Chapter 176: Old Matters Revisited (Fourth Update)
When Kang Xiaohua and Qi Guoqiang came back, they only saw the backs of the An brothers and sisters from afar. They frowned and said to An's father, who was standing in a daze under the eaves, "The child is not even a hundred days old. Why did you take him out? What if he catches a cold? How will he survive at such a young age?"
Father An hurriedly carried the child into the house.
Kang Xiaohua and her son also followed him in, and their eyes lit up when they saw the table full of delicious things.
Qi Guoqiang stepped forward and tried to get some wine with one hand and a cigarette with the other, but Kang Xiaohua slapped him back. "Ah, what are you doing? Mom, I'm in so much pain, if you let me drink some wine and smoke some cigarettes, I guarantee that whatever disease or pain I have will be cured!"
"I'm just asking you if you still want to find a partner? These are all good things. Which one of them wouldn't give you face? These two kids are really generous with their money. They took 3,000 yuan and a bunch of bills from me without saying anything. How could they not be generous? I don't know how much they have wasted in the past year!" Kang Xiaohua said distressedly, "There are so many people in our family, and there are so many places to spend money, and they didn't even leave any for me."
"Mom, what do you mean by three thousand yuan? Our family is so rich?" Qi Guoqiang jumped up in surprise and subconsciously touched Kang Xiaohua: "How did you save all that money? I was wondering, we eat so poorly every day and don't buy clothes, why is there no money at home every month? So I asked you to save all that money!"
"Tell me what's going on!" Father An asked with a gloomy face.
Kang Xiaohua sat down, wiped her tears and said: "I am doing this for the good of our family. I save money every month. It's enough to have enough food to eat and enough clothes to wear. Children grow up too fast. Every family has to pick up the big ones when they are small. How can we buy new clothes for everyone every year?
I saved every penny from my teeth, hoping that when they grew up and looked for jobs and marriages, they would not be short of money. But when they went to the countryside, they took away all the money and tickets from home. Among them were several sets of three-turn and one-ring tickets that I had exchanged with others with great difficulty!
I, I was afraid you would be angry so I didn’t dare to speak. "
"You said at that time that the family had no money and couldn't help them get a better job," An's father asked in disbelief. He was a man who had no concept of money and didn't know how to be thrifty, otherwise he wouldn't have spent his monthly salary on food for the three of them after An's mother left. Kang Xiaohua used the excuse that there were many people in the family to control the wages of the two people, and he really believed what she said about the family having no money.
Now that he heard that the family should have had 3,000 yuan, he immediately asked again, "More than 1,000 yuan is their mother's pension, right? Did you really save the rest? Is there so much? Did you get the three-turn and one-ring tickets?"
"Lao An, Guowen and Guowu are eight years old now, and we have been sleeping in the same nest for nine years. How can you still not believe me? Three thousand yuan, so many bills, could I lie to you? If you don't believe me, you can go out and ask if I changed the bills," Kang Xiaohua covered her face and sobbed, "Yes, our family had money at that time, and I didn't use it to help them run relationships. But do you know why? As long as it's in the countryside, what's the difference? Anyway, we can't go home often, so instead of wasting money, we might as well think about how to smooth the relationship and transfer them back.
But, they took away all the money in the house without saying a word..."
"It's been a year, and you haven't said a word." Father An took a deep breath and asked through gritted teeth, "Why did you say something when you saw these things today?"
"I, I have always had a little extravagant hope in my heart, hoping that Zhiqiu and Zhixia are not thieves. But I also know clearly that they are the only ones in the family who have a reason to touch the money. If I report it to the police and they find out about it, won't their lives be over?" Kang Xiaohua said aggrievedly: "You always think that I am partial and treat them harshly. If I were really that cruel person, I would have sent them to the police station directly. There would not be so many problems and so much money lost in vain."
Father An frowned, "Zhiqiu told me that he and Zhixia are apprentices in Dongcheng District and they won't be going back."
Kang Xiaohua stood up immediately in shock, and asked in a shrill voice: "What? They are back?"
The child was frightened and started to cry again. Father An quickly comforted him and said to Kang Xiaohua, "Don't you want them to come back?"
"No, no, I'm just curious about how they did it," she forced a smile, "It's great that they can come back, so we don't have to worry about them all day. I'm just curious how they can return to the city after only one year in the countryside? There are so many children who went to the countryside in Hetao Hutong, how many of them can return to the city? Didn't their families work hard to move them back?"
"Dad, Mom, you are stupid!" Qi Guoqiang hissed in pain, but he still kept his lips straight and used his tongue to make sounds: "They have 3,000 yuan and so many bills, why can't they find two apprentices?"
Father An stuffed the child into Kang Xiaohua's hands and said, "Let's stop here. Part of the money was their mother's pension, and part of it was earned by me, as well as compensation for Guoqiang and Lijuan's going to the countryside. Don't mention it anymore!"
Kang Xiaohua was stunned for a moment, and said unhappily: "How can that be? I don't care about their mother's pension. But the other one thousand yuan and banknotes can't be let go like this! I saved that with great difficulty. Qiangzi and Juanzi haven't married yet because our family can't afford a decent gift and dowry.
I didn't touch your salary at all, I used it all for household expenses, to support your four biological children and me. Guoqiang and Lijuan didn't spend a penny of your money, it was all deducted from my salary.
I have worked hard for ten years to save money, and I have used so many connections to exchange for a three-turn one-ring ticket, and you just say it's over and don't mention it anymore? Then why should I go to work? I can just stay at home and take care of the children!"
"Then what do you want to do? The money has been spent," An's father asked, scratching his head, annoyed by her crying.
Kang Xiaohua's eyes rolled around: "Aren't they working now? Then let them pay me 20 yuan a month, and give you 10 yuan as alimony. Humph, since they don't recognize me as their stepmother, I will calm down and settle the accounts with them."
Father An looked at the things on the table, stood up and said with a sullen face: "Kang Xiaohua, those are my children, my own! Don't you remember how you got your job? Are you willing to push the two children to the brink of death? If I hadn't married you, you three would still be digging for food in the fields now!"
"Okay, is that how you think of us?" Kang Xiaohua slammed the table and stood up. "Alright, we mothers won't be an eyesore in front of you. We will go back to the countryside to dig for food and avoid this humiliation!"
(End of this chapter)
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