Chapter 5 Get the money back

Lin Qiyue brought the bowls to the sink, filled a basin with water, and washed them one by one. In the kitchen, the atmosphere between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was quiet—aside from the sounds of chores, no words were exchanged. Lin Qiyue didn’t start a conversation, true to the original host’s personality, and she herself wasn’t fond of small talk either.

Lan Yuchu came back from outside and saw Lin Qiyue helping with the chores. He immediately walked into the kitchen, took the work from her hands, and whispered, “Let me wash. You go rest for a bit.”

Lin Qiyue didn’t argue. She picked up a rag and went to wipe the dining table. After she walked into the living room, Qian Xiuying looked at her son and asked, “Afraid I’ll bully your wife?”

“Mom, you’ve misunderstood. Qiyue just got discharged from the hospital after falling into the water. Don’t make her do heavy chores,” Lan Yuchu explained softly.

Qian Xiuying couldn’t help but grumble, “Yet she still had the energy to get into a fight? Seems like she’s only that bold because you’re backing her up?”

“Mom, even you know she’s been bullied. Why didn’t you stand up for her?” Lan Yuchu had picked up on the fact that his mother knew Lin Qiyue hadn’t been treated well.

Qian Xiuying frowned and replied quietly, “If it were outsiders bullying her, I could say something. But when it’s between sisters-in-law, no matter who I side with, it’s not appropriate.”

Lan Yuchu wanted to say more but ultimately stayed quiet.

“Dinner’s ready!” he called out after serving the dishes.

Then he added, “Dad and Big Brother said they have to work overtime, so they won’t be coming back today. It’s just us.”

He had made chicken soup, bought beef, pork belly, some eggs, and a few greens.

When Lin Qiyue sat down, what was placed in front of her was a bowl of white rice and a bowl of soup, filled generously with meat. Even Lan Yusui noticed the favoritism from her brother.

Lin Qiyue was amazed: “I’m not a pig, am I? This bowl of rice must be a third of the whole pot!”

Then Lan Yuchu said, “After dinner, you and my sister come jogging with me. We’ll start with brisk walking today. Get used to it first, then we’ll run.”

“What?” Lin Qiyue and Lan Yusui exclaimed in unison.

“…”

“…”

Black lines practically appeared on both their foreheads.

“What, you can’t?” Lan Yuchu asked.

Lin Qiyue and Lan Yusui answered at the same time, “No!”

“You have to. No excuses.” Lan Yuchu didn’t give them a chance to refuse.

Lin Qiyue was speechless. Sure enough, when you live under someone’s roof, there’s no such thing as a free meal!

Qian Xiuying couldn’t help but smile—this son was exactly like his father back in the day!

Just then, Shen Qingmiao came out of her room holding her baby. The child, Lan Qianhe, was still small and cried constantly. And since Shen Qingmiao was pregnant again, Qian Xiuying took her grandson so she could eat.

By the end of the meal, Lin Qiyue was stuffed. After finishing the soup, she really couldn’t eat anything else. Lan Yusui had only asked for half a bowl of rice and barely managed to finish it. Lan Yuchu kept giving Lin Qiyue food.

“This guy—he’s doing it on purpose, trying to stuff me to death?” she muttered inwardly while eating.

Shen Qingmiao was the first to finish eating. Lan Yuchu glanced at her, sensing the time was right.

“Sister-in-law, give Qiyue all the money I’ve been sending home every month. And she’s probably also been giving you her monthly salary, right? Hand it all back. That’s our marital property—no need for you to manage it,” he said directly.

Lan Yuchu didn’t need to guess—he was certain this foolish woman had handed all her money to Shen Qingmiao.

Shen Qingmiao hadn’t expected Lan Yuchu to ask for the money back.

“What money?” Qian Xiuying was immediately on alert, looking at her son and then at Shen Qingmiao.

Lan Yusui jumped in, “Mom, don’t you know? Sister-in-law made Second Sister-in-law give her all of Second Brother’s remittances and her salary every month to ‘save’—she probably sent it all back to her own family!”

Qian Xiuying’s face darkened instantly.

She looked at Lin Qiyue and turned to interrogate Shen Qingmiao. “Why are you managing their money? How much did you take?”

