NOVPUB
Chapter 155: Chapter 149 Watch
After saying goodbye to all the relatives and friends, only the Li Family members were left, and another table was set up in the house.
The Li Family was not small: Li Wangcai and his wife, the eldest son’s family of five, the second son and his wife, plus a younger brother, the eldest daughter, and her husband who came without their children were just the two of them, and a younger sister, making a total of thirteen people.
The table was too small to fit everyone, so Qiu Shuping told the youngest daughter, Li Xianghe, to take the three children from the eldest son’s family downstairs to eat. Li Xianghe was somewhat unwilling, wondering why it was always her who had to leave the table, and why not Li Hongqi.
The eldest daughter, Li Xianglian, saw that her sister’s face had fallen, and quickly said she would take the children downstairs to eat and let Xianghe stay at the table.
The eldest son-in-law, Liu Jianjun, was already used to his wife’s personality and didn’t get angry. Without her, he was actually more comfortable.
Shen Yunfang finally saw the large bone stewed in sauerkraut that she had missed for a long time on this table.
Old Li loved a drink, and today being the grand occasion of his son’s wedding, how could he not have a few cups to celebrate? Li Hongjun was injured and couldn’t drink, Li Hongqi was too young to drink, but Qiu Shuping could have a few, so at the table it was just the old Li couple and the eldest son, Li Hongxing, and son-in-law Liu Jianjun drinking.
"Ah, the second son has also gotten married; one of my worries is finally settled. Even if I pass on now, I can face my comrades with honor," Old Li began to talk more after having a bit of drink.
"Don’t talk about such depressing things on a day of great joy; those are all old sesame seeds and rotten grains of rice. Aren’t you afraid of jinxing yourself by mentioning them?" Qiu Shuping didn’t like to hear him going on about his comrades. If it hadn’t been for her husband insisting on repaying his comrade, they wouldn’t have brought back a troublemaker into the family.
"Tch, you don’t know anything," Old Li was dissatisfied with his wife interrupting his sentimental moment. "Second son, you must treat Yunfang well in the future. Your father’s life was saved by your father-in-law; you helping me to treat his daughter well is like repaying the debt for me."
Li Hongjun didn’t say anything but simply nodded. In his mind, regardless of who his father-in-law was or who he saved, it was irrelevant to him. Yunfang was the wife he had married, and he would naturally take good care of her; it had nothing to do with anyone else.
Shen Yunfang, on the other hand, thought it wouldn’t be too bad if her father-in-law drank more often. At the very least, the alcohol could embolden him and bring out some of the man’s fiery spirit after a few drinks.
"Hongjun, you’ve been injured. What did the military leaders say? Will they let you go back to be a soldier?" Brother-in-law Liu Jianjun genuinely cared for this younger brother-in-law. Having been the Li Family’s son-in-law for many years, he felt that besides his wife and the second brother-in-law, the rest were just for appearances.
Wang Dan also paused with her chopsticks and looked over.
Li Hongjun served some food to his wife before saying, "It’s still uncertain now; it depends on how well I recover. If there’s nothing wrong, of course, I’ll go back to the military. But if I don’t recover well, then it’s not so certain."
Shen Yunfang continued, "Right now, he has to go to the hospital for check-ups frequently while he recovers at home. The doctor has already warned us not to take it lightly and that he must go once a week."
Wang Dan’s heart skipped a beat at that. Go to the hospital once a week? Doesn’t seeing a doctor cost money? The Li Family hadn’t split up their household yet, so wouldn’t Li Hongjun be spending her hard-earned money to fill that bottomless pit? Suddenly, she felt very upset and pinched Li Hongxing, who was just quietly eating, quite hard.
Then, with a forced smile, she probed, "Little brother, this counts as a work-related injury, right? I’ve heard that in such cases, the state is responsible for the medical expenses. Besides, haven’t your leaders done anything to show their support? Even if you’re discharged later, shouldn’t they give you some sort of resettlement fee or something?"
