Xia Juhua's character was evident in these years. She worked diligently and carefully, and never did what others did, such as being lazy or secretly hiding some food to take home. Only with the permission of the production team would she follow others to dig ditches and pick up some rotten seeds that fell on the ground.
So she said that she didn't dare to take away the public property. Sun Zhaodi believed her and said with a smile: "I know, I'm just chatting with you."
Xia Juhua knew that Sun Zhaodi might be just chatting and would sit down to weave mats, but some people were not just chatting. There were many who hated others for what they had and laughed at others for what they had not, and there were many who secretly thought about how many peanuts they had stolen.
Although it was true that some raw peanuts were left, Xia Juhua felt that she earned them with her own skills, so why should anyone talk about it? Just as she was thinking about how to shut up those women, Liu Erzhuang rode past her on his bicycle.
Xia Juhua glanced at Sun Zhaodi and asked, "Didn't you hear the whistle? We are late. Has Erzhuang assigned all the work?" If he hadn't assigned all the work, what was he, the production team leader, doing in such a hurry?
Sun Zhaodi looked at the sun and said affirmatively, "I didn't hear the whistle either. Did the captain go to the brigade union? Liu Sanzhuang will assign us work again today."
Ping'an Village does not have a deputy captain. In the past, when Liu Erzhuang was not there, Liu Sanzhuang assigned the work for his brother. Xia Juhua thought what Sun Zhaodi said made sense and just nodded in response.
Sun Zhaodi was used to Xia Juhua's behavior, and did not feel that she was being ignored for not getting a response to her words. She just quickened her pace and walked towards the production team's yard - maybe the people in the production team would know what Liu Erzhuang was doing in such a hurry.
When they arrived at the production team, they found that there were more people there today than in previous days. Many of them had smiles on their faces and were talking in groups of three or five. They didn't even need to listen to what everyone was saying, because Li Changwang's family had already squeezed over and said, "You two are really patient. You came at this time."
Xia Juhua and Sun Zhaodi usually didn't like to visit each other, so they had no source of information. Therefore, they didn't understand why going to work on time meant they were considered to be patient.
Li Changwang's family knew from their expressions that the two didn't know the good news yet, so they couldn't help but keep it a secret: "Do you know that it's not the captain who assigned us the work today, it's Liu Sanzhuang who assigned us the work."
Xia Juhua looked at Li Changwang's family with some amusement. She never thought that Li Changwang's family had the hobby of keeping things that everyone knew a secret.
If someone responds to the question, it's fun. If no one responds, it's a bit embarrassing. Li Changwang's family is not the kind of person who will embarrass themselves. Seeing that Xia Juhua and Sun Zhaodi didn't intend to ask him why Liu Sanzhuang was assigned to do the job, he directly gave the answer:
"The brigade just sent a message saying that the grain station will be able to settle part of the public grain payment today, and asked all production teams to go quickly to avoid being settled by other brigades, and not knowing how long we have to wait. So our team leader went to the grain station, and we hope that he can settle all the commune money."
No wonder. Most of the production team's income came from the money they received from paying the public rations. But the grain station would not pay the money to the production teams immediately when the public rations were paid each year. Instead, it would wait until the grain station collected all the public rations and reported the amount to the higher authorities before slowly returning the money.
Sometimes, if luck is bad, the public grain money will not be returned during the New Year. The production team that does not receive the public grain money can only distribute dividends to members after the New Year.
So every time they heard the news of paying the public grain money, not only were the production team cadres happy, but the members also looked forward to it. Even Xia Juhua, who was not too tight on money, smiled a little: "It would be great if Erzhuang could pay back all the public grain money."
Although everyone knew from past experience that it was impossible, many people still agreed with Xia Juhua's opinion. Several women felt that the invisible barrier between them and Xia Juhua was gone, because they had a common expectation, right?
It was obvious that everyone was a little distracted while working. Xia Juhua was not affected at all, and she sat down again to peel the reeds with the same skill. An Baoling sat next to her, and two reeds broke in the middle of peeling, and then she simply stopped peeling, and she concentrated on talking to Xia Juhua:
"Sister-in-law, you said that the grain station has settled the public grain money, so it should be time to settle the grain-carrying team's money too."
