Chapter 5: Because of the Dowry, Zhao’s Mother Is Blamed!

She couldn’t even eat.

So she claimed her head felt a bit unwell, said she wouldn’t eat for now, and went to rest!

With her exit, the atmosphere at the table turned awkward.

This time, it was Qian Daniu’s wife who stepped in to smooth things over: “How about I slaughter a chicken this afternoon to nourish little sister?”

Zhao’s mother and the Zhao eldest and second sons said nothing.

Clearly, they weren’t satisfied with a single chicken as compensation.

Old Qian chimed in to back up his eldest daughter-in-law: “We should. Kill a big laying hen. And, eldest daughter-in-law, go call the village doctor to come take a look at Qianqian.”

In truth, Old Qian was very satisfied with the current life of the Qian family.

He didn’t want to break this peace.

So he kept showing goodwill again and again.

Fortunately, Madam Zhao understood how to advance and retreat and didn’t give him any attitude.

The family began eating normally.

Here’s the basic situation of the Old Qian household:

The Qian family’s eldest—

Qian Daniu, male, twenty-six this year, married to Li Pandai, with one son, five years old.

Because Li Pandai was married into the family with Zhao’s mother’s help, she has a very good relationship with Zhao’s mother.

The second—

Qian Ertian, male, twenty-one this year, a temporary worker at the machinery factory; he has a sweet tongue and a calculating mind, and he’s dating a city girl.

But both he and his girlfriend are the type with “eight hundred schemes.”

In the whole Old Qian family, he’s the only one who constantly picks at Zhao’s mother, though he never gains any advantage.

Because Zhao’s mother has excellent rapport!

Actually—

At first, this second Qian treated Zhao’s mother very well, calling her “Mom” every day.

But he truly had a lot on his mind.

As he grew older, he gradually discovered some of Zhao’s mother’s true colors!

For example, though she clearly took every advantage, the children’s schooling, clothes, and food were no different from the Qian family’s children; even the work-point money that she and her children earned was saved by themselves.

Yet to outsiders, it always looked like the Old Qian family bullied the Zhao mother and her children.

What a wonderful stepmother this Zhao Saihua was supposed to be!

In short, she took both the good reputation and the tangible benefits, while the Old Qian family carried the black pot—so he simply couldn’t like her anymore.

What’s more, whenever he tried to expose Zhao’s mother’s real face, the first people to oppose him were the Old Qian family themselves.

Who could understand that feeling?

The third, Qian Sanya, and the fourth, Qian Sidan (nicknamed “Fourth Egg”), are a pair of fraternal twins, nineteen this year.

When Madam Zhao married in, those two were still young, so they have the closest relationship with Zhao’s mother.

As for the children Zhao’s mother brought with her—

Because Zhao’s mother is ten years younger than Old Qian, her children are a bit younger than Old Qian’s.

Zhao family’s eldest, Zhao Nannan, male, twenty this year, not yet engaged.

Zhao family’s second, Zhao Qianqian, eighteen this year, just graduated from high school.

Zhao Dongdong, male, sixteen this year, still in high school.

After lunch—

Old Qian took out 20 yuan and gave it to Madam Zhao as compensation for Zhao Qianqian’s head injury, and then stuffed in another 10 yuan for Qianqian’s medical expenses.

On top of that, the eldest daughter-in-law was slaughtering a chicken to nourish Qianqian.

He thought he had made the best possible compensation for Zhao Qianqian.

But Zhao the Elder and Zhao the Second were not appreciative at all, and Zhao’s mother was unhappy as well—they didn’t go to the fields that afternoon.

The Qian family, after eating lunch, went off—some to the fields, some to work.

The Zhao family all gathered in Zhao Qianqian’s room.

On the one hand, they truly worried about Qianqian’s injuries; on the other, they were discussing how to prepare Qianqian’s dowry and how to make the wedding look respectable.

Soon—

The village doctor from Qian Family Village arrived.

