An Baoling was frightened by the situation on the kang at first: "What are you doing? Why are you making so many quilts?" Aren't the two nephews already married?
The news would reach Ping'an Manor in a few days or so. Xia Juhua didn't want to keep it secret, so she told An Baoling everything that had happened. Of course, she concealed the source of the news and just said that she was lucky.
Even if each quilt costs one yuan, eight quilts would only cost eight yuan. It sounds like a lot, but it's not enough to make people jealous. An Baoling just sighed at Xia Juhua's good luck, and then the two of them sat down to talk about other things.
An Baoling came this time, not only because Xia Juhua asked her to come and talk before she left for the old house the day before yesterday, but also because she wanted to ask Xia Juhua's opinion on something: "Sanzhuang said this is a good opportunity. Winter is coming soon. It's better to go out and earn a few bucks than to stay at home. What do you think, sister-in-law?"
She felt a little nervous when she asked the question - there had been such opportunities before, but Xia Juhua had always refused them outright, saying that her son was still young and as a mother she was worried about him going out.
If Xia Juhua hadn't returned to the old house the day before yesterday and talked a lot more than before, and seemed less unkind, An Baoling would not have been willing to go on this trip. After all, if you always try to please others but they don't respond, everyone will have a cold shoulder.
Xia Juhua agreed with a smile on her face: "Of course this is a good thing. They are both married now. If they can earn some money, they can have more money."
She actually agreed so readily that An Baoling hesitated: "Should I discuss this with Zhiquan and the others?"
Xia Juhua shook her head: "I know you think I wasted a lot of opportunities by not letting them go out before. But at that time they said they wanted to work harder, but in fact they had just grown up. I thought of letting them hone themselves in the production team first, and then work hard after they are strong. Now they are both married, are they still afraid of selling their labor? No need to discuss it."
An Baoling nodded thoughtfully, and after listening to the noise outside the house, she whispered, "Sister-in-law, from what you said just now, if Zhiquan and his two brothers and Sanzhuang go out to work together, will all the money they earn belong to them?"
Seeing Xia Juhua nodded, An Baoling was a little anxious for her: "I tell you, you have to think about this matter carefully. The money is in your hands, and your daughters-in-law have to listen to you. If they have money in their hands, will they still listen to you as a mother-in-law? Your little daughter-in-law is Sun Guizhi's niece."
Xia Juhua thought carefully about what An Baoling said, and after a while she said, "But the children don't have any money, and it would be inconvenient if they encounter an emergency."
"You can't give them all." An Baoling found that Xia Juhua was more relaxed than before, and quickly expressed her idea: "Even if it's half and half, you can't keep all the money in your hand, otherwise you will cry in the future."
In her previous life, she cried a lot, but she always cried at night, hiding under the covers. Xia Juhua decided to listen to An Baoling, and after everyone in the family came back and had dinner, she called everyone to her room to talk about the matter.
In the past, whenever something happened at home, Xia Juhua would make the decisions directly. However, in the past few days, when everyone got together, they talked about more things than in the previous ten years combined. Liu Zhiquan and Liu Zhishuang both found it a little novel.
Wang Caifeng's impression is that her mother-in-law didn't ask people to discuss things so often, and she always felt that her mother-in-law had changed after three years of living together. Only Sun Hongmei thought that the Liu family had always been like this, and she was still thinking about how to get her mother-in-law's attention when discussing things, so that she would find that she was more suitable to be the head of the family than Wang Caifeng, the eldest daughter-in-law.
After Xia Juhua finished what she wanted to discuss, Sun Hongmei was excited. Carrying food bags to the grain station sounds a bit tiring, but the money is in cash. If Liu Zhishuang has money in his hands, then she...
"Mom, I think it's a good idea, let Zhishuang go." Unable to hold back, Sun Hongmei was the first to speak. Liu Zhishuang glared at her, and she realized that by saying this, she was not only a little bit sorry for the man, but also meant to make decisions for him. According to the custom in the village, men are the heads of the family.
Xia Juhua still ignored the previous lawsuit between Liu Zhishuang and his wife. She only gave Sun Hongmei a glance, enough for her to think about it herself, and then asked Liu Zhiquan: "Boss, what do you think?"
Liu Zhiquan remembered that his mother never let him and his brother go out to work, saying, "Mom, if you think I should go, I will go. If I can't leave home, I won't go."
"Yes, as long as you think it's okay, mom." Liu Zhishuang said with a smile, "But I heard that carrying food will guarantee a lunch, and it's all white flour steamed buns. I will save some money and bring back white flour steamed buns for you when the time comes." His words clearly meant that he wanted to go.
"How dare you save it for me." Xia Juhua's face darkened: "Why do the grain stations give you white flour steamed buns? It's because they are afraid that you can't eat enough and won't have the energy to work in the afternoon. You save that one or half steamed bun, but you get hungry and your calves cramp. What if you get bumped? Have you forgotten..."
Seeing Xia Juhua's red eyes, Liu Zhiquan glared at his brother and said hurriedly, "Don't worry, mom. I'll keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything wrong."