It turns out that everyone was thinking about this. Xia Juhua could not give an accurate answer, and could only infer based on common sense: "Since it was the brigade that notified them, then all the production teams were notified. If the grain station had received less money, they would not have notified so many production teams." Instead, they relied on the relationship between the production teams and the grain station staff to find out the news and quietly collect the money.
An Baoling looked at Xia Juhua with some admiration: "How come you think so clearly? I didn't think of it. If the grain station has more money, the grain-carrying team can also get some money." After saying that, she slapped her thigh excitedly and said, "That's great. I get one share of the dividends, and the grain-carrying team gets another share. Together, we can have a good New Year."
Are you sure you can have a good New Year?
Liu Sizhuang and his wife worked three days fishing and two days drying the nets, but their work points were not enough to exchange for food, so they could not get much money. and Liu Sanzhuang.
But when the money comes into Sun's hands, she will keep a part for herself, and the rest will most likely be divided equally among the three families - this is what Sun did when Xia Juhua had not yet divided the old Liu family. She said it nicely: You are brothers, and I can't favor one over the other, so just give it the same amount, one part and four parts, neither more nor less, and each family gets one part.
At that time, Xia Juhua had her own opinions, but Liu Dazhuang persuaded her that her father had passed away early and it was not easy for Sun to raise five children alone, so she could divide the property however she wanted. How many years could it be divided?
It was indeed only divided for about ten years here at Xia Juhua's place, but Li Daya and An Baoling have continued to use the same method of division. Xia Juhua doesn't believe that Li Daya and An Baoling have no objections.
No one is made of clay. Didn't Li Daya explode a few days ago? An Baoling is not a good-tempered person either. In addition, the children of the two families are getting older and older, and more and more places need money. Xia Juhua feels that they will not endure it forever.
Perhaps it was because Xia Juhua's expression was too obvious, An Baoling could see what she was thinking. She glanced to the side and whispered in Xia Juhua's ear, "I know what you're worried about, but this year I don't have to ask for Second Sister-in-law to agree."
Will it matter if Li Daya disagrees? Sun has been partial to him for so many years. Liu Erzhuang is now the same role as Liu Dazhuang back then. It will be useless if Li Daya disagrees alone.
Xia Juhua looked at An Baoling in disbelief, which made An Baoling laugh: "You don't believe it? Let me tell you, Second Sister-in-law didn't come to work today, she hasn't come to work for several days."
Yes, Xia Juhua scanned the yard and didn't see Li Daya. She imitated An Baoling and asked in a low voice, "She hasn't been to work yet?"
There is no need to ask since when you stopped working. Those who understand will understand.
An Baoling nodded with a schadenfreude and said, "Since the old lady had a quarrel with you that day, she has not been working. She doesn't cook at home, sweep the yard, or feed the chickens. She only washes clothes for the whole family."
You have no opinion on this? Xia Juhua looked at An Baoling suspiciously.
An Baoling didn't feel uncomfortable at all. She leisurely picked up another reed pole, rested the reed knife on the pole head, and pretended to be working. She kept talking: "I think my second sister-in-law has been more tired than me these years. She is tired and tired. It's good for her to take a break. Anyway, I go to work every day, and when I go home, I have to serve Sanzhuang and his uncles. I can't go home and not even have a ready-made meal. I have to earn work points!"
She shook her head with some regret when she said this: "It's just that the fourth daughter-in-law's cooking is really bad. Even the porridge is burnt. Why doesn't she just burn the pot? It would be a good opportunity to split up the family."
Xia Juhua was frightened by her bold words and laughed: "You better stop talking. If others hear it, they will think that I, the separated daughter-in-law, am instigating you to go against your mother-in-law."
An Baoling stopped talking and just looked at Xia Juhua with a reed pole in one hand and a reed knife in the other.
Xia Juhua didn't hear her answer. She looked up from the reeds she was scraping and asked in confusion, "Why are you looking at me?"
"Sister-in-law, I feel like you've changed completely since you married our young daughter-in-law," An Baoling said solemnly.
Xia Juhua was shocked and said in a somewhat concealed tone, "Why change? Haven't I always been like this?"
