Chapter 14 – Fifty Yuan

Today, Sister-in-law Han had truly witnessed just how formidable her sister-in-law was. Her aura had been suppressed by at least thirty percent, and she hesitated, saying, “But we don’t even know where the place is.”

They weren’t afraid of causing trouble, but they couldn’t help feeling a bit timid.

“That’s simple. Just go ask at the supply and marketing cooperative which sales clerk is dating someone from the countryside—it’ll only take a few minutes,” Chen Rou said casually.

Zhou Zhen and Sister-in-law Han couldn’t help but admire her. This woman’s mind really worked fast.

Then Chen Rou smiled again and added, “If we get halfway there and no one comes to call us back, I’ll admit I lost.”

At first, the two were skeptical. But when they had only gone halfway and a cousin from Second Great-Uncle Han’s side came running to invite them back, Zhou Zhen and Sister-in-law Han didn’t need to say anything—they just looked at Chen Rou with awe.

Chen Rou wasn’t too eager to go back either. She was only coaxed back after being earnestly begged three or four times by her cousin.

Once they returned, they saw that Han Guowu and Han Guobin were both there.

Chen Rou glanced at her husband and said with a calm face, “Oh, so you’ve invited both sons over. Are you planning to order them to get a divorce? There’s no need to make such a production out of it. If it’s a divorce, just say the word. I won’t cling and refuse to leave. The real question is whether your little daughter-in-law can ever step through this door.”

Sister-in-law Han was a bit stunned by the setup, while Chen Rou leisurely said all this with a smile.

Mother Han had originally planned to open her mouth and demand a divorce, but now she was so furious her face had turned iron-gray.

Father Han didn’t necessarily oppose the idea either, but this second daughter-in-law was truly brazen and shameless. She wasn’t scared in the least. Even Han Guobin couldn’t help but glance at his wife.

Father Han said, “Alright then. Each household gets a fifty-yuan subsidy. From now on, we’ll live with Old Third’s family. When we’re too old to work, all three families will support us together!”

Compared to Han Guolin spending 150 yuan to buy a bicycle, this fifty yuan wasn’t much, but under the current circumstances, it was already quite generous.

Chen Rou understood this was the old couple’s bottom line.

After all, when they split the family this year, both their households had only received a little over ten yuan each!

“If Father and Mother weren’t so biased, we’d still honor you properly when you grow old,” Chen Rou said as she forcefully snatched the five ‘Great Reunion’ banknotes from Mother Han’s hands.

Mother Han, still seething, tossed the five bills meant for Sister-in-law Han directly at her.

Sister-in-law Han’s heart raced at that moment, but she didn’t care anymore. She had thought getting even ten yuan would make the whole ruckus worth it, but now she was actually getting fifty!

She quickly picked them up, her eyes unable to hide her joy.

Chen Rou glanced at Han Guobin and said, “Guobin, let’s go home. Now that I’m pregnant, we need to buy some good stuff to nourish my body. Oh right, Mother, when will Third Uncle’s bicycle arrive? Let us borrow it to go into the county before the wedding, okay?”

Mother Han turned and stormed into the house. If she stayed any longer, she might not be able to stop herself from picking up a stick and hitting her.

Father Han’s face was also dark as coal. Looking at his two sons who didn’t even dare to fart and just let their wives run wild, the disdain on his face was written all over it.

Chen Rou took Han Guobin and went home.

Sister-in-law Han also dragged Han Guowu back to their house.

But the battle their two daughters-in-law fought against the old couple was the biggest news in the village today—especially because they managed to get fifty yuan out of the two elders.

It was truly surprising and shocking.

Chen Rou couldn’t care less what people in the village said. Once she got home, she stashed the money and started kneading dough as if nothing had happened. She said, “Tonight we’re having chicken stew with potatoes. I’ll steam some mantou—sound good?”

“Sounds good,” Han Guobin nodded.

Chen Rou nodded back. Han Guobin looked at his wife and asked, “You going to the county tomorrow? Should I go borrow a bicycle from the team leader?”

“Think he’ll lend it to you?” Chen Rou asked casually.

“He will,” Han Guobin nodded again.

Chen Rou said, “If you can get it, we’ll head to the county tomorrow for a stroll.”

So Han Guobin went out to reserve a bicycle from the team leader. The team leader agreed and told him to come by in the morning to pick it up.

Once outside, Han Guobin heard people all around the village talking about his wife’s fierce performance today.

He rubbed his nose and said nothing, but when he got home, he couldn’t help but glance at his wife.

Chen Rou had already peeled and halved the potatoes and was stir-frying the chicken. With only scallions, green peppers, and a dash of soy sauce for seasoning, the aroma was still mouthwatering. Once the chicken was cooked, she added water and tossed in the cut potatoes to stew them together. She also placed the bamboo steamer and put in the dough, then covered it with a lid to steam.

No need to worry about it now—just let it stew for about fifteen minutes.

“Keep an eye out. If you see anyone around who’s fixing pots, bring them home. Ours really needs repair,” Chen Rou said.

She had just heard this from Zhou Zhen. Apparently, someone would likely be going around soon with tools looking for work.

Pot repairers weren’t stopped or questioned—every household needed them. If a pot broke, it wasn’t like you could just go out and buy a new one. Everyone used repaired ones.

Unless you were a top-level official, everyone needed it.

“Okay,” Han Guobin nodded.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Chen Rou asked.

“Wife, I heard people saying you want to divorce me,” Han Guobin said, his throat dry.