Liu Zhishuang also knew that he had said something wrong, and repeatedly assured Xia Juhua that he would not harm her health, which made Xia Juhua look better. She did not want to continue the topic, and asked directly: "What are you going to do with the money you earned from carrying food?"
Wang Caifeng and Sun Hongmei both looked at their men with anticipation, and had already started calculating in their minds what they would buy with the money, something they would want to be able to show off outside.
Liu Zhishuang, who had just said the wrong thing, said, "Mom, what are you talking about? We haven't divided the family property yet. All the money we earn will naturally be given to you."
What? Sun Hongmei used all her strength to hold back from standing up and retorting, "You are already a married man, but you don't give the money you earn to your wife but want to give it to your mother. Is this man not smart enough?"
Liu Zhiquan didn't say a word, but just nodded after Liu Zhishuang finished speaking, expressing his opinion. Wang Caifeng's hopeful eyes dimmed a little bit, and Xia Juhua almost laughed out loud.
"What do you two think?" Seeing that her daughters-in-law were unwilling to give in, Xia Juhua decided to seek their opinions to avoid coming up with the distribution plan herself, which would make the two of them feel at a disadvantage.
Sun Hongmei lowered her head and said nothing. Wang Caifeng knew a little about the position of her mother-in-law in her husband's heart. Even though she was unwilling, she had to say, "Zhishuang is right. We haven't divided the family yet. Whoever earns money should give it to mother."
It's good to have this awareness. Xia Juhua nodded in satisfaction and looked at Sun Hongmei who was silent. Everyone in the room was looking at her. Sun Hongmei knew she had to speak up: "I'll listen to Zhishuang."
What a nice thing to say. Xia Juhua didn't want her to go out and complain about her mother and her friends bullying her, a new bride, so she waved her hand and said, "You are married now, and you have to discuss your life together. How can you just follow what Zhishuang says?"
What can I do if she doesn't say what she means? Does the whole family agree to give the money to my mother-in-law, but I, a new daughter-in-law, disagree?
Sun Hongmei said weakly, "There's no need to discuss it with you, mother. We've already agreed that we'll be filial to you after we get married. Besides, you won't treat us badly. We feel relieved when we give you the money."
Listen, what a talkative little daughter-in-law! Otherwise, how come I was described as the worst mother-in-law for several years in my previous life? I still don’t believe that the first person who talked about me to others was the one who could talk.
That’s right, if Sun Hongmei didn’t know how to speak, no one would believe her even if she went out and talked about herself.
Seeing that both daughters-in-law had given up hope for the money their husbands earned, Xia Juhua changed the subject: "Your mother knows how filial you are, but in life, there are always things you like but are too embarrassed to ask your mother for. So of the money you two brothers earn, just give me half, and you can keep the rest."
Wang Caifeng and Sun Hongmei looked at Xia Juhua in disbelief. Whether it was what they heard when they were girls or what they learned from talking to other young wives in Ping'an Village, if the family was not divided, no matter who made money, it had to be handed over to the head of the family for unified management.
After all, there are few ways to make money in the countryside. The money earned throughout the year is limited. If it is not managed in a unified way, the family will be helpless when there is a wedding or a disease. Wang Caifeng and Sun Hongmei just dared to express their hope of getting all the money their husbands earned, but they relied on Xia Juhua's usual silence and would not ask questions about the little things her sons and daughters-in-law added.
When their husbands said they would give all their money to Xia Juhua, Wang Caifeng and Sun Hongmei knew they had nothing to argue about - that was the custom in the village. They urged their husbands to keep the money they earned privately, and if they told others about it, the villagers would gossip about it and they would not be able to hold their heads up.
The hope that had already been shattered was half restored by Xia Juhua. The feeling of regaining what was lost made the two of them feel unreal. They were happier than having all the money in their hands.
At this time, Liu Zhiquan spoke up: "Mom, we haven't separated yet, we don't have any money to spend."
Xia Juhua gave him a reproachful look and said, "There are many places to spend money. Even if it's just buying a headscarf for your wife, it's because you treat her like a man and love her for giving birth to your children."
Wang Caifeng's eyes were red with emotion because of Xia Juhua, and she said sincerely: "Mom, if he only buys it for me, I don't want it."
It's enough to know how to be grateful, Xia Juhua joked in a very talkative manner, which was completely different from the sullen face she had just spoken to Sun Hongmei. Sun Hongmei's good mood, which was originally the same as Wang Caifeng's, was suddenly dampened.
Xia Juhua didn't care whether she was in a good mood or not. She asked the two brothers Liu Zhiquan to find Liu Sanzhuang by themselves and said that they were willing to go with them to carry the food bags.
After the two of them left, Wang Caifeng carried Liu Baoguo, who was nodding his head so sleepy, back to the house to coax him to sleep.
Sun Hongmei, who thought her mother-in-law disliked her, forced herself to stay and chat with Xia Juhua: "Mom, why did the grain station choose people from our production team to carry the grain bags this time?"