of-war ended with Zhan Chunhua's compromise. Xu Lixia demanded a bride price of eighty-eight yuan—a rather respectable amount in an era when five yuan could last a month.

The day of her wedding was unusually quiet. There was no grand ceremony, no lavish dowry; Zhan Chunhua simply carried a bundle and rode on the bicycle that Jiao Lei had brought. The neighbors whispered behind her back, "Chunhua got married like that? Not even a new quilt?"

"You've known the Zhan couple for a long time, haven't you? When have you ever been generous to your daughter?"

"I thought that at least the wedding would look presentable, but who knew they were so stingy that they wouldn't even bother with appearances."

Standing at the door, Jiao's mother looked at her new daughter-in-law's meager dowry, her face extremely ugly. She had given eighty-eight yuan as a bride price, and this was all she got? If her husband hadn't been holding her hand, she would have wanted to call off the engagement on the spot.

But then I thought, this means her family really doesn't care about her. They won't be able to mold her into anything they want, but according to Jiao Lei, if they just show her a little concern, wouldn't she be completely devoted to the Jiao family?

Even so, life in the Jiao family was much harder for Zhan Chunhua than before she got married. Before she got married, her two younger sisters took care of the household chores, and she only needed to go to work.

Now, the whole family is waiting for her to come home and cook.

Jiao Lei is a good person now; he listens to what she says and tries to help her with whatever she asks for. Jiao's mother is also alright; although she doesn't help her with anything, at least she can suppress her temper and say a few nice things to make her feel comfortable, unlike Xu Lixia who constantly calls her "bastard," "unlucky," "a thousand cuts," and "brain-chopping."

In those days, there was no such custom as returning to one's parents' home, but a month later, Zhan Chunhua still took Jiao Lei back to the Zhan family home.

Zhan Chunhua had lost weight; she was already slim, but looked even thinner. Xu Lixia offered a few feigned words of concern, while Zhan Zhiqiang didn't even ask her anything. Only Zhan Chunlan, thinking about her older sister who had raised her, secretly slipped her five yuan: "Sister, take this in case of emergency."

Holding the five yuan, Zhan Chunhua felt a mix of emotions. She remembered cooking and washing dishes for Chunlan when she was little, washing her diapers, and later passing on all the housework she had done to her, watching her frail body do chores on tiptoe... Now she was in this state, was it really fate?

After leaving the Zhan family's house, she didn't go home immediately, but took Jiao Lei for a slow walk in the neighborhood.

It seems like they haven't had this much time alone together since they got married. Every day when she comes home, she has to face his family, so she has to be on her guard and not show her displeasure. She also has to think carefully before she speaks.

Even when facing Jiao Lei, she was somewhat cautious, not because she wanted to please him, but because she was worried that if she was too casual, his family would feel uncomfortable.

It seems that only by walking on this path could she finally unload all the pressure from the Zhan and Jiao families, allowing her to relax and move forward at her own pace, whether she wanted to go fast or slow.

Although Jiao Lei is not perfect, at this moment, even though he didn't understand, he didn't disturb her. He just silently followed beside her. He could vaguely sense that she was relaxed at this moment, and even her steps were light.

On her way back to the Jiao family home, Zhan Chunhua gazed at the red-brick factory buildings lining the street when she suddenly heard a familiar broadcast. It was the pastry factory's closing time; workers filed out, each with a proud smile. She spotted her younger sister in the crowd—Zhan Chunlan was walking and chatting with two female workers, seemingly Li Xiuxiu and Fan Hongying; their blue overalls stood out vividly in the setting sun.

Zhan Chunhua hurriedly pulled Jiao Lei behind a tree, only emerging when the crowd had dispersed. Watching her sister's retreating figure, she began to reflect for the first time: perhaps she shouldn't have placed all her hopes on others. But was it too late to understand this now?

Suddenly, Zhan Chunhua dragged Jiao Lei home. It was already after get off work, but she was still wandering around here. Dinner hadn't been cooked yet.

Even with a thousand faults after marriage, there's only one good thing.

She finally got a permanent position!

My monthly salary has increased from 18 yuan to 32 yuan, almost double what it used to be.

“Chunhua,” Wei Cuilian put down her chopsticks and adopted the demeanor of a kind mother-in-law, “you are now a member of the Jiao family. It’s not easy being the head of the household; we have to be very careful with the expenses of the whole family. How about this: from now on, you can give me your salary to manage together, and I will take care of whatever the family needs.”

Having just received her salary, before she could even enjoy the money, Wei Cuilian set her sights on Zhan Chunhua's monthly salary.

But Zhan Chunhua refused. Why should she hand over her hard-earned money to someone else for safekeeping? And why should she have to beg others for it when she needs it?

So when Jiao's mother suggested that she keep the salary together, she nudged Jiao Lei, and Jiao Lei immediately understood: "We can pay 10 yuan a month for food, but she has to keep the salary herself."

This was something I told Jiao Lei on our wedding night. If I had a good salary, I could make my own decisions about what I did without having to ask my parents for money. I could save up to buy a bicycle, and Jiao Lei could ride it to work without having to ask his father for money.

Jiao Lei had long dreamed of this kind of life, but everyone around him lived it this way, so he dared not object. Now things were different; he was already married, and he didn't have a single penny of savings. Was that acceptable? So when Zhan Chunhua brought it up, he immediately agreed.

When Jiao's mother actually asked for his wages, he became unhappy. Seeing that Jiao's mother was about to say something, he said directly, "Mom, we're about to have a child. Can't we save some of our own money? Isn't all the money we save for the child?"

"Moreover, after we pay for the food, Mom, please prepare the meals early, otherwise Dad and I will starve if Zhan Chunhua comes home from get off work to cook."

Wei Cuilian: No, that's not what you said before we got married! Didn't you say you wanted her to come to our house and be our slave? How long has it been and you've already changed your mind?

After the meal, Zhan Chunhua voluntarily cleared the dishes, her movements swift and efficient. Wei Cuilian watched coldly, unable to find fault with her. This daughter-in-law was excellent at housework, but she was too opinionated.

In their first encounter, Zhan Chunhua subdued her opponent without a fight!

Back in their new house, Jiao Lei said proudly, "How was it? I did a great job today, didn't I?"

Zhan Chunhua smiled and nodded in agreement, but in her heart she knew: this was just the beginning. The battle between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is always a long tug-of-war. Fortunately, she won the first round, and won it beautifully.

The moonlight was perfect outside the window. Looking at this unfamiliar courtyard, Zhan Chunhua felt for the first time that perhaps life in the Jiao family wouldn't be as unbearable as she had imagined. At least, she had found a way to survive in this home.

In the next room, Wei Cuilian was complaining to her husband: "It's only been a few days! Our son is already siding with outsiders! I should have found a more honest wife..."

Mr. Jiao rolled over and muttered, "Alright, young people have their own way of life. As long as they pay their food bills on time, you don't need to worry about it."

Wei Cuilian glared angrily, but was helpless. She had indeed lost this round.