It was seven o'clock in the evening when Lu Hua'er returned home. When the Jiang family saw her return, they immediately surrounded her and began to ask her all sorts of questions.
"Sister-in-law, I heard your second sister from your maternal family asked you to do some work?!"
"Mom said she'll pay you sixty yuan a month, is that true?!"
"Sister-in-law, why did your second sister ask you to do chores?! What kind of chores did she ask you to do?!"
"Sister-in-law, does your second sister need any more help? My Xiaomin is unemployed, could you hire her as well?!"
"Eldest daughter-in-law, your second sister gave her job to her son. When she came to see me this morning, I vaguely heard that she went to set up a stall?!"
...
Not only were the Jiang family's brothers and sisters-in-law extremely curious, envious, and jealous, but even Lu Hua'er's parents-in-law wanted to find out everything.
Lu Hua'er knew that the Jiang family would inquire about her after she returned. She knew the family's nature too well, and her second sister also knew what kind of people her husband's family were.
“My second sister used her connections to get some clothes to sell. My sister was worried about her doing this alone, so she asked me to help her out and paid me sixty yuan a month.”
Her second sister made her say this, since she couldn't hide it anymore, so she might as well tell the truth.
The Jiang family all knew that her second sister, Gung, had retired from the army and transferred to a machinery factory, and had many connections.
"Selling clothes?! That's a great business, you're sure to make a lot of money."
"Sister-in-law, could you ask your second sister to help us get some clothes too? My Xiaomin is good at doing chores."
"Sister-in-law, how much did you sell each piece of clothing for?! Your second sister must have gotten the clothes very cheaply. You should buy a few to give to Mom and Dad."
"Eldest daughter-in-law, we don't need your filial piety. Could you please ask your second sister to help us, so that our unemployed nephews and nieces can also take some clothes to sell?"
...
When the Jiang family heard that Lu Erjie was not selling food but clothes, their eyes lit up. They thought this was a much better job than selling food, and immediately made a request to her.
Grandma Jiang especially wanted her eldest daughter-in-law to arrange jobs for all the younger family members who didn't have work, so she was watching her closely.
Lu Hua'er took a deep breath, her heart filled with anger and resentment. She regretted once again not listening to her family and insisting on marrying into the Jiang family, only to regret it deeply a few years later. But by then, it was too late.
"Mom, my second sister had to pull some strings to get some goods for this business, and the supply is unstable. We can't get goods often, and even when we do, it's not much, because the purchase price is too high."
This was partly the truth, though, given that her second sister had told her to come back and deal with it. Her second sister did say that the supply of goods was unstable, and that she wouldn't be involved with the business for the year, but would let her work with them again in the middle of next year.
The Jiang family did not believe her words, and their expressions were not good.
Especially Old Mrs. Jiang, her face fell, and she looked at her eldest daughter-in-law with a bad expression.
"Eldest daughter-in-law, doesn't your second sister want to help the Jiang family, and doesn't she want you and your children to have a good life?!"
She simply couldn't believe that her eldest daughter-in-law's second sister had just stood by and watched her younger sister suffer so much, especially considering that the eldest daughter-in-law's children hadn't had enough breast milk and weren't getting enough to eat all these years. She knew that if her eldest daughter-in-law's second sister knew, she would definitely send milk powder or some food.
“Mom, my second sister isn’t that kind of person. You know she really wanted to help me out. Otherwise, why would she let me go with her to set up a stall and even pay me sixty yuan a month?! She even provided lunch for me.”
Lu Hua'er took a deep breath to suppress her anger. If the Jiang family were all well, she wouldn't need to ask her second sister; her second sister would have already helped them.
But the Jiang family members from different branches are selfish and self-serving, and she doesn't want them to take advantage of her at all.
"Grandma, my second aunt just found this job and hasn't figured it out yet. If she loses money or can't sell the goods, you can't blame her."
"Oh, Grandma, selling clothes isn't like selling food; it doesn't require much capital. Look at the department store, the cheapest clothes cost ten or twenty yuan, and the expensive ones are over a hundred yuan. Grandma, how much capital are you planning to invest in getting the goods?!"
