“I’m afraid my brother-in-law won’t be able to endure this hardship, and my second sister will be the one to suffer in the end.”
It was the same in my past life. For a while, my second sister's husband also said he was selling braised food. She saw that the business was doing quite well and thought that my second sister had hope for the future.
But to his surprise, he complained about being tired and having to get up too early, so he quit after two months. His second sister was so angry that she chased him down two streets, wishing she could beat him to death with a stick.
That's why she suggested to her second sister that she come work at the store. At least it wouldn't be too tiring, and it would also allow Minghan to keep an eye on her brother-in-law and see if he would dare to slack off.
"I think you should talk to your second sister about both options and let her make her own decision."
Xu Minghan felt that his second sister had spoiled her brother-in-law too much in his past life. Every time, she would make a lot of noise but do little. This grown man didn't work to earn money and just wandered around all day. Yet, she would rush to cook for him every day, afraid that he would go hungry. She would also give him money as soon as he ran out. Even he, an outsider, couldn't stand it anymore. What was the difference between this and raising a son?
Thinking this, Xu Minghan couldn't help but say, "Wife, I think you should have a good talk with your second sister. You can't spoil your brother-in-law like you used to. You should make sure he does the work. If he doesn't work, don't cook for him or pay him. Let's see if he can stay idle."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuemei nodded repeatedly, "You know what, that's exactly what I think. I also feel that my second sister was too good to her brother-in-law in the past, and she suffered her whole life, doing everything herself, and in the end, she ended up with a lot of illnesses, and no one thought she was good."
"So, you should have a good talk with your second sister this time. You can't be too nice to a man, except for me, of course."
"Look at you, so confident! You've got some nerve!" Zhang Xuemei glanced at her husband with a smile, thinking how shameless she was to praise herself.
"I just have a big face, why don't you touch it and see..."
People say a man with a big mouth can eat his fill anywhere, but what can you do with a face as big as yours?
"My big face brings good fortune to my wife!"
"You shameless bastard..."
...
After the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhang Xuelian couldn't wait to drag her husband to Tianshui City to find her sister. They had no choice but to come, as the debt collectors came to their house every few days demanding money. They finally managed to persuade them to give them a little more time.
“Sister, brother-in-law, over here!” Zhang Xuemei shouted loudly at Zhang Xuelian and her husband, who were looking around, from the station entrance.
Zhang Xuelian looked up at the sound and saw her younger sister walking towards her, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"No, I just arrived too. I came just in time for the train to arrive. Sister, you only have one suitcase?" Zhang Xuemei looked at the suitcase at her feet. It was small and couldn't hold many clothes.
Zhang Xuelian smiled and said, "What luggage could we possibly have? Just a few changes of clothes, that's enough."
“Okay, let’s go home first. Brother-in-law, you take the luggage and follow us.” Zhang Xuemei stepped forward, took her sister’s hand, hailed a taxi, and headed home.
Soon, the group arrived at Tianyi Residential Area. Looking at the bustling street, He Jianwei couldn't help but ask, "Xuemei, Mom said you bought this house yourself? How much did it cost?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuelian quickly tugged at her husband's hand and said, "Why are you asking so many questions?"
"Hey, I was just curious!"
Zhang Xuemei opened the door and said with a smile, "Come in first, I'll get you some drinks. Minghan is still in the shop. We'll go to a restaurant tonight. There's a pretty good food stall next door."
"No need, no need, eating at home is fine, there's no need to go out to eat, why waste that money?" Zhang Xuelian quickly stopped her.
He Jianwei looked around the house and said, "Xuemei, your house isn't renovated yet? I see that other people's renovated houses have white tiles, but yours is still cement flooring!"
Zhang Xuemei brought out two bottles of orange juice and replied with a smile, "Yes, we didn't have much money at first, and we wanted to save money, so we just made do with what we had. But our other newly bought apartment is already renovated, and we'll be moving there in a while. We'll need to clear out this place and do some simple renovations to rent it out."
"You have another house? Xuemei, you and Minghan are something else, you've bought two houses already! You should teach your brother-in-law how to make money. You have no idea, your sister and I have lost a lot of money this time, the debt collectors are coming to our door every day..."
"Alright, alright, why are you talking about this with Xuemei?" Zhang Xuelian was afraid that her husband was unreliable and was about to ask for money, so she didn't want to put her sister in a difficult position.
Zhang Xuemei smiled and patted her second sister's hand, "It's alright, sister. I know my brother-in-law's personality. The reason I brought you to Tianshui City this time was to help you make money!"
"That's right, that's right. Look how generous Xue Mei is. We're all family, how could she not help us?"
He Jianwei felt that his wife was overthinking things. Wasn't it natural for the sisters to help each other? Besides, if he were capable, he would also help Minghan and Xuemei, but he just wasn't lucky enough to do so.
Zhang Xuemei smiled and looked at her talkative brother-in-law, "Brother-in-law, Minghan and I have discussed it. We originally wanted you to come and help us at the store, but that would just mean a fixed salary..."
"It's great to have a salary, Xuemei. I want to thank you first." Zhang Xuelian held her sister's hand and thanked her with red eyes.
Although she and Xuemei are sisters, she cannot take it for granted; she must remember this kindness.
"Sister, look at you, why are you crying? Things will get better slowly. As long as you work hard, you can pay off the debt soon. Then you can save some money, buy a house, bring the kids here to study, and the whole family can stay together. Wouldn't that be wonderful!"
“Buying a house? All I want to do right now is pay off the debt as soon as possible. The pressure is so great that I can’t sleep well every night, and my hair is falling out in clumps. Your brother-in-law is heartless, he sleeps better than anyone else.”
Every night, Zhang Xuelian looked at her husband snoring loudly beside her and wanted to kick him off the bed. She felt that she must have owed him something in her past life to have married such a person.
Looking at his wife's angry eyes, He Jianwei muttered under his breath, "Is it my fault for sleeping well? It won't magically produce money even if I don't sleep!"
"If it weren't for you..."
Seeing that her sister and brother-in-law were about to start arguing, Zhang Xuemei quickly shouted, "Alright, alright, I haven't finished speaking yet, and you've already led me astray."
Here's the thing, Minghan means to teach you how to make braised food. That's how we earned our first pot of gold. Now, my older brother and sister-in-law are also doing it. Although it's hard work, they definitely earn more than you would working in a shop. You see…”
“This,” Zhang Xuelian hesitated, “you’ve already taught us everything, what are you going to do?”
Zhang Xuemei looked at her sister, who was practically starving but still worried about her, and couldn't help but smile knowingly. She said, "Sister, we're doing wholesale in Yongqing now, we stopped a long time ago. Tell me, do you want to learn?"
"So you made your money selling braised food from this house?" He Jianwei asked impatiently before Zhang Xuelian could even speak.
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