An You had never seen Xiang Lidang so conflicted before, and felt a little curious.
She quickly stated: "Third brother, if you have something to say, just tell me directly. We are married now, so we can talk about anything."
Xiang Lidang clasped his hands over the gift money book and said with difficulty, "I want to use the 200 yuan gift money to give to my youngest sister. She gave me the job that year, and I still need to pay her back 200 yuan."
He actually lied.
It was difficult to repay such a favor, so he just gave the 200 yuan to Xiang Mianmian. He thought that by settling the account, he could relieve some of the burden on his mind.
Since the proposal, Zhang Jidi let him manage his own salary, but holding the wedding ceremony requires money in many areas.
He managed to squeeze out 20 yuan from his salary over the past few months and gave it to Xiang Mianmian. Adding the 180 yuan he earned from his three years of temporary work as a household payment, he still had a shortfall of 200 yuan.
An You felt relieved: "That's okay, let me see, we collected more than 500 in total, you can take it."
She looked at the total amount in the gift money book and said generously.
It’s not that An You is lenient, but she knows how much Xiang Lidang values Yaomei, and it’s not easy to give her that job.
An You's job was found for her by her uncle so that the only girl in the family would not have to go to the countryside. At that time, she wanted to return the money to her uncle after she got a job.
It wasn't for the sake of a fight, but out of a heavy sense of gratitude. Although her uncle didn't need it, she couldn't be ungrateful for the kindness he had shown her.
The relationship between Xiang Lidang and Xiang Mianmian is even more complicated.
Xiang Mianmian gave Xiang Lidang a job opportunity without hesitation, changing his fate of going to the countryside.
Before, the family was poor, and Zhang Jidi thought about sacrificing Xiang Lidang to save the others. How could Xiang Lidang not notice it?
He was nervous, so he almost took the letter of recommendation from Xiang Mianmian's hand awkwardly.
Although he was the only one of the right age for this job in the Xiang family at that time, the twins Lili and Lihua were only 11 years old, and Mianmian was even younger, at 8 years old, and had no need for this letter at all.
But he always kept this kindness in his heart.
Xiang Lidang smiled heartily when he heard his wife support him: "Thank you, Youyou, it's great that you understand me."
An You not only understood him, but also personally counted out the corresponding 200 yuan from the gift money bag next to the gift money book: "Give it to your little sister, or save it for mom."
It is still not reassuring for a 12-year-old girl to have a huge sum of 200 yuan. It is safer to put it in the hands of her mother and give it to her slowly as pocket money.
Xiang Lidang took the money, hugged An You emotionally, and turned to leave.
He went out to find Zhang Jidi, gave her the money, and said it was for Xiang Mianmian.
Zhang Jidi's eyes were complicated: "Don't rush to give it to me. What if you have a conflict with your wife?"
Xiang Lidang smiled happily: "Don't worry, Mom. I've talked to An You about this and she supports it. Save this money for my youngest sister and give it to her when she needs it."
The Xiang family has never treated their children unfairly and has treated them equally most of the time. Zhang Jidi really doesn't understand why his third son always feels that his youngest sister has suffered.
She didn't ask any further questions and waved him back to his room. "Okay, you two tidy up your rooms and remember to come out for dinner at 5:30 tonight. I fried some shrimp that Youyou likes."
After paying this money, I feel relieved.
Xiang Lidang returned to his room with a smile and helped An You take out some necessities from the dowry box and put them in order. They would live together in the future.
The two of them worked together very well, and by the time it was time for dinner in the evening, they had basically finished cleaning up.
In the evening, there was a table full of fresh home-cooked dishes, which was more substantial than usual.
People have experienced hunger and will not waste food. Friends and relatives will take the leftover food from the lunch banquet home and eat it fresh.
At the banquet, An You really liked fried shrimp with garlic sprouts and ate a lot of this dish.
Wang Chunting smiled and congratulated her third brother and his wife on their wedding at the dinner table. She couldn't bring up the little thoughts between the sisters-in-law in front of her mother-in-law.
Moreover, her two children were left in the steel plant compound and Ming Erni helped take care of them, which made things much easier for her now.
An You also had a friendly expression on her face: "Thank you for your blessing, sister-in-law. I just came in and don't know the rules. I'll trouble you to be tolerant and understanding in the future."
No matter what the two sisters-in-law thought in their hearts, they still looked harmonious on the surface.
Zhang Jidi said calmly at the table, "Room 202 is moving out on the 26th of this month. Lidang and Youyou can move in next month."
Wang Chunting paused with her chopsticks.
But he quickly calmed down and ate as usual, as if it had nothing to do with him.
An You put down his chopsticks in confusion: "Mom, we should be filial to you at home, how can we move out?"
This operation is completely different from her family's.
Every mother-in-law holds her son tightly in her hands, so why is she rushing out of the Xiang family impatiently?
Xiang Liguo has been living in the house under Xiang Hongqi's name. The steel plant saw that Xiang Liguo had a house to live in, so it never allocated a house to Xiang Liguo.
He and his wife have two children, and his mother-in-law Ming Erni helps take care of them, so it is not convenient for them to move.
Xiang Lidang had no choice but to compromise and move into a suite.
Zhang Jidi waved his hand: "If you live a good life, you will be filial to me."
Her mother-in-law, Old Lady Xiang, had a strong desire for control and controlled Xiang Hongqi completely. In the end, they separated from the family and never had any contact with each other until they died.
Zhang Jidi learned his lesson and only controlled Xiang Liguo's salary, but ignored his daughter-in-law Wang Chunting, thinking that this would be better.
But things went against their wishes. The couple managed their own finances, worked at cross-purposes, and always quarreled over trivial daily matters.
The first granddaughter, Xiang Youfeng, was born prematurely because she and her daughter-in-law, Wang Chunting, had an argument over who should pay for an iron pot. The pregnant woman got so excited that she went into premature labor and was hospitalized.
Now the eldest grandson Xiang Youzhi is also in poor health and has moles. He was born after suffering great hardships.
His two grandchildren fell ill one after another. Although they were not serious, Zhang Jidi still regretted his decision and decided not to interfere in the married life of the next generation.
As long as her son is doing well, it's enough. She can't even take care of her three daughters, so how can she have time to worry about her son?
An You thought it would be great not to live with her mother-in-law.
She secretly rejoiced that her mother-in-law was easy to get along with. She glanced at Xiang Lidang, who looked troubled, and said, "But it's not right not to live at home. My eldest brother lives in the steel plant's staff quarters, and my fourth brother is in the army..."
"Okay, you two should just give me some more grandchildren. I'm not too old to walk, and it's not time for you to serve me yet."
When mentioning the fourth brother Xiang Lihua, Zhang Jidi's eyes were filled with tears.
This damn child sent letter after letter, but he never came back to visit. She was very worried, afraid that something had happened to him.
"Mom, I..."
Zhang Jidi had no appetite and stood up to go back to his room before An You finished speaking. "I'm full. You guys take your time."
There was still half a bowl of rice in her bowl, but she really couldn't finish it.
Xiang Hongqi didn't say anything, but silently used chopsticks to transfer his wife's food to his own bowl and ate it.
An You looked at everyone's faces nervously, fearing that she would offend her mother-in-law on the first day of her marriage.
In the end, it was her husband who comforted her gently, "It's okay, just eat. Mom is just missing Fourth Brother. Let's listen to Mom and pack up and move into Room 202 next month."
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