The first family meeting of the Zhuang household concluded successfully.
Although Liang Meifen was so upset she nearly fainted, Zhuang Zhiyuan wasn't particularly bothered. As a man, he concerned himself with matters of national importance, and such trivial domestic affairs weren't worth his attention.
The main difference now was that he had more money in his pocket. Previously, he had to hand over everything, keeping only three yuan for social expenses.
But things were different now. His monthly salary was thirty-five yuan, and since he operated long-distance trains specifically on the Guangdong route, he received additional travel allowances, bringing his total to nearly forty yuan per month. After contributing ten yuan for living expenses, he still had thirty yuan for himself.
As for his wife having no money... Zhuang Zhiyuan thought that was just fine. With money, she'd only try to help her natal family. Her brother was always borrowing money without ever paying it back. Zhuang Zhiyuan particularly disliked this.
So he wasn't unhappy about this meeting at all.
Seeing his wife wiping away tears, he added, "Don't let your brother come around anymore."
Liang Meifen covered her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably.
Why couldn't these people understand her? The third brother and his wife both had jobs, so why couldn't they share their money with everyone? Her brother was having such a hard time - was it wrong to help him? He was her only brother, after all! *sob sob*
Liang Meifen felt terribly heartbroken, both miserable and distressed, as if her heart was soaking in a pool of bitter melon juice, completely saturated with bitterness inside and out.
In contrast to the tears in the eldest household, the third couple was quite happy. As Zhao Guihua had said, young people naturally want to control their own money. Ming Mei sat cross-legged on the bed, discussing important matters with her husband.
Ming Mei asked, "Between your parents, who manages the money?"
Zhuang Zhixi raised an eyebrow: "Do you even need to ask? One look and you can tell it's my mother. My father has no status at home."
Ming Mei nodded seriously, then said, "In my family, my mother manages the money too."
She lifted her chin, looking at Zhuang Zhixi.
"So?" he asked.
Ming Mei's face turned slightly pink, but she said firmly, "Both your parents and my parents have the woman managing the money. It's clear that for a family to prosper, the woman must manage the finances. We should continue this excellent tradition of both our families."
After a pause, she smiled sweetly and said, "Let me manage our money too!"
Suppressing a laugh, Zhuang Zhixi asked, "Is that your conclusion?"
Ming Mei held her head high: "Of course."
She narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at Zhuang Zhixi, and asked, "What? You don't agree? You don't want to carry on this fine tradition?"
She started clenching her fists.
Zhuang Zhixi: "..."
Clearly, if "negotiations" failed, she was ready to use force.
Being a wise man who knew when to yield, he quickly smiled and said, "Of course we should carry on this fine tradition. Dear, my monthly salary is twenty-eight yuan fifty. I'll pay the ten yuan to my mother, and from the remaining eighteen yuan fifty, could I keep a little as pocket money?"
Glancing at her still-clenched fists, he hurriedly explained, "A man needs some money when he's out and about. Sometimes there are social obligations, and it's inconvenient to have absolutely no money on hand. Don't you agree?"
Ming Mei thought for a moment, nodded, and asked, "How much pocket money does your father get?"
Zhuang Zhixi: "..."
That question stumped him.
Silence, endless silence.
Ming Mei asked puzzled, "What?"
Zhuang Zhixi struggled to answer: "He... doesn't get any."
At this moment, Ming Mei also fell silent. She cleared her throat softly and changed the subject: "Well, let's follow my father's example then. He gets five yuan per month. Oh wait, you can't compare yourself to my father! He needs to drive to other places. He really can't be without money, but you're different. Five yuan is enough for one person's monthly living expenses..."
Ming Mei began to hesitate.
Zhuang Zhixi quickly said: "Darling, my sweet dear wife, just give me five yuan. I promise I won't waste it. Look, if I save some money, we can go out for meals and watch movies together. Otherwise, life would be so dull, don't you think?"
Seeing Ming Mei wavering, he pressed on: "My salary will definitely increase in the future, but even then, I'll only ask for five yuan, absolutely no more."
Ming Mei blinked and said, "Well, alright then."
Zhuang Zhixi finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was actually getting more pocket money now than when his mother managed everything. Under his mother's management, he only got three yuan, but now it had increased to five. Zhuang Zhixi was quite satisfied. He curiously asked, "Dear, how much do you earn?"
