Chapter 12 : Couple’s Night Talk

At night, before going to bed, Lu Weiguo discussed this with his wife.

Lu Guihua, the second sister-in-law of the Lu family, immediately sat up when she heard this and asked, “What did you say?”

“Isn’t his uncle going to marry the female soldier from the art troupe? Is he going to marry Su Zhiqing?”

Lu Weiguo was startled. “Keep your voice down.”

Lu Guihua curled her lips and said, “It’s not something shameful, why do you have to keep your voice down?”

Then she leaned in with a gossipy expression and asked, “Do you think your mother will agree?”

When she wanted to marry Lu Weiguo, Li Yue’e disagreed. If Lu Weiguo and Lu Guihua hadn’t insisted, their marriage might not have happened.

In the years since, she had been humble, and by giving birth to two grandsons, she had barely won the favor of her mother-in-law.

Lu Changzheng was her mother-in-law’s most promising son, and she attached great importance to his marriage.

When the female soldier from the art troupe came to her house, her mother-in-law didn’t show it outwardly, but she was clearly happy and satisfied in her heart.

Now, if it were a sent-down youth from the countryside, would her mother-in-law agree?

“She didn’t say she disagreed. She even brought up the banquet and the betrothal gift, which means she agrees,” Lu Weiguo said.

“That Su Zhiqing is very beautiful. I heard she brought two large suitcases with her when she arrived. The clothes she wore were made of materials we’ve never seen before. She must be from a wealthy family, or your mother wouldn’t have agreed.”

“You know, your brother is really lucky. So many people failed when they joined the army, but he was selected and became a senior officer. Now he’s back in the countryside to marry, and he has married a very beautiful girl from a good family.”

“Is she really that beautiful?” Lu Weiguo couldn’t help but ask, curious.

Lu Weiguo worked in the commune’s timber processing factory. He left home early and came back late every day, so he had never seen Su Mo.

Lu Guihua rolled her eyes at him. “What? No matter how beautiful she is, she’s still your sister-in-law.”

Lu Weiguo was speechless. “What nonsense are you talking about? You said she was pretty yourself, I just asked casually.”

Lu Guihua wasn’t bad-looking, or else Lu Weiguo wouldn’t have insisted on marrying her, even going as far as to force her family to agree by taking some drastic steps.

“Did your mother tell you how much the betrothal gift would be?”

“My mother said 200.”

Lu Guihua curled her lips and said, “See, this is the difference. She and her sister-in-law only gave fifty.”

However, this couldn’t be compared to how much money my brother-in-law had sent back over the years. Everyone knew that. Giving 200 was reasonable.

“What about the three turns and one ring? Did they say anything about that?” Lu Guihua asked again.

“They only said they would buy a bicycle, nothing else,” Lu Weiguo replied.

“Then your parents are fair.”

“Of course, my parents do things for me, so that goes without saying,” Lu Weiguo said proudly. “However, the third brother is going to host a banquet and invite the entire team. I estimate there will be at least 20 tables.”

“What?” Lu Guihua jumped up again. “How much food and money will that cost? San is an officer after all, the banquet can’t be too shabby. If we calculate it at 10 yuan per table, it will cost at least 200 yuan.”

“It’s not necessary to have that much. You have to give gift money when dining at a banquet. After deducting the gift money, it will probably only be a few dozen dollars,” Lu Weiguo didn’t think it was too much of a concern.

Anyway, it’s said the third brother will handle the meat himself. The family only needs to provide grain and vegetables. If there are more people, they can just cook more corn grits porridge.

“Do you think people only spend 20 cents on a banquet now?” Lu Guihua was speechless.

“You don’t have to worry about that. The third brother said he will take care of the meat himself, and the family just needs to provide the grain and vegetables.”

“That’s not bad.” Lu Guihua sighed in relief. “But even with food, you’ll need a lot. Don’t let the family run out of food after the feast next year.”

“You don’t have to worry about it. If there’s not enough food, mother won’t buy it for the team.”

“Hey, didn’t they say we would divide the family property after the third child got married? Did our parents say so? Or are they not going to divide the family property now?”

“No, I think we will break up,” Lu Weiguo said, his eyelids gradually getting heavier, and he soon fell asleep.

Lu Guihua looked at the sleeping Lu Weiguo and murmured to herself, “Don’t let us be separated again.”

Her husband earned 28 yuan a month, and now he gave 20 yuan to his family, so their family only got 8 yuan. Excluding Lu Weiguo’s favors and the food expenses in the summer when they couldn’t bring their own food, their family couldn’t save much money.

If the family split up, the entire 28 yuan salary would belong to their small family.

Although the food would definitely not be enough if she earned work points alone, it didn’t cost much to buy food in the team, so they would be able to save a lot.

Lu Guihua suddenly felt that her life had a purpose. She wished that Lu Changzheng would get married tomorrow and separate the day after, so she wouldn’t have to worry about food anymore.

On the other side, Brother Lu Xingjun and Sister Lu Liu Yuzhi had the same conversation. Liu Yuzhi just listened quietly and said nothing.

“Mom and Dad have arranged everything, so we just follow their instructions,” Liu Yuzhi said. “But we agreed that we would split the family when the third brother got married. You have to bring it up.”

“Ever since the second brother went to work at the lumber mill, his family has been acting weird, like our family has been taking advantage of them. I’ve had enough of it.”

“My parents said the family would be divided, so it will naturally be divided,” Lu Xingjun said.

In fact, Lu Xingjun was also feeling unhappy and wanted to split the family.

There were four brothers and sisters. The second eldest worked in a lumber factory, the third was an officer, and the younger sister worked in a supply and marketing cooperative. Everyone had a salary. He was the only one in the countryside. Although he was an accountant for the brigade, he only received work-point subsidies, not a salary.

And because the family had not been divided, the brigade’s dividends at the end of the year all went to Li Yue’e, and she only gave each room some pocket money every year.

Before, when the second brother was in the same situation as him, he didn’t think it was a big deal. But when the second brother also got a salary, the contrast became apparent.

He was 29 now and wanted to live a life with money and be the master of his own house.

The eldest wife had three children: the first two were girls, and the third was a boy. The eldest girl was 9 years old, the second girl was 7 years old, and the third boy was 4 years old.

The second wife had two children, both sons. The eldest son was 7 years old and the second son was 5 years old.

Before her son was born, Liu Yuzhi’s life was actually quite miserable.

Before Lu Weiguo went to the sawmill, there were two people in the second room one earned eight work points, and the other earned six.

Her husband was the accountant of the brigade, and the work points were calculated equally according to the person with the most work points in the team. Even she herself earned seven or eight work points, and the children also earned work points by cutting grass for pigs.

When the second wife took advantage of the first wife before, they never mentioned it.

Ever since the second brother passed the exam and got a job at the lumber mill two years ago and started receiving a salary, Lu Guihua had been very upset. She would bully her from time to time and always push more housework onto her, claiming that her family was taking advantage.

As time passed, the conflict between the first and second wives grew more serious.

Li Yue’e mentioned it several times, and when she did, Lu Guihua would restrain herself for a few days, but would return to her old ways afterward.

She also knew the principle that a big tree has many branches, so the couple decided to split the family after the third brother got married.

By then, everyone would live their own lives, and things would be more peaceful.

Anyway, there were three sons, and each of them had three rooms, so there wasn’t much more to say.