What she wanted to know most was whether Li Hongjun’s medical treatment would require money from the family. No matter whether it did or didn’t, the family had to be split up either way.
"You should ask our mother about that. Our father also retired from the military and returned home; my mother would know best whether the army gave any money," Li Hongjun deflected the topic back to Qiu Shuping. "As for what you mentioned about a gesture, the leaders have already made one. When I was in the hospital, our father and mother visited, and they didn’t have to pay for their stay or food, and the return train ticket was also paid for by them; the leaders took care of all that."
"All that doesn’t count for much; didn’t they give any money as a gesture?" muttered Wang Dan.
"You only see money." Qiu Shuping scolded her. "Stop talking, hurry up and eat."
At the dining table, Li Wangcai kept drinking his booze, rambling on about trivial things, and eventually, no one paid attention to him anymore.
However, the Li Family’s eldest son-in-law and Li Hongjun got along quite well, chatting sporadically.
While eating, Li Xianghe, who had sharp eyes, noticed the new watch on the wrist of her second sister-in-law, who had just married into the family.
Shen Yunfang touched her wrist and said with a smile, "Yeah, I like it quite a bit myself."
"Second sister-in-law, is that watch your dowry?" Li Xianghe, seemingly out of nowhere, asked another question.
Qiu Shuping and Wang Dan both followed her gaze to Shen Yunfang’s wrist.
Shen Yunfang, not understanding her implication, looked at Li Hongjun but did not answer.
"I see other families’ weddings, where the bride brings a dowry to the groom’s family. I saw that the second sister-in-law doesn’t have any other dowry, so this watch is it, right?" Li Xianghe’s topic revolved around the watch.
Was she mocking her for not having a proper dowry? Shen Yunfang smiled and said, "When others get married, they also demand the groom have ’three turns and a shot.’"
Her tone implied that the Li Family didn’t have a decent bride price to offer, let alone expect her to bring any significant dowry. Moreover, she wasn’t foolish. With such a mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, even if she had a dowry, she’d have to hide it well, otherwise, they’d all set their sights on it.
After hearing Shen Yunfang’s words, Qiu Shuping’s face turned sour, and she scoffed a few times, saying, "Yunfang, what you are saying isn’t right. When you and our Hongjun settled on the engagement, we did give a bride price—it was a full fifty yuan." Indeed, at that time, fifty yuan was quite a sum.
"But Mom, I’ve heard that in other families’ weddings, the groom gives the bride cash and gifts, and they still provide the bride price and ’three turns and a shot,’ right?" Yunfang innocently blinked her eyes.
Indeed, such customs existed now, but most families were not well-off, so many grooms would just give a modest bride price and buy the bride a sewing machine, and that would be about it.
"Sister-in-law, can I see it? I really like it too," Li Xianghe said, disregarding the conflict between her mother and sister-in-law; her eyes were fixed only on the watch.
Shen Yunfang thought that showing it wouldn’t hurt, and was about to take off the watch, but Li Hongjun reached out and held her hand back, "It’s your second sister-in-law’s. If you like it, let our mother buy you one."
Upon hearing her second son’s words, Qiu Shuping quickly said, "I have no money to buy one; my youngest son is still in school, and he’ll need money for marriage in the future. There’s always something to spend money on." She meant that her money was all saved for her youngest son, and she had none to spare for her daughters.
Li Xianghe’s expression soured upon hearing her second brother’s words; it worsened further after what her mother added, making her little face even tighter.
"Haven’t you all married into our family, becoming part of the Li Family? Mom, didn’t you say that what enters the Li Family becomes the Li Family’s property? Then isn’t this watch part of the Li Family’s property too? Mom, Sisi has a watch, and I want one too." Li Xianghe was the most like Qiu Shuping out of all the children, often hearing her mother say that she had the final say on the Li Family’s belongings, prompting her previous remarks.
She was trying to use her mother’s clout to get her second sister-in-law’s watch for herself.
