Chapter 11: To Reap What One Sows

Do you really think housework is easy?

"Since we’re on the subject, let’s just lay it all out so there won't be any squabbling later. You two have been married for a year now. If you’re going to eat and live here, you have to pay for your meals. Between the two of you, one is unemployed and the other is an apprentice, making a total income of twenty-one yuan. I’m not asking for much; just pay fifteen yuan a month."

Make them pay for living expenses? What kind of joke was that?

The couple looked at Li Xiangqin in disbelief, and Zhao Meijuan stopped crying.

"Mom, are you trying to force us to our deaths? My monthly salary is only twenty-one yuan. If you take fifteen, how are we supposed to live on the few yuan left?"

Li Xiangqin swept a glance at him and calculated the figures in a relaxed tone.

"Your wife eats at home and doesn't spend a dime. Aside from the meal you eat at the canteen while at work, you won't even spend six yuan. Of course, if you want to save that, you can bring food from home, and you can put that six yuan away for emergencies."

"But..." The third son felt angry, but seeing his mother’s unquestionable gaze, he suddenly lost his voice.

"Mom, I know you’ve always looked down on me for not having a job, but Jianshe’s salary is still very low, and we’re already living on a tight budget. We really don't have any extra. How about we wait until Jianshe becomes a full-time worker?"

Zhao Meijuan suppressed her anger and tried to negotiate with her mother-in-law as calmly as possible.

She was absolutely furious; there was almost no room left for her in this house.

Mom was right to remind her—she needed to hurry up and take over the old woman's job. Once she took over the shift and had her own salary, let’s see who would dare look down on her then.

Li Xiangqin glanced at her. Perhaps it was the natural enmity between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but no matter how she looked at this daughter-in-law, she found her displeasing.

There was too much greed and calculation in those eyes; it was off-putting.

In her past life, for the sake of family harmony, she had understood that a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law could never be of one mind. With so many children, she had endured what she could.

But what was the result? Wasn't she still looked down upon?

With less than twenty years left to live, why make things difficult for herself?

"If you know you’re living off others, then work harder at the housework to make up for it. Go ask around—besides a fool like the third son, who else would marry a 'young mistress' just to serve her?

You open your eyes, close them, and pretend to be wronged, and you can get the third son to feed you wholeheartedly. Zhang Jianshe might be blind, but my eyes are sharp.

Ever since the third son became an apprentice, I haven't asked for a single cent from him. You eat and live here, and you have nowhere to spend money. But you haven't saved a cent either. Do you want me to go over the accounts with you one by one?

Don't treat others like fools. The little schemes in your heart are too ugly for me to even look at.

I am the third son's own mother, and it’s only because I considered your actual situation that I only asked for fifteen yuan. Once he becomes a full-time worker, he’ll be a Grade 1 worker earning thirty-four yuan, and you two will have to pay twenty yuan for food.

If you don't manage a household, you don't know the price of firewood and rice. Everything—eating, drinking, and living—costs money and ration coupons. Do you think you can just open your mouth at mealtime and fill your stomach with wind?"

She had nothing to her name, yet she had the nerve to bargain.

Zhao Meijuan: "..."

She wanted to strangle this old hag.

Even the third son looked bewildered. "Mom, does it really have to be like this?"

"Paying for your meals is only right and proper. Go ask around the courtyard—which family’s children don't pay for their food when they live at home? I’m only bringing this up now; I’ve already been lenient enough. Don't be ungrateful."

In this era, every household had three, four, five, or six children. With eight or nine people eating, the expenses were significant. If they didn't pay for food, they really would be drinking the wind.

"Then do the fourth sister and the others pay?"

Zhao Meijuan looked at the fourth, fifth, and sixth children with resentment. Everyone ate from the same pot, so why should only the two of them have to pay?

Before Li Xiangqin could speak, the fourth daughter raised her hand. "Don't worry, Mom. When I get my salary, I’ll hand it all over to you for safekeeping."

Zhao Meijuan: "..."

Sure enough, everyone in this house was against her!

"You heard the fourth daughter. As for the fifth and sixth, they don't even have jobs, so what would they pay with? Did I ever let you go hungry before you had jobs?"

Li Xiangqin rolled her eyes at her. She might be full of schemes, but her brain was just average.

No matter how unwilling the third son and his wife were, they had to nod and agree.

After all, unlike the eldest, who had his own house, or the second, who had a powerful in-law family, they had no choice but to submit to Li Xiangqin’s iron rule.

Although the third son had grandly promised to take over the housework, he had no practical experience. Not a moment later, there was a *crash*—a bowl had shattered.

"You little bastard, you bragged to the heavens, but don't bowls cost money? Which turtle-egg was just boasting about taking over all the housework? Since you took the job, do it properly! What’s with all the smashing and crashing? Are you trying to show me who's boss?"

Li Xiangqin walked to the kitchen door with a dark face, watching the third son scramble to clean up the mess, and let out a barrage of insults.

"I didn't think washing a bowl would be this much trouble," the third son said sheepishly.

Li Xiangqin put her hands on her hips and mocked him unceremoniously.

"Heh! How do you have the face to make promises when you can't even do the job yourself? Or is it that you take it for granted that you can push all the housework onto others, while you and your wife shamelessly enjoy being served?"

The third son fell silent, his face burning. These chores were usually done by the fourth daughter and his mother; they looked simple enough.

He hadn't expected that once these bowls were in his hands, they would be so disobedient.

"Your father and I aren't exactly geniuses, but we’re diligent and capable, working without complaint. How did we end up with a crooked sprout like you? It’s bad enough that you’re blind, but you can't do anything right—except for eating, where you’re always first.

People say to look at the pen when buying a pig and look at the courtyard when marrying a wife. You’re busy as a dog, but has your precious darling come out to look at you even once? Bah! You’re good for nothing.

I’m warning you, you’d better be careful. You’ll pay for every bowl you break. You still have that six-yuan surplus, anyway."

The third son remained silent. Looking at the mess in the kitchen and then at the tightly closed bedroom door, he pursed his lips and lowered his head to continue washing the bowls.

When Li Xiangqin returned to her room, the fourth daughter greeted her. "Mom, should I go help him?"

She was truly afraid that her third brother would break all the bowls and they wouldn't have anything to eat from.

"Help him? Let him suffer the consequences of his own actions. If you help him today, he’ll rely on you tomorrow."

She didn't believe that after all this, the third son wouldn't have some resentment in his heart.

"Look, a good horse is judged by its legs, and a good person is judged by their words. Zhao Meijuan doesn't do a thing, but she managed to bewitch your third brother with just her mouth—that’s a skill in itself.

But living life isn't about flirting; you can't solve the problems of firewood, rice, oil, and salt with sweet talk. So, you have to know the limits. If you go too far, it just becomes disgusting."

The fourth daughter blinked, half-understanding.

"Mom hopes you won't be too honest in the future; it’s easy to get taken advantage of. For now, you can learn a thing or two from Zhao Meijuan, but don't you dare learn her pretentious, nauseating ways."

The mere thought of that woman’s "fragile" act made Li Xiangqin want to rub her arms.

"...I don't think I can learn that."

The fourth daughter frowned. The neighbors in the courtyard jokingly called the third sister-in-law "Lin Daiyu," and she couldn't possibly learn to be like that.

Happy May Day!

(End of chapter)