Chapter 18

They locked eyes.

In such matters, Yan Lei never lost his momentum. After all, he was someone who had traversed battlefields.

He looked back at Qiao Wei. “What do you mean?”

Qiao Wei’s fingers lightly stroked the book cover. “I know that the ideological theme conveyed in this book may not entirely align with the party, the country, and the spiritual civilization promoted by the government. There are some differences in values. Because I know this, I’ve decided to dispose of these books before the atmosphere becomes more stringent, before these books become evidence of our wavering thoughts. I understand.”

“I’ve told you about this.” She continued, “But… I’ve never said these books are not interesting.”

Come on, even in this era, whether it’s banned books or explicit literature, in the future, they would all be classified as serious literature. Given the high standards for literature in this era, there was no room for the fluffy white novels that would flood the internet in the future. The basic literary foundation of each book was solid. It couldn’t be more appealing. It couldn’t be uninteresting.

Especially in an era with such restricted information and monotonous entertainment.

Yan Lei strongly felt that Qiao Wei was trying to corrupt him. He wanted to retort, but just as he moved his lips, Qiao Wei pressed down with a finger.

“No need to argue with me.” Her face leaned down, very close to his. “You just need to criticize it when you read it. Since you think it’s wrong, you should know why it’s wrong. Then you can firmly support what you believe is right.”

“Continue reading. If you find any problems, anything wrong, then burn it. You read one, and we burn one.”

Her fair and clear face was so close, carrying the fragrance of peaches in her breath.

Yan Lei caught hold of the finger pressing on his lips.

“Okay, I’ll read it,” he said. “But as long as I find something problematic…”

“Rest assured.” Qiao Wei didn’t need his warning. “From now on, there won’t be anything on this bookshelf that will affect your career—I mean, affect your ideological progress.”

She almost said the word “career.”

This era didn’t like people talking about it. It seemed too eager, for the sake of fame and gain. Moreover, people’s thoughts in this era were indeed very simple, very orthodox, and even noble.

Like Yan Lei, a child from a poor rural background, he should aspire to live in a red-brick and tile house, right? He could endure his wife’s opposition and give up his spot for someone else.

Their selflessness and altruism were heartfelt.

Yan Lei let go of Qiao Wei’s hand.

But he didn’t immediately continue reading. He calmly placed a bookmark and put the book back on the shelf. “I’ll read it tomorrow.”

That was good; otherwise, it wouldn’t be easy to interrupt him. After all, he had just read with complete concentration.

Qiao Wei said, “There are a few things I want to discuss with you.”

Yan Lei spread his legs a bit, sitting more stably. “Speak.”

Qiao Wei looked around, brought over a wooden stool, and sat at the desk. She opened a drawer, took out a few sheets of paper, glanced at the recorded content, and looked up. “I’ve never been clear about our family’s specific income.”

Economics was too important. Now that Qiao Wei didn’t work outside, taking care of household chores at home, Yan Lei’s income was the only source of income for the family. But Qiao Wei searched through the memories left by the original owner and only had a vague understanding of Yan Lei’s income.

“Why are you concerned about this now?” Yan Lei felt a little surprised.

His wife had never been very interested in this. Because her natal family had no one left, unlike some women who would use their husband’s money to support their natal family. She just needed enough money to spend. And the household allowance he put in the box for her was always enough.

Every time she went to the market, she would buy a new piece of clothing, and he never said anything. She never actively inquired about money matters.

But Qiao Wei cared a lot.

Even her own father was afraid that she would drag him down, and he hung up the phone, cutting off blood ties. Her boyfriend hastily broke up, and although the final conversation was vague, it wasn’t hard to guess. Ultimately, it was about money.

Qiao Wei, a person who lived in the future, wasn’t as noble as the people of this era. They spoke of principles, all for the sake of the country. She was someone who had regained her life and just wanted to live a good life.

How could you live without talking about money?

“I haven’t been clear about our exact income data. How can we manage our expenses if we don’t know how much money is coming in?” she said. “I think I’ve been a bit extravagant with money before. I’m afraid you can’t hold on.”

Who can’t hold on?

Yan Lei put his hands on his knees, sitting upright. “I’m a 15th-grade salary, 127 yuan per month. Allowances depend on the situation…”

Qiao Wei handed him a blank sheet of paper and a pen. “Write it down; it’ll be clearer.”

Yan Lei took the pen and began writing.

His education level was not high, but his handwriting was quite good. The hands that could handle a gun could also control a pen accurately, strongly, and forcefully.

He listed them for Qiao Wei, one by one. How much was his salary, what were the various allowances, and how many food stamps, oil stamps, meat stamps, cloth stamps, egg stamps, sugar stamps, and industrial stamps were issued each month?

As he listed them one by one, Qiao Wei’s understanding of this era became clearer.

After Yan Lei finished listing, he put down the pen, and with two fingers, he extended the list to Qiao Wei’s nose.

Qiao Wei took it and scanned through it. Thinking of the prices she had seen at the farmer’s market today, she smiled. “It looks like our family is living a good life.”

