"Yes, it's good wine."
Li Jinhua's eyes lit up, and she picked up another piece of fish and put it in the old man's bowl.
"Then please drink more."
After a satisfying meal, Li Jinhua eagerly took charge of clearing the dishes and quickly cleaned the kitchen until it was spotless.
While wiping the table, she noticed that the old man's gaze towards her had softened considerably, and she felt secretly pleased with herself.
Old man, you've taken the bait, haven't you?
At nine o'clock in the evening, after the old man went back to his room to rest, Li Jinhua finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She dragged her tired body back to the guest room bedroom and collapsed onto the bed as soon as she entered.
"I'm exhausted..."
She groaned and kicked her cloth shoes far away.
Su Mingqiang quickly came over and tried to please her by massaging her shoulders.
"Honey, you did a fantastic job today! Grandpa was just praising you."
"Shut up!"
Li Jinhua suddenly sat up and grabbed Su Mingqiang's ear.
"Do you know how hard I worked to put on this act all day?"
Su Mingqiang grimaced in pain, but dared not resist.
"Be gentle, be gentle... This isn't about the money..."
"money?"
Li Jinhua sneered and let go of her hand.
"How much of your dad's 20,000 yuan will he give you? Five thousand? Eight thousand? What will that be enough for?"
Su Mingqiang rubbed his bright red ears and whispered his explanation.
"That's a lot, enough to buy a used truck..."
"You good-for-nothing!"
Li Jinhua kicked him in the leg.
"You're satisfied with just this little bit of money? Your grandfather definitely has more! Why don't you ask him for it?"
Su Mingqiang's eyes lit up.
"You mean..."
"nonsense!"
Li Jinhua lowered her voice.
"Your grandfather must have received a pension for fighting in the war, and your father and second uncle must have given him a lot of money over the years. The old man is so frugal; he must have saved up quite a bit of money."
Su Mingqiang's eyes lit up immediately. After thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be true.
"Look at the pathetic look on your face. Tomorrow you go ask the old man for money, just say you're a little short of cash to buy the truck."
Li Jinhua said with disdain.
Su Mingqiang hesitated.
"This...isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
"What's wrong with it?"
Li Jinhua grabbed his thigh.
"If I hadn't pretended to be a good guy and made them happy, would you have gotten any money? Let me tell you, Su Mingqiang, if you don't get this money, don't expect me to treat you well in the future!"
Su Mingqiang gasped for breath in pain.
"Okay, okay, I'll go get it, I'll go get it, alright?"
Li Jinhua then released her grip with satisfaction and lay back down on the bed.
"Give me a foot massage, my feet are killing me from standing all day."
Su Mingqiang obediently massaged the soles of her feet, saying ingratiatingly as he did so.
"Honey, if Grandpa really gives us money, what kind of car should we buy?"
What car should I buy?
Li Jinhua sneered.
"Get the money first. I'm warning you, if you dare to keep a single penny, I'll break your legs!"
"No, no..."
Su Mingqiang shook his head repeatedly, his grip applying just the right amount of force.
Li Jinhua closed her eyes comfortably, a smug smile playing on her lips.
She could almost see the thick stack of banknotes beckoning to her, and the scene of her parents and older brother coming out of the police station.
"Oh, right."
She suddenly opened her eyes.
"I'll ask for leave tomorrow at noon, saying I'm taking the old lady to the public bathhouse. You take the opportunity to bring up the money issue with the old man, remember?"
Su Mingqiang nodded.
"I've got it."
"Speak louder!"
"Got it!"
Su Mingqiang raised his voice, then quickly lowered it again.
"Honey, keep your voice down, don't let Grandpa and Grandma hear..."
Li Jinhua snorted coldly and turned her back to him.
"Turn off the lights and go to sleep! I still have to play the good guy tomorrow."
...
The next day, Su Mingqiang went to work at the steel rolling mill in the morning, and then asked for leave to go home in the afternoon.
After leaving the steel rolling mill, Su Mingqiang did not go straight home.
He turned into a small shop near the factory and felt the five yuan he had borrowed from his coworkers in his pocket.
"Old Wang, give me two jin of loose liquor, 60 proof."
Su Mingqiang said to the shop owner.
Old Wang raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, Mingqiang, what's the occasion today? Why are you drinking such strong liquor?"
"Oh, the old man's here. Have a drink with him."
Su Mingqiang rubbed his hands together awkwardly.
Old Wang took out a white plastic bucket from under the counter and used a funnel to fill an empty wine bottle with wine.
"Why didn't you buy bottled liquor? This loose liquor is very strong; can the old man handle it?"
"Let's go with the strong liquor. My grandpa loves it."
Su Mingqiang swallowed hard; how could he dare say that he couldn't even afford bottled wine?
When Li Jinhua got home, she had already prepared lunch.
As soon as he entered, Su Mingqiang smelled the rich aroma of food: braised fish, stir-fried pork with garlic sprouts, cucumber salad, and a steaming bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup.
"You're back?"
Li Jinhua came forward, took the wine bottle from his hand, and asked in a low voice.
"Why buy loose white liquor? It's such a waste of its value!"
"Not enough money..."
Su Mingqiang answered in a low voice, then raised his voice.
"Grandpa, Grandma, I bought some good wine. Let's have a couple of drinks tonight!"
The old man sat in the main seat, squinted at the wine bottle in his grandson's hand, and said nothing.
At the dinner table, Li Jinhua diligently served rice and dishes to everyone.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
