"Xu Wangde, how's the money for your son's wedding coming along?"
Xu Wangde had been extremely worried about this matter lately. When Wang Jiao called to inquire about his well-being, she didn't even say a word but immediately asked for money. His temper flared up instantly.
“I give you and our son my entire monthly salary, where am I supposed to get any money left! How come you can’t save a single penny!”
That day, his son Xu Xin suddenly called him, his voice filled with joy as he announced that he was going to be a father. Xu Wangde was momentarily stunned; his son was still in school, how could he be a father already? Upon further inquiry, he learned that his son's girlfriend was pregnant, and she had agreed to marry him and have the baby, but she wanted his family to prepare a dowry of 188,000 yuan, along with three gold pieces and a diamond ring. His son calculated that it would cost approximately 300,000 yuan.
Although becoming a grandfather is a happy thing, Xu Wangde couldn't feel happy even if he wanted to after hearing the news.
He sent all of his monthly salary, except for 500 yuan to himself, to Wang Jiao. Later, when his son went to university, he split his salary in half, sending half to Xu Xin and half to Wang Jiao. He had no savings at all.
Now, if he's suddenly asked to come up with 300,000 yuan, where is he supposed to find that 300,000 yuan?
So he called Wang Jiao to discuss the money.
Wang Jiao had thought that since he had sent money home for so many years and the cost of living in her hometown was not high, she should have been able to save some money. However, Wang Jiao said that she had not saved a single penny. He had sent her money for so many years, but she had not saved a single penny.
Wang Jiao was taken aback by Xu Wangde's fierce tone. He had always been obedient and subservient to her and her son. When had he ever dared to speak to her like this?
Wang Jiao's voice suddenly rose, and she unleashed a barrage of words at Xu Wangde, "Why are you being so fierce! Do you expect me and my son to ask other men for living expenses if we don't ask you? Do you give me tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands every month? A few thousand yuan isn't even enough for living expenses, and you expect me to save money? What kind of pipe dream are you having?!"
Xu Wangde was both angry and aggrieved by the scolding. Wang Jiao kept calling him a good-for-nothing who couldn't earn money and made her suffer her whole life. But in all the years he had worked on construction sites, he had never given Wang Jiao less than 5,000 yuan a month for living expenses. Before their son went to university, he sent all his salary to Wang Jiao, which amounted to about 100,000 yuan a year. But Wang Jiao still felt it wasn't enough. She always compared him to the husbands of her friends, saying how much money other husbands made in business, while he was just a migrant worker his whole life.
"I'm not saying much, but in the past twenty years, our family hasn't even saved 100,000 or 200,000 yuan?" Xu Wangde asked, suppressing his temper.
"No, not a single penny! Xu Wangde, let me tell you, don't even think about getting a single penny from me. Your son's girlfriend said that if she can't come up with the bride price and the three gold pieces this month, she'll abort the child and break up with your son. I don't know if your son will still recognize you as his father then, but I'll divorce you first! So you can figure out what to do with the 300,000 yuan yourself!" Wang Jiao said arrogantly and hung up the phone immediately after speaking.
Xu Wangde sat in a corner of the construction site, holding his phone and smoking one cigarette after another, looking distressed.
The construction site is not rushing to meet deadlines, and work is not carried out at night. The construction area is dark and quiet, with only the nearby container living area having light and the sound of workers playing cards and making noise.
As Xu Wangde smoked, his gaze was fixed on the levers, steel bars, and other materials under the shed not far away.
After finishing his last puff of cigarette, he unlocked his phone and made a call.
"Didn't you say you knew someone who collects scrap metal? Send me their phone number."
——
"Don't you like this dried radish from our hometown? Here, have some more. Your dad and I specially brought it all the way from our hometown."
He Mei and Gu Nianwang have been here for a few days and are now staying with Gu Jiahui and the others. These past few days, they've watched Gu Yueji lead Gu Jiahui and Sun Xiaohui in live-streaming to earn money. Gu Jiahui even showed them his live-streaming sales income from last month, which was several times more than their town's wages. Therefore, He Mei and Gu Nianwang's attitude towards Gu Yueji has become much kinder and more respectful.
Gu Yueji took a bite of the dried radish that He Mei had put on her plate. It tasted just like she remembered. She had been suffering from severe morning sickness and had been craving this taste from her hometown. No matter where she bought dried radish, it just didn't taste like the ones from her hometown.
"Thank you, Mom. The dried radish from our hometown is still the best."
"No need to thank me, if you like it, I'll send you more when I go back to my hometown."
Back when my family was poor, braised pork with dried radish was a dish we often cooked. We would cook the pork for several meals but couldn't bear to eat it, so we just ate the dried radish. Gu Yueji thought it was delicious.
She ate several pieces in a row until her phone rang for a video call. She glanced at it, answered the call, and held up the phone, calling out, "Husband."
Ren Jin's voice came through the phone immediately, "Wife, have you eaten yet?"
Now, before Ren Jin goes to work at the construction site in the morning, he will first send her to Gu Jiahui's place. During the day, Gu Yueji works and eats with Gu Jiahui and the others, and Ren Jin will come to pick her up in the evening.
"I'm eating now. Mom made me the dried radish I've always wanted to eat." Gu Yueji happily picked up a piece and showed it to Ren Jin.
Ren Jin looked at Gu Yueji's childlike smile on the screen. She had cried while talking about wanting to eat this before, and now that she was finally getting to eat it, he had a good impression of He Mei and the others for the first time.
"Thank you for your hard work, Mother-in-law, but you should know when to stop if you like to eat it. You can't eat so much pickled food."
Gu Yueji noticed that Ren Jin was becoming more and more like a father, treating her like a daughter.
"Okay, have you eaten yet?"
"I just finished eating and I'm calling you to see if you ate properly."
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