Chapter 34 – The Bride Price

After a long silence, Tang Anning finally squeezed out a sentence through clenched teeth. “If I didn’t give my job to my younger brother, he would’ve been sent to the countryside.”

Gu Nanzhi couldn’t stand her patriarchal mindset. “You also have a younger sister. Why didn’t you give your job to her?”

A girl being sent to the countryside would have it even harder and face more danger than a boy. Gu Nanzhi truly couldn’t understand her way of thinking!

“My family only has one son. If you all weren’t willing to help him find a job, then I gave him mine. What did I do wrong?” Tang Anning’s voice rose in a low growl.

Gu Nanzhi, already seething, began listing everything Tang Anning had done without holding back.

“Why didn’t we want to help him find a job? You really don’t know?”

“That younger brother of yours is lazy, always eating and loafing around, squanders money like water, and every time he needs money, he comes to you for it. Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been handing over your entire salary to your maiden family!”

Tang Anning was dumbfounded. She thought she’d hidden it well. She didn’t expect her mother-in-law to know she had been secretly supporting her own family!

If others found out, how would she face them?

Gu Nanzhi continued, “You only have one son, right? But look at the clothes your son wears—which one wasn’t bought by us? You and your maiden family never thought of buying the child a decent set of clothes!”

“And you even gave my grandson’s clothes to your elder sister’s child!”

“Even when I saw my grandson wearing the same two outfits over and over and bought him new clothes out of pity, you turned around and sent them to your maiden family!”

“My daughter bought things to honor her parents, and you sent them to your maiden family too. Who knows how many times that’s happened already! We didn’t confront you openly, but surely you must have some sense of decency!”

“Our Ning family married you, not your entire maiden family!”

Tang Anning’s face went pale and red, thoroughly humiliated.

After a long moment, she finally muttered in a low voice, “My maiden family is poor. Isn’t it normal for me, as a daughter, to support them?”

Gu Nanzhi snapped, “Your maiden family’s poverty has nothing to do with our Ning family!”

“If you want to support them, use your own salary. But you use our family’s things to support your own—that’s disgraceful if word gets out!”

Commander Ning walked over to calm his daughter-in-law and took the opportunity to announce something: “We don’t need to wait until the younger one gets married. We’re giving you one week. Apply for housing or rent a place, but you two must move out and live separately.”

Tang Anning was so shocked that she swayed on her feet.

“But our family of three only has Yifei’s income—it’s not enough!”

Commander Ning replied coldly, “That’s your problem!”

“Back then, everyone had to support their own little family.”

“Besides, we’ve supported you for seven years. All that time, you and your husband kept your salaries. Don’t tell me you haven’t saved a single cent?”

The truth was, Tang Anning hadn’t saved anything. Now that she had lost her job, she truly didn’t know what to do.

As for her husband’s salary—it was never in her hands.

She had tried to get control of it before, but he refused. He said it was already generous of him not to interfere with how she sent her own salary back to her family. If he handed over his salary too, it would all just go to her maiden family!

Now that she had no money, how would she continue sending money home?

And if she moved out, it meant she couldn’t take anything from her in-laws’ house to give to her family anymore!

As these thoughts raced through her mind, she felt like she had just lost 10,000 yuan in a flash.

No—she couldn’t be kicked out.

“Mum, we can’t split up the household.”

“If people found out we were driven out by our own family, how would we ever show our faces again?”

“Even if you won’t consider me, at least think about your son and your eldest grandson!”

Gu Nanzhi snapped, “So now you care about saving face?”

“I thought you had already thrown your face out onto the street!”

Tang Anning knew her mother-in-law was still fuming and didn’t dare push her further. She softened her tone and apologized, “Mum, I know I’ve done things wrong before.”

“Can’t you just forgive me this once?”

“And besides, Dad was the one who said I could speak freely. I was just expressing my opinion about the younger one’s bride price and settling-in fund—isn’t that allowed?”

Gu Nanzhi was so angry, she laughed. “Then tell me—what would it take for you to be satisfied?”

Tang Anning’s eyes darted around, and she actually thought about it seriously. “The bride price should match ours. From what I know, the army can apply for furniture and such for free, so there’s no need to give them the cash equivalent. That would save a lot of money.”

“And the settling-in fund—maybe just don’t give them one at all?”

“The younger one already applied for a dorm room, so why would he need a settling-in fund?”

Gu Nanzhi shot back, “Do you think all our pensions, savings, and everything in this house belongs to your branch of the family?”

Tang Anning thought, Well, my husband is the eldest son, and my son is the eldest grandson. When the old couple passes on, our family should get the biggest share.

Besides, the eldest usually takes care of the parents. Isn’t it reasonable for us to get more?

“Mum, the younger one is often away, and little sister will get married in the future. The responsibility of caring for you two in your old age will naturally fall on us.”

“So I hope you’ll reconsider the household financial arrangements.”

Commander Ning said sternly, “You don’t need to worry about our retirement.”

“And how much we give the younger one is our own business. We never took a cent from you for it.”

“Also, let me remind you—when you and the eldest got married, Xiaoyu’s aunt and grandmother gave 1,000 yuan in wedding gifts. Her parents also gave 1,000 yuan plus a pair of dragon-phoenix bangles.”

“We didn’t keep any of that. When the younger one gets married, you’ll need to return the gifts in equal or greater value.”

Tang Anning shivered involuntarily. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and her back felt chilled.

She might be doomed!

She had been so happy when she accepted those gifts—but now she was filled with regret!

Let alone giving back more than she received—she couldn’t even match it!

That 2,000 yuan had partly gone to her own vanity—on nice clothes and shoes—and the rest had gone to her maiden family.

And when her mother found out she had the dragon-phoenix bangles, she asked to “hold on to them for safekeeping.”

Given how well she knew her mother, that “safekeeping” was as good as throwing a meat bun at a dog—no chance of it coming back!

Seeing her expression, Gu Nanzhi added one more sentence:

“When the time comes, don’t let our Ning family lose face!”

Tang Anning stood frozen in place, her vision going black again and again…