“Sister-in-law, you didn’t misspeak, did you?”
Xiao Yue was also astounded; that was over three taels of silver! Her family couldn’t save that much even over several months, and she estimated that their current total household savings didn’t even amount to three taels of silver.
Su He nodded. “The shopkeeper knew his stuff, so the price he offered was a bit higher.”
“…”
For a moment, Wang Guixiang didn’t know what to say. She looked at Su He, the expression in her eyes altering slightly. This daughter-in-law was truly capable of making money~
Wang Guixiang couldn’t help but press further. “Then… how much is left now?”
Su He didn’t hide it either. “There are four hundred and fifty copper coins left.”
The moment those words left her mouth, the air fell into a dead silence once more!
“What?! Only that little bit is left?!”
Wang Guixiang’s face instantly changed. She instinctively looked at the pile of items, her heart already beginning to ache over the cost.
“You child, how could you spend it so quickly!”
Wang Guixiang’s tone grew sharp with anxiety. That was over three taels of silver! She hadn’t even caught a glimpse of it before it was gone?! Now it wasn’t even enough to cover a fraction of it. This was truly…
Wang Guixiang was rendered speechless. Her emotions had spiked and plummeted all at once; the feeling was truly hard to describe. It would have been better if they hadn’t told her about the three taels of silver in the first place, rather than leaving her feeling this miserable!
“Auntie, money spent can always be earned back! I can get more herbs to sell just by taking another trip into the mountains. Please rest easy; our family won’t be lacking sources of income from now on.”
Su He could understand Wang Guixiang’s mindset. The older generation was used to running a household with extreme thriftiness, so spending such a large sum of silver so suddenly was difficult to accept right away. But she had endured five years in the harsh environment of the post-apocalyptic world; now that she finally had a peaceful life, how could she bring herself to live in grievance again? She only wanted to earn more money now to properly outfit the household inside and out, making their days more comfortable.
Standing on the side, Xiao Zheng felt a strange ripple in his heart when he heard Su He use the words “our family.” Seeing that Wang Guixiang was still brooding, he couldn’t help but speak up to persuade her.
“Mother, Su He didn’t waste the money. Everything she bought is useful to the household. Since she earned this money herself, it should naturally be up to her to decide how to use it.”
Ordinary new brides had a dowry to back them up, but given Su He’s unique situation, she had no personal belongings with her. Therefore, the silver she earned before the wedding should rightfully count as her own private funds.
Hearing this, Wang Guixiang’s temper flared up instantly:
“Hey, what kind of talk is that! Since the imperial court assigned her to you, she is a daughter-in-law of our Xiao family.”
“Besides, the family hasn’t split up yet, so how can she be allowed to keep all the silver to herself? This entire household needs to eat, drink, and live—which part of that doesn’t cost money?”
She had actually felt a bit relieved when she heard Su He say she could go back to the mountains to gather more herbs for money, but her eldest son’s words instantly made her anger boil over again. He truly forgot his mother once he got a wife; the person hadn’t even officially entered the family yet, and he was already taking her side at every turn! Those who didn’t manage a household didn’t know the cost of fuel and rice; if they were allowed to keep their own money, how could they keep living as a family?
Su He looked at the blunt and dense Xiao Zheng with a look of slight speechlessness. Could this man be any more tactless? Although he was right in principle, how could he say it so bluntly? Wasn’t he just worsening the tension between mother and daughter-in-law for no reason?
She quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, “Auntie, please don’t be angry! He speaks without thinking first. What he meant was that since I’m the new bride, I ought to keep a little pocket money to look decent, which also brings honor to our Xiao family.”
“Even so, it shouldn’t be spent like this…”
Wang Guixiang was still unable to let it go, but before she could finish her sentence, her eldest son suddenly shoved a bundle of things into her arms.
“Here, your daughter-in-law bought this specially for you to make a new outfit. There are portions for A-Jun and A-Yue too.”
“Go find Aunt Zhao to lend a hand in a bit and try to rush them out tonight. That way, our whole family can change into new clothes tomorrow.”
Xiao Zheng hurriedly stuffed the fabric Su He bought into his mother’s arms. With the material in hand, it would definitely put an end to her nagging.
“This is…?”
The scolding that had been at the tip of Wang Guixiang’s tongue instantly got stuck in her throat.
Su He smiled and took over the conversation. “Auntie, this is the summer cloth I bought for you all! I didn’t earn that much silver this time, so I couldn’t buy ready-made clothes for you directly. You’ll have to trouble yourself with the cutting and sewing. See if these two bolts are enough?”
“It’s enough, more than enough! A-Yue and I are small, so we won’t use much. I can see there’ll be quite a bit left over.”
In an instant, Wang Guixiang threw her previous annoyance completely out of her mind. Right now, her eyes and heart were entirely fixed on the brand-new fabric in her arms.
She had never expected her daughter-in-law to actually take the three of them into consideration as well. While her heart still ached for the silver, she could no longer bring herself to say words like “wasting money.” After all, the silver was spent on her own family. If she kept nagging, it would really make her look ungrateful. And Wang Guixiang was certainly not an ungrateful person.
“You shouldn’t have spent so much!”
Pausing for a moment, Wang Guixiang clutched the fabric a bit tighter against her chest. Her tone softened, laced with a hint of embarrassment.
“You child, you just earned a little money and you’re already thinking of us. Don’t spend so extravagantly next time. Just having this thought of yours is enough to satisfy me.”
To be honest, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t touched.
Living to her age, this was the very first time someone had specifically bought fabric for her to make new clothes. In the past, she was always the one racking her brains, thinking about how to mend, wash, and arrange a decent outfit for her husband and children.
As for herself?
Before getting married, she wore old clothes left over from her parents, older brothers, and older sisters that had been altered to a smaller size. After getting married, it was still old clothes mended over and over, patched time and again, enduring year after year.
The only outfit in her life that could count as new was the pink wedding dress she had given to Su He. But even that pink dress had been left to her by her eldest sister after she married. However, it was the newest item she had ever worn in her life, and the only one that didn’t have to be handed down and altered for someone else.
But now, her daughter-in-law had bought brand-new fabric, clearly intending to make a well-fitting, new outfit for her. It would be new from head to toe! And it was a new outfit specifically designated to be made for her—the meaning behind this was completely different!
Even her own son, A-Zheng, had never thought to buy her a piece of cloth or make her an outfit. She hadn’t expected to enjoy the filial devotion of a daughter-in-law first instead.
As expected, sons were all dense, unteachable blocks of wood. What was the use of raising them? They weren’t nearly as sweet and considerate as a daughter-in-law who knew how to care for people.
This wasn’t to say her eldest son wasn’t filial. As the eldest son of the family, he had shouldered the responsibility of supporting the household early on, handing over all the monthly pay he earned to the family. He also cared for and protected them. It was just that a grown man naturally lacked the meticulousness and sweetness of a woman.
Su He smiled. “When I earn more silver in the future, I’ll buy you even more beautiful clothes.”
Hearing this, Wang Guixiang laughed happily. Even though she knew it was just to make her happy, it felt incredibly comforting to hear.
“Alright, then I’ll be waiting!”
“…”
Seeing their mother break into a smile, the siblings on the side finally let out a sigh of relief.
To tell the truth, they were happy from the bottom of their hearts that their eldest sister-in-law was buying fabric to make them new clothes. But seeing their mother’s dark expression earlier, they hadn’t dared to speak up, worried that she would scold their sister-in-law.
Fortunately, everything had been cleared up.
The two of them carefully touched the brand-new fabric, their hearts full of joy.
This was great! They would have new clothes to wear very soon.