He Caiping held Shen Wenxiu's hand and showed her concern, saying heartfelt words that made Shen Wenxiu feel very close to her.
Seeing Shen Wenxiu looking at her with such admiration, He Caiping felt even more confident about the request she wanted to make.
"Wenxiu, our family is facing some difficulties right now."
He Caiping said with a troubled expression, "Right now, only your father and your older brother are working in the family, and your older brother's salary is just so-so."
"He is still very young and has not worked for long. His salary is really not enough to support his family."
“Your dad’s salary hasn’t fluctuated much; it hasn’t increased for many years.”
“But now your brother is injured and can’t work, and your nephews and nieces are getting older. Whether it’s schooling or food, drink, or clothing, everything costs money.”
“My family is in dire straits right now… I don’t know what to do.”
“You know your brother, he’s having health problems right now and needs to take good care of himself.” He Caiping held Shen Wenxiu’s hand. “Wenxiu, you can’t abandon your parents.”
"Look at me, I have even more gray hair now."
While playing the victim, He Caiping subtly hinted to Shen Wenxiu to give money to support her parents.
She didn't think her demands were excessive at all; she had raised her daughter all these years, and she couldn't just abandon her parents after she got married.
So what if she didn't give Shen Wenxiu much as a bride price?
That small dowry isn't even enough to raise a child for eighteen years. What's wrong with her accepting such a small dowry?
Although Shen Wenxiu felt for a moment that this was her mother's excuse to get her to support her family, she did feel sorry for her parents.
Just as He Caiping thought, her parents were neither particularly good nor particularly bad to her. Although she was a little disappointed that her parents' love for her was not as great as that for her younger brother, she also really longed for her parents' love.
Now that He Caiping has said these words to her, she really can't bear to see her mother so sad and troubled.
Looking at He Caiping's white hair, she couldn't help but sigh, "Mom, you really do have a lot of white hair."
"Shall I dye your hair in a bit? The hair dye my mother-in-law uses works really well; both she and her friend dyed their hair black."
"You must have seen my mother-in-law when you came over, right? Her hair is now shiny black, and she looks very young."
"By the way, this is an anti-wrinkle face cream made by my mother-in-law. After applying it to your face and gently patting it for a few minutes to allow the skin to absorb it, it can reduce wrinkles over time."
"You should try it too."
He Caiping's arms were instantly stuffed with several jars of stuff, and she looked at Shen Wenxiu with a complicated expression.
She wants money!
I need money! You know that?
What's the point of giving her these skincare products?
So what if she's pretty?
It can't be eaten as a meal.
But she shouldn't refuse these freebies; once they're in her hands, there's no way she can take them back.
"Wenxiu..." He Caiping put the skincare products into her pocket, then looked up at Shen Wenxiu, "Could you lend your mother some money?"
"You have no idea how long it's been since your dad, your brother, and your younger brother have eaten meat. They haven't even had a bite of poached chicken in ages."
"During the Chinese New Year, because your brother injured his leg, our family didn't eat much meat."
"And Mom, she's craving meat too."
"Wenxiu, you are the child that your mother carried for ten months and gave birth to. You can't just watch your mother suffer and do nothing, can you?"
He Caiping used both sob stories and emotional appeals to try and evoke Shen Wenxiu's love for her mother so that she would give her more money.
Shen Wenxiu frowned slightly, looking at her mother like this, and finally sighed and gave her mother twenty yuan.
He Caiping looked at the two ten-yuan bills in her hand, and frowned as she looked at Shen Wenxiu. "Is that all?"
"Don't you make money selling that bread?"
She had inquired about the prices of bread and cakes sold at the supply and marketing cooperative. Even if Shen Wenxiu sold them to the cooperative at a lower price than they would have at the cooperative, the prices wouldn't have been too bad.
She roughly calculated that Shen Wenxiu had earned about a hundred yuan since she first sold bread to the supply and marketing cooperative.
She then gave her twenty yuan. What does that mean?
"Wenxiu... isn't twenty yuan too little?" He Caiping was somewhat unwilling, but she didn't intend to break ties with her daughter so quickly.
She wanted to get more money from Shen Wenxiu, so how could she afford to break off relations?
Even if she can do whatever she wants to her mother because of her status, she still has to consider Chen Suwen and her in-laws.
If she really falls out with Shen Wenxiu and never speaks to her again, how will she get money out of her?
"Mom, I still have two daughters to raise. They both need to drink milk powder, so I need to save some money to buy them milk powder."
“When they grow up, they will need to go to school, so I need to start saving money early.”
Shen Wenxiu honestly told He Caiping about her predicament.
She can support her mother, but she also has to think about her two daughters. She has not only parents and brothers, but also a husband and daughters.
She has to take care of both sides; she can't just focus on her parents' family and neglect her own children.
Hearing her daughter's words, He Caiping swallowed the words she was about to blurt out: "What's so precious about two little girls?"
You must not say anything that might anger Shen Wenxiu, and you must not belittle your daughter.
Otherwise, if Shen Wenxiu feels that she, as her mother, doesn't love her and makes her unhappy, wouldn't she be even less likely to get the money?
Twenty yuan it is. If she can get twenty yuan every time she comes, then she can come more often in the future.
&&&
Shen Wenxiu and He Caiping, mother and daughter, were talking inside the house, while Chen Suwen and Ye Yulian were drinking tea in the courtyard, enjoying the breeze.
"Your mother-in-law is coming to see Ah Zong's wife. Aren't you worried that she'll be supporting her family?" Ye Yulian asked curiously, looking at her good friend who seemed completely calm.
Given He Caiping's personality, she never comes to the temple without a reason, so she certainly can't leave empty-handed today.
Having suffered setbacks a few times before, she'll definitely have new ways to manipulate Shen Wenxiu now. In short, she's sure she can squeeze some benefits out of Shen Wenxiu.
Chen Su asked, "Does this mother-in-law just stand by and watch her daughter-in-law support her own family without feeling any urgency?"
Chen Suwen remained calm, slowly taking a sip of tea and smiling as she said to her, "What's the rush? Isn't Ah Zong's wife He Caiping's biological daughter?"
"We are all women. Don't you know how painful and difficult it was for us to give birth?"
"It would be fine if Ah Zong's wife gave her parents some subsidies, as long as it wasn't too excessive and Ah Zong emptied his savings, leaving his two children, Shan Shan and Hu Hu, in a difficult situation. That would be acceptable."
As long as it doesn't mean she's emptying her husband's family's coffers to subsidize her own family, leaving her husband and children hungry and cold, she can ignore it.
Putting herself in her shoes, she would absolutely not stand for it if her daughter didn't give her any financial support.
Even Zhou Cunming, her "married-out" son, was required to provide her with financial assistance, so it wasn't unreasonable for Shen Wenxiu to want to support her own family as well.
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