"My eldest sister has been taking care of your child for the past few years. She has worked hard, if not done well. How can a daughter-in-law steal her mother-in-law's retirement money!" Wang Dahai shouted, getting closer and closer, pointing at Deng Xiaomei and cursing her.
Deng Xiaomei stared at him, unyielding: "I stole her retirement money? She's been living in our house for the past few years, eating my food, drinking my drinks, and living in my house. I cooked all the meals for her after get off work, and she even took the children to the hospital. Tell me, what hardship has she endured?"
Seizing the opportunity, Ran Fengxian, as if she had caught some important leverage, said smugly, "No matter what, you can't smash the old lady's trunk! That's her savings for her funeral, you have to return it!"
Deng Xiaomei has already done it, so what is she afraid of what they say? "Coffin money? When did my salary become her coffin money? You still have the nerve to come here and cause trouble today! Let me tell you, you've come at the right time."
With a "smack," Deng Xiaomei threw out a piece of paper, on which were all the bills she had written by hand.
“Over the years, my monthly salary was 35 yuan, and Liang Chao’s was 55 yuan. My monthly expenses were at most 20 yuan, and I could save 70 yuan. That’s 840 yuan a year, and 8400 yuan in ten years.”
Upon hearing "8400," those around were immediately shocked. That's almost ten thousand yuan a month! Is the Liang family that rich? Our salaries seem to be about the same, so why don't we earn that much?
People around were talking about it, and some even secretly resolved to learn from the Wang family how to save money!
“Liang Chao and I entrusted all this money to Wang Meiyu,” Deng Xiaomei said, taking out another wad of cash. “But now, she doesn’t even have 1,000 yuan left. Where did this money go? Uncle and Aunt, I don’t need to say more, do I?”
Wang Dajiang didn't even look at the bill and denied it outright: "Impossible. We only borrow a little money from you occasionally when we're short of rice to get through a tough time. It's not that much. Besides, we said we'd pay you back when we have the money!"
Deng Xiaomei was also exasperated by their shamelessness: "Give it back! All these years, have you ever returned a single penny?" She then turned to look at Old Mrs. Wang: "Mom, have they ever returned any money?"
Wang Meiyu looked at Deng Xiaomei, then at the Wang family group: "It seems...that's true."
Deng Xiaomei interrupted him directly: "You'd better answer properly. If you've returned it, where did you put the remaining seven thousand yuan?"
Wang Meiyu's tone was firm: "What seven thousand yuan? Don't social obligations cost money? Don't hospital stays cost money? That's all we have left, nothing else!"
Deng Xiaomei got angry just looking at her old face and didn't want to talk to her: "Liang Chao, you tell me, which family with two working parents has saved every penny for more than ten years and only has this little bit of money?"
"Mom... Xiaomei... is right!"
Liang Chao has been doing a lot of calculations these past few days. His mother really did give the Wang family a lot of money, all of which was his hard-earned money. He was heartbroken and had been thinking about how to get it back. How could he deny it?
Even her son wasn't on her side, and Wang Meiyu broke down completely: "What nonsense! Not to mention anything else, just a couple of days ago, Liang Yin went to the People's Hospital for a minor cold. With her spending money so extravagantly, how can she possibly save any money!"
Seeing that his tough approach wasn't working, Wang Dajiang changed his tone and earnestly advised, "Liang Chao, listen to your mother. If it weren't for your mother managing this family all these years, your wife would have squandered it all long ago."
“As the old saying goes, having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. If it weren’t for my eldest sister keeping things in check, we wouldn’t even have these few hundred yuan!” Ran Fengxian chimed in. The family had already spent the money, so there was no reason to return it!
Deng Xiaomei didn't want to get into a verbal fight with them. Every word she said was true; if they didn't come looking for her, she really would take people to the Wang family to get the money back.
"Fine, you won't admit it, huh? Fine, I'm going to report you. You're all farmers, you don't work hard, but you have money to live a life of luxury in the city. I don't know where you stole this money from, but the Revolutionary Committee will definitely arrest you and parade you through the streets! Send you to labor camps!"
After he said that, everyone around him fell silent.
The adults from the Wang family hesitated for a moment, but they still tried to put on a brave face.
Wang Wei, Wang Jun, Wang Jia, and a few other younger children who had come to make up the numbers were terrified.
