Su Yujing didn't know why she brought this up, but she still shook her head: "I'm not working. My husband doesn't want me to work."
Ji Xia raised an eyebrow: "You're willing? You'd rather be their nanny, taking care of the young and serving the old?"
Su Yujing's expression turned serious upon hearing this, but she tried to save face: "There's no need to take care of the young or serve the old. It's just the two of us living together at home; his parents don't live with us."
"Isn't your aunt human? She's not exactly young, only a few years younger than you, but you have to prepare her food and even wash her clothes? Is she disabled? Has necrosis in her limbs?"
"Besides, if this is just a test, and you've taken care of the younger ones now, what will you do when you send an older one over? You're not working anyway, so you can just stay home and enjoy yourself with nothing to do?"
Ji Xia's tone was quite harsh, but Su Yujing actually felt a bit of satisfaction listening to it.
Thinking about it more deeply, she thought of her husband's elderly grandmother, and a sense of unease crept into her heart.
She ate a little something in silence, then asked in a low voice, "Do you have a way?"
Ji Xia curled her lips. Su Yujing was no ordinary fool; she had status and background, unlike the average person with a love-struck mind.
She didn't believe Su Yujing couldn't think of a solution on her own? Perhaps the man's status was also unusual, and she was hesitant to be ruthless out of consideration for his feelings?
She hesitated for a moment, then said, "I once heard something quite interesting, I'll share it with you."
"A newlywed couple, their families were well-matched, and they were childhood sweethearts. They had a good relationship, but the man was a bit too obedient to his mother, so he handed over his salary to her for safekeeping, and he liked to report everything to her about the family, big or small..."
This is a story she saw on Toutiao in her past life, but the events actually took place in the 1970s or 80s. It's about a mama's boy and a controlling mother-in-law. He hands over his salary to his mother and lets his wife support the family.
But the woman wasn't one to be bullied. After discovering that her husband was a mama's boy and her mother-in-law was a control freak, she simply gave up and stopped cooking after get off work, eating instead at her parents' house every day.
When the man got angry, she immediately confronted him, saying that since he handed over his salary to his mother, he should go to her house for meals and that he wouldn't even do any housework or laundry.
The man had no choice but to go to his mother's house for dinner every day after get off work. Over time, people started to gossip.
The man was a respectable person, and after being talked about so much, he couldn't stand it anymore and begged the woman for forgiveness, only to be severely reprimanded by her.
From then on, she handed over her salary and did housework together, taming her husband completely. Her in-laws knew her bottom line, and no one dared to say anything more.
After roughly telling the short story, Su Yujing couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
After a long pause, she whispered, "So, you also think I should do what she does?"
Ji Xia shook her head: "There's no such thing as 'should' or 'shouldn't learn'; everyone's situation is different."
"But in my opinion, there are two things a woman should not give up easily."
"What do you mean by two bottoms?"
Ji Xia looked earnestly into her eyes: "First, confidence. A job and a stable income are a woman's foundation. They prevent others from saying you're supported by him, and you can refute it with reason and evidence. What's wrong with you helping out at home if you have nothing to do?"
"Isn't the work done by a nanny a job? The difference is that nannies get paid, while housewives work for free and are looked down upon."
Su Yujing looked somewhat tempted, and after a moment asked, "What's the other bottom line?"
"The other is the bottom line. As the saying goes, things shouldn't happen more than three times. We grew up in a place that values human relationships, so we can't be serious about everything. But if someone bullies you, you shouldn't do it more than three times."
“Like your aunt, she used to use the college entrance exam as an excuse, but now that the exam is over, if you still help her with laundry and cooking, then you have no bottom line. You keep backing down until there’s nowhere left to back down.”
These words were a bit too forward for someone he hadn't known for long, but Ji Xia felt that Su Yujing was a good person, and that she had indirectly helped him a lot in expanding his small workshop.
Consider this a reminder; whether she listens or not is up to her. In any case, she'll be leaving the commune soon, and we won't have much contact afterward.
Perhaps moved by her sincerity, Su Yujing became much more affectionate towards her.
The two sat there for half a day, and didn't leave until almost lunchtime.
When the conversation turned to fashion and design, Su Yujing gave her a lot of advice.
After saying goodbye to Ji Xia, Su Yujing thought it over and over and felt that Ji Xia's suggestion was good. She did need a job to ensure that she had an income and would not have to depend on others.
She thought it would be difficult to ask her husband for help, so after thinking about it, she went to the department store and bought two boxes of high-end biscuits and nutritional supplements, and then went home to her parents' house.
Su Yujing's parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, nephews, and children were all at home. When they saw Su Yujing carrying large and small bags, the two children excitedly rushed up, and Su's sister-in-law's face also showed a smile.
Su Yujing played with the two children for a while, making them happy, before sitting down next to her parents.
After glancing at his daughter, Mr. Su said calmly, "Why did you come back all by yourself? Did you two have a fight?"
"Of course not, Dad, what are you thinking?"
Su Yujing quickly denied it, then pretended to be bored and said, "He goes to work every day, and I'm bored at home alone. His sister didn't do well on her exams and is throwing a tantrum at home, complaining endlessly. I find it annoying and don't want to stay at home."
Sister-in-law Su asked suspiciously, "Is your aunt still living in your house?"
“Yes, I thought she was going to take the college entrance exam and wanted to be in a quiet place, so I could tolerate it and made sure she had good food and drinks every day to coax her. Now that the exam is over, she didn’t do well and she’s throwing things around, which annoys me.”
The two elders' expressions were not good upon hearing this. Although it was true that their daughter should be virtuous and capable after marriage, Su Yujing was their daughter and had been pampered since childhood.
Why did the husband's sister-in-law take her anger out on their daughter because she didn't do well on the exam?
Mr. Su glanced at his daughter with a stern face: "When Jiang Yu gets off work this evening, bring him home for a chat. I want to talk to him."
"Father, we don't need this, do we?"
Su Yujing put a piece of braised pork on her father's plate ingratiatingly: "Dad, my sister is in a bad mood, there's no need to argue with her for now. I want to go to work, can you help me? I don't want to stay at home every day."
Su Yujing complained, seemingly genuinely but actually not, but none of the family members found it strange.
On the contrary, Su Yujing wanted to go to work, and after thinking about it, the others felt that this idea was worth supporting.
Sister-in-law Su then said, "You're looking for a job? We have a clerk position at our textile factory, and we're looking for someone to fill it. Are you interested? But I estimate it will cost at least this much."
She made an eight gesture, and Su's father nodded slightly upon hearing this: "Eight hundred yuan, for office clerical work, it's not a loss, we can do it."
Su Yujing was delighted upon hearing this: "That works, sister-in-law. If you help me with the process, I can get eight hundred yuan."
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