"It's different." An Baoling said confidently: "Even if you knew that others would talk about it before, you would not say it to their faces. And no matter how chaotic your family was, you would not say anything in front of outsiders."
Xia Juhua had not expected An Baoling to be so observant. She wanted to argue with her, but she felt she had no way to start - she herself was indeed behaving differently from before, and it was obvious to others even if she didn't deny it.
An Baoling had her own interpretation of Xia Juhua's hesitation to speak: "I think you're doing well this way, really. In the past, you didn't say anything when you were wronged, and those who cared about you didn't know how to help you. Those who felt wronged by you thought you deserved it, and they thought it wasn't wronged when they saw the excitement. Otherwise, why didn't you say anything?"
Thinking about it, it was indeed true. Xia Juhua nodded silently. "What could I do before? I was a young widow. If I said a few more words, people would point fingers at me and say I was restless. If people said too much, it would be hard for my two children to find wives. Now my sons are married, so what do I have to be afraid of?"
So it was because of this. An Baoling looked at Xia Juhua happily and said, "You should have thought so earlier. Besides, your daughter-in-law is obviously a cousin of Sun Guizhi. If you don't keep her under control, she will rebel."
After saying this, he remembered what he had said to Xia Juhua last time, and asked, "You remember what I told you last time, right? The money from the two food packages and the dividends from Zhiquan and his brothers can't all be kept by them. Otherwise, your daughter-in-law will have to take Zhishuang's share back to her parents' home."
Xia Juhua was amused by An Baoling: "Weren't you angry just now that the old lady took all your dividend money? Why are you telling me to keep it now?"
"Can you be like the old lady?" An Baoling looked at Xia Juhua like she was a fool. "You earn as many work points as Zhiquan and his brothers. Zhiquan and his brothers are equally hardworking in the fields and earn the same amount of work points. No one will lose out no matter how we divide the points."
Just as Xia Juhua was about to nod in agreement with An Baoling, she heard someone outside the yard shout, "The captain is back."
Liu Erzhuang has come back, but has he brought back the money? All the women weaving reed mats put down their work and looked towards the production team, as if they would be able to get a piece of money if they could see Liu Erzhuang.
After a while, a whistle was heard from the production team, and then the accountant shouted loudly: "One person in charge of each family should come to the production team. Listen, this is the person in charge, and people who have nothing to do with it should not come to join in the fun."
Xia Juhua put down her reed machete and stood up. The women in the yard envied her and urged her with a smile: "Go quickly, and remember to tell us how much one work point is worth when you come back." Their voices were more intimate than ever before.
The production team room was already full, so Xia Juhua stood outside the crowd and didn't try to squeeze in. She had been like this all these years, never like others, checking the work recorded by the accountant from beginning to end, for fear of missing a work.
With Liu Erzhuang as the production team leader, Xia Juhua didn't have to worry about this. Besides, Xia Juhua couldn't read at that time - in her previous life, Xia Juhua learned a few words from Liu Baoguo after he went to school, and she also learned how to add and subtract numbers. Even so, she didn't think her level was higher than that of an accountant.
"Enough, enough, do you know how to read? Why are you still looking at it?" As expected, the accountant's impatient voice was heard, and Liu Erzhuang also called people out: "Everyone get out, get out, whoever's name is called will come in again. Get out - if you don't get out, you won't get any dividends today, do you hear me?!"
With threats and intimidation, everyone reluctantly left the house and gathered under the windows to hear how much work other families had recorded and how much money they could get. If they heard that a family with more people working had received nearly 400 yuan a year, they would sigh with envy. If a family with fewer people working had less than 100 yuan in exchange for food, they would be laughed at in person.
Xia Juhua had understood that this year the production team could earn 1.1 cents per worker, one cent less than last year. Fortunately, the women were still weaving reed mats, so there was still some hope. No one was dissatisfied with the 1.1 cents per worker, and what they cared most about was how much money their family could get.
What you get is yours, and farmers have their own wisdom. So no matter if you are envied or laughed at, you will always have a smile on your face when you count the few bills in your hand.
