Chen Guizhi ca up with a poor excuse, saying that Lele hadn’t pooped in two days and she needed to take him to pee to see if that would help, as a way to avoid Lu Hailing’s conversation.
Lu Hailing, who was also perceptive, could only stand up, "Alright, auntie, you go ahead with your business; I should head ho to cook as well. I don’t know why, but my mother’s appetite has been poor these past two days. She can’t stomach things like stead buns and potatoes. It’s my fault, I guess. A few days ago, my father said he wanted to make furniture for my second brother, and I sent all my wages back ho this month. We finished our cured at at ho a few days ago, and until recently it was okay, but these last couple of days without any greasiness, it’s been tough. I’ll head back first and see if I can borrow an egg for my mom."
Chen Guizhi subconsciously wanted to say they still had cured at at ho, but then saw that after making her speech, Lu Hailing was still lingering, almost as if she was waiting for Chen Guizhi to offer sothing. So, she suppressed the thought and, forcing a smile, hastened her, "You better go now."
Lu Hailing took another look at her, her expression becoming sowhat vacant, then replaced by disappointnt.
Chen Guizhi had already picked up Lele to take him to relieve himself.
Lu Hailing had no choice but to turn around and head back to her own ho.
Upon returning, Mrs. Lu’s face beca longer at the sight of the empty-handed Lu Hailing.
Lu Hailing explained despondently, "I don’t know what’s up with Granny Shen today. I almost spelled it out for her, but she just didn’t seem to catch on."
Mrs. Lu frowned and gestured with her hands, "No bringing things ho today. Just soak that leftover half stead bun in water and make do for lunch."
Lu Hailing’s face was full of distress, "Mom, I can barely stay full these days; I’m nearly fainting from hunger. You don’t know, today I was so dizzy I couldn’t see clearly, I made a mistake and got scolded by the foreman. If it happens again, they’re considering changing my position. You know how hard I worked to get this job. If I get kicked out, we’re really going to be without any backup."
Mrs. Lu glared at her, "Quit being so delicate. Weren’t we getting by the sa way in the past years? Just because you’ve had two years of decent als, you’ve forgotten you were born a servant? If not for your little brother, do you think I’d put myself through this humiliation? Can’t you just endure a bit longer? Once we’ve paid off our debts, you can save up for your own dowry; I won’t stop you."
"Mom, how can anyone endure this? And those food items we brought over, they aren’t money that needs to be sent back ho, are they? I haven’t had at in such a long ti." Lu Hailing’s face was full of disagreent. Things at ho were always the sa, whether they had at or not, but it was different for her now. She had a job, and without good food, she didn’t have the strength to work. Plus, she was looking thin and sallow, not good-looking at all. At this rate, let alone comparing to that damn college graduate next door, she couldn’t even hold a candle to Shen Yixiang.
"You girl, have you not thought about your dad and your nephew? They’ve been troubled by that incident since before the New Year and haven’t tasted at all year. Didn’t we keep the eggs for ourselves last ti? They can’t bear to eat eggs now. Your dad even said that his eyes are getting blurrier by the day, and it’s all because he’s not eating at." Mrs. Lu was getting more and more agitated and turned to her daughter, "Do you know when your second brother will be back?"
Lu Hailing was rummaging through a box under the cupboard for so banknotes she’d put inside a few days earlier and casually answered, "He said sothing about going for field training, and won’t be back for ten months. Why, mom?"
"What are you doing there?" Mrs. Lu’s attention shifted to the money in her hand.
"I’m going out to buy a couple of buns to eat; I can’t stand it anymore. It’s like I’m a beggar, even though I draw a salary. This money was also saved up all at once."
"You wasteful creature," Mrs. Lu scolded, "If you don’t save, your little brother is going to end up in jail."
Lu Hailing sighed, sat down next to Mrs. Lu, and started offering suggestions, "Isn’t there second brother? Most of his wages are in your hands now, and my twenty-five yuan is also with you. If you really are in a hurry, mom, why don’t we urge second brother to marry Shen Yixiang soon? She has money and earns twice what I do. Besides, her family is in good condition; her dowry won’t be stingy. I reckon even with just the dowry, we could pay off little brother’s debts."
Mrs. Lu nodded as she listened, "That’s exactly what I am planning. Didn’t I just ask when your second brother will be back? We have to hurry up with this matter. Get it done by the end of the year, so we can have a peaceful New Year. But then again, I need to think this through. The Shen family’s son is your second brother’s boss; we can’t fool him. This gives a headache; we’ll need a bride price, and it can’t look cheap... With our current situation, where can we find the money?"
"How about talking to Shen Yixiang? Let’s skip the wedding and just get them to register their marriage. We don’t even have to ntion the dowry. But, I don’t believe she won’t bring a dowry. The Shen family is rolling in money. Rember what I told you, mom? Mrs. Shen’s clothes are practically new every single day. And their grandson Lele, the things he eats and uses, I’ve never seen such things. Just the feeding bottles alone, he has four of them, always eating formula. In their ho, there’s a color TV, a refrigerator, a washing machine—not even our town cadre has those. Marrying into their family is like moving into a mansion of luck. I don’t know if you realize, but I once overheard Granny Shen saying her spendthrift daughter-in-law originally intended to hire soone to take care of the child, but didn’t because she was too worried. My god, it’s like the old landlords, with servants at their beck and call. Such arrogance! As soon as there is a big appliance as part of the Shen family’s dowry, we sell it, and it could pay off a big chunk of the debt," Lu Hailing analyzed for Mrs. Lu.
Mrs. Lu, upon hearing this, did not look at ease, "It’s easy to say, but that girl won’t be easily persuaded. Her family lives right next door. If it were only her mother, she could be fooled, but with a whole household of them, do they think everyone else is stupid? But coaxing her a bit to get her to hand over her wages voluntarily, that part is doable."
As she spoke, she was turning things over in her mind, then looked up at Lu Hailing again, "How are things going for you? Didn’t Granny Shen treat you well? With you there for comparison, hasn’t she said anything bad about her daughter-in-law?"
At this, Lu Hailing showed a flash of irritation on her face, "That old woman is just blindly affectionate, she can’t stop praising her wasteful daughter-in-law. So what if she’s a university graduate? What’s so great about that? Just another lazy and gluttonous person, who would’ve ended up an old maid if not for her foxy looks. She’s so clueless; now that her daughter-in-law gave birth to a boy, they dote on him like he’s an ancestor. Any woman can give birth, right? That creature, my word, she dares to hold a man’s hand in broad daylight. She’s got to be after n, that sneaky one. There will co a ti when the Shen family will have much to cry about."
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