Ming Mei looked at Zhuang Zhixi in surprise, and after a long while, sighed and said, "Are you an idiot? You married me knowing nothing about me."
Not knowing about her martial arts skills, not knowing how much she earned...
Zhuang Zhixi: "You're beautiful."
He said sincerely: "I've never seen anyone more beautiful than you in my life, of course I was happy to marry you."
Ming Mei: "Hmph."
However, she wasn't really upset.
She had also chosen him for his good looks, so they were equally shallow - neither could criticize the other.
She said: "Well, alright, even though I don't know how much you know about me, I should still tell you about my situation in detail, you blockhead."
Zhuang Zhixi smiled: "I'm all ears."
Ming Mei: "As a bus ticket seller, I'm on the service position pay scale. Currently, my monthly salary is thirty-one yuan fifty."
Zhuang Zhixi: "That's more than mine!"
Ming Mei smiled proudly and said: "So you better work hard, young comrade."
Zhuang Zhixi mysteriously leaned closer to Ming Mei and asked, "So how much savings do you have? Tell me?"
Ming Mei raised an eyebrow and hummed: "Don't ask about things you shouldn't. We're not at that level yet."
Zhuang Zhixi burst out laughing and said: "Not at that level? I feel like we're quite intimate already." Seeing his young wife blush, he immediately transformed into a big puppy and pounced on her, saying: "Let me show you just how passionate I can be..."
Ming Mei was pinned down by him and laughed softly: "Mmm, what are you doing?"
"Guess. Here, let me help you take off your clothes..."
"What are you doing? I don't need help- hey hey hey, don't bite my ear..." Ming Mei's coquettish voice quickly quieted down. In such a cold winter, they needed to do something to keep warm, right? Soon, the bed began creaking...
Today was the Zhuang family meeting, and while Zhuang Zhiyuan and his wife were in one state, Zhuang Zhixi and his wife in another, the elderly couple sat cross-legged on their kang bed chatting idly. Of their three rooms, only their room had a heated kang bed, and it was quite warm.
Young people just didn't understand the benefits of a heated kang bed.
Old Man Zhuang sat on the warm kang, savoring the memory of tonight's fish, thinking it was truly delicious, but he also said: "If we eat like this now, what about during New Year?"
Zhao Guihua already had a plan, saying: "I've saved some money, I'm thinking of checking out the black market."
This statement truly startled Old Man Zhuang, and he quickly said: "No, no, that's too dangerous. The black market isn't a place for honest folks like us. If we get caught..."
Zhao Guihua gave him a look and said: "You don't need to worry about this, I know what I'm doing. I'm not a fool."
Old Man Zhuang: "But this..."
Zhao Guihua reassured her husband: "You're just too honest. In our neighborhood, everyone who wants something good finds a way. How much can you get with just ration coupons? Everyone goes there, we don't need to be too honest. Honest people always get the short end of the stick, they can't even get warm excrement to eat."
Old Man Zhuang: "...Well, I wouldn't want to eat that anyway."
Zhao Guihua: "..."
Her eyes widened as she said: "Are you being contrary on purpose?"
Old Man Zhuang immediately bowed and begged forgiveness. Zhao Guihua snorted and said: "Don't worry, I'll check the riverbank first. If I can catch fish, I won't go to the black market. We'll see if I can't catch any. There's still half a month until New Year anyway."
"Fishing?" Old Man Zhuang looked at his old woman, thinking she was really talking big.
They'd been married for thirty years, and he knew her well.
When had she ever known how to fish?
Zhao Guihua immediately knew what the old man was thinking, and she said, "What do you mean? Looking down on me? Are you looking down on me?"
Old Man Zhuang quickly apologized, "No, no, I wouldn't dare."
Zhao Guihua snorted, saying, "Just you watch."
Old Man Zhuang chuckled softly, not daring to laugh out loud for fear that the old woman would accuse him of mockery. After his laugh, he said, "Guihua, I think our eldest daughter-in-law isn't happy about this situation."