Xia Juhua listened to the accountant announcing who should receive how much dividend, and watched those who received dividends walk out with a smile. She felt happy: No matter if next year is as catastrophic as the last, at least life is much better now than the past two years. We can't stop living now because of worrying about next year. Besides, having some money in hand will give us more confidence to deal with disasters.
"Xia Juhua, is Xia Juhua here?" the accountant's voice came out, and the man standing at the door turned around and called Xia Juhua's name loudly. Xia Juhua responded, and everyone made way for her, and she squeezed into the house.
"Xia Juhua worked 305 days, logged 3,050 hours, and used up 2,000 hours in exchange for food. She should receive a bonus of 115.5 yuan." After reading the numbers, the accountant asked Xia Juhua, "Is that right?"
Xia Juhua nodded: "Yes."
It was rare to see someone so straightforward, and the accountant was even more satisfied. He continued reading: "Liu Zhiquan has worked for 290 days and has recorded 2,900 shifts..."
Xia Juhua didn't care what the accountant thought. She only remembered how much money each person in the family got in the end. Liu Zhiquan got 99 yuan, Wang Caifeng got 58.96 yuan, and Liu Zhishuang got 1 yuan and 11 yuan more than Liu Zhiquan, which was 101 yuan. After the whole family counted it, they received a total of 373.5 yuan from the accountant.
A year’s income.
Xia Juhua felt that the money was heavy when she received it, and she counted it in front of the accountant without any hesitation. Because Xia Juhua did not start with the work points like others, the accountant waited patiently for her to count the money in the room before calling the next person.
While waiting for the next person to come in, the accountant joked with Xia Juhua: "Sister-in-law, your family got a lot this year. Isn't it time to buy some meat for stewing?"
Xia Juhua spit on her fingers and continued to count the money without paying any attention to him. The accountant was not annoyed. He looked at Liu Erzhuang who was staring at the money on the table and said, "Captain, are you going to wait for the old lady to come and collect the money, or are you going to take it back?"
At this time, Xia Juhua had counted the money, nodded to Liu Erzhuang and the accountant, and began to squeeze out. She heard Liu Erzhuang say, "Let's each take our own this year."
Xia Juhua paused for a moment, then continued to squeeze out. After all, how the Liu family received the money was other people's business to Xia Juhua. Although An Baoling told her the cause, she would not wait to hear the consequences - her own family would soon face the same problem, and she had no time to care about other people's business.
At lunchtime, the long-lost cakes appeared on the table. Everyone tacitly did not ask why, and no one said they would not eat them. After they finished eating, Xia Juhua said to Liu Zhishuang: "Don't go to work this afternoon. Go to the commune to see if you can buy meat. Buy two pounds of meat."
Liu Zhishuang was happy: "Mom is treating?"
"Why should I treat you?" Xia Juhua had a new understanding of her son's double-facedness and said bluntly, "You can't earn work points if you don't go to the fields. Why do you have to let your mother treat you?"
Liu Zhishuang smiled even more happily: "All our money is with mother, so of course mother has to treat us."
"Okay, I know you're thinking about the dividends. Let's talk about it after we finish eating the meat." Xia Juhua gave everyone a reassurance, and Wang Caifeng and Sun Hongmei's eyes lit up.
Liu Zhiquan looked at Liu Zhishuang unhappily and said, "Why are you talking so much nonsense? How about I go."
Liu Zhishuang waved his hands quickly: "I'll go, I'll go. At least you have to win more than me next year."
Xia Juhua smiled, knowing clearly why Liu Zhiquan was unhappy: ever since Liu Zhishuang went to the fields to earn work points, the two brothers had earned more. This year, Liu Zhiquan earned one dollar less than Liu Zhishuang, and he felt that his authority as an elder brother was challenged.
Wang Caifeng glanced at Sun Hongmei, who remained silent, with dissatisfaction in her eyes. Xia Juhua also knew why. It was because when Sun Hongmei married, the autumn harvest had already been completed. Not only did she not bring any food, but she also left all her work points at the Sun Family Farm. Needless to say, the Sun Family would not give Sun Hongmei this year's dividends, which meant that Sun Hongmei would eat for free until the autumn harvest next year.
