Chapter 102 : Head of the House

Jiang Yu felt her heart flutter at his words, imagining herself gray-haired, sitting with him and flipping through old photos.

“He Tingyue.”

He lowered his gaze to her.

“You’re so good, really, really good. I like you so much.”

He leaned down, resting his forehead against hers.

“Wife, you think I’m good because you’re even better.”

I like you too, so, so much.

Holding hands, they headed out, both looking forward to that piece of paper symbolizing their marriage.

Wen Yan happened to see them and smiled, asking, “Xiao He, Jiang Yu, where are you off to?”

Seeing them holding hands made it clear how well they got along.

He Tingyue nodded. “Aunt, we’re going to get our marriage certificate today.”

“Getting a certificate? Then hurry up, don’t delay!”

The two left the courtyard and headed straight for the marriage registration office.

After answering a few questions and filling out forms, they received their freshly stamped marriage certificate.

He Tingyue carefully tucked it away. “I’ll keep it safe. Let’s go to the photo studio next and take some pictures.”

At the studio, the owner asked if they wanted to change clothes.

Jiang Yu thought her outfit looked nice enough and didn’t need to change.

So, they took a couple of photos in their own clothes, posing in different ways.

“Two photos for one yuan.”

He Tingyue paid, but since the photos wouldn’t be ready immediately, he took Jiang Yu to a department store.

Without saying a word, he led her to choose a watch.

“Pick one you like.”

Looking at the various styles of watches, Jiang Yu felt she would be lying if she said she didn’t like them.

However, the prices weren’t cheap, mostly around a hundred yuan.

Jiang Yu hesitated, “Maybe we should skip it.”

He Tingyue placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’ve already prepared the money. I exchanged it for this. If we don’t buy, it’d be a waste.”

He pointed to a silver watch by Meihua. “Excuse me, can you take this one out for us to see?”

Seeing he was serious about buying, the salesperson smiled enthusiastically.

“Your taste is excellent! This silver will really complement your wife’s fair skin.”

He Tingyue took the watch and put it on Jiang Yu’s wrist.

“It’s a bit big.” Jiang Yu looked up at him; even after fastening it, it felt a bit loose.

The salesperson quickly added, “If you decide to buy it, we can adjust it for you.”

He Tingyue asked, “Do you like it?”

Jiang Yu nodded. It was something she had never owned before; who wouldn’t like it?

“Then we’ll take this one. How much is it?”

“148 yuan for the watch.”

He Tingyue handed over the cash. “Can you count it?”

“Perfect! No need for change. Just a moment, I’ll have the craftsman adjust it for you.”

Jiang Yu reluctantly took off the watch and handed it to the salesperson.

She felt a bit guilty but also genuinely liked it.

As the salesperson adjusted it, it was soon ready.

Once on her wrist again, it fit perfectly.

Jiang Yu couldn’t stop admiring it. “It’s really beautiful.”

Seeing her so happy, He Tingyue felt the price was worth it.

When they returned to the courtyard, Xu Lihua immediately spotted Jiang Yu’s new watch.

“Wow, look at that! You’re wearing a watch now. Tsk tsk, if I had a daughter-in-law like you, I’d break her legs if she didn’t know how to manage money!”

Jiang Yu and He Tingyue ignored her and headed straight into the southern room.

After returning to the house, He Tingyue took down the bricks in the corner of the room and took out a wooden box from the ground.

“What’s this?” Jiang Yu asked, her eyes wide.

“My parents divorced when I was young, and my mom left. I don’t even know where she is now. This box contains some things she left for me.”

Inside were a jade bracelet and some gold jewelry.

“This bracelet was originally a pair, Feiyan and I each had one and the gold was split. From now on, these things are yours.”

Jiang Yu’s heart raced. She understood why these items had been hidden, it wouldn’t be appropriate to wear them now.

But even if she couldn’t wear them, she still liked looking at them.

He Tingyue slipped the jade bracelet onto her wrist. It suited her complexion perfectly, as if it was meant for her.

He had always thought gold jewelry was gaudy, but on Jiang Yu, it looked elegant.

“Do you like it?” Jiang Yu asked with a smile.

“It looks great, really great. I’ll buy you more in the future, lots more.”

Jiang Yu teased, “But I can’t wear them out. Why buy so many? Since they were left by your mother, we should cherish them.”

After showing her the jewelry, He Tingyue pulled out the family savings book.

“I should have given this to you yesterday but didn’t find the right moment. You’ll be in charge of the household finances from now on, the savings book is yours. It originally had 3,500, but I took some for the wedding, so there’s 3,000 left.”

He Tingyue had a good salary, but he wasn’t particularly thrifty, and he and He Feiyan spent money freely, so the savings over the years weren’t substantial.

“Three thousand is already a lot!” Jiang Yu exclaimed.

Not just her, but even Jiang Yonghua and Wang Meili had probably never seen that much money in their lives.

“Are you sure you want me to keep it safe?”

Jiang Yu felt a bit anxious holding so much money.

He Tingyue smiled and patted her head. “Not just the savings book, I’ll give you my monthly salary too. I’ll keep ten yuan for myself and give the rest to you. You’re my wife, so you should manage the household. I’ll work hard to make your life better.”

Jiang Yu leaned against him. “I already feel great about our life now.”

It was something she had never even dared to dream about.

She put the savings book back in the wooden box, returned it to the ground, and covered it with the brick.

True to his word, He Tingyue kept ten yuan for himself and handed the rest to her.

Jiang Yu also took out her hidden savings, which included her own money, some from her aunt, and a bit that He Tingyue had given her before.

She counted it and found she had 354.6 yuan.

With He Tingyue’s contribution, they now had a total of 498.4 yuan.

“Let’s keep this 400 yuan in the drawer, just in case we need a larger sum later. That way, we won’t have to withdraw from the savings book.”

Jiang Yu took out a cloth bag and stuffed the 400 yuan inside.

“The remaining money and change will be our living expenses. But with five people in the family, we definitely won’t need this much each month. I suggest we budget wisely and not overspend. If I can also earn money, let’s aim to save a hundred yuan each month.”

This was thanks to He Tingyue’s high salary, her cotton sales might not last long.

She needed to submit an article to the newspaper to earn some money and lighten He Tingyue’s burden.

He Tingyue had always managed the money himself without thinking of budgeting.

Now that Jiang Yu mentioned it, he felt an indescribable sense of security.

So this was what it felt like to have a home.

“I’ll keep an eye out for suitable work for you, even if it means spending a little.”

Jiang Yu pouted. “We’ll see, it’s so expensive.”

Spending one or two thousand yuan on work would significantly cut into their savings.

Ah, making money was really hard.