"Bah! She has the nerve to be unhappy? I was being nice by not spelling everything out today, only because both our third son and his wife were present. Tomorrow, when you're all at work, I'll definitely have another talk with her. Don't think I'm favoring the third son. I'm being completely fair here. Let's talk about our eldest son and his wife - they were high school classmates who fell in love and wanted to get married right after graduation. How much were they earning when they first started working? Sure, our eldest son now makes nearly forty yuan, but in his first year before becoming permanent staff, he only made thirteen, and his wife made about the same. She had to give half to her family and keep some for social obligations. In those early years, how much did she give me monthly? Just three or four yuan, and together they gave about ten-something yuan. Don't forget, they married right after graduation, and did we skimp on anything? The furniture, the bed - we provided everything. Even then, her family demanded thirty yuan for the bride price. That was seven years ago when others were asking for fifteen or twenty, and we still paid it, didn't we? Their wages increased gradually, but let's be honest - she had their first child in their first year of marriage, and another one two years later. Doesn't raising children cost money? When she had Xiao Yanzi, her milk wasn't good, and we pinched pennies to buy formula. All these years, the money they've contributed hasn't even covered their own expenses. Now she's playing these mind games with me? Should I indulge her? I'm already being very generous and respectful. She can't complain that her sister-in-law was still in school when she married in - it wasn't her money supporting the education, it was your good salary. Besides, we supported our eldest through high school, so we can't treat the second and third differently. Now, about our third son - yes, our eldest married right after graduation, but times are different now. Marriage regulations are stricter, there's an age requirement. Our third son has been working in the factory clinic for three years since graduating high school. He's been contributing all his money during these three years. Even if he didn't earn much at first, he was single, so he still saved something. Bottom line, our third son hasn't taken advantage of them at all. You know what our third son is like - clever as a monkey with a tail, sharp as a sieve with his wits. He hasn't made a fuss these three years because he wasn't married, but if we handled things the old way after his marriage, just watch him cause trouble."
Zhao Guihua rattled off like a machine gun, leaving Old Man Zhuang bewildered, though after thinking it through, he realized the old lady was absolutely right. He nodded repeatedly, saying, "You're right, that's exactly how it is."
Zhao Guihua continued, "Of course I am! I'm not just anybody now. Tomorrow, you specifically talk to our eldest about what I've said, and I'll handle his wife. They need to understand the situation one way or another. If they think they're getting a raw deal and want to make trouble, they can get out - I won't support them anymore!"
Old Man Zhuang quickly said, "It won't come to that, it won't come to that."
"Why wouldn't it? If they make me unhappy, I'll make them unhappy!"
Old Man Zhuang chuckled, saying, "You've really got some spirit now."
Zhao Guihua smiled, "You bet I do!"
While the old couple was in harmony, their subject of discussion, Liang Meifen, was still quietly sobbing in distress. She had been crying since returning to her room, weeping for over an hour straight.
Zhuang Zhiyuan couldn't take it anymore and said, "Will you ever stop?"
Liang Meifen bit her lip, her eyes clouded with tears. Seeing Zhuang Zhiyuan's darkening expression, she forcefully wiped away her tears.
Zhuang Zhiyuan sat up with a sigh, saying, "This won't do. Crying like this will make Mom and Dad think you disagree with their decision. We have no objections, so how can we let them misunderstand? Family harmony is most important!"
Liang Meifen: "...???" How could she not have objections? She did! She just couldn't voice them!
Zhuang Zhiyuan: "Alright, stop crying and go to sleep."
Liang Meifen felt a fire burning in her heart, thinking that her life was truly difficult. Being a woman was hard enough, but her situation was even harder.
Wiping her tears, she said, "I need to go to the bathroom."
Zhuang Zhiyuan: "It's freezing outside. Don't we have a chamber pot?"
Liang Meifen: "I need to do number two."
She threw on her padded jacket and rushed out, feeling unable to contain her inner sorrow any longer. She opened the courtyard gate and hurried to the latrine at the end of the alley.
Once there, she couldn't hold back anymore and began sobbing quietly.
Heavens above!
Her life was so bitter!
Wuu wuu wuu~~~
Meanwhile, in the men's section, a drunk man in one of the squatting stalls heard the faint, ethereal crying and trembled in fear, covering his mouth to avoid making any sound: Oh mama, it's haunted!!!
Must not make a sound, or I'll be eaten!
Terrifying female ghost!
