Chapter 31: Seizing the Female Lead’s Strong Connections!

“In the past, whenever our family celebrated the New Year, we would always ask Aunt Chunhua from the village to make several jin of cured meat for us. Eight yuan is already too little. I usually have to give her at least ten yuan.” Mother Zhao not only felt no guilt, she even spoke with righteous conviction.

Of course, beyond the surface meaning, Mother Zhao was secretly provoking Xia Lan: “What’s the matter? Are you going to admit that your household management isn’t as good as mine?”

A trace of annoyance appeared on Xia Lan’s face. Inwardly, she cursed Mother Zhao furiously, practically insulting her ancestors back eight generations. But outwardly, she dared not utter a harsh word.

After all, Mother Zhao was her mother-in-law!

Even if only a stepmother-in-law, she was still an elder.

Everyone’s a fox, so why pretend to be a rabbit?

Zhao shi knew that at this moment Xia Lan must be cursing her silently. Because whenever she herself was angry, she too would hold a dead-fish face while cursing inside.

Unwilling to suffer in silence, Mother Zhao added sarcastically, “Second daughter-in-law, if you can’t manage this household well, you can tell your father-in-law directly. If he lets me continue managing, I’ll cover the deficit myself.”

“No need.” Xia Lan refused immediately.

She would never tell her father-in-law. The right to manage the household was too hard-won—how could she give it up so easily?

Grinding her teeth, Xia Lan pulled out another eight yuan.

That meant this month she had lost twenty-one yuan in total!

—

The twenty-fifth of the twelfth lunar month.

Today marked the third month of the second daughter-in-law Xia Lan managing the household.

She had just received another thirty yuan for household expenses.

Just as she thought this month would finally be easier, and she might even set aside some savings—her stepmother-in-law Zhao Saihua once again came to make things difficult:

“Second daughter-in-law, the New Year is coming. You must get everyone’s new clothes and shoes ready before then.”

Xia Lan was so furious her mouth nearly twisted.

But she was unwilling to give up the hard-won right of household management.

So, gritting her teeth, she bought fabric for clothes and shoes.

In truth, if Zhao shi were still managing, there would’ve been no need to buy anything.

She would’ve exchanged odd ration coupons with villagers for what she needed.

And if not, she could’ve pieced together scraps and old fabric to make “new” clothes.

As it was, after buying fabric, Xia Lan spent eleven yuan on clothes and shoes, plus nine yuan on grain.

Out of the thirty yuan, twenty were gone in an instant.

Still, Xia Lan believed this month would be the most savings-friendly.

After all, New Year supplies were well prepared, and the cold weather meant food could be preserved longer.

So she wouldn’t need to buy meat or vegetables this month.

And since Zhao Qianqian, already married, would bring gifts, New Year cakes and candies didn’t need to be bought either!

There was even more good news.

The eldest son Zhao Nannan was coming home for the New Year.

He contributed most of his New Year’s work benefits to the family—since he no longer earned work points or handed in grain, it wouldn’t look good if he ate for free.

Two towels, two jin of sugar coupons, four cans of preserves, five jin of apples, two jin of bananas, and finally six jin of meat coupons.

A total of six items. Other than sharing some apples and bananas with his younger sister Zhao Qianqian, everything else stayed with the Qian household.

Which meant Xia Lan had full control over them.

She had to admit—the railway’s employee benefits were excellent.

So, Xia Lan felt this would be the month she could truly save money.

All necessities were bought, the pantry full of delicacies and meat.

She could even quietly sell some items and send a little to her maiden family.

The money from selling could make up for her first two months’ losses!

However—

If Zhao shi were to hear this, she would certainly sneer:

“You think saving money is that simple? Have you bought firecrackers yet? Have you prepared New Year’s lucky money for the children? Most importantly, the month lasts until the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth of the first month. Then you’ll need glutinous rice flour for tangyuan, and lanterns for the children. Plenty of expenses remain!”

When this month of celebrations ended, would Xia Lan finally rest easy?

Zhao shi mocked silently:

“There are nearly two months until the next grain distribution. But their household’s grain is already gone. Over the coming month, Xia Lan won’t spend just ten yuan on grain—she’ll need twenty.”

—

Meanwhile, on the twenty-sixth of the twelfth lunar month.

Zhao Qianqian also received benefits from her food factory job.

Though not as plentiful as Old Man Qian’s or her eldest brother’s, they were still quite decent.

Two packs of biscuits, two packs of candy, two jin of meat, a fish, two jin of loose bread, and a can of preserves.

Other than the meat and fish, the rest came from the factory’s inventory.

Which meant near-expired goods.

Zhao Qianqian disliked such items—produced long ago, lacking freshness.

So she only kept the candy and the fish.

The meat she split evenly with her second cousin.

Everything else she handed to him.

—

Zhao Family Village.

When Zhao Diao brought back the items Zhao Qianqian gave him, Second Uncle Zhao’s family was overjoyed.

They hadn’t expected even her holiday benefits to be shared so generously.

With the nearly two jin of meat distributed in the village for the New Year, plus the one jin brought by Zhao Diao, it was enough for their family’s holiday meals.

Biscuits and canned goods could even be used as gifts!

As for the loose bread, if left uneaten it would spoil quickly.

They had to eat it right away.

Still, it was far tastier than the cornbread at home.

That evening, Second Uncle Zhao’s family ate millet porridge with bread.

Ever since Zhao Diao began working in place of Zhao Qianqian, their family’s life had greatly improved.

They even thought of sending her some wild game for the New Year in return.

After all, their village bordered the mountains—hunting for food was much cheaper for them than for Zhao Qianqian’s household.

And Zhao Qianqian herself wanted to go to Second Uncle’s place.

It was she who had discovered the existence of the cowshed in Zhao Family Village.

Yes—because in wealthy Qian Family Village, there were no cowsheds, and so no chance for her to “cling to a golden thigh.”

But Zhao Family Village was different.

It was poor.

So not only did it have a cowshed, it even had two.

From her knowledge of the historical trajectory, Zhao Qianqian knew that the people in those cowsheds—at present condemned as bad elements and despised by all—would, in just a few years, have their fates reversed.

The wheel of destiny would quietly turn, and they would rise, becoming figures of power and prestige, far beyond the reach of ordinary folk.

If her memory was right—among those people was Zeng Cheng’s maternal grandfather’s family.

Back then, it was precisely by relying on this memory that Qian Sanya had gone with Zeng Cheng to Zhao Family Village.

And crucially, the opportunity had been gained by using Zhao Qianqian’s own relatives as the excuse.