The last time Mrs. Mei came to her calligraphy and painting studio, she noticed the sesame seed cake stand not far away. She looked at the lively little girl who ran the stall with some envy.
She had inquired about the small business she had started with a capital of one hundred yuan, starting with selling cakes from a basket, then setting up a small stall, and now with a single oven, to a stall with three ovens. The girl was busy all the time, with a constant enthusiastic smile on her face.
Her gaze and smile held one customer captive while she answered another: "A sweet and fragrant sesame biscuit is two cents each, a crispy and delicious scallion oil egg pancake is three cents each, and a thin-skinned, thick-filled, and delicious meat pie is five cents each." She deftly packed the five biscuits and two meat pie ordered by the previous customer, then immediately asked the two new customers: "How many would you like? Would you like some of all three?"
This little girl possessed what the Mei family lacked: ambition. Her eyes sparkled, and her whole body radiated drive. This was the essence of someone with ambition, someone with a purpose and a way to live.
Old Mrs. Mei recalled the time when she and Old Mr. Mei were young. When she first got married, she was also full of energy, joy and excitement.
She and her husband combed the entire Mei household, from top to bottom, inside and out. They replaced the servants with housekeepers, arrested any village headmen who deceived their superiors and bullied their subordinates, and expelled any who were oppressive to the farmers. They checked accounts, cleaned up, replaced people, and visited people door to door, talking late into the night. They were exhausted and fell asleep every day.
Whenever the young couple encountered difficulties, they would go to see Old Master Mei. Every time he listened to the situation and their ideas, the old man's eyes became brighter and brighter.
The old man of the Mei family was a powerful man. When he was young, he ran the Mei family very prosperously. Later, he suffered from a leg disease and was paralyzed in bed, like an eagle with broken wings or a tiger falling into the plain.
Bedridden, he was bullied by his brothers and servants, and driven to anger by his wife and son. Those incompetent and unreasonable people had nearly destroyed the Mei family's fortune. Despite the immense hardship, the old man managed to preserve the family fortune until his grandson grew up. This little grandson, later Mrs. Mei's husband, was now known as Old Man Mei.
Under her and Mr. Mei's leadership, the profits of the Mei family's shops increased by one or several times, and several shops that had closed down and were about to be liquidated were revived and reopened. They also acquired two farms, totaling over 100 acres of land.
Back then, every day was exhausting, with endless things to deal with and countless obstacles to overcome. But our hearts and minds were united, our efforts were united, and we could see the light in each other's eyes. Those were such difficult, yet wonderful days.
Old Master Mei held her husband's hand, looked at her again, and laughed heartily, finally letting go of years of worry.
He died with a smile on his face a few years later.
But now in the Mei family, you can’t find anyone with such ambition and light in his eyes.
Old Mrs. Mei wondered, could she now only look to her grandchildren? Just like the old man of the Mei family had done, waiting for a grandchild to emerge as someone like her husband?
That day, Old Mrs. Mei said that she would give half of the monthly allowance of the eldest and second masters of the Mei family to their respective wives.
The eldest son's wife was the first to refuse. Ma Jingling thought that since his son fell ill, all sorts of expenses had actually been quite a bit, mainly related to seeking medical treatment and medication. Although Uncle Mei was timid, lustful, and easily influenced, he had always given enough money to his son when it came to medical treatment.
Mr. Mei’s monthly allowance is as much as five hundred taels of silver, but if his son’s medical treatment requires four hundred taels this month, he will definitely hand these four hundred taels to Ma Jingling.
Although the old lady had said that her son's medical treatment, hiring a special teacher to teach at home, massage, etc. could also be paid from the public funds, but it was okay once or twice, but if it was long-term, would the second wife have no objection? She herself could not bring herself to ask for it.
If she accepted the old lady's offer today and accepted half of the monthly allowance, knowing her husband, Mei Xuanrui would never give her another penny, she would only be able to use the other half. And why would she do that? It wouldn't actually benefit her or her son.
So Ma Jingling said, "Mother, you should keep this money. I'm out there, so how can I be without money? Besides, I've seen that you haven't wasted your monthly allowance over the years, and you've basically spent it all on Yinshan. I live and eat at home, and I have my own share, so I don't need it."
Old Mrs. Mei was just about to say, I will pay for the expenses of Yinshan's child, and I will pay from my private savings.
She couldn't understand her eldest daughter-in-law's thinking. Even if her eldest son Mei Xuanrui handed over all of his monthly allowance to Ma Jingling to use for his medical treatment, she could only get a maximum of 500 taels from others in a month.
But she clearly had the opportunity to become the head of the Mei family with the help of Old Lady Mei. At that time, did she need others to give her 500 taels? How the entire family's money was divided was basically decided by her, just like Old Lady Mei now.
And couldn't she see that her husband had long since given up on treating Yinshan? It was only a matter of time before the eldest son gave up on Yinshan. Now the impatience in his eyes was already visible. In the future, he could only provide Yinshan with food and rely on him, that was all.
If the eldest daughter-in-law wants to give Yinshan more, keeps hoping for a miracle, and continues to treat him, then her son has to rely on himself.
She only thinks about securing the present for her son, but she has nothing of her own. How can she guarantee her son's future?
Can you use the money in other people's hands whenever you want?
The eldest son is willing to give it now, but the next hour, he can refuse to give it if he wants to.
Now Yinshan is not the only son of the eldest son who is stupid and foolish.
But then, she heard what her eldest daughter-in-law said next.
"Mom, Yinshan can't live without me now. I take care of all his food, clothing, daily life and treatment. I always feel that Yinshan can get better, but he just needs to hold on a little longer.
"Mom, I'm not lying to you. I really think Yinshan will get better. He's getting better little by little. Others don't know, but I've watched him get better little by little. As long as I, your mother, don't give up on him, he will get better. I have to stay with him. If I leave him alone now, he'll be ruined."
Old Mrs. Mei sighed in her heart. This was not a matter of money. Her eldest daughter-in-law was tied to her son.
She thought of the little girl selling sesame cakes again.
She and Old Man Mei took over a mess back then. If they could scrape out fifty taels of silver, they could both do something big. Just like the little girl selling pancakes, her every plan was to expand her pancake stall, and most of the money she earned was used to expand her stall. Now the little girl is already looking for a store.
well……
The sentence "I don't need it either" means I have completely let go.
When the eldest daughter-in-law first came into the house, the housekeeper was very generous with a few blows. Nowadays... once a person has a weak spot, it seems that he can never move forward. Or, in other words, once a person has something he truly wants to protect, he can never leave it.
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