Chapter 28: Rice, Oil, Salt, Sauce, Vinegar, and Tea—Is Running a Household So Easy?

Madam Zhao took all the grain that belonged to her side of the family and then only showed them the grain accounts of the old Qian household.

How much grain had been distributed was all clearly recorded.

The village brigade distributed grain twice a year—at spring harvest and autumn harvest.

But Madam Zhao would always divide it evenly month by month, so there’d be enough to prevent famine when grain was scarce.

In those times, even having money didn’t guarantee you could buy grain.

By dividing it monthly, at least everyone in the Qian family could survive even when food wasn’t available.

One had to admit, running a household required meticulous calculation.

Very quickly, the Qian family responded.

The account book matched—the family still had three months of grain left, which worked out to twenty jin of coarse grain and thirty jin of fine grain per month.

That was fifty jin per month.

Originally, they could have had more.

But at the last division, the Qian family had taken mostly fine grain, which meant their share by weight was a third less.

Fifty jin of grain sounded like a lot?

But with more than a dozen mouths to feed, and since everyone expected to eat their fill, the family consumed four to five jin a day.

That meant at least 120 jin a month.

The shortfall was enormous.

Madam Zhao covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
“Since the Qian family’s house and property have nothing to do with us, our work points and rations are our own. My youngest son and I will contribute twenty jin a month—ten of coarse, ten of fine.”

She herself ate very little, barely three liang of grain a day.

Often breakfast was just a bowl of vegetable porridge, dinner another bowl, and only lunch included a staple.

But she liked snacks—candies and cakes outside of meals.

Her youngest son ate at the school canteen at noon, so three liang a day was also enough for him.

So giving the old Qian household twenty jin a month was already plenty.

That brought the total to seventy jin a month.

But they were still fifty jin short.

And that was a conservative estimate. To truly keep everyone full, they’d need eighty jin more.

On the black market, without ration tickets, grain was expensive.

So Ertian’s wife Xia Lan went to the black market and bought fifty jin of fine grain at 23 cents a jin, and thirty jin of coarse grain at 10 cents a jin—spending 14.5 yuan in total.

She had chosen to buy so much fine grain because she wanted the family to eat white rice for half the month—so she could outshine Madam Zhao.

Grain was the biggest expense.

She set aside another 10 yuan for meat, eggs, and vegetables.

Only 5 yuan remained.

Hmph.

Her husband Ertian hadn’t been wrong—before, Madam Zhao must have been pocketing over 10 yuan from the monthly 30.

But Xia Lan didn’t realize—was running a household really that simple?

Rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea—everything cost money.

Coming from the city, she had schemes but no sense of thrift.

She’d never managed a household before and didn’t know how many little places drained money.

Like weddings—one had to give a gift.

Funerals—another gift.

If an ally of the Qian family was injured, or someone held a birthday feast—all needed money.

In her first few days managing the house, everyone in the Qian family was delighted.

After all, they ate white rice daily, had meat once, and eggs in abundance.

They all thought Madam Zhao had been embezzling before, and treated her coldly.

But such days burned through money quickly.

One meat meal cost over 2 yuan, another 4-plus yuan for eggs, plus 14.5 on grain.

By the seventh day, they had already spent 21 yuan.

But Xia Lan and Ertian weren’t worried.

Even if they blew through the 30 yuan, at least they could prove under their management, the family ate better than under Madam Zhao!

And now was about seizing power.

Later, they’d have time to skim some for themselves.

But on the seventh day, Madam Zhao spoke again at the dinner table:
“Second daughter-in-law, the weather’s getting colder. Everyone needs new winter clothes for New Year, and each needs a pair of shoes. Also, Fourth Son’s quilt needs new cotton to be re-stitched.”

“What?” Xia Lan’s voice rose. “That also has to come from the monthly allowance? Clothes and shoes for over a dozen people? How could 30 yuan cover that?”

Madam Zhao smiled faintly.
“Your father-in-law’s ration tickets cover cloth and cotton, but it’s never enough. The rest must come from the allowance. That’s how I always did it. With just two months until New Year, we must start now. Everyone must have new clothes and shoes for the holiday.”

Xia Lan turned to her husband, eyes questioning: “Is this true?”

Ertian frowned.

But the truth was plain, and he couldn’t deny it.
“When Mother managed the house, we always had new clothes and shoes for winter. Other seasons were negotiable, but not winter, not New Year. Each person got at least one set of clothes and two pairs of shoes. I remember Fourth Brother was so rough on shoes, he needed four or five pairs a year.”

This had been one thing Madam Zhao had done well.

With such a large family, everyone still got at least one new set of clothes and two pairs of shoes a year.

Xia Lan hadn’t expected such a huge expense.

“Even with tickets, cloth still costs money! And this month we’ve already spent over 20 yuan. How can we afford clothes and shoes now?” In her agitation, she exposed the truth.

What?

In just seven days, over 20 yuan was gone—and now they couldn’t even afford clothes?

Father Qian’s face darkened immediately.

This daughter-in-law was useless—completely incapable of running a household.

Qian Sanya, seeing her father’s expression, knew if she didn’t step in, the management rights snatched from Madam Zhao would be taken back.

So she quickly suggested to her sister-in-law:
“Mother didn’t always make everything at once. Second Brother and Sister-in-law just married—you already have several new outfits and shoes, no need to make more. Count everyone else, and I won’t need new clothes this year either. Just three pairs of shoes and two sets of clothes each month will do. With Father’s cloth ration tickets, that shouldn’t cost more than 5 yuan a month.”

Working at the machinery factory, Father Qian received plenty of cloth coupons every year.

So the family had no shortage.

Hearing this, Xia Lan felt some relief.

But she didn’t feel grateful at all.

Family funds were public—and her sister-in-law’s suggestion had stripped away her own new clothes and shoes.

If Qian Sanya hadn’t volunteered herself too, Xia Lan would have exploded.

She had thought Madam Zhao was just making trouble, saving clothes and shoes for New Year.

But after asking around, she realized—

Would you like me to continue with the reveal of what Xia Lan discovered after her inquiries?