It suddenly made sense—Lin Qiyue was so skinny, her clothes were faded and patched up, and she only had a few pieces to wear. Meanwhile, Shen Qingmiao didn’t even work, yet somehow lived comfortably off her husband’s meager salary—buying a bicycle and even a watch.

“Mom, you’ve misunderstood. I was just helping manage it. It’s not much, just a few hundred yuan. I’ll return it to them right away,” Shen Qingmiao explained quickly.

Lan Yuchu wasn’t fooled. He’d been sending money for three years—how could it only be a few hundred?

“Qiyue, how much in total?” he asked.

Lin Qiyue paused deliberately, glancing between Shen Qingmiao and her mother-in-law.

“Tell the truth,” Lan Yuchu pressed.

Qian Xiuying sensed that the amount involved might be more than she expected.

Lan Yusui muttered, “Sister-in-law never had more than ten yuan in her pocket. She must’ve given all the money to her.”

“Quiet!” Qian Xiuying immediately snapped at her daughter.

Then she looked at Lin Qiyue, took a deep breath, and asked, “Qiyue, tell Mom. If you’re not sure, just say it—we’ll figure it out together.”

Lin Qiyue put her bowl on the table, her gaze a bit evasive. After hesitating for a moment, she said, “Every month I gave Sister-in-law 30 yuan and kept only ten jin worth of ration tickets. Everything else I gave her. Yuchu sent 50 yuan each month, and that also went to her.”

“So you’re saying—since your first month of work, you’ve been giving her your money. And you haven’t spent a single cent of what Yuchu sent home?” Qian Xiuying asked, uncertain.

Lin Qiyue silently nodded.

With elders present, she didn’t want to take the lead or stir trouble. Now that someone was standing up for her, she was more than happy to let them handle it.

Shen Qingmiao’s face couldn’t have looked worse—it kept changing! Qian Xiuying was so furious she couldn’t even speak.

“Fifty yuan for three years is 1,800 yuan, thirty yuan for two years is 720 yuan! Altogether that’s 2,520 yuan—not to mention the monthly grain and cloth coupons, and all the other ration tickets!”

Before she could go any further, Lan Yusui let out a cold laugh, looked at her sister-in-law, and couldn’t help but mock, “Sister-in-law really struck it rich off Second Brother’s family!”

Shen Qingmiao was so frightened by the numbers that her whole body went weak. She looked at her mother-in-law and stammered, “Mom, I…”

Although Qian Xiuying was never satisfied with her second daughter-in-law before, now she felt that her eldest daughter-in-law was the one who could really ruin someone through calculations alone.

Lin Qiyue saw Shen Qingmiao getting put in her place and felt extremely pleased inside! It was like justice had finally been served for the original host.

Shen Qingmiao still tried to defend herself. “Over the years, I also spent a lot on the family.”

“I gave you money every month, and I left 30 jin of grain coupons at home. Seeing how hard it was for you to raise the kids, I gave you 20 yuan a month! I never expected you to… to even try to squeeze money out of the second family—you… you’re shameless!”

Qian Xiuying, who was always calm and collected, had completely lost her composure. She was so angry she wanted to slam the table right then and there—how could one person take that much money from another?

Qian Xiuying really had been too busy over the years, constantly watched by others, and couldn’t afford a single mistake. She didn’t even dare to hire a nanny, and they had never returned to live in their only home. Now, she had worked so hard to balance things between her two daughters-in-law, only to find she had no idea the eldest was bullying the second one like this.

“Return every cent you took. I don’t care how much you gave your maiden family or spent on yourself—that’s your business. But the money you took from the second daughter-in-law, you must give it all back.”

“Mom, I only have 500 yuan on me…”

Smack!

Before Shen Qingmiao could finish, Qian Xiuying slammed the table and roared, “I don’t care! You took the money—you give back exactly what you took! If you don’t, I’ll go straight to your maiden family and demand justice!”

Lin Qiyue looked at Qian Xiuying’s powerful presence—she was fierce. Lin had thought Qian might side with her eldest daughter-in-law for the grandson’s sake.

Lan Yusui, seeing the situation, didn’t dare say a single word and silently kept eating with her head down.