Chapter 14 Going Back to the House

Wang Guixiang immediately became anxious after hearing what Xia Juanjuan said.

"Xia Juanjuan! You...what did you say! Mom has already decided to give the house left by my eldest brother's family to our second wife! Why do you want it now? Mom, you have to decide for us on this matter!"

Liu Lan also said with a gloomy face: "Daughter-in-law Zhan! You just got married, what qualifications do you have to buy this house?"

Xia Juanjuan sneered twice and said, "Big Brother's house was given to you two because you insisted on taking care of the three little kids. But what kind of life have the three little kids been living with you for the past six months? I can't say for sure since I'm new here, but the secretary should have seen it all, right?"

Then Xia Juanjuan asked Secretary Zhao, "Secretary, didn't you say before that you saw Xiaowen, Xiaowu and Beibei carrying small bamboo baskets to cut grass for pigs before dawn? When did you start seeing them?"

Secretary Zhao recalled, "It was about half a year ago, after the incident with Li Jun. These three kids passed by the gate of the commune every day, and I'm sure many villagers saw them. Not only did they cut grass for pigs in the morning, but they also collected firewood and fed chickens and ducks during the day. They did a lot of farm work! In the past six months, the three kids have earned hundreds of work points in total!"

Xia Juanjuan asked again: "Have you ever seen Lisheng, Li Jiaojiao and the others doing farm work? How many work points did they earn?"

Secretary Zhao waved his hands and said, "Don't even mention eight-year-old Li Sheng and six-year-old Li Jiaojiao. I've never even met Li Qiaoqiao, who was seventeen or eighteen years old! And I never earned any work points! The four boys of the Li family sent back so many subsidies that even if none of you came out to earn work points, you wouldn't be hungry! I've always wondered why the three little brats of the old family had to get up early and work in the dark!"

Wang Guixiang and Liu Lan were both so embarrassed!

Xia Juanjuan turned around and looked at the two of them coldly, saying, "Mother-in-law, sister-in-law, if you had devoted yourself to raising these three children, even for only half a year, I would not have fought with you today. However, you occupied someone else's father's house, but abused them like this, and even refused to return the house when it was over. There is no such a good deal in the world!"

Wang Guixiang's face turned red and white for a while before she said stubbornly, "Who... who said I won't return it? Wait... when Li Wen and Li Wu grow up and get married, I will... I will return it to them as their bridal chamber!"

Xia Juanjuan laughed angrily: "Second sister-in-law, can you be a little more shameless? Li Wen is five years old, Li Wu is four years old, it will take at least ten years for them to grow up, right? So you plan to occupy the newly built house for free for ten years, and then return it to them when it becomes dilapidated? This is too calculating!"

Wang Guixiang was speechless.

Seeing that her second daughter-in-law usually had a loud voice but was so tongue-tied at the critical moment, Liu Lan was so angry that she said, "Zhan's daughter-in-law, you want the house, don't you plan to live there yourself? Don't make yourself sound so noble!"

Xia Juanjuan smiled and said, "Mother-in-law is right. If I move into this house, I will definitely live in it. I can't let it be empty for decades. But today I'm going to make this clear. I'll buy it for the same amount as it cost to build my eldest brother's house. I'll save the money for Xiaowen, Xiaowu and Beibei. The secretary is my witness. I dare to sign a written agreement. If my second sister-in-law also dares to sign a written agreement, then I won't want these two rooms!"

When Wang Guixiang heard this, how could she dare to answer?

To build a brick and tile house in the 1970s, you had to buy bricks, tiles, and cement. The cost of these materials plus the cost of labor to build the house meant that the cost per square meter was ten yuan!

The two rooms built by Lijun are about 20 square meters, which means 200 yuan! Lijun is good at masonry and carpentry, so he earned a lot of work points. It took him several years to save up this money!

Want her to sign a document to give those three brats 200 yuan for free? Dream on!

But...she was unwilling to give up the house she had already moved into.

She looked at Liu Lan: "Mom, can you take out two hundred yuan and lend it to us first..."

Seeing Wang Guixiang suddenly set her sights on him, Liu Lan immediately shrieked, "I... I don't have 200 yuan! That's because your man is incompetent and can't make money! The boss built these two rooms without asking me for a penny! Don't even think about taking advantage of me!"

Li Qiang heard this and felt ashamed and angry: "Mom! How can you talk like that! If you say that, I... we will also separate..."

Wang Guixiang quickly pulled Li Qiang.

Although Liu Lan was unwilling to pay, she had money after all, so living with her would give him some advantages.

If the family is divided, the second branch will not be able to live such a comfortable life in the future!

Xia Juanjuan said, "In that case, then you should move back to your original room this afternoon. If you don't move in this afternoon, don't blame me for throwing your things out!"

With Secretary Zhao around and having seen Li Qiang and Wang Guixiang abuse the three brats before, he had no choice but to agree, glaring at Xia Juanjuan hatefully.

Liu Lan suddenly said, "Xia Juanjuan, since you have occupied two rooms in the old house, then the room that Zhan'er originally lived in will not be given to you! That room is made of loess, and you will definitely not like it!"

Xia Juanjuan was stunned for a moment, then realized that Liu Lan was talking about the "new house" she and Li Zhan lived in.

This old woman has a very good plan!

"Mother-in-law, when your first three sons got married, each family was given two earthen houses, right? And, if I'm not mistaken, these six earthen houses should have been built with the allowance my husband sent back, right? Why is it that when it comes to your fourth son, not only is he given a house that looks like a storage room as his new home, but now he's not given any?"

Liu Lan was angry: "You...how can you be so greedy! Zhan'er, divorce your wife immediately and I will find you a better one!"

Lizhan, however, looked sullen and said coldly, "Mom, I think Juanjuan is pretty good. Besides, what she said makes sense. Although the two rooms in the eldest brother's house belong to us, they belong to the three kids, not us. You don't even give me this room. Do you mean to kick us out?"

When Liu Lan heard her fourth son say this, she softened immediately: "Zhan'er... Mom... Mom didn't mean that..."

If she offends this son, she will no longer receive the 10 yuan monthly allowance, which will be disastrous!

Li Zhan glanced at Liu Lan coldly and said nothing more.

Secretary Zhao interrupted and said, "Liu Lan, I'm not saying anything bad about you! You are already old, don't take advantage of your fourth son just because he is filial! You don't even want to give her that shabby house? Xia Juanjuan was good enough, she only asked for 30 yuan as a betrothal gift and only one room! As for your other three daughters-in-law, I remember the betrothal gifts were all 60 yuan, and they also had two rooms!"

When Liu Lan heard the secretary say the same thing, she became so angry that she went back to her room with a cold face and never came out.

Wang Guixiang suddenly remembered her own paving mat and said coldly, "Xia Juanjuan, where is the paving mat I lent you last night? Give it back! I'll freeze you to death!"

Xia Juanjuan almost died of laughter. She went into the house and reported the roof to Wang Guixiang, saying, "I'll give it back to you! I didn't cover it last night either. Don't find some fault with it and ask me to pay for it later! I won't admit it!"