Upon hearing this, Lin Haodong and Granny Lin's expressions immediately froze.
Ji Xia, completely oblivious to the situation, added, "Don't you know that once a woman gets married, all her money is in the man's hands? After I got married, I basically didn't have more than ten yuan on me. Besides, I haven't worked or earned any money for two or three months."
She turned around and said to Zhang Hong in a serious tone, "Sister-in-law, what about your family? Do you manage the money or does my brother manage it?"
Zhang Hong chuckled inwardly upon hearing this. Ji Xia only had five yuan? She estimated that Ji Xia had no less than five hundred yuan.
Moreover, she didn't believe Chen Jing would let Ji Xia relinquish control of the family's finances.
These two, mother and son, did all these things to Ji Xia, and they still dared to ask to borrow money, a thousand at a time. They are truly shameless.
However, she suddenly noticed the extremely unpleasant expressions on Lin Haodong and Granny Lin's faces, and suddenly understood.
Zhang Hong smiled faintly: "Why should married women carry so much money? The man is the head of the household, so of course he should be in charge of the money."
She smiled and asked Granny Lin, "Auntie, is it still Liu Zhiqing who manages the money in your family? But she's quite capable. I've seen her a few times, and she always has a different set of clothes, changing them every day."
Several onlookers cheered loudly: "That's right, the man is the head of the household. What kind of married woman should be handling the money? Kid, your wife is actually holding onto your money. You're so useless. Are you even a man?"
Lin Haodong and Granny Lin's expressions changed repeatedly upon hearing this. Looking at Ji Xia, although she had been working in the city for over a year and had gotten married, the cotton-padded coat she was wearing was the same worn-out one they had seen last year.
Unlike Liu Pianran, who doesn't care about her family, she's always dressed in new clothes and shoes, but when asked how much money she earns, she refuses to say, insisting that she's spent it all and hasn't seen a single penny.
"My mother manages the money in my family; my father never used to manage the money."
Lin Haodong forced a smile, deliberately trying to sow discord: "Chen Jing even said he was good to you, and wouldn't even let you manage his money?"
"Oh, Auntie is capable, unlike me, I don't like to worry about these things, so I leave them all to the men."
Ji Xia gave a subtle but firm jab, then smiled and said, "I really don't have any money on me. I spent all the money I had at the bookstore. Chen Jing has been away for half a month and isn't home."
In fact, Chen Jing would never lend money. The three of them had just tricked Chen Zhang today, ruining his reputation in the brigade. How could he dare to ask Chen Jing for help again?
"If there's nothing else, you can go back now, Auntie. My Zhijun hasn't come back yet, so it's not convenient for us to invite you in for a drink of water. I won't keep you any longer."
Zhang Hong smiled and separated Ji Xia from Granny Lin, letting her sister-in-law push the cart into the yard before turning around and closing the gate.
I watched their figures until their view was finally blocked by a mottled wooden door.
I could faintly hear a voice coming from inside the door: "I'm going to cook dinner, Xia. What do you want to eat tonight?"
"Let's cook some white rice. My mother-in-law gave us two pounds of cured pork yesterday. Let's stir-fry some garlic sprouts with the cured pork. The cured pork is so fragrant."
"That works too. We have some salted melon steamed with meat patties from breakfast, and a seaweed soup will be enough."
As the two women's voices faded into the distance, Lin Haodong couldn't help but swallow hard. He then remembered that he had eaten some wild vegetable porridge in the morning and was so hungry that he could barely walk.
Too embarrassed to knock again, the mother and son could only turn and leave sadly.
Thinking of the differences between Ji Xia and Liu Pianran, Lin Haodong was filled with remorse.
He thought back to the past, whenever Lin Haodong needed money and asked Ji Xia for it, Ji Xia never said a word against it.
Occasionally, Granny Lin would tentatively suggest that men are meant for important matters and that the family's money should be managed by men, and Ji Xia never objected, even agreeing wholeheartedly.
She was originally a traditional woman who cared most about her family and was the most virtuous and gentle. It doesn't seem strange that she handed over her salary to her husband to manage after marriage.
As for Liu Pianran, he should have known from the beginning that that kind of woman was only suitable as a mistress or concubine. Keeping her outside was the least worthwhile thing to do, and marrying her was the least worthwhile thing to do.
When he was struggling to achieve success and fame, why was he so foolish as to break off his virtuous fiancée and marry a woman who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun?
Lin Haodong was completely enveloped in regret. The pain was like thousands of ants gnawing at his heart, making him feel weak all over and unable to breathe.
He regretted it for a moment, but was soon overcome by hunger and became powerless. Lin Haodong clutched his stomach and said to his mother, "Mother, do you have any money? I only ate some wild vegetable porridge this morning, and I'm so hungry that I can't walk anymore."
He hadn't done any heavy work in a long time, and he hadn't eaten anything as nutritious as wild vegetable porridge in a long time either.
Because there was no firewood at home, he endured hunger and discomfort to chop wood for half a day. When he returned home, he didn't even have a chance to eat lunch before Lin's mother dragged him to catch him in adultery. The commotion has continued until now, and he was just beaten up by a group of people.
Upon hearing this, Lin's mother exclaimed, "Where would we get any money at home?"
"Mom, when the grain was distributed, the brigade gave the family more than thirty yuan, and you got it all? Besides, I sent twelve yuan home in the past six months, and you didn't have any left?"
“We’ve already spent a lot on food, where would we get any money left? Your daughter-in-law doesn’t care about the family at all, she never hands over any of her earnings.”
Lin's mother, her face dark, muttered to herself, but still took out two cents from her pocket: "Go to the restaurant and buy two steamed buns, one for each of you, and roast some sweet potatoes when we get back."
Lin Haodong took the two cents and remained silent with a sullen face.
He remembered Liu Pianran's words. Liu Pianran said that her mother always sent her out to work during mealtimes and didn't give her food. Otherwise, she would have to serve her food by bringing it to her.
Is this true? If so, it's no wonder that Liu Pianran refuses to give the money she earns back home; she's the kind of submissive person Ji Xia is.
He said in a low voice, trying to calm himself down, "Mother, we still need to treat Pianran better, otherwise she won't even want to go to work next year?"
"She dares?"
Old Mrs. Lin sneered and said to her son in an annoyed tone, "When she gets home, give her a good scolding. If she still doesn't repent, divorce her and find someone better."
She thought for a moment: "Ji Xia is already married, so it's impossible. However, I heard that Chen Lao Er's daughter works in the city and earns thirty or forty yuan a month!"
"Although she has two younger brothers, both of whom are capable, Chen Wanyou had already made it clear that he would keep all the money his daughter earned as her dowry."
Lin Haodong frowned inwardly: "Chen Lao Er? He's Captain Chen's younger brother? How old is his daughter? Even if she's divorced, she's remarried. I'm afraid he won't agree to it."
"Even if it's a second marriage, you're still a college graduate, while she's just a junior high school graduate. So what if she has a job? How much money can she earn? You're still not satisfied with marrying a college graduate?"
Granny Lin said with a gloomy expression, "Besides the Chen family, there are also the Liu family, the Hou family, and the Zhang family. At least seven or eight girls from the brigade have gone to the city to work."
“Let me tell you, those educated youth from other places are really no good. Their families don’t help them, and their families won’t help them find jobs in the city. If you’re going to find someone, you have to find someone like Ji Xia. Her family has connections in the brigade. If something happens, she will naturally ask her family for help. You don’t need to worry about it!”
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