Chapter 107: Everyone Has Their Own Accounts (Part 1)

Chapter 107: Chapter 107: Everyone Has Their Own Accounts (Part 1)

The moment Fang Juxian finished speaking, Gu Nuan Nuan’s third sister-in-law, Guo Xiuying, chimed in, her eyes lighting up. As if afraid she’d miss out if she didn’t speak up, she nodded eagerly. "Little Sis, how about you lend your third sister-in-law a hundred or fifty yuan? I want to buy your third brother a bicycle too..."

"Enough."

Hearing his two daughters-in-law, the expressions on Zhang Dazhuang and Wen Xiu’s faces instantly soured. It wasn’t Zhang Dazhuang’s place to reprimand his daughters-in-law directly, so he just shot his two sons a fierce glare instead.

Wen Xiu, however, had no such reservations. With a loud SLAM, she smacked her chopsticks down on the table and roared at her two younger daughters-in-law, "The two of you, stop drooling over Minzhen’s money!

A bicycle costs a little over 180 yuan, and you have the nerve to ask her for 150 just like that? You say it so casually, anyone would think you were asking for fifteen yuan, not one hundred and fifty!

Why don’t you just ask her to buy a whole bicycle for your family while you’re at it?"

"Mom, if Little Sis really could give each of our families a bicycle, we wouldn’t say no. After all, she’s divorced now. She’s going to need her brothers a lot in the future, and you can’t expect even blood brothers to help for free, right?

She’s rich now, so what’s wrong with letting her own brothers use a little of it? Besides, we’re only borrowing money, not asking for a handout. It’s not like we won’t pay her back."

Fang Juxian paid Wen Xiu’s fury no mind at all, continuing to pick out choice morsels of food with her chopsticks as she spoke.

Hearing Fang Juxian’s words, Guo Xiuying, who had shrunk back in fear at Wen Xiu’s outburst, instantly straightened her spine. She began nodding along, her expression growing bold and self-righteous.

It wasn’t just Zhang Weihong and Zhang Weimin; you could see from the faces of their children that they agreed with her as well.

The atmosphere at the table froze.

Gu Nuan Nuan looked at her mother. Her face was pale as she stared down, the hands holding her bowl and chopsticks trembling uncontrollably.

Zhang Wei Qiang slammed his rice bowl down. His face was ashen with fury as he glared at his two younger brothers, his eyes spitting fire, though he was visibly struggling to control himself.

Zhang Dazhuang also put down his bowl, his eyes fixed on his second and third sons, brimming with disappointment. The children didn’t dare to move; they hunched their shoulders, not daring to eat or make a peep.

Buoyed by the support, Fang Juxian grew even more smug, her voice rising. "Mom, aren’t we just saying this because we feel bad for your two younger sons? Look at the four siblings. Now Eldest Brother and Little Sis both have bicycles.

They’re your own flesh and blood too, so why should the second and third sons be treated as second-class? As parents, you can’t be so blatantly biased. You can’t only have eyes for the oldest and the youngest, can you?"

"Us, biased? Second Daughter-in-law, can you say that with a clear conscience?"

Taking in the expressions of her second and third sons, their wives, and even her own grandchildren, Wen Xiu felt utterly disappointed.

Her voice filled with grief and anger, she said, "You know perfectly well that Eldest Son bought his bicycle with the allowance he saved up himself over the years. And as for Minzhen, that goes without saying..."

"Mom, you’re wrong about that. What do you mean Eldest Brother bought his bike with his allowance? Has this family been formally split? If it hasn’t, then on what grounds did he get to keep that money instead of contributing it to the family?

Frankly, I’ve been wanting to say this for a while. What’s the deal with our family arrangement? You say we haven’t split the household, but Eldest Brother has never brought all of his earnings home. He got a raise this time, and he kept all the back pay for himself, too. But if you say we *have* split, then why are we all still eating together...?"

