Chapter 446: Chapter 232 Zhao Xiue’s Spring_1
In the dead of night, begging for the pink.
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"...can’t do any work, only knows how to spend, not earn, aren’t we the ones keeping his whole family afloat? Look at us, the three people in our house, working up the mountains, the money we make, we can’t spend a single penny of it ourselves, it all goes into that bottomless pit over there! They spend our money and still look down on us. The eldest brother’s wife somehow managed to marry a Scholar’s wife, but what about her, she’s just like us, what’s she acting so high and mighty for!"
Zhao Xiue had quite a grievance against Lian Shouren’s family, especially Lady Chiang, who was also a granddaughter-in-law of the Lian Family, she looked down on her even more.
Lian Zhizhi ate her meal in silence, and both Lian Manman and Lian Yeye found it awkward to step into Zhao Xiue’s line of complaint.
Perhaps feeling that she was the only one speaking and no one was echoing her thoughts, Zhao Xiue turned her attention to Lian Yeye.
"This whole family, I feel so bad for Sanlang and his wife. The two of them bring quite a bit of money home every month, but still, they have nothing to eat or wear. Where has all the money gone? I can’t stand it just looking on, luckily Sanlang and his wife are tolerant, and Yeye is an honest person."
Speaking of the current income of the Lian Family, Lady Zhao and Lian Shouli could bring more than three hundred wen money home each month. Lian Shouli ate two meals at home, Lady Zhao only one, and Lian Yeye spent most of the time eating with Lady Zhao at the breakfast stall, saving quite a lot of food expenses for the Lian Family.
As for the second branch’s father and sons, both Lian Shouyi and Sanlang got paid based on the amount of work they did. Sanlang would work earnestly, but Lian Shouyi was different, according to what people said, he often slacked off, so the money these two brought home each month was not more than what Lady Zhao and Lian Shouli earned.
Additionally, it is necessary to mention Erlang. He picked the heaviest work, earning the most money, which also was based on the amount of work done. After Zhao Xiue moved in, although Erlang worked hard every day, the money he brought home became less and less. Lian Shouli had told Lian Shouxin that Erlang kept more than half of his work money for himself; naturally, this money ended up in Zhao Xiue’s purse.
Zhao Xiue’s words struck a chord with everyone, but none of them felt good about her as a person.
"Sister-in-law Xiu E, lower your voice, don’t let the Upper Room hear you." Lian Manman said.
For Zhao Xiue, this was equivalent to encouragement.
"I’ve not said a single lie, I’m not afraid of who hears me. To their face, I would dare to say the same. Yeye, if I were you, I couldn’t bear it. I would cause a scene, let them spend my money but not comfortably."
Turns out Zhao Xiue was seeking an alliance, and she intended to incite Lian Yeye to make trouble.
"I don’t have the guts for that, Sister-in-law Xiu E, we all admire you. In this house, only you dare to speak your mind," Lian Yeye said.
"Admire me for what, I’m just straightforward, without scheming," Zhao Xiue said.
After having said so much, her outburst only served as a slight release of her pent-up frustrations, without any tangible gains.
"All too soft," Zhao Xiue muttered softly to herself. She was referring to Lian Manman and the others’ personalities, too meek, no matter how much she stirred them up, these few showed no reaction, nor did they impulsively storm into the Upper Room to cause a scene.
As she spoke, Zhao Xiue took a small packet wrapped in a handkerchief from her sleeve, opened it, and inside were fried melon seeds.
"Come on, have some melon seeds," Zhao Xiue said as she grabbed some for Lian Manman and Lian Yeye.
Speaking of which, Lady He and Zhao Xiue, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, had something in common; both loved snacks. However, Zhao Xiue had a generous dowry and was supplemented by Erlang’s earnings, whereas Lady He was far less fortunate.
The two also had their differences. Lady He would eat snacks openly, without hiding, but she would never share with anyone. Zhao Xiue was more generous and often offered snacks to the children of the Lian Family. Si Lang and Liulang, therefore, had a good impression of Zhao Xiue. Zhao Xiue never gave snacks to Lady He.
Zhao Xiue was cracking melon seeds when she suddenly clutched at her chest, gagging.
"Sister-in-law Xiu E, what’s wrong with you?" Lian Manman hurriedly asked.
But in a blink of an eye, Zhao Xiue’s originally fair face had turned somewhat yellow. She furrowed her brows, seemingly enduring great pain.
"I don’t know what’s wrong, just discomfort in my chest, wanting to vomit. It also happened this morning," Zhao Xiue said, her voice now somewhat weak.
In this era, traditional Chinese medicine dominated, and Western medicine had not been introduced yet. The "chest" they referred to is the equivalent of what Western medicine would categorize as the stomach.
"Sister-in-law Xiu E, did you eat something bad?" Lian Manman asked.
"No, I didn’t eat anything different today, just the same as everyone else," Zhao Xiue said.
