The two workers, who had just been scolded by Ren Jin, became increasingly angry. As soon as it was their break time, they ran over to find Xu Wangde. "Old Xu, how's it going with that construction site you mentioned? Damn it, it doesn't matter where I work, the pay is better over there. I'm not going to put up with this humiliation here."
Another chimed in, "That's right. We're elders from the same village, and Ren Jin actually scolded us like grandchildren in front of so many people. How can he be so disrespectful to his elders? Where do we put our faces?"
"He doesn't even respect his own father, and you expect him to respect you? You're dreaming."
They looked at Xu Wangde, who remained silent, and asked, "Old Xu, why aren't you saying anything? Have you contacted that construction site boss you mentioned last time? If you're leaving, we'll go with you."
Xu Wangde looked around and quickly told the two to keep their voices down, "Stop shouting, do you want more people to hear?"
He had been watching Ren Jinxun and the others from a distance, anxiously fearing that they would mention him.
The worker said nonchalantly, "Who cares? We're leaving anyway."
Xu Wangde said, "I've inquired about it. The construction site boss is unreliable. He often delays paying the workers' wages. He hasn't even settled the money from the last construction site yet. I'm not going there. You can go by yourselves."
The two workers were dumbfounded. "What? Why didn't you say so earlier? You were the one who kept telling us how great the construction site was, and that your wife's relatives wouldn't mistreat us. Now that we've offended Ren Jin, you said you wouldn't leave. You've left us in an awkward position."
Xu Wangde quickly distanced himself, saying, "This has nothing to do with me. I was just telling you about this. Who told you to discuss it in front of so many people, and Ren Jin even overheard it?"
Seeing their grim expressions, he quickly tried to ease the tension, saying, "Ren Jin didn't say he was going to fire you. We're all from the same village, he won't make things difficult for you. Don't be angry, I'll treat you to drinks another day."
The two men left in a huff, and Xu Wangde pulled out a cigarette and started smoking, looking distressed.
Last week, his son called to say he was dating someone and asked him to send him more money for living expenses each month. He'd never suffered more than his son in his life; he'd never let him work in the fields since he was little. Luckily, his son was a good student, so he worked hard to earn money to support him through his studies. However, for so many years, the whole family had relied on him alone, and they were already struggling financially. He only kept two hundred yuan for himself each month, and now his son wanted more. He really couldn't do anything about it, so he discussed with his son whether he could take a part-time job to earn some money. His son was unhappy, saying that his studies were too demanding, and a part-time job would interfere with his studies, and he might not graduate, making all his previous efforts futile.
He could only call his wife, thinking of sending less money home and allocating some to their son. His wife was unhappy, saying that other construction workers could easily support their families and even have savings at the end of the year, and scolded him for being useless. The high-paying construction site was introduced by his wife's relative, who promised a referral fee based on the number of people he brought. He was tempted and wanted to bring a few more people, but later he found out that the boss frequently delayed paying wages and even refused to pay at all; no matter how high the wages were, it was useless.
Now he's afraid that Ren Jin will find out he started this trouble and fire him. What will he do then?
——
Gu Yueji was startled when she heard the door open. She looked at the clock on the wall and realized it was only a little past 3 o'clock. Why was Ren Jin back already?
Since finding out she was pregnant, Ren Jin has been coming home earlier, making sure to cook for her before dinner, but today he came home exceptionally early.
She ran excitedly to the door to greet him, only to see Ren Jin carrying several bulging supermarket bags as he walked in. "Why are you back so early today?"
Ren Jin glanced at her face. She hadn't had an appetite lately, and her face had become thinner. "I came back to see if you've eaten properly today."
Gu Yueji stuck out her tongue. Apart from eating a bowl of porridge under his supervision in the morning, she had only eaten some fruit since then.
Not daring to tell him the truth, she obediently reached out to take the bag from his hand, but Ren Jin dodged her, saying, "This is none of your business. Go sit in the living room."
Gu Yueji withdrew her hand, neither taking the bag nor going to sit in the living room. Instead, she followed him to the kitchen. Only when she saw him take two boxes of strawberries out of the supermarket bag did she remember that she had asked him to buy strawberries.
"Why did you buy such an expensive item at the supermarket? Didn't I tell you to buy the ones sold by weight at the entrance of the community?"
As Ren Jin unpacked the boxes, took out the strawberries, and put them in a basket to wash, he replied, "Didn't you say that the ones from the supermarket have a stronger and sweeter flavor? If you want to eat them, of course you should buy the good ones."
"This is too expensive."
Gu Yueji said that, but when she saw the bright red strawberries that were as big as her palm, she couldn't help but swallow.
Ren Jin didn't even turn around to look at her while washing strawberries. "Wife, let me see the bank card I used to transfer money to you."
Gu Yueji was taken aback. Ever since he gave her the bank card where he kept his money, he had never asked about it. This was the first time he had asked to see it. "What for?"
"I want to know where all the money I gave you went, that you're treating my wife so badly. You even think it's too expensive to buy two boxes of strawberries for her."
Gu Yueji paused, amused by him, "I've spent all my money, not a single penny is left."
Ren Jin just smiled and said, "There's no one else in this house, and the money-devouring beast is still in your belly. Where did you spend it?"
Gu Yueji deliberately stirred up trouble, saying, "The flowers are used to support other men."
Ren Jin's lips tightened instantly. He glanced back at her and asked, "Are you asking for trouble?"
Gu Yueji wasn't afraid of him. "Who told you not to kiss me anymore? Is it because I'm pregnant that I've become unattractive to you?"
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