NOVPUBChapter 242: Chapter 242: Can’t Be Unreasonable
Chapter 242 -242: Can’t Be Unreasonable
Bai Song saw Xiaowa off and closed the courtyard door.
Bai Yue had already prepared the dough, and the big pot already had the braised sauce simmering, getting ready to boil the noodles.
Bai Xiao and Bai Song were in the house, where a fire was burning under the kang bed. Both of them had already taken off their coats and gotten onto the warm kang, sitting cross-legged and feeling the warmth spread from the inside out.
Li Haiping moved the kang table, and Li Haian had already brought over the sauce for the noodles. 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓅𝓊𝓫.𝒸ℴ𝓶
It wasn’t long before Bai Yue brought up two steaming bowls of noodles.
“Come on, eat quickly.”
Seeing his younger siblings return, he couldn’t hide his joy.
Li Haishun sat on the edge of the kang, glanced at the noodles, slurped, and slipped off to the kitchen. Soon, he returned with one hand holding chili oil and the other holding a vinegar bottle, placing them in front of Bai Xiao and Bai Song.
“Aunt, uncle, it’s tastier with some chili oil and vinegar.”
Bai Song laughed, “Oh, boy, you do have an eye for good things.”
Li Haishun blushed shyly, climbed back onto the kang, and sat next to Bai Song.
Bai Yue untied her apron, “I knew you would be here these two days, just didn’t know which day. And look at you two, coming back and bringing so much stuff? How much money did this all cost?”
Bai Yue, having always been concerned, could not help but start scolding when she saw big and small bags and five suitcases moved into the house.
Bai Xiao was all smiles while Bai Song directly deflected, “Sis, all this stuff is Bai Xiao’s doing; don’t come at me. I just provided the muscles, didn’t spend a penny.” He ate his noodles with gusto, shamelessly escaping responsibility.
On hearing it was Bai Xiao’s doing, Bai Yue scolded even more, “You girl, I have yet to start on you. It’s not easy for you alone outside, and just when you start earning a salary, you should keep it for yourself, look how lavish you are now. I even had Little Sansan write to you, telling you not to send your salary home every month. We can buy food here in the village much cheaper than in the city. Plus, sis is doing fine here, raising chickens, selling the eggs can get us seventy or eighty yuan a month. In a few days, we’ll also be able to sell the pigs in the house.
We’re not short of money. You better not send money home anymore. Life in the big city must be expensive. Save the hard-earned money for yourself for your future dowry,” Bai Yue said, genuinely concerned for her sister’s struggles for the family.
Bai Xiao pointed to those suitcases, which she had marked with numbers 1 to 5, indicating who each was intended for, “Haiping, find the one marked with a one; it’s for you and the older sister.”
Li Haiping looked at his mom. Bai Yue shook her head. What could be done, really? Everything was already bought; could they still return it? The cost of transporting it back wasn’t worth the train fare!
“Go ahead, listen to your aunt.”
Li Haiping, Li Haian, and Li Haishun, the three brothers, rummaged through and finally located suitcase number one, heavy as they moved it out.
Untying the ropes on the suitcase, they began removing each item, and the three brothers were almost flabbergasted by the contents.
“Mom, come and see…”
Li Haiping held a radio, and it took him a while to snap out of it. Some families in the village had this black box, and they knew that pulling out the long wire allowed it to somehow generate sound.
Especially around noon, the storytelling from this black box, featuring “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” Zhao Yun’s tales, was exceptionally clear. Sometimes they would stand outside someone’s courtyard, hooked to it and not willing to leave.
The thing was said to be expensive.
Apparently, a radio like this cost over 100 yuan, and not many in the village could afford it.
The three brothers secretly vowed to raise their pigs well, hoping in a couple of years they too could save enough money to buy one.
Bai Yue was also startled at the sight.
The eldest was holding a radio, the second a digital watch, and the third a backpack and a fountain pen.
Oh my, how much money would all these items cost?
Bai Yue was suddenly very upset.
Even though it was her sister who bought them, Bai Yue felt the pain of spending so much money. Her sister had suffered over the years, and only now had she finally found a formal job. Making money was not easy. If it all went to her siblings, what would be left for Bai Xiao’s dowry when she got married?
If the dowry wasn’t respectable, An Zhiyuan’s family might look down on her sister by then.
“Xiao, you…”
Bai Xiao had just finished eating, she put down her bowl and dropped her chopsticks.
“Sis, please don’t scold me, I didn’t spend a single cent on these things.”
She promptly stopped her older sister from scolding.
Bai Yue glared, “Who are you fooling? How much would these things cost? Who would give them to you for free?” Suddenly, she thought of something.
She immediately sat down in front of Bai Xiao with a stern expression.
“Did An Zhiyuan give you these things?”
Bai Xiao shook her head.
“Don’t lie to me. If these were gifts from Instructor An, we need to return them immediately. You aren’t married yet, and accepting such significant gifts now would lead to disrespect from your in-laws in the future. Sister knows our family was poor before. You suffered at grandma’s and your uncle’s, but remember, we must have integrity even in poverty, especially girls can’t be shortsighted for these things. Once you start living together, having accepted such heavy gifts,
any argument would put you in the wrong. Our family being poor is one thing, but a life is made by people’s efforts. There are no blessings that can’t be enjoyed, only hardships that can’t be endured. Sister would rather live a bit more difficultly than see you owing anything to your in-laws.”
Bai Xiao felt warm inside! She hugged Bai Yue, resting her head on her big sister’s chest, “Big sis, you are so good!”
Bai Yue blushed and swatted Bai Xiao, “You are still playing these tricks on me. Let me tell you, flattering me won’t work, you have to return these things.”
Upon hearing this, Li Haiping and his other two children promptly and obediently put the items back in the box.
They fancied these items, but after hearing their mother, they understood if they kept them, their aunt’s life would become difficult.
Bai Xiao laughed, “Big sister, these items really weren’t from Instructor An. I cured someone’s illness for a high-ranking official, and he gifted them to me. Moreover, he had already delivered them to my door. You see, he even investigated our family so thoroughly he sent gifts for each one of us. So, you might actually just keep these; they’re earned through your sister’s labor.”
This finally made things clear.
Bai Yue was still skeptical, “Really?”
She was afraid her sister might have taken a wrong turn because of their family, although An Zhiyuan was a good man! However, remembering these gifts in the future could still be uncomfortable.
Bai Xiao nodded firmly, pointing at her older brother who was chuckling on the side, “If you don’t believe me, ask Big Brother. He knows too. He was there when the high-ranking official came to invite me.”
Bai Yue searched Bai Song’s face, and Bai Song hastily nodded, “I know she went to treat someone, but I really didn’t know about these gifts.”
Bai Yue sighed in relief.
“That family is alright, aren’t they?” She was worried Bai Xiao might have exposed any of her secrets.
Bai Xiao nodded emphatically, “Don’t worry!”