Yan Lei snorted from his nostrils.

“Alright, I probably have an idea,” Qiao Wei asked. “So, how much savings do we have now?”

Yan Lei didn’t expect her to inquire about savings. He paused, then stood up, closing the door to the guest room and separating Yan Xiang from the living room.

He went to the bedroom, took down a metal box from the top of the wardrobe, opened the small iron lock, and retrieved a metal tin from inside.

It was labeled “Sesame Halva.”

Opening the candy tin, Yan Lei took out thick rolls of money from inside and handed a piece of paper to Qiao Wei. “I’ve kept records.”

Qiao Wei unfolded the paper and looked at it. He would put money into the candy tin every month and keep a record. After scanning through, it seemed he mostly put money in, with almost no instances of taking money out.

“You can save $40 a month…” Qiao Wei pondered.

“Forget about counting. I give you 50 each month, send 25 home, and use some for myself.” Yan Lei warned with caution, “I can definitely save no less than 40 yuan a month now.”

The paper was densely filled with records, dating back a long time. It was evident that he had been saving money for a long time, starting with a lower income and gradually saving more over time.

The latest balance was 2372 yuan.

Considering the current prices, if converted according to future standards…

Qiao Wei let out a long sigh.

This man sure knew how to save money!

This enthusiasm for saving money, a traditional virtue, was simply wonderful. It gave people a sense of security.

Qiao Wei really wanted to praise this man. Regardless of the era and regardless of gender, someone with a strong ability to earn a living and save money deserves praise.

However, when she raised her eyes, she saw the wariness in Yan Lei’s eyes.

Qiao Wei was puzzled. “What kind of look is that?”

Yan Lei’s face tightened. “Now, I’m a group leader. It’s even more impossible not to send money home. Moreover, they have money and coupons in their hands. If their lives are good, they won’t come causing trouble for you.”

As he spoke, a sense of annoyance and disgust surged in Qiao Wei’s mind, just like the initial feeling of annoyance when she first met Yan Lei—all of these were residual emotions from the original Qiao Weiwei.

Qiao Wei suddenly realized. So, it was about the conflict between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

In her past life, she hadn’t experienced the relationship between a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, but thinking about it now, she waved her hand and said, “I don’t mean that. You must send money home; I won’t interfere with that. No one can abandon their parents.”

Saying this, Yan Lei’s tense body relaxed slightly, but he still doubted, “Then, why did you ask today?”

Suddenly abandoning her previous aloof attitude and inquiring about the details of family income, Yan Lei immediately thought of the matter of him sending money home.

It turned out that he never trusted her. Qiao Wei helplessly said, “Didn’t I say? I just want to have an idea and manage our expenses properly.”

“You earn quite a lot.” She sincerely praised him. “And you know how to save money. That’s great; you should continue and expand this skill in the future.”

Qiao Wei smiled and handed the record paper back to Yan Lei.

Yan Lei put the money back and returned the box to the top of the cabinet. Dusting off his hands, he walked out to the study.

Qiao Wei shook her arms a few times and handed a paper to Yan Lei. “Take a look at this. Can you find someone to make it?”

The paper depicted something, and Yan Lei asked, “What’s this?”

Actually, it was quite well-drawn, and one could see three stick-shaped objects forming a conical shape and fixed together. Then, a fourth stick was hanging down from the top with a rope. The fourth stick had a short horizontal stick tied in the middle, looking like a handle.

Yan Lei asked, “Is it for pounding rice?”

If a stone trough was added below, it indeed resembled the tool used in the countryside for pounding rice.

“Can you understand the structure?” Qiao Wei gestured to him. “Put a basin or bucket below, soak the clothes in it; this stick hangs, and the bottom extends into the bucket. I grab the handle, this horizontal stick, and keep rotating the stick in the bucket to wash the clothes continuously.”

It was a manually powered washing machine.

Yan Lei doubted, “Can it wash clothes cleanly?”

“Definitely… Well, it should.” Qiao Wei said. “In fact, it’s similar to the principle of beating clothes with a stick. I really doubt whether the way of beating with a stick can clean clothes.”

“Of course it can.” Yan Lei was very confident. “It has been washed like this for hundreds or even thousands of years.”

“Then mine should work too.” Qiao Wei was also firm.

Because the principle of this manually operated “washing machine” was something she stumbled upon in a network video while lying in bed.

The video’s creator lived in a small town, and it was said that his elderly relative, living alone, had made it himself. He claimed to have used it for over ten years, requiring only two bowls of rice to wash a bucket of clothes manually.

“Why bother with this? Didn’t I tell you not to worry about clothes?” Qiao Wei was genuinely pleased. After transmigrating to this era, encountering a man who could take the initiative to handle heavy chores like washing clothes instead of being like many other men who sat idly after dinner was indeed reassuring.

However, she had her own ideas.

“I want to redistribute the household chores a bit,” Qiao Wei said. “I really hate washing dishes.”

“I want to take on the responsibility of washing clothes, and you can do the dishes instead.”