Zhao Xiaoxing smiled bitterly: "We live in a remote mountain area. It's a long way to send a telegram, so it's impossible to make a phone call whenever we want. There's only one small post office with a telephone within a dozen miles."
Chen Xingling nodded in understanding: "You can learn more characters when you have time in the evening, so that you can write letters to your parents in the future."
"My parents can't recognize any words." Zhao Xiaoxing said honestly: "I learned a few words from Ayi, but my parents can't recognize even one. My brothers and sisters-in-law also didn't go to school. They can't read and are illiterate."
Chen Xingling shrugged: "Your parents don't know how to read, so you can always ask someone else to help them. There shouldn't be a single illiterate person on the mountain, right?"
"Yes." Zhao Xiaoxing answered: "There is an old scholar who knows a lot of words. The village asks him to write couplets, letters, wedding invitations, etc."
Chen Xingling chuckled, "If you have it, then don't be afraid. You are far away from your mother's home, and it's not easy to go back. If you want to know about your mother's situation, you can only write letters or send telegrams. Although telegrams are fast, the postman doesn't go into the mountains every day, so the news will be delayed. In addition, telegrams are more expensive, while letters are cheaper. If there is anything urgent, call or send a telegram. If you want to know about the latest situation or other things, it's better to write a letter."
"Oh." Zhao Xiaoxing smiled shyly and whispered, "Then I'll learn more and let Ayi help me write."
Chen Xingling suggested: "Study at night when you have time. Send a letter home every ten days or so to learn more about your parents' situation and communicate in time. It will be good for your parents and for you."
"...More than ten days?" Zhao Xiaoxing didn't quite understand: "A letter every two weeks? I...I don't even know what to write."
Chen Xingling had no choice but to explain: "You don't have to write everything. Just say hello and tell them about your situation in Yucheng so that the elderly don't have to worry too much. Ask them to write to you more often to tell you about their recent situation. If the elderly are really sick, they must tell you in time. If you can communicate with your parents in time, you don't have to worry about your brothers and sisters-in-law using your parents to extort money."
"Yes, yes." Zhao Xiaoxing agreed immediately: "I will let Ayi write for me later! I will also learn more characters and strive to be able to get rid of illiteracy in the future."
Chen Xingling suggested: "Xiao Huzi has two small dictionaries. You can take the thinnest one to study and let Ayi or Xiao Huzi teach you how to look up words in a dictionary. We don't need to rush. Just take it one word at a time. Anyway, you have nothing to do at night, so it's good to use the time to study."
"Hey!" Zhao Xiaoxing replied gratefully: "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Chen Xingling lowered his voice and reminded: "Dad and mom are dad and mom, brother and sister-in-law are brother and sister-in-law, you must distinguish clearly and don't put too much pressure on Ayi. Your mother's family is your home, but you are now living in your husband's family, which is your own small family. If you can't take care of your own small family, how can you have the energy and financial resources to take care of your mother's parents at home, right?"
She and Gu Yi had a small quarrel every three days and a big quarrel every five days. She was so depressed. How could she have the energy to work and strive?
Gu Yi is not an unfilial person. As long as he can support, he will do his best. But there must be a limit to everything. He can't ask her for help every time her family has something to do.
In the long run, the pressure on their small family will be too great, and Gu Yi will collapse sooner or later, and she will not be able to bear it.
Gu Yi was angry with her family but couldn't get angry, so he could only vent his anger on her. They either quarreled or had a bad relationship. What good could come of that?
I can't distinguish the priorities, and my small family is in turmoil all the time. I can't even take care of my own family, so how can I have the energy to take care of my parents' family?
Zhao Xiaoxing nodded, her eyes reddening as she murmured, "Sister-in-law, I didn't expect my brother and sister-in-law... to be so excessive. My mother said that right after I got married, my brother and sister-in-law wanted to divide the family. Our family is not well-off at all, and when they said they wanted to divide the family, they were actually dividing my betrothal gift. My mother also said that since then, my brother and sister-in-law have been eager to come to their side to dig up more money, even if it's just a little bit. They also told my mother to ask me for anything she needs, saying that I'm a city dweller now and have a lot of money. How could they know that Ayi and I are actually working so hard!"
"That's why!" Chen Xingling said, "That's why I asked you to write more letters to your parents to let them know that you are working hard here and that it is not easy to gain a foothold in the city. Ayi and you don't have your own family yet, so you need to work hard to buy a house. Don't think that living in the city means you can enjoy life every day without having to work, so that they won't ask you for money all the time."
