Zhang Xuemei was both amused and exasperated by her father-in-law's words. She quickly explained, "Dad, that's not what I meant. I'd be happy if Mom wanted to stay here. Why would I want to send her back? I'm just worried that Mom might miss home too."
"Hmph, all you want is for your mother to work for free. I can see right through you two. All you know is how to exploit us old folks. You're even better at exploiting us than that old landlord."
Seeing that the old man was talking more and more outrageously, Granny Liu quickly pulled his hand and said, "You old man, you start acting crazy after drinking a few more sips, don't you? What are you saying? You just want to cause trouble. I'm happy to take care of my son's child. What do you want me to say?"
"Hey, you're not even appreciating it? I'm doing this for your own good, look at you..."
"You're just greedy for money, yet you say you're doing it for my own good. I..."
"Alright, alright, Mom and Dad, please stop talking. Do you think I'd let Mom work for free? Of course not."
"Xuemei, don't listen to your dad's nonsense. Mom is happy to help you."
"No, Mom, listen to me. I was thinking that since I don't have much to do these days, you can come home if you want. Of course, I would also be happy if you could stay in Tianshui City and help me take care of Linlin."
"So, putting everything else aside, I'll give you 500 a month to help take care of the child, how about that? Of course, I'll give you extra during holidays."
"I said I don't want it, what are you doing?" Granny Liu frowned. Who asks for money for helping their son take care of his child? She had never heard of such a thing. If she took the money, wouldn't people talk about her behind her back?
She wouldn't want to be called a greedy old woman; besides, she genuinely wanted to help her son and wasn't after money.
"Mom, you have to take this money. You have more than one son. You can't always help us. If this goes on for too long, conflicts will arise."
"I don't want it. Let's see who dares to object?"
Xu Mingwan sat beside her, looking left and right. Seeing her father open his mouth as if he wanted to say something but didn't dare to, she laughed and said, "Mom, don't say anything. If your third sister-in-law gives it to you, just take it. If your eldest and second sisters-in-law bring it up, you'll have the confidence to refute them, right? If you don't take the money, Dad will get angry."
Granny Liu turned to look at her husband scratching his head in exasperation and said, "Your father has always been like this, obsessed with money, and he can't change."
You know, this old man is really something. He tries to get money back from everything, but he only gets a taste of it and ends up giving it all to her anyway.
Once the money was in her hands, he didn't care where it went, whether it was more or less, since he didn't check the accounts anyway. So why bother with the money? It would only make her happy for a short while.
Old Xu stood up abruptly and said seriously, "I've thought it through. I'm going back. Your mother will stay here to take care of your child. As long as you don't mistreat your mother, it's fine. I'll be back tomorrow."
Zhang Xuemei assured, "I won't let Mom suffer, even if I lose money. But Dad, don't rush to leave. Why don't you stay a few more days?"
Old Xu waved his hand, "No, I miss home. I can't sleep well here. I'll go back tomorrow. Remember to take me to the station and buy me a ticket."
"..." Xu Mingjiang, who couldn't sleep every day because of his father's snoring, really had a lot to complain about. If his father couldn't sleep soundly, he thought his father was sleeping too soundly. Even his little niece couldn't sleep as well as him.
Seeing that her father-in-law was determined to go home, Zhang Xuemei stopped trying to persuade him. She and her husband discussed buying some things for him to take back, so that her father-in-law could be proud and have something to brag about.
As soon as Old Man Xu left, the house became quiet. He was usually the loudest, and Linlin had been startled awake several times.
When she had some free time, Zhang Xuemei calculated the profits from buying the short-sleeved shirts and then split the money with Xu Mingwan according to their respective proportions.
Having received a large sum of money, Xu Mingwan's enthusiasm for making more money grew even stronger. He quickly pulled Zhang Xuemei aside and asked:
"Sister-in-law, what's our next step? Tell me about it, this money is so lucrative."
Last time she received 2,900 yuan, and this time she received 7,200 yuan, which adds up to more than 10,000 yuan. In addition, there are the savings she had made herself, so her total savings are more than 13,000 yuan. Thinking about it this way, buying a house doesn't seem too far away!
Seeing that Xu Mingwan's face was growing increasingly red and her eyes filled with a dreamy look, Zhang Xuemei immediately interrupted her reverie and said:
"Xiao Wan, I need to make this clear to you. Money isn't always so easy to earn. Many people can't even earn a thousand a year. We only managed to make this much money these two times because we got lucky and took advantage of the time difference. There won't be such good opportunities in the future. We still need to be down-to-earth in our work, and we have to earn money one step at a time, right?"
Xu Mingwan felt as if she had been suddenly doused with cold water; her passionate thoughts vanished instantly, and she realized that she had been getting a little too cocky lately.
"Sister-in-law, thank goodness you woke me up! I've been getting too cocky lately, hehe!"
Seeing that Xu Mingwan reacted quickly, Zhang Xuemei's face relaxed.
"It's good that you understand. In business, there are bound to be both gains and losses. You have to take it in stride."
She was genuinely worried that her sister-in-law might lose her composure and start having second thoughts if she stopped making money. Of course, she didn't want to cause any unpleasantness over such a thing.
Granny Liu listened quietly to the child in her arms, nodding to herself inwardly. Xue Mei really treated Xiao Wan like a younger sister, no, even more so than a younger sister.
In her opinion, Xuemei didn't need to divide Xiaowan's work so much. She could see that Xuemei was the one who did the most work. If she hired someone to earn over a hundred a day, many people would be willing to do it.
The reason she was willing to work with Xiaowan was because she thought of her as family and wanted to help Xiaowan. She understood the logic, so she had no intention of helping take care of the child.
That old man in the family just couldn't understand it and kept grumbling on and on. Luckily, Xuemei didn't take it to heart. It's really rare to find such a good daughter-in-law.
"Xiao Wan, just listen to your third sister-in-law. We should be down-to-earth. We can't get arrogant just because we've made a little money. You're doing this all thanks to your third sister-in-law. You definitely couldn't do it on your own. From now on, be good to your third sister-in-law, okay?"
Granny Liu understood that one shouldn't keep words of gratitude to oneself; one should also express them so that others know one is grateful. This way, relationships can last, whether between friends or family.
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