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Chapter 12: Stingy
That afternoon, He Chenggang brought over the money—thirty-five yuan in total—and a small bag of brown sugar, supposedly to help Lian Yuqing recuperate.
Lian Yuqing watched in disbelief as Wei Dong slipped the money into his pocket without even blinking.
As soon as He Chenggang left, she put her hands on her hips and questioned him, “What’s the meaning of this? Isn’t that my compensation?”
Wei Dong replied calmly, “The money was originally from me anyway. I’ve already replaced what was broken. You can have the brown sugar to drink. I’ll ask Mom to kill another chicken these next few days to help you recover.”
“You…” She pointed at him, at a loss for words. “Fine, you win.”
Wei Dong watched her storm off and slam the door. His hand remained in his pocket, rubbing the surface of the money.
Wei Miaomiao noticed that her big brother and sister-in-law were arguing again.
Chen Caiqi, following her eldest son’s orders, killed another chicken. Though she muttered complaints under her breath, she still served the tenderly stewed chicken meat on the table.
Lian Yuqing ate silently, barely touching her rice—her chopsticks only reaching for the chicken.
The room was quiet, with only the sounds of chopsticks tapping bowls. Then Wei Ximin suddenly spoke, “Qing’er, I heard you taught that girl from the He family a lesson?”
“Mm. She won’t be showing her face again anytime soon.”
The Wei parents knew what kind of feelings that girl had for their eldest son. Back in the day, Chen Caiqi was quite fond of He Xiaoshan—she was young, lively, and the village secretary’s daughter. She’d even wanted to send a matchmaker to the He family. But Wei Ximin had furiously put a stop to it.
Wei Dong already had a childhood engagement with a girl from the capital. Chen Caiqi hadn’t taken it seriously—what kind of wealthy family would let their pampered daughter marry a rural peasant? But Wei Ximin was adamantly against the idea, so she dropped it.
Who would’ve thought the Lian family would really marry off Lian Yuqing to them? And now she was a pampered young lady no one could scold or touch.
Chen Caiqi looked worried. “Her father’s the village secretary. What if he gives our family trouble?”
“He was elected by the villagers, just like everyone else,” Wei Ximin said unhappily.
Chen Caiqi still wanted to say more, but Wei Dong cut in to reassure her, “Mom, if he dares to cause trouble, write me a letter or send a telegram. I’ll handle it.”
“Alright, alright.”
Clatter! Lian Yuqing threw her chopsticks on the table and got up to leave.
Just thinking of He Xiaoshan reminded her of the money Wei Dong had shamelessly pocketed. This man was so stingy he wouldn’t even give his own wife a single yuan. Out of the thirty-five yuan, twenty might have come from him, but the remaining fifteen were clearly her hard-earned compensation. And he took all of it—scumbag!
Chen Caiqi’s expression darkened. She thought the outburst was directed at her. “I…”
“Mom, she’s just mad at me. Don’t worry about it.”
“Still, a husband and wife can’t keep fighting all the time. She’s a city girl and delicate—try to go easy on her,” Chen Caiqi advised, her face etched with concern. City girls just weren’t fit to be wives. If Dongzi had married a local village girl, life would’ve been much easier.
Wei Ximin added, “Dongzi, she’s your wife. Don’t bully her.”
Wei Dong didn’t feel he was bullying Lian Yuqing. Whatever she wanted, he’d buy it for her—but money? That was different.
During this cold war, Wei Dong didn’t end up sleeping on the floor. But their 1.5-meter-wide bed had a metaphorical canyon running down the middle—Lian Yuqing stayed far away from him.
They were leaving the next day. After work, Chen Caiqi busied herself packing things for her son and daughter-in-law. She had actually started earlier, but there was just too much stuff.
Eventually, Wei Dong had to persuade her to stop. “Don’t pack too much, Mom. I can’t carry it all by myself.”
Chen Caiqi paused—he was right. She couldn’t count on someone like Lian Yuqing to help carry anything. Sure enough, things that were already packed had to be taken out again.
That afternoon, when Wei Dong returned to their room, Lian Yuqing finally spoke to him.
But the first thing she said was, “Give me fifty yuan.”
“No,” he replied bluntly.
Lian Yuqing marched up to him. “We haven’t even divorced yet. You should be giving me a household allowance.”
Wei Dong’s handsome eyes reflected her angry expression. “Fine. I’ll give you five yuan a month.”
“Then I’ll take an advance—ten months’ worth.”
After a moment of silence, Wei Dong chuckled. “We’re not divorced in ten months?”
Lian Yuqing felt mocked by his laughter. Her face flushed with rage. “What about breakup compensation? You’re not giving me a single cent after we divorce?”
“Wei Dong, I am spoiled and I can’t suffer hardship. But if this marriage is failing, it’s not just my fault. Go ask anyone—what man leaves his wife alone on their wedding night? When it comes down to it, you wronged me.”
“Fifty yuan in separation money. If you give it to me, I’ll leave cleanly.”
She spoke firmly. The air went cold. Lian Yuqing was certain Wei Dong would cave this time.
But he said, “If I gave you that money, you’d burn through it in two days. I’m just a regular person. No matter how hard I work, it’ll never keep up with your spending. I won’t give you fifty yuan. I’ll give you five yuan monthly, on time.”
With that, he left. Lian Yuqing, fuming, threw his pillow on the floor and yelled, “Are you even a man?!”
Later, Wei Miaomiao came by to help. Lian Yuqing had too many clothes, so she picked a few pieces that would suit Miaomiao and gave them to her.
Miaomiao was flustered. “I can’t accept these, Sister-in-law. I was just helping—”
“Don’t be so polite. Don’t you call me big sis-in-law all the time? I’m giving them to you—wear them. I can’t wear all of these by myself.”
Lian Yuqing glared at her. Seeing she was about to get mad, Miaomiao blushed and accepted them.
“Where did your brother go?” Lian Yuqing asked casually.
Miaomiao’s hands paused—obviously, she meant the eldest brother. “I just saw him borrow the neighbor’s bicycle. He probably went to town.”
Lian Yuqing snorted. He must be out eating something fancy with her hard-earned money.
“Miaomiao, never marry a stingy man. Especially those who seem honest and quiet—deep down, they’re the stingiest of all!”
“Your brother, honestly, probably won’t find another wife after me. You should persuade him to change. Don’t be so obsessed with money—you can’t take it with you when you die.”
Miaomiao was confused. Her brother didn’t seem stingy at all. But as Lian Yuqing kept grumbling, she just smiled and said, “Okay, I’ll talk to him.”
Wei Dong returned late at night. He returned the neighbor’s bicycle. Hearing sounds at the door, Chen Caiqi came out to check. Seeing her eldest son, she couldn’t help nagging, “Dongzi, it’s your last night home. Where did you go?”
“Had a few drinks with my high school classmates. Go back to sleep, Mom.”
“Did you eat? Want me to make you some noodles?”
“I’m full. Don’t trouble yourself.”
Wei Dong glanced at his room. The light was still on.
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