However, Xia Juhua no longer cared about the little tricks between her two daughters-in-law. She went to weave reed mats in the afternoon and joked to others that if she really worked with the other women, she wouldn't mind not getting as much money next year as she did this year.
Although earning more work points and bonuses makes people happy, Xia Juhua knows that she has to pay the price of her health. She will not be so stupid this time. In addition to earning more money, what she wants most is to have a good body, so as not to be like her previous life, coughing and leg pain before winter comes and no one cares about her.
Finally, the whistle for the end of work was heard. Several women in the yard put down their work early and ran home. Sun Zhaodi still walked back with Xia Juhua and asked her, "What are you going to eat tonight?"
Xia Juhua smiled and asked her, "Is there no one in your family who goes to the commune to buy meat?"
Sun Zhaodi glanced at Xia Juhua and shook her head: "No. Our two daughters-in-law are not good at work. They don't get as much as your eldest daughter-in-law who takes care of a child. Xiaoni has just started working in the fields. The work points she earns in a day are just enough to feed herself. She still wants to eat meat. It's good to be able to eat meat during the New Year."
Xia Juhua persuaded her, "After all, you have worked for a year, you should get some dividends."
Sun Zhaodi still shook her head: "There's still a mistress and she hasn't even found a wife yet, how can I just eat here?"
Xia Juhua couldn't persuade him any more. Every family has its own difficulties. Sun Zhaodi has one more son than she does, so she has to pay an extra dowry and think about where the third son will live after getting married. There are indeed many places to spend money.
As they approached the house, they smelled a strong aroma of meat. Sun Zhaodi touched Xia Juhua's arm with some envy and said, "You finally made it. You can eat ready-made food when you get home."
It's another boil.
Xia Juhua said helplessly: "Your family's meal should be ready by now, and you have a meal ready to eat."
How can any meal be the same? Even though there was only a large bowl on the table, everyone in the Liu family had a smile on their faces. Even Sun Hongmei had to admit that she was lucky that she didn't go back to her parents' home for the sake of face two days ago, otherwise she wouldn't have seen such a large piece of stewed meat.
Her parents also ate some of my son's meat during the New Year, but the meat was distributed to everyone by her mother, and she couldn't even pick up the meat scraps from her bowl.
But Wang Caifeng simply cut the two pounds of meat that Liu Zhishuang bought into the size of red dates, stewed it until it was soft, and then put in a few big potatoes. She didn't even remove the fat from the meat to make the oil!
How could she be so incompetent? Sun Hongmei couldn't help but remind Wang Caifeng that she should go to the yard and ask her mother-in-law if she could save some meat for the next meal.
How did Wang Caifeng answer? She said that every year after the dividends were distributed, her family would have this meal, and she was told not to feel embarrassed when eating it, and that she would have to wait until the Chinese New Year if she wanted to eat it again.
At this time, Sun Hongmei sincerely thanked her aunt, thinking that she was really doing this for her own good and had arranged such a good in-law family for her, otherwise she would never have the chance to eat meat in her life.
"Mother, milk!" Liu Baoguo seemed even more excited than Sun Hongmei. He kept circling the table. Whenever he stretched out his hand, his mother would scold him or slap his hand, but he continued to stretch out his hand unyieldingly. When he found that his mother was staring at him, he turned to Xia Juhua, who had just entered the room, for help.
"Children are greedy. Give him a piece of meat to fill his mouth first." Xia Juhua couldn't help herself and instructed Wang Caifeng in the tone she had been used to for a lifetime.
"It's all because of grandma's habit of you." Wang Caifeng complained without any sincerity, and happily picked up a piece of meat that was neither fat nor lean with chopsticks and stuffed it into her son's mouth. She knew that her mother-in-law loved Baoguo the most and would not make Baoguo drool all the time.
"Mom, why don't you let me have a piece first?" Liu Zhishuang pretended to be jealous of his nephew and said, "Do you know how hard it was for me to get this piece of meat? They said they didn't sell it anymore, and I had to persuade them to buy it."
Although I didn't see what the meat Liu Zhishuang bought looked like, Xia Juhua, who is good at cooking, could easily tell from the stewed meat that it was really good. There was a lot of fat on the meat. Wang Caifeng must have added soy sauce when stewing it. The fat was also dark brown and was steaming hot, making people want to swallow their saliva unconsciously.
