Zhang Hong glanced at her coldly, her heart filled with utter disgust for her younger sister.
Don't think she doesn't understand Zhang Qing's thoughts; this younger sister is just worried that if she returns to the city too early, she won't get any benefits.
Upon hearing this, the village woman chuckled and said, "Your sister's baby is only a little over a month old and still needs to be breastfed. How can she stay at her parents' house for long? Even if the baby is being cared for by his grandparents and won't go hungry, your sister will still feel uncomfortable."
“What’s so hard about going back to your parents’ home? I know, you’re used to eating good food in the city, and your parents’ home is too poor, so you probably don’t have an appetite.”
"What are you saying? You young girls don't understand. A baby needs to be breastfed and can't be too far from its mother."
"Sister-in-law, you underestimate my sister's in-laws. They're rich. If the baby's hungry, they can just feed him formula. Why can't they even come home for a few days?"
That's not the case.
The village woman shook her head, about to explain, when Zhang Hong stopped her: "Sister-in-law, she's not married yet, how would she know these things? Don't take it to heart."
"That's true. I apologize for being nosy. You should talk to your parents yourself. If you want to go back to your parents' home, you can bring them back when the children are older. There's no need to stay at home for too long right now."
The village woman offered some gentle words of comfort before turning and leaving.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Hong's lips curled into a bitter smile. It wasn't that she wanted to go home and didn't want her child; it was her family forcing her to do this.
As soon as the village woman left, Zhang Qing loudly advised, "Sister, you don't want to go back and admit your mistakes now, do you? They're using the child to force you to back down. Let me tell you, whoever backs down first loses. If you back down now, you'll be at their mercy from now on."
Zhang Hong's chest was still throbbing with pain, and she felt weak all over. She had no energy to argue with her and just gave a cold "hmm" when she heard this.
"I know what I'm doing, and I'll talk to my parents."
As she was about to enter the courtyard, Zhang Qing stopped her at the door: "Eldest sister, what do you mean by this? Oh, you've become a noblewoman after marrying into the Ji family, and you even look down on your sisters."
"Elder sister, you haven't been back to your parents' home for years. Now that you're home, you see how poor they are, while you're living a life of luxury in the city. How can you be so heartless? They raised you, and this is how you repay your parents?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Hong glared angrily at Zhang Qing without saying a word; she had already heard about it from Zhang Lan and the other women in the village.
All year round, while other families in the brigade worked hard every day to earn work points, only the Zhang family, whose elderly parents would use their age as an excuse to take two days off after working for two days, and Zhang Qing would also shirk his duties and be criticized by the brigade leader several times.
Other families could sell their old grain for money after receiving the new grain, but the Zhang family could only eat their grain for less than half a year each year. They had to borrow from the brigade for the remaining half of the year and then pay it back when the grain was distributed. Their debts year after year became well-known throughout the brigade.
Zhang Hong glanced at her indifferently, then caught a glimpse of Granny Zhang behind the door out of the corner of her eye.
Ji Xia told her to go home for a few days so that the Zhang family could see the Ji family's temperament before she could negotiate with them.
But Zhang Hong remembered Zhang Lan's words: she couldn't rely on her sister-in-law to take the lead in everything; she had to let her parents know her bottom line herself.
She said weakly, "Mom, I didn't have money to support you in the past few years because I didn't have any. Now let me go back, I'll work and earn money, and I can give you money every month from now on."
Granny Zhang was immediately tempted upon hearing this, and her expression shifted slightly. Zhang Qing, hearing this, became anxious and quickly said, "Mother, I can give you money if I earn it."
Old Zhang tapped his large pipe in the yard: "What are you shouting outside? If you have something to say, come home and we'll talk."
Zhang Qing secretly glared at Zhang Hong with resentment, then stepped aside to let Zhang Hong into the courtyard.
"Are you alright? What did the medic say?"
Granny Zhang smiled kindly at Zhang Hong, but frowned at Zhang Qing, her cloudy triangular eyes filled with anger: "Where have you been so early in the morning? You didn't sweep the house or yard, didn't cook dinner, and didn't even care that the water tank was empty. What have you been doing?"
"Mother, I have something to do before I go out."
"What could possibly happen to you when you go out?"
Granny Zhang spat in annoyance, then turned to Zhang Hong's health with concern: "Didn't you spend more than a month in postpartum confinement? How come you're so weak? You got sick after only half a day at home?"
"Mom, I caught a cold last night because I didn't have a blanket."
As Zhang Hong spoke, she moved a stool and sat down next to Old Man Zhang, saying in a humble tone, "Dad, it's impossible for the Ji family to give up the job to my second sister. Even if my aunt agrees, my father-in-law's temperament means that no one in the brigade has ever dared to negotiate with him. He won't give in."
"However, I asked around and found out that when I first joined the supply and marketing cooperative, I would receive about 25 yuan a month. I could give 5 yuan home each month."
"What? You only give me five yuan out of twenty-five? You're really filial, Dad. If it were me, I would keep five yuan for myself each month and give at least twenty yuan home."
As soon as Zhang Qing finished speaking, Zhang Hong glanced at her indifferently: "Can you find a job?"
Zhang Qing choked on her words, and Zhang Hong continued, "If I go, I'll give my family five yuan a month, which is sixty yuan a year. That's more than the money I earn from work points. If I don't go, the Ji family won't give it to my second sister. If my second sister can't go, she won't get a single penny."
Old Zhang knew that Zhang Hong was right, but he still felt that five yuan was too little.
He said with a stern face, "You're a married woman, why do you need to spend twenty yuan a month? Can't you save some and give some more to the family?"
“Dad, I have two sons. I have to go to work, so I have to buy them milk powder. The two kids have very good appetites and need six cans of milk powder a month. In the city, a can of milk powder costs 1.8 yuan, so it costs 10.8 yuan to buy milk powder.”
"Good heavens, what kind of formula do two tiny babies need? It costs ten yuan a month. Even at this age, Abao has never spent ten yuan a month on formula. Why don't you just have her grandma feed her rice water?"
Upon hearing this, Granny Zhang immediately began to complain with dissatisfaction. Zhang Hong said calmly, "Dad, Mom, this ten yuan a month was agreed upon several months ago. I promised my sister-in-law that I would keep the job. The family hasn't split up yet, and my mother-in-law didn't ask me to hand it all over. It's already very kind of her."
"The Ji family feeds their children with great care. They would never agree to feed them rice gruel. They have said before that they want to give them the best formula every month so that the children can grow up well."
Upon hearing this, Old Man Zhang and Old Woman Zhang could only frown, but they had nothing to say.
In other families, the daughter-in-law's earnings are handed over to the family coffers and then distributed by the mother-in-law. In the Ji family, out of the twenty-five yuan earned, only ten yuan is required to be handed over, which is already very generous.
Only Zhang Qing sneered resentfully, "Big sister, it's twenty-five yuan. Ten yuan goes to the family, and your family only gives you five yuan. You're using ten yuan all by yourself?"
Zhang Hong glanced at her coldly: "Giving five yuan to my parents is for my father and mother. They gave me life and raised me. This is my way of showing my respect to them. As for you, you're already so old. There's no reason for me to support you, is there?"
"Mom, the house I've been living in for the past two months belongs to my second uncle, Ji Xiangjun. Ji Xiangjun has started dating someone and they'll be getting married soon, so I won't be able to live in that house anymore."
“I need to rent a small room to live in, which costs about three yuan. Then I work in the city and I need to eat and drink. Even buying a green onion in the city costs money. A meal in the canteen costs at least 20 cents. I need to eat and drink, so how can I not have any money on me?”
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