NOVPUB
Chapter 276: Chapter 276: Not the Slightest Bit Useful
"Wenbin gives you all his salary every month, and you only give me 10 yuan for groceries. With this 10 yuan, I have to pinch pennies just to barely make it to the end of the month. How could we possibly eat meat every day?"
The woman tried to speak to her reasonably.
Mrs. Zhang suddenly became unhappy.
"Do you mean to say that I, as a mother-in-law, have mistreated you? Do you still have the nerve to say there isn’t enough money? Don’t you know exactly why the money’s not enough? Others have double incomes and food rations, but look at our family, we married a country bumpkin like you, had a child who is registered as a rural resident, and every month we have to tighten our belts to subsidize your meals. And now it turns out that I’m the one who has wronged you? Do you even have a conscience?"
When it came to the household registration issue, the woman fell silent.
They lived in the city, where buying grain or rice was a necessity, and indeed, she and her child did not have the grain ration that city residents did.
Seeing her daughter-in-law fall silent, Mrs. Zhang’s finger was almost poking the woman’s forehead.
"What sin did our Zhang Family commit in a past life? To end up with a woman like you, we haven’t even despised you, yet you turn around and find fault with us. If money is tight, go earn it. Nowadays, the streets are full of self-employed people. Who isn’t making a living with their own hands? Only you still think you’re some pampered princess, always expecting to be waited on hand and foot, waiting for others to serve you?"
"Mom, that’s not what I meant," the woman admitted her fault and her tone softened, "The boss I found last time agreed to hire me, it’s just that Ningning is still little, and the boss doesn’t allow me to bring the child. Could you please consider letting Ningning stay at home with you?"
Mrs. Zhang’s eyes widened in disbelief, pointing at the little girl beside her.
"You want me to take care of your child? She’s just a little girl, and you have the face to ask? Not to mention one child, when I had a bunch of them, I did what needed to be done regardless. When Wenbin and the others were small, I just tied them up to the door frame. Is it because your child is a precious gem? Do I need to hire a nanny to serve her?"
The little girl shrank back behind her mother, frightened, but then mustered up her courage, stepping forward timidly, raising her thin little arms, trying as hard as she could to keep her voice from trembling.
"Grandma, don’t be angry. If mom goes to earn money, I will behave at home. Grandma, I’ll give you candy, please stop scolding my mom."
The little hand opened to reveal two pieces of candy.
Upon seeing this, Mrs. Zhang’s anger erupted, and with a slap, she hit the little girl’s hand, causing the two pieces of candy to fly away.
"There you go, always complaining that there is no money, no money for groceries we’re told, but there’s money for candy..."
The little girl burst into tears, "Grandma is so mean, my hand hurts, and the candy mom bought flew under the table."
It was candy she had not wanted to eat, saving it thinking it would make her grandmother happy, but it only made her grandmother even angrier.
The woman quickly took her child into her arms to comfort her, while Mrs. Zhang’s accusations became even more unrestrained.
At this moment, the man came back from work, pushing his bicycle, and Mrs. Zhang suddenly had the backing she needed.
"Wenbin, you’re finally back. I can’t manage this home for even one day. You’ve picked a fine wife. What time is it, and dinner still isn’t ready. When I point it out to her, she talks back at me, fussing about not having enough money. She doesn’t buy decent food but has money for candy. If you don’t take control, we can’t live like this."
Zhang Wenbin glanced into the kitchen, saw the cold stove and the meager greens there, and felt his anger rising.
He grabbed the woman by the arm and started dragging her into the house.
The little girl looked on in terror, trying to pull at her mom, only to be halted by a stern look from Zhang Wenbin, the cry stuck in her throat.
Until she saw her mother being dragged into the room by her father, she burst into tears again.
Mrs. Zhang berated irritably, "What are you crying for? It’s all because of you, the jinx, that our family can’t have good days. Raising such a money-losing brat like you, you’re going to be the end of the Zhang Family’s lineage."
The little girl pursed her lips and shrank into the corner, too scared to make a sound, as her tears dropped one pair after another.
Every time her grandmother said these things, her gaze was so fierce, and she was so frightened.
Inside the room, Zhang Wenbin threw the woman onto the bed and pointed at her nose, "Qin Juan, what else do you want? Are we going to be able to live this life or not? My mother is already very old; do you have to make her worry and get angry? Don’t you have any common decency?"
Qin Juan sat up and rubbed her wrist, "I didn’t come back late today. Your mother rushed off to play mahjong and complained about me cooking dinner late. Besides, she has all the money, where would I get the money to buy meat?"
"So, everything is my mother’s fault, huh? What’s wrong with me earning money for my mother? My mother worked hard to raise me. You’re still relying on us to support you in this household. If you can, you go out and earn money too. If you don’t have the ability, then just take good care of my mother. What do you have to feel aggrieved about?"
"I also want to go out and earn money, but Ningning..."
"Okay, okay, don’t bring up the child again. Is it that hard to admit when you don’t have the skills? My mother raised several of us back in the day without affecting her job. Why are you being so melodramatic?"
"Your mother didn’t affect her job, but don’t forget how your little sister died. Wasn’t it because no one at home was watching her, and she drowned in the basin?"
"That was an accident. How many accidents can there be?"
"How can you guarantee there won’t be an accident?"
"Slap!"
Suddenly, the room fell silent.
Qin Juan kept her head down, her face burning hot.
Zhang Wenbin shook off his hand and looked at her with disdain, "You’ve really turned against me, daring to talk back. No wonder my mother always says you’re trying to be the queen of this house. It seems you need a lesson to understand who really is the head of this household. Let me tell you, Qin Juan, don’t think that just because I can’t divorce you, it means you can rebel. Even if I can’t divorce you, you’ll never be able to sit on my head and shit—it’s an old saying, ’spare the rod, spoil the child.’ You’re truly incorrigible."
Zhang Wenbin spat fiercely and turned to leave the room.
Mrs. Zhang had been guarding the doorway, and she took the opportunity to peek inside, "What’s the matter? The Miss doesn’t want to cook, does she expect me, an old lady, to wait on her?"
Zhang Wenbin immediately changed his demeanour, stepping forward to support Mrs. Zhang’s arm, "Mother, what are you saying? Even if she doesn’t understand, wouldn’t your son know better? I just got paid today; how about I take us to the State-Owned Restaurant? Where’s Dad?"
Mrs. Zhang pointed towards the inner room, "Sleeping. Wait here. I’ll call him. It has to be said, having a son is having someone to rely on in old age, to show filial piety to his parents. Unlike having a daughter, no matter how much you dote on them, they’ll end up belonging to someone else. Each one is a money-loser, being looked upon twice is already not bad."
Mrs. Zhang continued talking while going inside to call for her husband. Zhang Wenbin saw Zhang Ningning in the corner, looking disgusted. 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝘣.𝘤𝘰𝑚
He long knew that having daughters was a losing proposition, none of his sisters were helpful to him, and ironically, he ended up having a daughter himself.
His parents were lucky to have several children in better times, and now he could only have one.
He glared fiercely again at the person inside the room, utterly useless.
