Chapter 27: Qian Ertian’s Wife Takes Charge of the 30-Yuan Household Allowance for the First Day!

Zhao Family Village.

Though poor, it was quiet and peaceful, nestled among the vast mountains.

Sunlight bathed every corner of the village, as if draping it in a golden veil.

On this ordinary day, Zhao Diao carried a heavy load of eighty jin of coarse grain and slowly walked into his home.

At that moment, Second Uncle Zhao’s family was busy in the yard.

If you looked closely, you could see fatigue etched on their faces.

No wonder—every day they labored hard, yet still couldn’t fill their stomachs.

How could they not look weary?

But when they saw Zhao Diao hauling that heavy sack of grain, smiles instantly lit their faces.

Especially Second Uncle Zhao and his wife—their eyes sparkled with surprise and joy.

They could hardly believe it.

Their second son had actually brought home grain for the family!

In the past, Zhao Diao had been known throughout the village as a loafer, idle and useless.

But today, the most unreliable son had not only brought back 2 yuan in wages yesterday, but today he carried home an entire sack of grain!

For a family that constantly struggled to survive, this was like striking gold.

Second Uncle Zhao rushed forward, taking the sack from his son’s shoulders, muttering over and over:
“Good boy, you’ve grown up, you’re finally sensible. Your father will enjoy blessings from you yet!”

For the first time, his parents’ words weren’t sighs or scoldings—but praise.

Warmth surged through Zhao Diao’s heart.

In the past, he had only ever been met with sighs—or the stick.

Now he felt truly proud.

After the father’s praise came the mother’s care.

She took his hand and asked softly,
“Tired, aren’t you? Come inside and rest.”

She led him to sit inside, poured him a steaming bowl of tea, while the whole family gathered around the table, excitedly discussing how to use the grain and how to celebrate the coming New Year.

What thrilled them most was that the eighty jin of coarse grain was only part of his pay—he still had two months’ wages to come.

For the first time in years, they were full of hope for a comfortable, happy New Year.

Compared to the usual tight, hungry holidays, having eighty jin extra before the New Year was an incredible blessing.

For a family that had never eaten its fill, eighty jin of grain was no small matter.

And working at the food factory saved the family even more.

At noon, Zhao Diao ate in the factory canteen. His cousin Qianqian gave him meal tickets—3 yuan a month.

Sometimes when she dropped by, she would even add money so they could eat better.

On rest days, he didn’t need the canteen.

So essentially, he had about ten cents’ worth of meal tickets each day.

Food in the canteen was cheap.

Ten cents bought two huge mixed-flour buns and came with free pickles.

Sometimes he couldn’t even finish two buns, bringing half home.

Or, for ten cents, a big bowl of brown rice.

Yes, it was frugal, but compared to his home life, it was heavenly.

At home, they couldn’t even eat their fill of cornbread.

On paper, he was only saving one meal a day.

But in reality, in a household that ate just two meals, half a month’s worth of saved rations could feed several younger siblings.

Sometimes he even brought back near-expired food or cheap treats.

Like the other day, when he came home with two near-expired loaves of bread, which the whole family devoured happily.

Such things, Zhao Qianqian herself wouldn’t even take—but to them, it was a feast.

The Zhao family had clearly gotten a bargain.

Silently, each of them vowed: We must repay her one day.

Originally, Qianqian had told Zhao Diao to ride the bicycle to the factory and she’d fetch it back later.

But fearing they might damage such an expensive bike, the family insisted he return it the very same day.

And when he did, he even brought her a wild hare.

If sold, the hare could fetch at least 1 yuan.

But feeling guilty for having taken too much advantage, they gave it to her instead.

Qianqian was surprised. Not only did her cousin promptly return the bicycle, but he even gifted her a hare.

Truth be told, she wanted it badly.

Game wasn’t easy to come by.

And since it was alive, she could raise it and eat it later.

But knowing how poor her uncle’s family was, she gave her cousin 1 yuan. He firmly refused.

Qianqian didn’t want to exploit them either.

Not out of high morals—just because her uncle’s family was truly too poor.

Remembering she had just gotten paid, she decided to splurge a little.

She bought two jin of pork and made two large pots of chive-and-pork dumplings.

So, she packed four big dumplings for her cousin.

Ordinary meat buns cost ten or twenty cents each.

But hers were worth at least twenty—pure white flour, stuffed with lots of meat, and big!

That way, she’d repaid the hare in another form.

—

Back at the old Qian household.

After all her fuss, today at last, Ertian’s wife formally took charge of the household allowance.

Because today was payday.

So she received 30 yuan for living expenses.

She had long awaited this moment, already planning how to spend it.

Most importantly, she wanted everyone to eat well—so she could slap Madam Zhao in the face and seize the allowance permanently.

But Madam Zhao had her schemes too.

Now only she and her youngest son ate at home.

So she only needed to leave enough rations for the two of them.

The rest she sent straight to Qianqian.

Then, when Ertian’s wife needed more, she’d have to buy grain back at the highest price.

This Qian family, with so many without work points or grain quotas, with some shirking, some still too young—

In short, not an easy family to manage!

At the dinner table, the very day she got her 30 yuan, Madam Zhao reminded her:
“From the monthly allowance, set aside at least ten yuan for grain.”

“What?” Xia Lan exploded. “Mother-in-law, are you embezzling the grain money?”

In the countryside, the brigade distributed grain.

And before the family split, she had never seen them short of food.

Good or bad, there was always enough.

Madam Zhao had been prepared for this:
“Daughter-in-law, this is Qian family tradition. When I managed the house, I also set aside ten yuan every month for grain—everyone can vouch for it. Here are the old grain ledgers, too. There’s still three months left on record. If you don’t believe me, ask them all.”