Xia Juhua didn't believe that Liu Zhishuang could buy such good meat just by saying a few nice words, so she exposed him directly: "Did they really sell it to you just because you said nice words?"
Liu Zhishuang didn't expect his mother's question to be so sharp. He looked at Wang Caifeng a little embarrassedly and said, "Well, when I went there, I saw my sister-in-law's cousin. Sister Caixia was very kind and asked me what was wrong. So I..."
This guy doesn't even think before he tells a lie. Xia Juhua looked at him and asked, "How come I remembered that the supply and marketing cooperative didn't sell meat? How come you happened to run into Caixia?"
Liu Zhishuang never thought that his mother could predict things so accurately. He lowered his head and muttered, "I have no choice. The meat in the grocery store is always reserved for acquaintances. When we bought it last year, we only bought two bones with the meat cleaned out."
"Mom, you haven't been in good spirits lately. I thought I should buy some good meat to make you happy, so I went to find Sister Caixia."
Wang Caifeng was frightened by her brother-in-law's shamelessness: "How do you know my sister?"
Liu Zhishuang looked at his sister-in-law a little embarrassedly and said, "I don't know Sister Caixia, but I can ask around. When I asked at the supply and marketing cooperative, someone pointed it out to me. Then I told her about the relationship between our family and Sister Caixia, and she took me to buy meat."
What an idea. Xia Juhua looked at her little son and had to admit that it was a waste of Liu Zhishuang's talent to stay in the village to farm. If he were to go out and do business, he would...
Gradually, Xia Juhua had an idea in her mind, but now was not the time to bring it up. She looked at Liu Zhishuang again and asked everyone to eat together.
No one was unhappy to be able to eat stewed meat, and large chunks of it. Of course, Xia Juhua didn't let Liu Baoguo eat too much - children's stomachs are weak to begin with, and they haven't had much oil for a long time, so eating too much at once can easily hurt their stomachs.
Wang Caifeng felt sorry for her son, but she also knew that her mother-in-law was doing it entirely for her son's own good, otherwise she wouldn't have asked her to set aside a small bowl of stewed meat for Liu Baoguo to eat for the next few days.
At this moment, everyone's attention was half on eating meat and half on the family meeting after dinner. Everyone wanted to hear how Xia Juhua would arrange the dividend money.
Xia Juhua didn't let anyone wait any longer. She watched Sun Hongmei clear away the dishes and Wang Caifeng wipe the table neatly. Then she took out today's dividend money and put it on the table.
When we collected our dividends, we compared them with the money of the production team, and our own money didn't seem much. But now, when we put the bills of different sizes on the table, everyone felt that their work this year was not in vain.
Seeing Sun Hongmei also sitting next to Liu Zhishuang, Xia Juhua spoke up: "This year, the three of you have worked hard, and I have taken back the dividends. But now that you have all started your own families, who will take the money and how you will live in the future? There must be a rule."
Liu Zhiquan wanted to say that his mother was in charge, but someone pulled his collar. He knew it was his wife without turning around. Liu Zhiquan's mouth closed again. After Xia Juhua finished speaking, she kept watching the reactions of her two sons and daughters-in-law. She saw the little movements of Liu Zhiquan and Wang Caifeng, and her eyes only lingered for a moment before she stared at the money on the table again.
Everyone in the room was looking at the money on the table, but none of them were as eager as Sun Hongmei. If possible, Sun Hongmei wanted to take all the money, then quickly go back to the west room and put it away somewhere that even Liu Zhishuang didn't know about.
Then she could use the money to buy new clothes, and then use it to buy snacks and wine from the supply and marketing cooperative to bring back to her parents' home. Then her mother would not be so angry, nor would she scold her for eating for free and wasting money, but would welcome her with a smile. Everyone in Sunjiazhuang would know that she had married well, and that she would have the final say in her husband's family after marriage...
Sun Hongmei sat there quietly with her remaining rationality. She couldn't do that. Ever since she said she wanted to go back to her parents' home and stayed there, and after Sun Guizhi instigated Sun to come home and make trouble once, Sun Hongmei no longer had any status at home. If Liu Zhishuang didn't talk to her every day, she wouldn't even have anyone to talk to at home.
