Chapter 224 I Can’t Live Without Your Dad
Yu Hui thought about it and felt that since Qian Lan was so capable, her mother must be diligent as well.
I nodded and said, "Okay, let Auntie come up and try it out. Ten dollars a month is still a little too little, so fifteen dollars will do."
Fifteen dollars?
Qian Lan's eyes widened. It was just a small job, and she only got fifteen yuan a month. It was too much.
If her mother knew about this, she would be so happy.
"No, you don't need that much. Ten dollars will be enough."
Yu Hui could see that she was just being polite, so she smiled and said, "Not much. If Auntie does a good job, I'll give her a bonus."
Qian Lan: "Then thank you first."
After packing up, Qian Lan did not go back directly, but went to the grocery store to call her hometown.
Her parents live in the village, and the village committee doesn't have a telephone, only the commune and supply and marketing cooperative in the town have one.
I called the supply and marketing cooperative and waited for another half an hour before the call was returned. It rang twice and then the caller hung up.
This has always been Qian Lan's habit of calling her family. She calls the supply and marketing cooperative, and the cooperative sends someone to pass on the message. When the person arrives, the phone rings twice and then hangs up. She then calls back, so the other party doesn't have to pay for the phone bill.
I dialed Qian Lan's number and the phone was picked up after one ring.
"Alan, why are you calling home?"
"But Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. Have you sent money home?"
When Qian Lan heard her mother mention money, her face suddenly changed, as she was originally happy.
"No, I've been too busy these days. I haven't sent the holiday money home yet."
"Haven't you sent it yet? Then send a little more, maybe twenty. Your younger brother's marriage is already set, and he's getting married during the Chinese New Year. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, you have to go to the girl's house and give her a gift, so it can't be too shabby."
Qian Lan frowned: "Didn't I just send twenty yuan in early July?"
Mother Qian said in a rather unhappy tone, "All the money for dating and the engagement ceremony was spent."
“…” Qian Lan was speechless.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Qian's mother continued, "The girl's family wants a betrothal gift of 100 yuan. When the time comes, you, as the elder sister, will have to pay for it. Your father and I don't have the ability to come up with it."
"A betrothal gift of one hundred yuan? That's robbery?" Qian Lan's first thought was not that it was wrong to ask her to pay a betrothal gift, but that the girl's family was robbery by asking for such a large betrothal gift.
Qian's mother sighed, "That girl is pretty, and your brother has fallen for her and is determined to marry her. The girl's family knows your brother has a brother-in-law who is an officer, so they asked for a betrothal gift of 100 yuan, and there's no room for negotiation."
"Your dad and I initially said forget it, but your brother said that if it wasn't that girl, he would never get married. So your dad and I had no choice but to grit our teeth and agree."
"One hundred yuan is too much. Where can I get so much money?" Qian Lan complained with a frown.
Qian's mother: "Didn't you say Yu Qiang got a promotion and a raise? How come he can't even come up with a hundred yuan?"
"He got a raise, but it's only 70 or 80 yuan a month. We have expenses for our family of four, and we have to send living expenses to his parents every month. We also have to ask for other money every now and then. How can we have anything left?" Qian Lan felt a headache when she calculated all these accounts.
Qian's mother: "Aren't you in charge of the family's money? Why don't you just not give them anything? Yu Qiang's parents are still able to work, so why would they send them living expenses every month?"
"Oh, I'll send you the money if you ask for it, but I won't send it to Yu Qiang's parents if they ask for it. He earned all the money. If I do this, Yu Qiang will divorce me."
Qian Lan suddenly felt it was quite ironic.
"...You can't get a divorce in a military marriage." Qian's mother realized that what she said was wrong and didn't know what to say for a moment, so she said this.
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. I'm going to tell you something serious."
Qian Lan told her that she had opened a noodle shop with someone else, and the business was so good that she was too busy to handle it, so she asked her to come up and help out, paying her fifteen yuan a month.
When she heard the salary of fifteen yuan a month, Qian's mother was naturally tempted, but when she thought that if she went to work, there would be no one to take care of the two men at home, she became hesitant again.
"If I go to work in the city, who will take care of your brother and your father? Who will cook and wash clothes for them?"
Qian Lan rolled her eyes. "My father and brother are not completely helpless. Who needs to serve them? If you're not at home, will they starve themselves?"
"How could they cook? I can't live without your dad. How about letting your brother go? Your brother doesn't have a job anyway. Let him work for a few months. When he gets married, let your sister-in-law do it. Let your Yu Qiang find a formal job for your brother."
When they got engaged, they had already agreed with the girl's family that after they got married, they would move to the city and Yu Qiang would find them jobs.
Qian Lan felt dizzy. "We run a noodle shop and my brother doesn't know how to knead dough. It's not suitable for him to work here!"
Qian's mother said, "Then you and your partner should work harder and get through these few months. After the Chinese New Year, you can let your sister-in-law take over."
Qian Lan: “…”
She didn't even know what kind of person her sister-in-law was. How could she just come back to work after the New Year?
If the person is not capable, then wouldn't she be asking for trouble?
Anyway, she currently has no good impression of her brother's wife who asks for a betrothal gift of 100 yuan, which she has to pay for herself.
"Forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything." Qian Lan said as she was about to hang up the phone.
Qian's mother called her back, "Don't forget to send back twenty dollars."
"Got it." Qian Lan hung up the phone with a snap.
Although Xiao Zhao couldn't hear what Qian's mother said, he could still make out something from Qian Lan's words.
"Sister Qian, your mother doesn't even want to come for just fifteen yuan a month?" She only earns eighteen yuan a month working here.
Because she had just arrived, those who had been working there for a long time, like Sister Tang, were already earning 25 yuan a month.
Qian Lan shook her head, "She can't bear to leave my dad."
Xiao Zhao: "Then your parents have a really good relationship."
“…” Qian Lan choked.
Is the relationship good?
Ever since she could remember, her father would scold and beat her mother whenever he was unhappy with her, and she had been beaten by her father many times in order to protect her mother.
When her mother was beaten, she was extremely sad and cursed her father with the most vicious words. She didn't want to live with her father anymore, but she was fine after two days.
She said her father was bad, and her mother scolded her, "How can you say that about your father?"
Xiao Zhao propped up his chin and said, "It's also because we can't hire anyone right now, otherwise I would have wanted to work in your noodle shop."
This way you can have delicious noodles every day.
Qian Lan was surprised that she would have such an idea, "Is this your official job?"
Although their noodle shop business is good and they make a lot of money, working in a noodle shop cannot be compared to a formal job.
Xiao Zhao curled his lips and said, "This formal job isn't that great."
She found it extremely boring that such a small grocery store was still full of intrigue and scheming against each other.
We have to hold morning meetings and evening meetings, and all the talk is about meaningless things.
It’s always dark when I get off work. I might as well work in a noodle shop, where washing dishes and serving plates is simple and comfortable.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
