Chapter 7: With a Good Reputation, She Can Still Be Harsh on the Stepchildren!

Every two or three days they would eat something good, like white-flour steamed buns or rice.

Once a week, they would eat meat to improve their lives.

In an era when most people couldn’t even fill their stomachs with coarse-grain porridge and corn buns, the Qian family’s lifestyle was already very enviable!

They could always eat their fill, and every month they had several chances to eat meat. Dishes like scrambled eggs could be eaten once every two or three days.

Luxuries like rice and potato stewed chicken—many people couldn’t even eat such things at New Year!

But Old Qian’s household ate them several times a year.

Originally, this dinner should have been very pleasant.

But the atmosphere fell into awkwardness the moment Zhao the Elder opened his mouth: “Uncle Qian, tomorrow I’ll go to town to buy some wedding things for my little sister. How much money does Uncle plan to put up?”

Zhao’s mother shot her eldest son a glare.

She already had her own plans for Qianqian’s dowry.

When the words fell, Old Qian pretended not to hear and kept his head down eating.

The Qian family members also pretended not to hear, busy grabbing food, busy eating.

After all, if Old Qian didn’t contribute, they were the ones who benefited—why would they speak up?

Though Zhao’s mother had long expected this result, that they wouldn’t want to put in even a penny, their reaction at this moment still left her disappointed.

If she hadn’t carefully saved out of the thirty yuan living allowance each month, schemed when she could, cheated when she could, she really would have been the sucker.

Giving herself to this family for more than ten years, cooking and washing for four stepchildren every day, earning eight work points to feed herself—yet in the end no house, no property, and when it came time for her three children to marry, Old Qian wasn’t willing to spend a cent.

Though she had secretly saved quite a bit of money, that was from her own thrift and scheming, not something Old Qian had given.

All the grievances surged up at once.

Always understanding, never fighting for property or things—Madam Zhao at this moment felt she had to stand up for her children:

“Old Qian, back then I agreed not to take a house or any property because I hoped for equal treatment in daily life. So I expect my own children to be treated the same as yours when it comes to marriage.”

The faces of the Qian children immediately soured.

Fortunately, Qian Ertian wasn’t home, or he would have started quarreling right then.

Now that Zhao’s mother had spoken, Old Qian finally set down his bowl and chopsticks, frowned, and said: “I can contribute some when your three children marry, but it can’t be compared with my own children. If it’s too much, it means touching the property. How about this—when Qianqian marries, I’ll give twenty yuan as a dowry contribution. When your two sons marry, I’ll add fifty yuan each to their bride price.”

Twenty yuan?

So for her daughter’s marriage, she wasn’t even worth one month of his salary?

Zhao’s mother felt it laughable.

It seemed she had been too kind.

From now on, out of the thirty yuan living expenses each month, she would hold back twenty herself.

After all, her three children were grown.

Besides, with Qian Ertian and his wife already eyeing the thirty yuan household allowance every month, the family was bound to be noisy in the future.

It might be better to leave sooner rather than later.

Though Madam Zhao had her own selfish motives, and sometimes schemed for Qian family property, among all stepmothers she really was one of the best—taking only what she was entitled to.

Extra money or goods? She never snatched.

The stepchildren ate well, dressed well, even had pocket money.

Of course, this good image was partly a show for Old Qian and outsiders.

But the Qian children truly had benefited!

Even with work points, they could earn as many or as few as they wanted, and she never scolded.

Of course, that was partly Madam Zhao’s strategy.

Her thought had been: “The Qian family isn’t short of money. Their work points don’t matter. Most importantly, their property has nothing to do with me. Why should I play the bad guy? The less capable they are of supporting themselves later, the better—my three children will surpass them.”

But whatever her inner thoughts, on the surface Madam Zhao really wasn’t like other stepmothers who constantly forced their stepchildren to toil.

In her early years of marriage, Qian Daniu lazed every day; at sixteen or seventeen, he only earned three or four work points daily.

By contrast, Zhao the Elder—six years younger—earned six or seven work points daily.

Because the Zhao family had been poor, Zhao the Elder had never gone to school.

The Qian children all had at least junior-high education.

After Madam Zhao married in, Zhao the Elder could have gone to school.

But Old Qian had refused them property or a house.

So Zhao the Elder, thinking ahead to making sure he and his brother would have a house in the future, began earning work points at age ten.

By day he earned work points; by night he studied a few characters with his siblings.

As he grew older, he worked by day and learned carpentry by night.

In truth, the Zhao family of four hadn’t eaten any of the Qian family’s food.

On the contrary, the Qians had eaten theirs.

Because Old Qian worked at the factory, he didn’t get any grain.

Qian Daniu lazed, earning three points—not enough to feed himself.

The second son, Sanya, and the youngest were still in school, earning just one or two work points on breaks—not enough to eat.

At that time, Madam Zhao not only had to cook and wash for the whole family, but also earned eight work points herself, sometimes ten.

Her ten-year-old son earned six at first, later ten steadily.

And since Qianjia Village was rich, the grain value of work points was double other villages.

So the Zhao family’s four never ate up all their grain shares.

As a woman, Madam Zhao ate less; from her eight work points, she and her daughter Qianqian couldn’t finish even half.

In poorer villages, six work points worth of grain a day would have fed the Zhao mother and daughter.

So who do you think ate the surplus grain?

Zhao the Elder, after the first couple of years, consistently earned ten work points, and Zhao the younger earned five during school breaks. Together, they still had a third of their grain left over.

Add it all up, and really, it was the Qian family who profited from the Zhao family.

Because while the Zhaos were poor, they were capable.

Even the youngest, Qianqian, was excellent at cooking and laundry.

The Qians, by contrast, had it too easy and were all lazy and slippery.

If not for their family wealth, they could hardly have supported themselves.

Also—Madam Zhao was skilled at needlework.

All the family’s clothes and shoes were made by her, saving a huge sum.

Just in clothing and shoes, plus mending, the family saved at least fifty yuan a year!

No wonder Madam Zhao grew more and more resentful.

Counting the grain her family provided, the value of her cooking, laundry, and housework, plus her tailoring, plus her “services” as a wife—skimming ten yuan a month out of the living allowance was really nothing.

If there was one advantage to being with the Qians, it was simply that Qianjia Village’s work points were valuable!

Suddenly, she felt she’d lost out.

Back then, another man in the village—similar in age to her—had remarried. Though he wasn’t as wealthy as Old Qian, if she had married him, she wouldn’t have lost.

At least he was her age, and not as stingy as Old Qian.

From this moment on, Madam Zhao decided she had to be even stricter in skimming… skimming.

Anyway, after ten years she had already built up enough of a good reputation.

From now on, even if she really treated the stepchildren harshly, it wouldn’t matter much.

After all, her good reputation had already spread far and wide!