1994: Starting with unpaid leave

"If that's not what it means, what else could it mean?"

Zhang Guifen sighed, feeling genuinely powerless.

My children have all grown up, started their own families, and I'm already a grandmother myself.

However, the help we can offer them is always very limited.

If you can't give them anything, then naturally the children won't have any expectations or needs of you.

Although she couldn't articulate the reasoning behind it, she could vaguely sense its meaning.

Seeing his mother's dejected look, Dong Jianguo felt a pang of heartache.

"Mom, the house belongs to Xiuyun and me, so naturally we should both pay for it. I never expected you to contribute anything!"

"I just wanted to invite you over to get acquainted with the place. That way, when the baby is born, it'll be more convenient for you to come and help me take care of the child!"

"You brat, you still say you're not counting on me!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm counting on you! If it weren't for your guidance, Xiuyun and I would have been devastated!"

"Keep arguing with me!" Zhang Guifen kicked her son's shin.

"I'm asking you, how much did you pay for this house?"

"Mom, do you want to hear the truth?"

"Of course it's true!"

"Fifty-nine thousand."

"So expensive!" Zhang Guifen clicked her tongue in surprise, almost biting her tongue in the process.

When she and her husband Dong Xuewen got married, they lived in government-allocated housing, so they didn't have to worry about money at all.

Back then, all you needed was a washbasin, a thermos, and two quilts to get ready for your wedding night.

She couldn't even imagine the kind of house her youngest son mentioned that cost tens of thousands of yuan...

She then quickly realized a problem:

"Where did you get so much money? Did you earn it from doing business?"

"Pretty much. I am a little short of money, but I can make up for it once next month's profits come out, so there's no need to worry."

Since the eggs were bought on credit from several farms and all the money received when selling them was in cash, Dong Jianguo was relatively well-off.

Zhang Guifen, however, vaguely sensed that something was amiss: "How much is it different?"

Of course, Dong Jianguo couldn't tell his mother the truth. If she found out that he had bought a house worth 59,000 yuan and owed someone 49,000 yuan, his mother would definitely beat him up!

Besides, she can't help with this kind of thing; it will only cause her more worry. So it's better not to say anything at all.

"Oh, don't ask anymore, I know what I'm doing."

"What's wrong? Did your sister-in-law's words upset you? That's just her temper, why are you arguing with her?"

Dong Jianguo was in a real bind:

"Oh my god, what are you thinking! This really has nothing to do with my sister-in-law. Enough said, I'm leaving. Xiuyun's home alone, I'm going back to keep her company..."

Watching her youngest son ride away on his bicycle, Zhang Guifen could only stomp her foot and mutter under her breath, "This old man is so obsessed with saving face, he's suffering for it," before turning and going upstairs.

As soon as she entered the house, the eldest daughter-in-law, Liang Qiuyue, couldn't help but come closer:

"Mom, what did the third son say to you?"

Seeing her eldest daughter-in-law's gossipy look, Zhang Guifen didn't want to say anything and planned to stammer out a response.

"No...nothing was said."

"Oh dear, Mom, you're still treating me like an outsider!"

Liang Qiuyue rolled her eyes: "I already know what the third brother told you even if you don't tell me."

"It's simply a matter of how much he spent on the house and how much he's still short."

Upon hearing her daughter-in-law speak of her youngest son in that way, Zhang Guifen's brows immediately furrowed.

"He didn't mention anything about needing money."

Liang Qiuyue nodded:

"Even if the third brother didn't explicitly ask you for money, his intentions are obvious! He wants to borrow money from us!"

"Mom, let me make this clear beforehand, Baoguo and I don't have much spare cash. You know what kind of guy our third brother is, he's good for nothing and eats everything. Even if he could make some money in business, who knows how he'd squander it all..."

The eldest brother, Dong Baoguo, interrupted his wife somewhat displeased:

"Alright, alright, eating won't shut your mouth. Why say these things in front of the child!"

"What's wrong? It's okay for Dong Laosan to get suspended for playing mahjong, but people aren't allowed to talk about it behind his back?! My cousin from the textile factory told me about your brother's misdeeds over two weeks ago. What kind of good person gets publicly criticized by the whole factory?!"

Liang Qiuyue stared wide-eyed, refusing to back down in the slightest:

"Mom, Dad, I don't care how much of your retirement money you're planning to throw away for our third son, but let me make this clear: don't expect Baoguo and me to contribute any money!"

"It's true that the third son is your son, but Baoguo is your eldest son, and Junjun is your eldest grandson!"

"You two usually live with our family of three, and we're the eldest, we see each other every day! How many times a year does the youngest come over? You can't show favoritism!"

Liang Qiuyue's words were reasonable and well-founded.

Although Zhang Guifen could act as the matriarch in front of her own family, she was actually a little intimidated by her eldest daughter-in-law.

The eldest son's family now enjoys a good quality of life, entirely thanks to his wife's hard work and dedication, painstakingly saving every penny she could while working on the train.

If I really give money to the third son... if it gets back to the eldest daughter-in-law, it will be hard to explain.

Thinking of this, Zhang Guifen could only agree with her daughter-in-law and say, "Don't worry, I know..."

"I hope you really understand. Eat quickly, the seafood won't taste good if it gets cold..."

……

Sunday morning.

The sound of chopping ribs came from the kitchen.

Behind Dong Jianguo, the large pot on the gas stove was also steaming, and the aroma of meat wafting out made it hard to leave.

The pot contains a whole pork knuckle being stewed.

After moving, it's customary to have a formal housewarming party.

So, on their first weekend in their new home, Dong Jianguo and Xiuyun prepared a banquet at home.

Since there was limited space at home, the two decided to host their families in separate groups.

Since they had just finished eating with Xiuyun's family, the first formal housewarming banquet was to be held for Dong Jianguo's relatives.

To express his gratitude to his second uncle for helping him make connections at the beginning of his business, Dong Jianguo made a special trip to his second uncle's house the day before, inviting his second uncle and aunt and his two cousins ​​to come and sit down.

With a large number of people, preparing food becomes a hassle.

However, Dong Jianguo was enjoying it.

"Mmm, it smells so good~"

After leaving the bedroom, Xiuyun followed the smell into the kitchen.

As the pregnancy progressed, she not only became increasingly sleepy, but her appetite also increased significantly.

Strangely enough, although my appetite has increased significantly, my weight gain has not been very noticeable.

Dong Jianguo glanced back at her, frowning slightly: "Go back and put on a coat, otherwise you'll catch a cold."

In the north, it's still quite cool in the mornings and evenings during autumn, especially now that the central heating hasn't been turned on yet, so you can feel a chill even indoors.

"I won't!"

Xiuyun sniffed and protested, "I've been feeling warm all over lately, it must be a boy in my belly, the yang energy is so strong!"

Only when Dong Jianguo glared at her did Xiuyun find a coat to put on.

"Honey, I need to talk to you about something."

"What's up?"

"My parents are coming today, and I want to give them 500 yuan each. It was one thing when we didn't have money, but now we have some. Giving them some living expenses will make them feel more confident and not always have to live at my sister-in-law's beck and call."

"this……"

Seeing Xiuyun's hesitant expression, Dong Jianguo felt a chill in his heart: "What's wrong? You don't agree?"

Xiuyun shook her head: "If you ask me, we should just give each of them a thousand. You're right, we should be more filial to our parents..."

Dong Jianguo: ? ? ?