“Mom, Youdong agreed to this. Besides, when the family was divided, it was only said that we were the main supporters, but it didn’t say that my brothers-in-law and their family didn’t have to pay anything. Everyone has seen what Youdong and I have done over the years. Let alone 20 yuan a month, even if we only give 5 yuan a month, others will only think that Youdong and I are filial.”
In the countryside, how could so much money be spent?
As for Mrs. Zhang’s expenses alone, her food and drinks were all produced in the fields, and she only spent a few yuan a month.
“You are such a heartless thing. Why did I tell Youdong about you in the first place? Look at how Cao Ni’er treats her mother-in-law. She sent her mother-in-law a gold bracelet as thick as a thumb a few days ago. But you are so good that you even deduct my alimony. You haven’t given birth to a child for Youdong yet. My son will have no descendants in the future. You are the one who should be struck by lightning.”
Old Mrs. Zhang pointed at Jin Qiaoqiao’s nose and scolded her. Compared with Third Grandma Xu, she felt that the alimony of 20 yuan a month was unfair.
“Mom, it’s not that I didn’t give birth to a child for Youdong. Shengnan is our child. Youdong and I love her very much.”
In the beginning, Jin Qiaoqiao was indeed a little obsessed and resented that she did not give birth to a son. But gradually, the wonderful feeling of blood connection touched her. In addition, Shengnan became more and more obedient and sensible.
Jin Qiaoqiao also began to accept her fate and treat her daughter wholeheartedly. Her tolerance of the Zhang family’s extremes over the years was also a plan for her daughter’s future.
She couldn’t let her daughter have a mother with a bad reputation.
Even if they had a falling out with these people in their hometown in the future, they had to let everyone know that it wasn’t her, Jin Qiaoqiao, who had let them down, but that these people were getting more and more demanding and pushing them away with their overly ugly eating habits.
“I have to ask Youdong. Is this how he lets his wife bully me?”
Old Mrs. Zhang panted heavily. Was Jin Qiaoqiao going to rebel today?
“Then, Mom, go quickly and ask Youdong if he doesn’t care about our Shengnan anymore and is willing to use the money he earns to support his nephews.”
Jin Qiaoqiao went into the house and packed a bag of clothes for the changing seasons. After saying this, she left without looking back.
In the past few years, Old Mrs. Zhang had gradually worn out Zhang Youdong’s patience.
This time, he was able to agree to reduce Mrs. Zhang’s support. In addition to the increase in the cost of his daughter’s studies, there was indeed a reason for chilling.
Old Mrs. Zhang had better make a big fuss and completely push this man to her and her daughter.
“I’m so angry, so angry…”
Old Mrs. Zhang kept muttering as she looked at Jin Qiaoqiao’s back. She felt an indescribable panic in her heart.
The reason why she could make a fuss was because of the filial piety of her fourth son. Now if the fourth son was not on her side, how could she make a fuss?
Did she really do something wrong?
***
“It seems that a family in the tube building opposite us has applied for a leave of absence. I heard that they started doing business.”
After Zhang Youdong came back from work, Jin Qiaoqiao talked about the family opposite. She didn’t forget to look at Zhang Youdong’s expression while talking.
“I heard that the woman in that family has good pastry-making skills. Now the couple set up stalls in schools and workplaces and made a lot of money. They simply stopped working.”
Since last year, some individual merchants had appeared in the county town one after another. At first, most of them were unemployed people, but now workers who originally had fixed jobs had begun to appear.
“Oh, it seems that there is also a worker in our factory who has retired early and seems to have gone to the south.”
Zhang Youdong didn’t care. He first walked to his daughter’s small desk to check her homework, then walked to the corner where beer boxes were piled up, took out a bottle of beer, and started eating snacks with beer.
“Do you have any ideas?”
Jin Qiaoqiao asked tentatively.
“Ideas? What ideas can I have?”
Zhang Youdong looked at Jin Qiaoqiao in confusion. What ideas could he have?
“You don’t want me to do business, do you? But what else can I do besides fighting?”
Zhang Youdong worked as a security guard in the food factory. He occasionally caught a few thieves who came to the food factory to steal things. He kept his physical fitness very well, but other than that, he had no other specialties.
Jin Qiaoqiao was stunned by what he said.
She always thought that Zhang Youdong would be successful in the future. But now Zhang Youdong was not the deputy director of a textile factory like in his previous life, who had a natural advantage in running a garment factory.
He was just an ordinary man who had served in the army for a few years and was just a little better than ordinary men.
As for her, she was a dishwasher and waiter in a restaurant in her previous life. She also knew nothing about doing business.
“Okay, there are still a lot of people fighting to get into the factory. Don’t think about it. If I suspend my job with pay, do you believe that if the business fails, I will lose my position as the security captain when I return to the factory? I can only be a small security guard.”
Zhang Youdong felt that his life was good now. Besides, self-employed people only made a lot of money, but their reputation was not good. Unlike him as a worker, people looked up to him everywhere.
“We still live in the factory house, and our children are still studying in the school for children of employees. The money we pay to the Children’s Palace every month is not a small amount. If you take good care of this family, you will save me trouble.”
Zhang Youdong ate a mouthful of peanuts and smiled at his precious daughter. Obviously, he had no intention of doing business.
“I still have to cook two dishes.”
Jin Qiaoqiao walked toward the public kitchen with the dish.
She needed to calm down.
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Lucien On ABRWF Chapter 43.2