"Who says Eldest Son never brought money home? Does the money he’s given me every month for all these years count for nothing? Yes, it’s true I didn’t make him turn over all his past allowance and salary, but what have you two families ever brought home?

Why don’t you mention all the money you and your husband, and Third Son and his wife, have earned from odd jobs all these years? I’ve never asked for a single cent of that, have I?"

Fang Juxian’s words made Wen Xiu choke with anger, but the sight of her second and third sons standing by and doing nothing chilled her to the bone. "If we’re really going to talk about it, it’s Eldest Son’s family that has gotten the rawest deal.

His family gives me a fixed amount of several yuan every month, but I haven’t seen a single cent from either of your families. Not only that, but whenever there’s an event with your maiden families—your brothers and sisters—or even with your own close friends, don’t you always come running to me for the gift money? Your eldest sister-in-law has never done that."

"Mom, since the family hasn’t been split, isn’t it right for us to ask you for gift money? Our two families aren’t like Eldest Brother, who earns a monthly salary. And yes, it’s true we haven’t handed over the money we make from odd jobs.

But why don’t you ever mention how Eldest Brother has been at his work unit all these years? He’s never lifted a finger to help with the family’s land. All the back-breaking labor has been done by my Wei Hong and Third Brother! How come you never bring up how much we’ve contributed to this household?"

At this, Fang Juxian’s own resentment boiled over. "Eldest Brother doesn’t do any physical labor, and we’ve been helping to raise his kids, but now his own little family is living comfortably. Even Little Sis got a huge pile of money from her divorce.

They’re all doing so well for themselves, but who remembers us or Third Brother’s family? We’re all blood brothers in one family, so why should we be the ones to have it the worst?

All I did was see that Little Sis has money now and ask her to lend a little to her own brother so he can improve his life. What’s so wrong with that? Why are you all looking at me like I’ve committed some unforgivable crime?"

"You helped Eldest Son raise his children?"

Wen Xiu trembled with anger, a cold sneer on her face. "How can you be so shameless? To tell such a bare-faced lie without even blinking?

Yes, Eldest Son has been working at his work unit all these years. But because of that, he felt indebted to the family. In the early years, he kept his allowance but gave his entire salary to the household. And on top of that, have you not seen how incredibly capable your eldest sister-in-law is?

She works from dawn till dusk. That woman works like her life depends on it. It’s no exaggeration to say she can do the work of both you and your husband combined, right?

Back when we used the work-point system, her points combined with Eldest Son’s salary and all the grain and oil ration coupons... you tell me, who was really taking advantage of whom?"

Fang Juxian looked a little uncomfortable. For a moment, she had no comeback.

Wen Xiu stared at her and continued, "And what about after the land was allocated to individual households? You tell me, have your contributions to this family really been as great as you claim?

Both of your families are incredibly selfish. You always feel like you’re getting the short end of the stick, so you’re completely focused on going out to do your own side hustles. The family fields have been tended almost entirely by your father and me, and your eldest sister-in-law.

Only during the busiest farming season, when there was no other choice, did your father have to force you to work the fields. The rest of the time, we let you do as you pleased, and you still complained constantly... Don’t you have any idea why I eventually stopped taking Eldest Son’s salary?"

The moment Wen Xiu finished speaking, Lin Qin, who had long since stopped eating but was still clutching her bowl and chopsticks while listening expressionlessly, suddenly began to tremble.

Zhang Wei Qiang, who was beside her, reached out and squeezed her hand tightly. Their eyes met, and Lin Qin’s trembling gradually subsided as she calmed down.

Her eyes slowly reddened. ’So, everything my family has done for this household over the years wasn’t for nothing,’ she realized. ’My parents-in-law saw it all.’

All at once, she felt that her family’s sacrifices over the years had been worth it. The resentment that had occasionally bubbled up in the past vanished without a trace.

What do people fear most? It isn’t making sacrifices. It’s making sacrifices only to have others take it for granted, without a shred of gratitude.