Do you really think housework is that easy?
"Since we're on the topic, let's lay everything out clearly to avoid future disputes. You two have been married for a year now. Since you eat and live here, you need to pay for food expenses. One of you is unemployed, and the other is an apprentice, so your total income is only twenty-one yuan. I'm not asking for much, just fifteen yuan a month."
Asking them to pay living expenses? What a joke!
The couple looked at Li Xiangqin in disbelief; Zhao Meijuan stopped crying too.
"Mom, are you trying to force us to our deaths? My monthly salary is only twenty-one yuan. If you take fifteen right away, how are we supposed to spend the few yuan left?"
Li Xiangqin glanced at him and casually calculated the expenses,
"Your wife eats at home, so she doesn't cost anything. Besides the one meal you eat at the canteen when you go to work, the six yuan won't run out. Of course, if you want to save it, you can bring food from home, and you can save the six yuan for emergencies."
"But..." Third Brother was furious inside, but seeing his mother's unquestionable gaze, he suddenly lost his nerve.
"Mom, I know you always look down on me for not having a job, but Jianshe's salary is still very low right now, and we live very frugally. We truly don't have anything extra. How about we wait until Jianshe becomes a regular employee?"
Zhao Meijuan suppressed the anger in her heart and tried her best to calmly discuss it with her mother-in-law.
It was infuriating her; there was almost no place for her in this house anymore.
Mom is right to remind me. I need to quickly take over the old woman's job. Once I take over the shift and start earning a salary, who will dare to look down on me then?
Li Xiangqin glanced at her. Perhaps due to the inherent enmity between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, she found this daughter-in-law displeasing in every way.
There was too much greed and scheming in those eyes, making her unlikeable.
In her previous life, for the sake of family harmony, she understood that a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law could never be of one mind, and with so many children, enduring was the best option.
But what was the result? She was still looked down upon!
She only has less than twenty years left to live; why make things difficult for herself?
"If you know you're a freeloader, then work harder on housework to compensate. Why don't you go ask around? Except for that fool Third Brother, who else would marry a young mistress just to be waited on?
Every day, you just open and close your eyes, pretend to be wronged, and Third Brother will be devoted to feeding you. Zhang Jianshe is blind, but this Old Mother's eyes are sharp!
Since Third Brother became an apprentice, I haven't taken a single cent from him, and you haven't had any expenses for food and lodging here. But you haven't saved any money either. Do I need to go over the accounts with you line by line?
Stop treating others like fools. I can't even stand looking at the schemes in your mind.
I am Third Brother's biological mother. Considering your actual situation, I'm only asking for fifteen yuan. Once he becomes a regular employee, he'll be a Grade One worker with a salary of thirty-four yuan, and your food expenses will be twenty yuan.
If you haven't managed a household, you don't know how expensive daily necessities are. Food, drink, and everything costs money and requires ration coupons. Do you think you can fill your stomach by just opening your mouth at mealtime and sucking in the northwest wind?"
She has nothing herself, yet she dares to bargain with me.
Zhao Meijuan: "..."
She wanted to strangle that damned old woman.
Even Third Brother looked bewildered. "Mom, must it be this way?"
"Paying for food is right and proper. Go ask around the courtyard—which family's children don't pay food expenses when eating at home? I'm only bringing this up now, which is already being considerate. Don't mistake kindness for weakness."
In this era, every household had three, four, five, or even six children, meaning eight or nine people eating, which was a considerable expense. If they didn't pay food expenses, they would truly be sucking the northwest wind.
"Then do Fourth Sister and the others pay?"
Zhao Meijuan looked resentfully at Fourth Child, Fifth Child, and Lao Liu. They all ate from the same pot; why should only the two of them pay?
Before Li Xiangqin could speak, Fourth Child raised her hand to state her position. "Mom, rest assured. When I start earning a salary, I will give it all to you to manage."
Zhao Meijuan: "..."
As expected, everyone in this family was against her!
"Did you hear Fourth Child? As for Fifth Child and Lao Liu, they don't even have jobs, so what is there to pay? Did this Old Mother starve you brothers when you didn't have jobs?"
Li Xiangqin gave her a sidelong glance. Although she had many schemes, her intelligence was limited.
No matter how unwilling Third Brother and his wife were, they could only nod and agree.
After all, unlike Eldest Child who had his own house, or Second Brother who had a capable Yue Family supporting him, they could only submit to Li Xiangqin's oppressive authority.
Although Third Brother grandly promised to take care of all the housework, he hadn't actually practiced it. In less than a moment, there was a *crack*, and a bowl broke.
"You son of a bitch! You bragged to the heavens, but do bowls grow on trees? Which bastard was just boasting about taking over all the housework? Since you accepted the task, you better do it properly! Why are you smashing things around? Are you trying to show me defiance?"
Li Xiangqin walked to the kitchen doorway with a dark expression, looking at Third Brother clumsily cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks, and immediately unleashed a barrage of criticism.
"I didn't realize washing dishes was this troublesome?" Third Brother's complexion looked awkward.
Li Xiangqin put her hands on her hips and mocked him without reservation,
"Heh~. How dare you promise something you haven't even managed yourself? Or are you just taking it for granted that you can push all the housework onto others while you and your wife shamelessly enjoy being waited on?"
Third Brother fell silent, his face feeling a bit hot. These chores were usually done by Fourth Child and Mom, and they looked quite simple.
He hadn't expected the bowls to be so disobedient in his hands.
"Your father and I may not be the smartest, but we are diligent and capable, working tirelessly without complaint. How did we give birth to a crooked melon like you? It's one thing that your eyes aren't sharp, but you're useless at everything except eating.
People say you judge a pig by its pen and a wife by her courtyard. You're working like a dog, yet your delicate little flower hasn't even bothered to look at you? Ptooey~, you're nothing.
I warn you, you better be careful. If you break a few, you'll pay for a few. You still have a surplus of six yuan anyway."
Third Brother fell silent. He looked at the mess in the kitchen, then at the closed door, pursed his lips, and continued washing the dishes with his head down.
When Li Xiangqin returned to the room, Fourth Child came up to meet her. "Mom, should I go help him out?"
She was genuinely afraid Third Brother would smash all the bowls, leaving them with nothing to serve food in.
"Help with what? He made his own mess; he has to deal with it. If you help him today, he'll expect you to tomorrow."
She didn't believe that after this series of events, Third Brother wouldn't have some lingering resentment.
"Look, a good horse is judged by its legs, and a good person by their words. Zhao Meijuan does nothing but uses her mouth to fool your Third Brother—that's a skill in itself.
But running a household isn't about flirting; a few sweet words can't solve daily necessities. So, you have to keep it in check. If you go too far, it becomes disgusting."
Fourth Child blinked in confusion, understanding only half of it.
"Mom hopes you won't be too honest in the future; it's easy to suffer losses. For now, you can learn a bit from Zhao Meijuan, but you are absolutely not allowed to imitate her sickeningly affected mannerisms."
The thought of her putting on that 'I can't go on living' act made Li Xiangqin involuntarily rub her arms.
"... I probably can't learn that."
Fourth Child frowned. The neighbors in the courtyard all called Third Sister-in-law 'Sister Lin'; she couldn't learn to act like that.
Happy May Day!