"It's still the Lunar New Year, and we've come to wish our parents a Happy New Year. Your performance in colorful costume to entertain them is a perfect opportunity; if others knew, they would definitely praise your filial piety!"
"You're so good with words."
Song Lan's embarrassment dissipated considerably.
"I'm just telling the truth. After all, my heart for you, my wife, is as clear as day and night!"
Qin Yanzheng smiled as he looked at the person beside him, his eyes filled with such tenderness that they seemed to melt into water.
Unfortunately, Song Lan was looking straight ahead and didn't see it.
Their first stop was Uncle Song's house. Upon entering, they wished the elders a Happy New Year. Then, Uncle Song's grandson came to her and Qin Yanzheng somewhat shyly to wish them a Happy New Year. In the festive spirit of the New Year, Song Lan naturally gave out red envelopes.
When she and Qin Yanzheng left Uncle Song's house, both Grandma Song and Uncle Song gave them red envelopes.
Song Lan refused to accept it.
Qin Yanzheng was the same.
They know that life is hard for people in the countryside, and even if they are just looking for the festive atmosphere of the New Year, how can an adult accept a red envelope from an elder?
But Grandma Song and Uncle Song insisted on giving it to them. If they refused, Grandma Song would glare at them, looking very angry.
Song Lan knew that this was just a pretense of anger, but it wouldn't be good for her and Qin Yanzheng to keep refusing like this.
The elders might even think that they look down on their poor relatives from the countryside and complain that the money in their red envelopes is too little.
Thinking this through, Song Lan and Qin Yanzheng accepted the red envelopes. When they arrived at Song Erbo's house, after wishing Song Erbo and his wife a Happy New Year, the same situation as at Song Dabo's house occurred when they were about to leave.
Left with no other choice, I had to accept the red envelopes that Uncle Song and his wife gave me.
Of course, when Song Erbo's grandchildren came to wish them a Happy New Year, Song Lan also gave them a red envelope, along with Qin Yanzheng's.
"We just accepted the red envelopes from my uncles' families. Will my parents-in-law say we're being inconsiderate when we get back?"
As they left Uncle Song's house, Qin Yanzheng suddenly said something. Upon hearing this, Song Lan smiled at the man and said, "Let's not even talk about how we are the younger generation visiting our elders for the New Year. It's perfectly normal for the elders to give us red envelopes. But as a new son-in-law visiting his wife's family, whether in the city or in our rural area, the elders on the bride's side must give you red envelopes."
Besides, we also gave red envelopes to the grandchildren of my eldest and second uncles today. I put ten ten-cent coins in each envelope. My eldest uncle has two grandchildren, so I gave out four red envelopes in total, including yours. My second uncle has one grandchild.
Even if he only received two red envelopes from us, with a total of two yuan inside, my second uncle and the others will be very happy when they open their grandson's red envelopes later.
These days, let alone in the countryside, people give children red envelopes during the Lunar New Year, usually containing only a penny or two, or five cents or ten cents. Even in ordinary urban families, the amount given to children in red envelopes is not much.
It might be more than one or two cents, but if you're talking about giving fifty cents or one dollar, that's definitely only a minority.
On the other hand, those from well-off families are naturally a different story.
"So how much did Grandma and Uncle give us in red envelopes?"
Qin Yanzheng asked with a smile.
“It’s all the thought that counts, but my grandma and my two uncles are all quite particular, so I think it should be no less than 50 cents.”
The monthly wage for an ordinary worker is usually between 20 and 30 yuan.
And current prices:
Rice costs approximately 0.23 yuan per jin (0.5 kg).
Pork costs approximately 0.78 yuan per jin (500g).
Eggs cost approximately 0.48 yuan per pound.
Wheat flour costs about 0.18 yuan per jin (500g).
Coarse grains cost about 0.1 yuan per kilogram.
Vegetables cost 0.05 to 0.2 yuan per jin (0.5 kg).
...
This clearly demonstrates how valuable money is and how low prices are.
Even so, for people in the countryside, earning even a few cents is not easy, and they would rather stretch every penny in half to spend it.
After all, they earned money and food by working points.
In well-off production teams, a work point might be worth one or two cents, but in many production teams, a work point was only worth two or three cents. Even if you worked hard all day and earned ten work points, that would only amount to two or three cents.
Therefore, Song Lan believed that the one yuan she put in the red envelope was definitely not a small amount in the eyes of Grandma Song, Uncle Song, and Uncle Song; at the same time, she felt that even if Grandma Song and the others only put two or three mao in the red envelopes for her and Qin Yanzheng, it was a great show of their sincerity.
The reason is simply that she has a job, and earning money is much easier for her than for the elders in her family who rely on work points.
—Take Song Lan's current monthly salary as a doctor in the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine as an example, her basic salary is 68 yuan.
"Take these red envelopes."
Qin Yanzheng casually took out a few red envelopes from his pocket and stuffed them into Song Lan's hand, saying, "You can give them to your mother-in-law as pocket money."
"This is all the pocket money I give my mom?"
Song Lan held the red envelope in her hand and raised an eyebrow at Qin Yanzheng.
“You’re the head of the household, and I hand over my entire monthly salary to you. You can give your mother-in-law as much pocket money as you like.”
Qin Yanzheng was speaking from the heart.
"No objections?"
Song Lan raised an eyebrow again.
Why should we have objections?
Qin Yanzheng said, "You are your parents-in-law's daughter, and I am their son-in-law. It is only right and proper for us to be filial to our elders. Besides, with our combined monthly income, I don't think our family is short of money."
"Qin Yanzheng, I'm very satisfied with what you said!"
Song Lan smiled radiantly on her exquisite and beautiful face. She said, "But my parents won't accept our money. Even if I say it's for pocket money, my mom will still refuse to take it."
What she forced on me doesn't count.
"Your parents-in-law are very kind. They don't want any pocket money from us. Remember to buy them some gifts every time you go home." Qin Yanzheng hadn't forgotten that every time Song Lan returned to their small home in the family compound from Shisong Village, there was always a large bamboo basket tied to the back of her bicycle, and the basket was always stuffed full.
Song Lan: "That's exactly what I did. I told you about it before."
Qin Yanzheng: "You don't need to tell me about respecting your elders."
"We are husband and wife, and I don't want you to misunderstand me. Besides, husband and wife should be honest with each other and discuss things together."
Since they had decided to live a good life together, Song Lan naturally didn't want to create any misunderstandings between her and Qin Yanzheng, which would cause them to drift further apart.
A surge of emotion welled up in Qin Yanzheng's deep eyes, and he smiled, saying, "So far, I haven't hidden anything from you, and I won't in the future."
"..."
Song Lan was stunned.
I believe what Qin Yanzheng said, but... I have something I'm hiding from him, and I've thought I'd never reveal this secret until I die. It's not that I don't trust Qin Yanzheng, it's that even I find it unbelievable.
If Qin Yanzheng knew, would he believe it?
I believe he actually lives in a world created by a novel, and that he and his family are merely cannon fodder mentioned only briefly in the novel. The whole family goes through various events and eventually dies without exception, while I accidentally came to this world from another world and became the daughter-in-law of the Qin family...
Furthermore, does he believe that my life as the eldest daughter-in-law of the Qin family is not actually part of the original storyline?
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