“Grandma, you have more than one unemployed grandson. I don’t need to count the one who’s still in school. My eldest brother has a job, but my fourth brother and my aunt haven’t started working yet. My aunt and my aunt graduated but don’t have any jobs. Grandma, you need to pay for the cost of buying clothes for all four of them.”
"Grandma, you're giving them the capital to start a business, but the other grandsons can't be left out, otherwise everyone will definitely have objections."
Before Granny Jiang could pressure Lu Hua'er any further, her eldest son, eldest daughter, and youngest son spoke up for her, and they were even more eloquent than their mother, able to hit their grandmother's sore spot more effectively.
Everyone in the family knows that there's absolutely no way Old Lady Jiang would give money. Whenever money is involved, Old Lady Jiang treats everyone else as an enemy.
"Go away, what does this have to do with me?! Anyone who wants to do this should ask their parents for money."
“Eldest daughter-in-law, we haven’t separated the family yet. Now that you have an income and are the eldest in the family, you have to set a good example. From now on, your family can contribute ten yuan a month for food expenses to help support the family.”
Now that the family is full of adults who can eat a lot, they spend a lot of money, but they don't eat well. So, Grandma Jiang set her sights on Lu Hua'er's sixty yuan salary.
What? !
Asking the eldest son's family to pay another ten dollars for food?!
Lu Hua'er was almost bursting with anger. Her husband had already paid forty yuan a month, her eldest son had to pay ten yuan a month after he started working, and she herself had paid ten yuan a month from the tens of yuan she earned from pasting matchboxes. In total, her family had already paid seventy yuan.
The second-room tenant only pays ten dollars a month, with the first-room tenant paying the lion's share. Besides supporting two elderly people, they also have to help support the other tenants.
"Mom, let's not even talk about Wenlong needing to find a partner and get married in two years, he doesn't even have a house yet. Not to mention Cui'er and Wenhai, they need money for their education too. I can only give you twenty yuan, take it or leave it. If you don't agree, then I won't work with my second sister anymore."
As her children grew up and she had had enough, Lu Hua'er gradually became more assertive and dared to confront her calculating mother-in-law.
Old Mrs. Jiang knew she couldn't force her too much, so she had no choice but to agree.
The others, realizing they couldn't get away with it, quickly dispersed and went back inside.
"Mom, I'll go get you some food."
Jiang Wenhai immediately ran to the kitchen and brought out the food he had prepared in advance. His mother had eaten lunch at his second aunt's house, so she definitely wouldn't stay for dinner there.
Lu Hua'er felt very gratified.
The next morning, after arriving at her second sister's house, she told her about it.
“Hua, actually, your sister had already offered you a salary of one yuan before, but she was afraid that your in-laws would find out and force you to pay, so she only said she would offer you sixty yuan. Your sister has thought it all out. She will save the remaining forty yuan for you. In the future, when you have the chance, you can take some clothes to sell and earn money to secretly buy a house. You don't have to think about the children, but you have to think about yourself and the rest of your life.”
Lu Xier really felt sorry for her little sister; she felt she couldn't live like this even if she were in this situation.
The Jiang family used to live in just two rooms, but a few years ago they were allocated an extra room. However, this room was given to Lu Hua'er's uncle and his wife, and even then, it's still not very spacious.
"Second sister, I know. From now on, I will listen to your eldest sister."
After suffering greatly from her insistence on marrying into the Jiang family, Lu Hua'er finally realized her mistake and became much more obedient to advice after that.
"You'd better find a way to separate the family. Even if you can't do it yourself, let Wenlong and his brother separate. That way, when they buy a house or make money, they won't be leeched off by the Jiang family."
While tidying up her clothes, Lu Xier gave her younger sister advice, not wanting her nephews and nieces to suffer as much as their parents.
"Second sister, please help me think of a solution. That deadbeat Jiang Zheng only listens to his parents and never to me. It's fine if those two old folks come with us in the future, but I don't want the children to suffer like this for the rest of their lives."
"Okay, I'll figure something out for you."
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