stingy landlady

Chapter 165 Going Home for the New Year (1)

When Xu Hong and the others all descended the mountain, they were already twenty-eight years old.

"Miss! We were planning to come back much earlier, but the snow was too heavy, and those women are pregnant without us even knowing. So, to take good care of them, we're rushing home as soon as the snow stops! We don't want to spend the New Year on the mountain!"

Xu Hong noticed that Guizhi hadn't gone home and was still waiting there. She was probably worried about the people he had left on the mountain. Having such a considerate employer was truly touching.

"Uncle Xu Hong, you've worked hard! Tomorrow is the last day of slaughtering pigs! We won't sell any more pork; we'll keep it at home to eat during the New Year! Those who have already married and moved out will each receive ten catties of pork to have a prosperous New Year! The rest of us who haven't moved out will stay home and cook different dishes every day!"

Uncle Xu Hong will take a break today. Tomorrow night, Uncle Lin Qian and I will distribute the reward money to everyone! Have a good rest for the New Year!

Uncle Xu Hong! You'll have to work hard, keep an eye on things during the New Year, and make sure they don't gamble. Save your money for getting married after the New Year! We need to hire female workers after the New Year!

Who gets married first depends on their own abilities! Those who are already married and have wives and children at home, and want to go back to pick them up, should let us know in advance! So we can build the house!

I'm going home now! If I don't go home soon, my parents will have to come pick me up!

Wang Yifei took Qian and their two children home for the New Year. When Qian saw Zhao and Sun wearing new clothes of the same color, she pouted and said:

"Second sister-in-law! Are you and your fourth sister-in-law buying a bolt of cloth? This fabric is quite nice!"

Zhao deliberately showed off:

"Of course! This was given to me by my sister-in-law. We'll make two new clothes from the same piece of cloth! We agreed to make matching ones to wear for the New Year. Don't they look nice? This is the first time I've ever worn such fine fabric; they're both silk!"

Mr. Qian said sourly:

"Oh! Sister-in-law is so kind! Why didn't you each get a bolt of cloth? There's two of you sharing one bolt of cloth!"

Mrs. Sun chimed in from the side:

"Third sister-in-law, that's not right! Eldest sister-in-law and I have already separated our households. It's out of kindness that she's giving us these things! Even if she doesn't give us anything, we're still grateful for her kindness!"

Zhao, of course, knew Qian's intention to sow discord, and smiled as she looked Qian up and down:

"My third sister-in-law doesn't look well! She looks much older, could it be my fourth sister-in-law?"

Sun thought Zhao was saying that on purpose, so she casually glanced at Qian and began to scrutinize her closely. Because of her fair complexion, Qian had several butterfly-shaped spots on her face, and wrinkles had appeared early, probably due to unhappiness.

Looking at Qian Shi, she was still wearing last year's old coat. Her daughter, Xiao Yu, was probably wearing an old cotton-padded coat that had been pulled out a bit, but it was still slightly too short.

Looking at Wang Yifei's side, he was with his son Xiaoquan, and both of them were wearing brand new clothes.

Mrs. Sun asked with concern:

"Third sister-in-law, you must be working very hard lately, right?"

Qian immediately began to pour out her grievances.

"I don't know what's wrong with your third brother's carriage and horse trading company this year! He's always on business trips and working overtime, but the wages are terribly low!"

Koizumi went to school, didn't he? You all know how much money it costs to send our fifth brother to school! It's the same for Koizumi! As parents, we have to be very careful about what we do for our children so they can have a bright future!

Unlike you, my fourth sister-in-law, who only has one child and doesn't cost much money! Your parents can even help take care of the child! Sigh! I'm just putting on a show, I have to worry about everything!

Zhao scoffed, then suddenly exclaimed:

"Third sister-in-law! Your hair is already graying prematurely! You should worry less about other things! Look at us, once we've had our fill, we don't have to think about anything!"

Ms. Qian casually touched her hair.

"Second sister-in-law! The children are all grown up, and we're all getting old! I'm going to visit Mother!"

The old lady was overjoyed to finally be wearing her silk dress! She kept touching it with her hands in delight.

"It's made of silk, so smooth and soft, it feels great to wear!"

Qian led Xiaoyu into the house and called out:

"Mother!" "Grandma!"

"Hey! Third brother's wife is back! Xiaoyu! Hey? Where are third brother and Xiaoquan?"

“I ran into my dad outside, he was chatting! Mom looks really good in that outfit! She looks both rich and young!”

"Hmm! It's alright! The main thing is that this material feels great on me! It's smooth and soft! Are your hands clean? Why don't you touch them?"

The old lady also likes to be praised! Everyone loves to hear nice things!

Mrs. Qian touched it with her hand and said:

"Mother! It's so comfortable! This fabric must have cost a lot of money per bolt, right? I saw my father wearing silk too! Was the harvest good this year? You must have made a lot of money!"

The old lady pursed her lips and said:

"How could that be! These were all gifts from your sister-in-law! She gave me a bolt of fabric, and I made the clothes myself! Your father's and your fifth brother's clothes were all made ready-made by them!"

And yet, despite having the same father and mother, they still treat each other differently! Look at me, I'm not wearing any jewelry at all, but your father is wearing a gold ring! And it's even inlaid with jade! Oh! Your older brother says it's a lucky gourd! It represents prosperous descendants and long life!

Dazhu and his son each got one, a gourd and a bean! Next year when I earn money, I won't need them; I'll go pick one for myself!

The old lady was a little jealous of the old man, but then she thought about how she had earned money. Zhao, Li, and Sun all gave her a share of the money for sprouting beans, and she received money without doing anything! Zhao and Sun also received New Year's money, and neither of them bothered to ask for money to buy new clothes. Thinking about it made her feel happy for the New Year!

When the old lady was in a better mood, she started to care about Ms. Qian.

"Third brother's wife! Your clothes look like they were worn last year? It's okay! They're still pretty new! You don't do any physical labor in town, so you don't wear out clothes!"

It's not broken and doesn't need any patches, it's great! No need to buy new ones every year!

Xiaoyu's is old too, and a bit short! Go back and add a piece to it for her! Add a hem to the sleeves and bottom, and it will look nice!

I heard Koizumi is going to school. There's no other way; the family has to tighten our belts to support someone's education! We've been poor for so many years! We still haven't recovered. Look at this house, it's decades old. If we had money, we would have built a new one long ago!"

Mrs. Qian was completely bewildered. So, all the clothes for the whole family were given to them by Dazhu, and he'd even bought the old man a gold ring. The old lady meant that the family was still poor and didn't have enough money to build a house!

I wonder if the old lady could contribute a little something to Koizumi's studies.

"Mother! Fifth brother is now a scholar, and he's receiving his rice rations, right?"

The old lady looked up at Qian Shi and thought to herself:

"This is just a roundabout way of asking the family for money!"