In truth, the money was still with Shen Yingying.
The day she was caught, she had returned the money to Xie Fangzhu in order to earn his trust.
But Xie Fangzhu hadn’t accepted it, so the money had remained with her ever since.
She wasn’t afraid of Shen Jiacai.
But right now, Shen Jiacai desperately needed money for his marriage.
If he found out the money was still on her, he’d cling to her like a dog smelling meat buns and never let go.
Better to send him toward Xie Fangzhu instead.
Besides, with Shen Jiacai’s habit of bullying the weak while fearing the strong, Shen Yingying doubted he’d actually dare go ask Xie Fangzhu for it.
Sure enough, just as she expected, Shen Jiacai immediately started stomping angrily the moment he heard her words.
“Are you stupid?! Once the money was in your hands, why’d you give it back to him?!”
Slapping his thigh dramatically, he wailed:
“You’re telling me to go ask him? That’s the same as pushing me straight into the gun barrel!”
When they were children, he and his two brothers had bullied Xie Fangzhu like he was a dog.
But after growing up, Xie Fangzhu fought people like a madman with no regard for his life.
If Shen Jiacai dared approach him now, wouldn’t Xie Fangzhu beat him into an idiot?
“I didn’t want to either!”
Shen Yingying wore a face full of grievance as she lied smoothly through her teeth.
“But that day when he dragged me back, he said if I didn’t return the money, he’d break my legs. What choice did I have? I had to give him all the money!”
She looked utterly aggrieved.
“Now I’m so broke I can hear coins rattling in the wind. I don’t even have a single cent on me…”
“He even took your own money too?!”
Shen Jiacai looked like he couldn’t believe his ears.
“Yeah! And he said from now on he won’t give me money every month anymore either. He wants to save it himself.”
Those words hit Shen Jiacai like a thunderbolt.
Every month, Xie Fangzhu sent twenty yuan to the Shen family.
Back then, when Xie Fangzhu wanted to leave for work at the coal mine, his adoptive parents refused to let him go. They even gathered all the able-bodied men in the production team to block him.
They demanded he pay twenty yuan every month for sixteen years because the Shen family had raised him for sixteen years, and he had to repay that debt of gratitude.
If he refused, they would stop him from taking the coal mine job.
So within the Shen family—aside from Grandpa—
Xie Fangzhu hated every single one of them.
Yet after marrying Shen Yingying, he had shockingly treated her extremely well.
Not only did he dote on her endlessly, he even handed over half of his monthly wages for her to spend.
And after receiving the money, Shen Yingying would send half of it back to her family.
Combined with the twenty yuan Xie Fangzhu already gave them, Shen Yingying’s parents received over thirty yuan every month.
Sometimes even over forty.
That was no small amount.
Some workers didn’t even earn that much themselves.
The Shen family had been living extremely comfortably in the production brigade because of that money.
But now, if Xie Fangzhu stopped giving Shen Yingying half his salary…
…didn’t that mean the family would only get twenty yuan a month from now on?
The loss was enormous!
Shen Jiacai’s heart ached so badly it practically cramped. He was so angry he wanted nothing more than to slap her a few times and knock the water out of her brain.
But when he saw the thermos still in her hand, he didn’t dare move.
In the end, all he could do was curse weakly:
“And you still have the nerve to feel wronged?! You had such a good life, yet you insisted on fooling around with some scammer and upsetting our money tree! You idiot!”
“I didn’t want to either!”
Shen Yingying’s grievance instantly turned into sorrowful outrage.
“I don’t even have money to eat at the cafeteria anymore! Every day I have to mooch meals from friends. It’s so humiliating!”
“I was even thinking of writing Mom a letter asking her to send me some emergency money…”
“Who knew Third Brother would come right when I needed help? You’re practically timely rain!”
She looked at Shen Jiacai expectantly.
“Third Brother, lend me some money. I don’t need much for food. Twenty or thirty yuan will do. Once Xie Fangzhu’s mood improves and he starts giving me money again, I’ll pay you back.”
Shen Jiacai had come here to get money from Shen Yingying.
Instead, not only had she scalded his hand full of blisters, she was now trying to get money out of him instead.
