While Zhong Yanling was already plotting something, she heard Lu Jiefang and Lu Yuanchao say in unison, "I don't want money."
The two brothers exchanged a glance, and Lu Yuanchao said, "Father and Mother, as you know, I earn more, and my savings are probably more than what you have. So I don't need it. You can give more to my eldest and second eldest brothers."
Every time he went out on a trip, Brother Yuan would give him at least 200 yuan, sometimes 500 or 600 yuan, and once even more than 1,000 yuan.
I have to make at least one trip every month, and so far I have at least three or four thousand yuan in savings.
He had enough money to build a house, get married, and raise children, so he didn't need any more money from his family.
Zhong Yanling looked at Lu Yuanchao in disbelief. His savings were actually more than the entire Lu family's combined.
That means it's already over 2000 yuan.
How could that be? Wasn't he unemployed?
I usually just help out at the supply and marketing cooperative by collecting herbs, and I've never heard of them paying me anything.
By the way, I heard them say that he drove to Hangzhou. Does that mean his job is driving?
I was so focused on asking him about the person he liked that I forgot to find out about this.
Lu Yuanchao drove for Lu Yuan, mostly doing private jobs for him. Although it wasn't explicitly stated how he made money, Lu Guoan's family had a pretty good idea, unlike the villagers who all thought he and Xu Dong were driving for the sanatorium.
So they didn't tell anyone about it, and to this day Zhong Yanling doesn't know exactly what Lu Yuanchao is doing, and has no idea how much money he makes.
“Father and Mother, I don’t want it either,” Lu Jiefang said.
He can now save at least 30 yuan a month, which is 360 yuan a year. He already has nearly 400 yuan in savings. If he waits another six months or so, it's not impossible for his girlfriend to buy a house in the commune.
Zhong Yanling didn't expect Lu Jiefang to also refuse, and subconsciously pinched his waist.
Caught off guard, Lu Jiefang let out a loud cry of pain.
Everyone turned to look at them in unison, before Zhong Yanling could even retract her hand.
The family members weren't stupid; they instantly understood what had happened, and their eyes immediately filled with a somewhat indescribable expression.
Zhong Yanling chuckled awkwardly and withdrew her hand, inwardly rolling her eyes at her silly partner.
“Alright, I know you two brothers have some money, but after you get married, you’ll have many expenses, so save it for now. Let’s leave the house deal as is. We’ll give you the money when Jiefang finds a house in the commune and Yuanchao is ready to start construction.” Wang Hongmei made the final decision.
Seeing their parents' firm stance, the two brothers didn't say anything more, but they were determined to send more money home every month to pay back the money their parents had given them as soon as possible.
Zhong Yanling found a private opportunity to ask Lu Jiefang, "What kind of work do you do, little brother? Is the salary high?"
Lu Yuanchao gave the excuse he used to deal with outsiders.
"He and Dongzi drive a truck for the sanatorium, going out once or twice a month to transport supplies back to them. The salary is quite good, and they get a bonus every time they go out. They probably get about a hundred yuan a month."
Hiss, no wonder!
I never expected him to be a truck driver. These days, truck drivers are in high demand.
It's said that even as a county magistrate, one wouldn't trade their job for holding the steering wheel; many people feel that this job is more prestigious than being a local official.
"I can't believe my brother can drive and has such a good job."
Lu Jiefang said with a smile, "Not only can he drive, but I can drive too. I learned from A Yuan. There were several of us. We first learned to drive tractors, and then we learned to drive trucks."
"Then why don't you go drive a truck at a sanatorium?"
“Only two people are needed over there, so A-Yuan sent Yuan-Chao and Dong-Zi.”
Zhong Yanling pursed her lips; that Lu Yuan really was biased.
"Is your relationship with Lu Yuan not as good as your younger brother's? Why did he only send his younger brother to work and not you?"
Lu Jiefang explained, "No, we have a very good relationship."
“After we learned to drive tractors, there were job openings for tractor drivers at the brick factory. At that time, there were five people competing for this one job. Actually, everyone wanted to go. I wasn’t the best at it either, but in the end, they all gave up and gave the spot to me.”
Zhong Yanling scoffed. What's the big deal about giving up this job? The jobs that follow will be even better.
If she hadn't been allowed to drive, her boyfriend would be the one driving at the nursing home now, and he would be earning more money.
"Did your younger brother really earn that much money? More than your whole family combined?"
"I don't know, I didn't ask."
He'd overheard Yuanchao mention it occasionally, and it seemed he was making money, but he didn't really know the exact amount. If Yuanchao hadn't said he was rich today, he wouldn't have known either.
"You haven't separated your family yet, so why don't you confiscate the money you earn?"
“No, it won’t be confiscated. Although my elder brother lives at his sister-in-law’s house, he is not a son-in-law who lives with his wife’s family. He and his sister-in-law don’t have to contribute their wages to the family. My parents also told me and Yuanchao not to contribute.”
"Hehe, Uncle and Aunt are quite open-minded."
Zhong Yanling gave a dry laugh, feeling utterly disgusted. She thought how wonderful it would be if Lu Yuanchao's money were confiscated.
It was already late, and Zhong Yanling indeed did not go back, but stayed overnight at the Lu family's house.
Lu Guoan slept in the room with his two sons, while Zhong Yanling slept with Wang Hongmei.
I had something on my mind, and I tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep.
"Yanling, are you someone who's not used to sleeping in a new bed? Don't worry, I just changed the blankets to clean last night, and I wiped the kang mat clean again and again, it's very clean."
Wang Hongmei thought that she couldn't sleep in the bed because she thought the kang (a heated brick bed) was dirty.
Zhong Yanling dared not move again.
"Auntie, it's not that I'm a light sleeper, it's just that this is the first time I've ever spent the night away from home, so I'm a little unaccustomed to it."
Wang Hongmei smiled with satisfaction; this future second daughter-in-law was a well-behaved girl.
What she didn't know was that her supposedly well-behaved future second daughter-in-law was actually thinking about how to legitimately turn her future brother-in-law's money into her own.
The reason she was willing to date Lu Jiefang was primarily because he could drive a tractor and his salary was twice hers.
Although her family lived in the countryside, she often heard her father and uncle talk about Changhe Brigade. They said that they were well-off, with a rabbit farm, a pig farm, and a sanatorium. Every household was doing very well.
Later, she deliberately approached Lu Jiefang and subtly inquired about his family. She learned that his father was still the brigade leader and his mother worked at a sanatorium and received a salary. She felt that marrying into such a family would be a good deal for her.
Just as she expected, the family was well-off—no, even better than she had imagined.
Surprisingly, the future brother-in-law was so good at making money that he could support the whole family and save one or two thousand a year.
This is probably the most money-making person she has ever met.
If only she were to marry this man!
No way! A man who's so good at making money can't be allowed to go to someone else.
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