Some of them had just graduated from high school, and some were about to graduate. They had bright futures ahead of them and would no longer have to go back to their hometowns to dig in the dirt. They didn't want to fall here.
They tugged at their parents' clothes, saying, "Dad/Mom, what should we do? We can't let her report us..."
"Deng Xiaomei, do you have a grudge against my Wang family? Wang Wei just graduated from high school and is looking for a job. Wang Jun and Wang Jia will graduate next year. You're reporting us now because you don't want to see our Wang family prosper, right?"
Wang Dahai was also a little scared. Who wanted to deal with those people? If you went in, you'd be skinned alive even if nothing happened. Besides, his family really couldn't withstand an investigation.
Deng Xiaomei wouldn't soften her heart in the slightest. No matter how nicely she spoke, she wasn't moved in the slightest: "The ones who don't want your Wang family to get better are yourselves! Your whole family is lazy and good-for-nothing every day. You can't even scrape together a full work point, yet you still have the ability to send all your children to the city to study in high school. Where did you get the money?"
"Anyway, I'm putting this out there today: if you don't return this money to me, I'll make sure you all work for the government and never have to worry about your future again!"
Seeing that no matter how much Wang Meiyu pleaded, Deng Xiaomei wouldn't listen, she had no choice but to say, "Deng Xiaomei! This is the Liang family, it's not up to an outsider like you to make decisions!"
Deng Xiaomei was speechless. Her surname is Wang, and mine is Deng. Who is family with you?
"Outsider? I'm an outsider? Then why are you taking my salary? Why are you eating my food every day? Why are you living in my house?"
After saying that, she pushed Wang Meiyu out: "Get out of here! This is my house! You outsider surnamed Wang, get out!"
Wang Meiyu gripped the door frame tightly, even bracing it with her foot. Seeing that Deng Xiaomei couldn't push it away, she retorted, "You're the one who should get out! This is my son's house. You're the outsider!"
"If it weren't for me, would he have been able to apply for this house? Let me tell you, half of this house belongs to me, and you are the least qualified person to live here!"
Deng Xiaomei was indeed at a loss for what to do with her for the time being. She couldn't beat her up in front of everyone, because that would make her lose her right.
Wang Meiyu blocked the doorway, looking at Liang Chao with hopeful eyes: "Son, this is your house, you can't kick your mother out!"
Liang Chao spoke softly, "Mom, I won't kick you out!"
Upon hearing his words, Deng Xiaomei, who had been trying to maintain a domineering demeanor, quickly turned around and looked up, because tears were uncontrollably streaming down her face. She had no idea that people really couldn't control their tears; they could just start flowing whenever they wanted.
Indeed, Wang Meiyu was right; she was the outsider.
She wanted to calm down. Once her tears were gone, she would definitely be very assertive and ask Liang Chao for a divorce. She couldn't live like this anymore.
Liang Chao stepped forward, supporting Wang Meiyu with one hand and gently patting her back with the other: "Mom, you can go back to your hometown with your uncle and the others later. I will send you living expenses every month."
"What? Son, you want to kick me out?" Wang Meiyu was shocked. The smile that had just appeared on her face hadn't even faded yet. This expression would be legendary in the entire film industry.
Liang Chao forcefully helped her to sit down on a stool: "Mom, it's not that your son wants to send you away. You've never been used to life in the city, and your health hasn't been very good lately. A few days ago, Yinyin was sick, and you couldn't take care of her. I'm just worried about you. You can better recuperate in your hometown!"
Deng Xiaomei turned around in surprise, having already forgotten to maintain her strong image.
After that, Deng Xiaomei didn't show up again, and it's unknown how Liang Chao negotiated with his uncle's family.
According to Sister Xiaomei, the younger generation of the Wang family have to pay back 10 yuan to them every month after they start working, until the debt is cleared!
Wang Meiyu also went back with her uncles. Xiao Mei asked one of her sisters-in-law from her maternal family to come and take care of her child for 20 yuan a month. However, that person took really good care of the child, and Xiao Mei no longer had to rush home to cook after work.
Zhan Chunlan and Fan Hongying also told Li Xiuxiu about this, explaining that what these women were experiencing was something they might encounter in the future.
Girls should not only have eyes to appreciate beauty, but also the ability to maintain it. I only hope that every girl can have a bright future.
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