On the surface, Zhao Qianqian’s injury didn’t look serious—or perhaps the village doctor’s level just wasn’t good.

In any case, after he examined her, he disinfected and applied medicine, then prescribed some anti-inflammatory tablets to take!

As soon as the doctor left—

Zhao the Elder questioned Zhao’s mother: “Back then, you didn’t want a house, and you didn’t want any of Old Qian’s property. So when little sister marries, will Old Qian put up money or not?”

“He definitely won’t.” Zhao’s mother didn’t quite dare meet her eldest son’s eyes. “If he were going to, he would have brought it up at the lunch table today.”

Upon hearing this—

Zhao the Elder instantly bristled. “I truly don’t know what you saw in him back then—what did you like about him?”

Zhao the Second spoke with a biting tone: “That he was older? That he had lots of kids? That he wouldn’t give us a house or any property, right?”

“Enough. Stop fixating on Old Qian,” Zhao’s mother said, displeased with her two sons. “Being able to give us food and drink was already very good.”

“Don’t forget, we couldn’t even afford to eat back then, and we still owed 50 yuan in outside debt.”

Perhaps, in the eyes of her two sons and one daughter, she was the most useless stepmother, even the stupidest.

But what do children understand?

Sometimes you can’t just look at appearances.

On the surface, she did seem to lose out.

She was good-looking and ten years younger than Old Qian; logically, he ought to have wooed her with fistfuls of cash.

In fact, she had indeed approached the match because Old Qian had money.

First, Qian Family Village was wealthy to begin with. In other villages, ten work points might be worth only two or three mao, but in Qianjia Village, ten work points were worth five or six mao.

Because, in addition to farming, the village had other income. Their village had more than thirty ponds and provided over 300 jin of fish to the supply and marketing cooperative every day; they sometimes also supplied state-run restaurants and factory canteens.

This income exceeded what they made from grain.

Second, Old Qian had served in the army. After demobilization, he not only received a large resettlement subsidy, but also got a permanent position at the machinery factory.

So even though it was a second marriage and he brought four children, many women still coveted him.

That she stood out among many women was also related to her beauty.

Originally, Zhao’s mother had been pleased to climb into such a marriage.

Who would have thought that when discussing the marriage, Old Qian would propose that none of the house or property would go to the children she brought with her?

Old Qian had his own selfish concerns for saying that.

After all, in a second-marriage family, anyone with a normal head would think of their own children.

Of course, there are also selfish parents who, for the sake of their marital happiness, disregard their children’s wellbeing.

But he had been a soldier—red roots and pure stock.

He wouldn’t do something like disregarding his children for a woman!

His conditions were harsh because he originally expected some bargaining.

For example: “No property is fine, but you must give each of her two sons a room.”

Or: “No house is fine, but the property must include a share for her three children.”

Who knew that the lotus-white Zhao would agree immediately? She also had conditions of her own: “In daily food, clothing, and schooling, Old Qian must treat her three children only better than his own, never worse.”

Old Qian agreed at once and promised on the spot: “I used to give my first wife 20 yuan a month as living expenses. Now there are more people, so I’m willing to give you 30 yuan per month.”

When Zhao’s mother heard about 30 yuan a month, she nodded happily again and again.

Old Qian’s thinking was:

Before, he gave his wife 20 yuan per month for living expenses, plus he gave her the money from the village work-point payouts, and she often still didn’t have enough and asked him for more. (Because Qian Family Village was particularly wealthy, work points could be exchanged not only for grain but also for a good amount of cash.)

Now that there was another whole family, it would certainly have to be more than 20 yuan.

The village’s work-point money—the Qian family’s went to the Qians; the Zhao family’s went to the Zhaos.

Compared with his first wife, he was effectively able to collect an extra 5 yuan in work-point money each month, so he was only really paying 25 yuan of living expenses.

Without giving up the house or any property, and by just adding 5 yuan a month in living expenses, he could marry a beautiful and capable wife.

Old Qian still felt he had gotten an excellent deal!