“Do you agree to that?” Chen Rou asked.

“No way. You’re already my wife—for this life and the next! Plus, you’re carrying my child!” Han Guobin said instantly.

Chen Rou rolled her eyes at him and smiled. “Then why are you asking?”

Seeing that she looked cheerful, Han Guobin couldn’t help but put his arms around her. “Then I won’t say such things again.”

“It was all to shut those two old folks up,” Chen Rou said.

In front of such in-laws, you couldn’t appear weak. If they thought she feared divorce, today’s drama would’ve been a joke.

So not only was she unafraid of divorce, she even brought it up herself again and again!

In the countryside, there were plenty of people who used divorce to threaten their daughters-in-law. They knew once the daughter-in-law was divorced, her maternal family wouldn’t take her back—so they always had the upper hand.

Don’t be fooled by how tough Sister-in-law Han seemed today. In reality, she was scared too. If Chen Rou hadn’t been there, she’d have been beaten black and blue by Mother Han.

But Chen Rou truly wasn’t afraid. Even if they really divorced, at worst it would just be a pity.

After all, Han Guobin was truly a decent man—she was satisfied with him in every way. Still, if things ever became unbearable, she wouldn’t hesitate to end it cleanly.

Growing up in the apocalypse, she had never been one to cling or pester.

“This fifty yuan was easy money. Tomorrow I’ll buy something nice for you,” Chen Rou said as she patted her man’s dog-like head affectionately.

Han Guobin understood that she truly didn’t intend to leave him, so he let go of his grievance—for now.

After dinner, the couple got ready for bed. They had to wake up early the next morning.

The next day, it was Han Guobin who got up to make breakfast. Once it was ready, he headed to the brigade leader’s house to borrow a bicycle.

There, he ran into his younger brother, Han Guolin.

“Second Brother, I heard about what happened yesterday from Mom after I got back,” Han Guolin said, sounding apologetic. “About the bicycle… that was Xiao Yu’s family’s demand. The bike coupon was also arranged by her maiden family. Our family only chipped in some money. Aside from picking up and dropping off Xiao Yu for work, the rest of the time, you’re free to use it.”

“That matter’s already done—no need to talk about it anymore.” Han Guobin didn’t say much more, though he did have his opinions.

He used to hunt, bringing home five yuan during every farming off-season. Since the age of seventeen, he had been earning eight-tenths of work points, and by nineteen, never less than ten full points.

But when the family divided their assets, he’d only received a little over ten yuan and just enough grain to force him and his wife to scrimp and save. Other than that, he got nothing.

His older brother had received the same, so he hadn’t complained. But not long after, their parents built a brick-tile house for their youngest brother, and even then, he said nothing.

But this year, both he and the youngest got married—what did he receive? And what did the youngest get?

Even if he tried not to be petty, he wasn’t stupid.

Han Guobin didn’t say anything else. He just took the bicycle and returned home. His wife was already up and washing up.

After having breakfast together, the couple rode the bike straight to the county town.

These days, the township supply and marketing cooperatives were always short on goods. Many things were out of stock. But the ones in the county still had a better variety.

Han Guobin wanted to buy his wife malted milk, canned goods, and White Rabbit milk candy.

“We still have that big bag of milk powder I bought before. We haven’t even finished it yet. I don’t eat canned food—get me some persimmons and apples instead. As for the milk candy, I don’t need it either. There’s still some in the cabinet from the last time I gave you some,” Chen Rou said.

She not only had milk candy but also chocolate, glucose tablets, and other high-energy snacks in her space—all bought by the box. During the autumn harvest, she’d even mixed glucose water for Han Guobin a few times. He thought it was just sweetened water.

So Han Guobin bought her two jin (about 1 kg) of persimmons and two jin of apples.

“Dried hairtail fish, from the coast. No ration coupons needed—want some?” a vendor asked.

“Yes, give me three pieces,” Chen Rou nodded.

She not only bought three dried hairtail fish but also half a jin of dried kelp, and some clam oil to prevent frostbite in winter.

After getting those, Chen Rou brought Han Guobin to a department store. She had always been reluctant to buy yarn for him, but now she went straight in and bought two jin of it.

Two jin of yarn cost 24 yuan. If it hadn’t been for the 50 yuan she’d wrung out of the Han family, she wouldn’t have had the heart to spend it.

Her husband Guobin could go hunting and only bring back two or three yuan at a time. Last time was a lot—he brought home a bit over four yuan, but that was a huge windfall.

So it was clear how absurdly expensive these two jin of yarn were.

Han Guobin didn’t know it was for him and even asked, “Why not pick the red kind? It suits you better.”

“It’s for knitting a sweater for you,” Chen Rou replied.

Han Guobin froze for a moment, then quickly said, “I don’t need one. I’ve got a thick cotton jacket—it’s warm enough. Wifey, go exchange it and knit one for yourself!”

Chen Rou tugged at her coat a bit to show him the sweater she was wearing underneath.

Seeing she already had one, Han Guobin wanted even more to return the yarn.

It took quite a bit of coaxing from Chen Rou to talk him down. After they left the department store, she told him to wait at the entrance—she needed to meet up with a “sister.”

Since it was a sister, Han Guobin didn’t argue and stayed put, although he was confused—when had his wife ever had a sister?

Chen Rou wasn’t gone for long before she returned, carrying a rectangular cloth-wrapped package in her basket. Before he could ask, she said:

“Let’s go home!”