Dream on!
Without hesitation, he refused.
“I’m busy preparing for my wedding right now. Every cent is for the bride price. How could I possibly give you money?”
Shen Yingying immediately put on a cold face.
“When you used to ask me for money, as long as I had any, I gave all of it to you.”
“Now that I’m in trouble, I’m only asking for ten or twenty yuan so I can eat, and you can’t bear to part with it.”
“So in your heart, my life isn’t even as important as you getting married?”
Hearing that, Shen Jiacai almost laughed out loud.
The wife he married would bear children for him and continue the Shen family bloodline.
How could Shen Yingying, just a girl, possibly compare?
But he didn’t bother saying that aloud. He didn’t want to keep arguing with her.
The money wasn’t even in her hands anymore, so continuing the conversation was pointless.
As for Xie Fangzhu—even if Shen Jiacai didn’t dare ask personally, he still intended to get that money eventually.
Xie Fangzhu listened most to his grandfather.
When the time came, they could simply ask Mom to bring Grandpa out.
Then Xie Fangzhu would definitely obediently hand over the money.
Thinking of this, Shen Jiacai’s mood improved considerably.
Casually, he said:
“Third Brother is family. Why are you always thinking about my money?”
“Once I get back, I’ll ask Mom to talk to Grandpa. Once Grandpa steps in, would that landlord brat dare refuse to give you money?”
After speaking, he didn’t care whether the explanation convinced Shen Yingying or not.
In the Shen family, as a girl, Shen Yingying wasn’t allowed the right to be angry anyway.
Turning around, he walked back into the room while speaking over his shoulder:
“How’s the fabric we picked out together last time coming along? Did you finish those styles your future sister-in-law wanted? I’ll take the completed pieces back with me first.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes landed on the dark-blue shirt and army-green trousers resting on top of the sewing machine.
His eyes lit up immediately.
At a glance, he recognized the fabric he had personally chosen for himself last time.
Delighted, he exclaimed:
“Hey! My clothes are finished already!”
Using his uninjured hand, he lifted the shirt and looked it over repeatedly. Still unsatisfied, he carefully pinched the other corner with his burned hand despite the pain to admire the overall style.
“You changed the design a bit, huh? Looks great! Little sis, your sewing skills are getting better and better!”
Then he picked up the trousers beside it.
At first glance, they looked ordinary enough, and he was about to put them down when he suddenly realized something was off.
He held the waistband against himself.
Then turned around in confusion.
“Little sis, why are these pants so long?”
The waistband sat above his navel while the pant legs dragged far across the floor.
He wasn’t growing any taller anymore. There was no need to make them this long.
If he wore something like this outside, people would laugh him to death.
Leaning against the doorway without entering, Shen Yingying replied emotionlessly:
“How are they long? I measured properly.”
Shen Jiacai assumed she was still upset about him refusing to lend money, and irritation rose inside him.
He’d already spoken kindly to her, yet she still refused to appreciate it.
Had she forgotten the Shen family rules after living with Xie Fangzhu too long?
Forgotten that as a girl, she had no right to throw a temper tantrum in front of her older brothers?
Still, since he needed her to alter the trousers, he pretended not to notice her dark expression.
Putting on an easygoing tone, he said:
“Look at this, it’s way too long. How am I supposed to wear it? Measure me again and fix it. I’m wearing this for my wedding, so you can’t be careless!”
Only then did Shen Yingying seem to suddenly remember something.
She abruptly burst out laughing.
“You got it wrong. Those aren’t for you. They’re for Xie Fangzhu.”
“He’s 182 centimeters tall. You’re 165. Of course you can’t wear his pants.”
Shen Jiacai: “???”
Thinking he had mistaken the fabric, Shen Jiacai looked again carefully.
Army green and dark blue.
No mistake.
He stared at her in shock.
“Wasn’t this the fabric I picked out last time?!”
Arms crossed while holding the thermos, Shen Yingying glanced at the trousers in his hands and nodded expressionlessly.
“Yeah.”
“Your taste is terrible. Ugly.”
“But luckily Xie Fangzhu has the figure to pull it off. Otherwise it would’ve been a complete disaster.”