Chapter 288 My parents are suffering in the countryside
As soon as Qian Lan walked to the gate of the yard, she saw Yu Qiang carrying his mother-in-law and mother out of the car.
She hurried out to greet him and said with a smile, "Mom, you're finally here. We've been waiting at home for a long time."
Brothers Yu Jianshe and Yu Lixin also quickly called out, "Grandma."
Bao Pandi first agreed to his two grandsons, then looked at the welcoming smile on his eldest daughter-in-law's face and curled the corners of his mouth downwards.
The eldest daughter-in-law welcomed her on the surface, but in her heart she was probably cursing her, this old woman, for not staying at home and running to the city after breaking her leg.
Gu Dong, Gu Nan, and Gu Xixi heard the noise and ran out to watch the fun. They looked at Bao Pandi and called out, "Grandma Bao."
Gu Dong still had an impression of Grandma Bao, as he had seen her before. Gu Nan had some impression but not a deep one, and Gu Xixi had no impression at all, as she just followed her brothers in calling her that.
Bao Pandi glanced at the three children, nodded, and was carried into the yard by Yu Qiang.
"Mom, Grandma Bao is here." After watching the fun, the three Gu Dong brothers ran into the kitchen.
Yu Hui was cutting the soaked bean curd sheets to put into the soup pot later.
Gu Hongmei was washing the pea tips that were eaten in the mutton soup pot.
"How is it?" Yu Hui asked casually.
Gu Xixi wrinkled her nose and said, "Grandma Bao looks a little fierce."
Unlike her own mother-in-law who is kind and gentle, Grandma Bao’s eyes are triangular and a little small, making her look a little fierce.
Upon hearing this, Yu Hui immediately looked at Gu Xixi and said, "Don't tell this to your brother Jianshe and the others, and don't tell anyone else."
Gu Xixi nodded vigorously, "I understand."
Bao Pandi was carried into the house by his son. Before entering, he saw the pickled meat and sausages hanging under the eaves.
Qian Lan always complained to them about being poor, saying she had no money for this or that. When her family needed money and called to ask for it, she always had many excuses to refuse, but she had enough money to buy so many sausages.
After entering the house, Yu Qiang put her on a chair covered with old clothes. She looked at the meat outside the window and said, "You guys are so lucky. You can get so much bacon and sausage. Unlike me, your father, and your brother, we live in the countryside and can't even eat meat once a month."
The room suddenly became quiet. Qian Lan rolled her eyes. They had been sending them a lot of money, but they didn't even buy meat for themselves and wanted to give all the money to the second brother. What did it have to do with them?
Over the years, most of the money I sent to my husband's family or asked for from them was spent on my second son.
In order to pay the dowry and buy furniture for the second son's marriage, the second son's wife was pregnant and needed to supplement nutrition. It was the changing season and the family had to buy cloth to make clothes. After the second son's wife gave birth, she did not have enough milk and had to buy milk powder for the child.
Isn't that asking them for money?
Yu Qiang felt extremely guilty. He could eat meat every day in the city, but his parents who gave birth to him and raised him in the countryside could not even eat meat once a month. He felt that he had made his parents suffer in the countryside and was really unfilial.
He had wanted to bring his parents up here to enjoy a better life, but the family had no other income, so they had to eat only a certain amount of food. Both of his parents had rural household registration, so when they moved to the city, they didn't have a certain amount of food, so they had to buy extra food at a high price.
Previously, the family relied on his salary alone, which was definitely not enough to support six people.
Things are different now. Qian Lan earns more than him and has special approval to buy grain from the grain factory. He can consider bringing his parents over to live with him.
Qian Lan is busy at the noodle shop every day and has no time to take care of her family. With her parents at home, she doesn't have to worry about household chores and she can save some trouble.
Yu Qiang half-knelt in front of his mother and said, "Mom, I am an unfilial son. I have made you and Dad suffer in the countryside."
"Son~" Bao Pandi patted her son's hand, "This has nothing to do with you. Mom knows you are the most filial."
While speaking, he glanced at Qian Lan. It was she who was holding on to her son's money and not giving it to them, the two old people, but to her own parents.
Haha, it has nothing to do with her eldest son, but it has something to do with me, right?
Qian Lan immediately understood what her mother-in-law meant, and she felt extremely upset.
"Mom, I sent almost a hundred dollars back to you and Dad this year alone. Dad even got fifty for his birthday. How come you can't even eat meat once a month?"
"We have a few chickens and ducks at home, and we grow vegetables in our own plot of land. We don't need to buy food. Logically, we shouldn't go without meat for a month, right?" Qian Lan looked puzzled.
Bao Pandi's eyes flickered.
Yu Qiang glanced at his wife, then at his mother. Did he send so much money back home this year alone? One hundred yuan was a lot. Their family of five lived in the city, and their monthly grocery expenses were only ten yuan.
At that time, our family could eat meat once every ten days or so, and at least three times a month.
How come when they come to his mother's house, they don't have to buy vegetables, they are given more than 150 yuan a year, but they can't even eat meat once a month?
"I..." Bao Pandi was speechless for a moment.
"I see." Qian Lan clapped her hands. "It must be because you're too frugal, Mom. You saved all the money, right?"
Yu Qiang: "Mom, the money I sent you is for you and Dad to spend. You shouldn't be so frugal. I gave you money, but you didn't eat or wear it, and you're wasting your health. Doesn't this make us, your children, feel guilty?"
The cotton coat his mother was wearing was almost full of patches.
He remembered that Qian Lan sent money back every year for them to make winter clothes.
In the early years, it was difficult to buy cloth at home, so we bought cloth in the city and sent it back.
Bao Panddi pursed her lips and was speechless. She had always felt that Qian Lan had been holding onto her son's salary and had not given her and the old man much money. After Qian Lan did the math today, it seemed that the money she gave them was not a small amount.
More than one hundred and fifty yuan. In the countryside, many families can't even earn one hundred and fifty yuan a year.
Bao Pandi sighed, "You're lucky. You're a cadre in the army. I don't have to worry about you."
"But your younger brother, Xiaozhuang, doesn't have a formal job and can only farm at home. I have to think about him and save some money. When I and your father pass away, I can leave some for him."
Yu Qiang became unhappy when he heard that his parents were so frugal that they didn't eat meat at home and just wanted to save money for his younger brother Dazhuang.
"Mom, Xiaozhuang is already a grown man. Even if he doesn't have a formal job, as long as he works hard to farm and earn work points, he can support his wife and children. There's no need for you and Dad to scrimp and save money for him."
"Don't all the men like Dazhuang in our village live like this?"
In Yu Qiang's opinion, once a man gets married and has children, he has to rely on himself to make money to support his family, rather than relying on his parents or others.
Xiaozhuang has been a bit sneaky and dishonest since he was a child, and he doesn't work honestly, which he really can't stand.
Bao Panddi didn't like what she heard. She felt that her eldest son could say such things only because he had made it big and was supported by the government. So she felt that all men should be like him, not relying on their family or their parents.
But Xiaozhuang did not eat the government's food, did not have the fixed salary of a few dozen yuan every month, and did not have such a big yard allocated by the army.
How can you live a good life just by digging for food in the fields?
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