Xiao Jiu curled her lip with disdain: "I can't stand their looking down on people."
As she spoke, she added to Zhou Yue, "We'll go out by ourselves tomorrow, since we're free."
Go buy furniture and appliances, and while you're at it, decorate the apartment near the hospital too.
He was definitely worried about her handling all this alone, but now that her parents are here, he can delegate some authority.
Wouldn't this make it easier for her to move things out of her spatial storage?
Her parents knew her abilities, so they rented a car and hauled a little bit each day. Before the heavy snow came, they were able to settle most of the household affairs.
Without saying a word, Zhou Yue handed her all the money he had saved over the years.
Upon opening the passbook and seeing the number on it, Xiao Jiu exclaimed in surprise, "That's quite a lot!"
"Yes, these are all subsidies for missions performed overseas. Actually, my salary wasn't much in previous years; it only increased after I returned to China."
Zhou Yue has 18,000 yuan in savings, which may be a drop in the ocean for her, but it is a lot for Zhou Yue.
Before returning to Japan from the United States, she exchanged all her US dollars, and the Japanese yen in her spatial storage were also converted into supplies before returning to China.
So the cash she had was the same amount she had deposited before she left, and even so, it was more than Zhou Yue's savings.
When Zhou Yue returned to the division headquarters to report for duty, Zhao Lingli and Tao Changyi took out their savings for their funerals.
"This is all the dowry we've prepared for you over the years. Whatever you want to buy tomorrow, your parents will give it to you."
When she opened the bottle, she saw a full eight thousand yuan. Her nose tingled with sadness. "How did you save so much?"
“It was given to us by your brother and sister-in-law, and we saved it up. Your dad’s salary wasn’t low in the last few years!”
Her retirement pension is much higher than mine, and neither of us spends much money normally.
Xiao Jiu looked at them with a tearful voice, "I have money. Who told you to save money? You know, all the money in our family is with me."
“Take what’s given to you. Your brother and sister-in-law are doing better than each other, they don’t need any of that. It’s all yours.”
Xiao Jiu was so moved that she burst into tears, and Zhao Lingli held her hand.
"Although you are not my biological child, just like in my dream, you are the lucky star of our Tao family."
It was you who led your brothers to university and made us who we are today. Without you, there would be no Tao family as we are today.
So these things are nothing, just material possessions. As long as you're alive and well, your parents will be happy.
"I am your biological child," it seems no one has ever explained this to her since she was a child.
But everyone seemed to take it for granted that someone had said it, knowing that she knew and understood everything, so they explained it very naturally each time.
Even if she knew that Cao Amei was her mother, so what?
There was no affection between them, and they never spoke a word to each other. The debt of gratitude for raising someone is greater than the debt of giving birth to them; it cannot be explained in just a few words.
"Mother, I can't take these. They're your retirement money. Please keep them safe."
As for the dowry, I have plenty. We'll have plenty when we go out tomorrow. Just tell them that then…”
The next day, Zhou Yue, unusually, used his authority to rent a dilapidated jeep from his workplace to take the three of them home.
"Drive with confidence, we'll cover the fuel costs."
So Xiaojiu drove her parents to a shopping mall in Harbin and found that there were already Japanese brands there.
After all, this place is closer to Japan, but it wasn't until the mid-1980s to the late 1990s that Japanese brands began to replace Chinese brands on a large scale.
Although they exist, they are all imported brands and are more expensive than domestic ones.
They didn't buy anything first, but inquired about the prices and wrote them down, since in this day and age, everything still required ration coupons!
After wandering around for a while, we returned to the hospital's staff quarters.
"Even though the previous owners cleaned the house thoroughly when they moved out, it still needs some renovation before people can move in."
A house with a total area of 76 square meters definitely needs a major renovation to make it comfortable to live in.
So Xiao Jiu went to the hospital's logistics department and, in the hospital's name, found a renovation team.
But they said we have to stop for another half month until the busy farming season ends before we can start working again.
Just then, the military family compound was almost finished being cleaned up.
Taking advantage of these few days, Xiao Jiu could still draw up a renovation plan, so after thinking about it, she agreed.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around in the building, Xiao Jiu released all the dowry she had previously prepared from her spatial storage.
Everything else was fine, but when my parents saw the refrigerators, washing machines, and televisions, they hesitated for a moment.
"Jiu'er, we just got back, and these are all notebooks, so let's not take them out."
"Yes, Jiu'er, you just got married and don't have any children yet, how many clothes do you have?"
"You don't even have time to watch TV, and as for the refrigerator, do you even need it?"
Well, after what my parents said, there's really no need to bring it out. Let's just wait a few more years.
Afterwards, they carefully selected and examined the items, afraid of missing anything and causing trouble for their family.
From underwear, wool coats, and down jackets to everyday items like pots, pans, and small appliances, as well as interior decorations, books, bedding, and furniture, everything was meticulously recorded.
The items they rejected were put away by Xiao Jiu, while those they thought were usable were neatly arranged and ready to be picked up each time they came to town.
"Getting married is such a hassle." After just three days of this ordeal and buying a lot of local wedding supplies, she was already starting to find it cumbersome.
Because her parents chose enamelware items that were unique to that era for her, such as trays, teacups, basins, spittoons, basin stands, towels, pillowcases, bedding sets, kettles, and even thermos flasks.
All the necessary receipts were provided by Zhou Yue, borrowed, or pieced together from various sources; everyone did this before getting married.
"What do you know? Keep all your good stuff in your cabinet where no one else can see it. You can enjoy it yourself when you need it."
These are all things that are displayed for others to see. In this day and age, you have to be like everyone else; it's not acceptable to be unsociable.
Only by following the crowd can you avoid being gossiped about by those gossipy old women.
We also need to get sewing machines, bicycles, watches, and radios.
"It can't all be considered dowry, nor can it be said that Zhou Yue contributed nothing; we have to consider the feelings of both sides."
The parents were very thoughtful, and Xiao Jiu listened attentively, readily paying for whatever she needed to buy.
She bought a 28-inch bicycle, and she has a women's bicycle in her storage space, which she will take out when the time is right.
I'll need the sewing machine when I have kids, so I bought a Butterfly brand one because everyone else is doing it.
She had plenty of watches, so she randomly picked two relatively low-key brands and also replaced her parents' old watches with new ones.
The radio also uses space, and to avoid any criticism, I simply removed the logo. Anyway, as long as it looks impressive, that's fine.
The bungalows on the military side consist of two rooms. Originally, they had agreed that the east room would be for their parents, and the west room would be for them.
But her parents disagreed, saying, "We are guests, and you are the owners of the house. How can you take over our place? It's settled then."
So the east room returned to their hands. The furniture had already been made, and all that was left was to decorate and maintain it.
After their piecemeal renovation work, the small courtyard finally looked like a new house...
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