As a daughter-in-law, Wang Caifeng lives a much more comfortable life than her. It's not because Wang Caifeng entered the family first and is also a sister-in-law, but because Wang Caifeng has never made the same mistake as her. Even Wang Caifeng now has to sit behind Liu Zhishen and keep silent. Sun Hongmei dared not do anything except eagerly looking at the money on the table.
Liu Zhishuang didn't have eyes behind him, so he couldn't see the greed in Sun Hongmei's eyes. Seeing that his elder brother didn't say anything, he spoke up: "Mom, haven't you always been in charge of our family's money? You've always provided us with food and clothing. I think it's better to just let you take care of it like in previous years."
Xia Juhua ignored his words and divided the money on the table into four parts: "This is the dividend for each of us this year. Zhiquan worked one day less this year to arrange your brother's marriage, so he got one yuan less than him. Don't feel bad, and don't blame your brother. Who makes you the eldest brother? I bought new cotton for Baoguo two days ago to compensate you for Zhishuang."
Wang Caifeng poked her head out from behind Liu Zhiquan and said, "Mom, don't say that. Don't say Zhishuang is Zhiquan's brother. If his brother doesn't take care of his wife, who else should? Even if the neighbor next door has a problem, we have to help. We will pay for Baoguo's quilt ourselves."
Xia Juhua gave Wang Caifeng an approving look, which made Wang Caifeng's chest puff out. She stood straight and almost as tall as Liu Zhiquan. Liu Zhiquan finally said, "Caifeng is right. Mom, if I work hard next year, my dividend will definitely not be less than Zhishuang's."
"Brother." Liu Zhishuang pretended to be dissatisfied and called out. Everyone laughed. Xia Juhua continued, "If it doesn't count, then it doesn't count. How can I be a bad person if you can think of me like that?"
"Here's what I think. I'll keep the work points I earn. We haven't split up yet, so we still have to pay together for big and small things. I'll take half of the work points you earn, and you can keep the rest. After all, there will be more and more children in the future, and there will definitely be no room for them. You should spend less money on a regular basis and think about building a house."
"Mom, what are you talking about?" Liu Zhiquan was not going to do it this time: "Who in the village lives as spacious as ours? There is no need to go out and build a house. Besides, if we build a house and leave you alone, if you have a headache or a fever, no one will know. I am worried."
You have a long time to rest assured. When Xia Juhua first mentioned to her two sons that they should go out to build a house, she did not expect to convince them right away, in order to make them have an impression so that they would not be too disgusted when she mentioned separation next time.
Liu Zhishuang continued his brother's words and said, "We don't have any children yet, and the west wing is newly built, so we don't need to go out and build a new house."
You two are planning to rely on me, right? Xia Juhua looked at her two sons helplessly and repeated the reasons they had told her in their previous lives: "Big brother, you not only have to protect the country, but also Caifeng will have to stay in confinement in March, and there are two children. When the children grow up, they will have to sleep in separate rooms from you, and the east room will not be able to accommodate them."
"Second brother, you live in the west wing. It's very hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's not a good place to live. I don't want people to say I'm biased, so I'm telling you this today. When you have enough money, you should go out and build a house for me. If you move out, I can have a few days of peace and quiet."
When Liu Zhiquan and Liu Zhishuang heard Xia Juhua mention the word "quiet", they remembered the tears that Xia Juhua had shed that night, and they were unable to say anything else. Liu Zhishuang even turned around and glanced at Sun Hongmei, with obvious complaints in his eyes.
Sun Hongmei moved her body a little, with a smile on her face, and called out to Xia Juhua, "Mom, people say that you have a house full of children and grandchildren, why do you still think we are not quiet?"
Xia Juhua continued to fiddle with the bills on the table. She ignored Sun Hongmei and started to divide the money. She pocketed her own dividend first, then Liu Zhiquan and Wang Caifeng's. "I just said that you two should take care of half. Is that okay?"
Wang Caifeng was silent again, but Sun Hongmei became anxious. Even if she could make her mother-in-law more dissatisfied with her, she had to say, "Mom, how can you only manage half of it?"
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