"Yeah." Zhao Xiaoxing agreed, and couldn't help but explain: "My parents are both very honest mountain people. Sister-in-law, have you met them... They are not very knowledgeable and don't understand many things."
Chen Xingling chuckled: "In short, you should take care of them. You should be filial to them. It's what you should do. You should also teach your parents to guard the money and not let your brother and sister-in-law take it away with excuses."
"I told them," Zhao Xiaoxing explained, "I also told them that I would send them something during the Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year, but I don't have that much money. Ayi and I really don't have much money."
Chen Xingling continued to wash the vegetables and whispered, "It's time to make money and save it."
"Sister-in-law, can I discuss something with you?" Zhao Xiaoxing asked.
Chen Xingling couldn't help but asked with a smile: "What's the matter? You want me to save your salary for you again?"
"Yeah." Zhao Xiaoxing smiled awkwardly: "I can't save any money with me, and I'm always worried that the rats will come to eat the money again. I'm always worried. I feel very relieved to keep it with you. If I don't save small amounts, I won't have big money at all."
Chen Xingling asked: "Have you discussed this with A Yi?"
"Okay." Zhao Xiaoxing replied: "He also agreed. He also asked me to tell you that if there is any money-making opportunity in the future, don't leave him and me behind. He said that sister-in-law makes money quickly and a lot, so he asked me to follow you and make money. I guarantee that sooner or later I will make a lot of money."
Chen Xingling laughed: "I can't guarantee that there will always be opportunities to make money. If there is, I will definitely bring you two along and won't leave you behind."
"Thank you, sister-in-law!" Zhao Xiaoxing said happily: "I knew you'd better discuss it. If nothing else, it would be good enough if we could sell blue crabs once a year."
On the first day of the first lunar month, they spent most of the day catching blue crabs. She and Ayi shared a full four hundred crabs - it would take them at least half a year to earn that much!
Ayi said that his sister-in-law is better at making money than his eldest brother, because his eldest brother relies on others to pay his salary, but his sister-in-law can do business on her own to pay them.
He also said that his sister-in-law has become more and more capable since she went to college. He asked his wife to learn more from her sister-in-law and let her give them more opportunities to make money.
"Ayi said that a salary is a fixed salary, and it won't increase by more than one or two yuan a year. It's better to do business to make money faster."
Chen Xingling chuckled: "Just wait, there will always be a chance."
Zhao Xiaoxing couldn't help asking, "Sister-in-law, your fourth brother's factory is almost finished. Do we still want to continue working on it?"
"Yes." Chen Xingling replied: "He may still be in the east of the city. We have to wait for news from Director Guo. I haven't seen him for a while. I have to ask Aqi to ask him."
Last time, Director Guo said that we should wait until Qin Tiantian finished her confinement before starting work, so as to avoid the noise from work at the construction site, which would affect his daughter-in-law's confinement.
At that time, it was roughly said that construction would resume in March of the lunar calendar. Now there is only about a month left, so we have to discuss it in advance and ask Director Guo to choose a good day to start construction.
Soon, the meal was ready.
While eating, Gu Xuan looked at Gu Qi nervously, then at Chen Xingling.
"Brother, sister-in-law, Mom sent a telegram... saying that she wants to accompany Aunt Cai to visit Qin Tiantian and help with Qin Tiantian's confinement."
What? ! !
Everyone was stunned, including Xiao Huzi.
Zhao Xiaoxing felt upset when she heard this, and secretly complained. Now they lived on the first floor facing the river, and if her mother-in-law came, she would have to face her scary old face every day.
Gu Qi and his wife looked at each other and said calmly, "No."
"But..." Gu Xuan took out a telegram from his pocket and handed it to Gu Qi: "Brother, this was delivered by the courier today. Mom has probably already left."
Chen Xingling sneered inwardly, having already guessed that her mother-in-law would not give up and would definitely find ways to escape back.
"Unless Aunt Cai buys her a ticket, she probably won't be able to scrape together enough money for a train ticket."
Gu Qijun's face was gloomy: "A punishment is a punishment, it's not a joke. Even if she came to borrow money from Aunt Cai, when Aunt Cai goes back, she must go with her."
"Oh." Gu Xuan nodded.
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