NOVPUB
Chapter 502: Chapter 492: Give Early but Not Late
When Qiu Shuping pushed open the hospital door with a smile brimming on her face, Li Hongqi’s mother-in-law, Zheng, was sitting by the bed, tears streaming down her cheeks with her daughter.
Upon hearing movement at the door, she turned her head and immediately felt her temper flare.
"Oh, dear mother-in-law, what brings you such joy?" Zheng snapped, her words laced with sarcasm. "You arrive at your daughter-in-law’s sickroom with a face full of smiles; it seems your family really doesn’t lack for grandsons."
The smile on Qiu Shuping’s face stiffened. Stung by the barbs as soon as she entered, she found it hard to maintain her facade. She wanted to retort that her family indeed had plenty of grandsons; with four already, they were truly not in need.
"Mom, Xiaolan hasn’t had her lunch yet. Go and get her some food," Li Hongqi quickly sent his own mother away, fearing an escalation between the two elder women.
Qiu Shuping, holding the lunch box and pushed out the door by her son, felt deeply aggrieved. She could see that her youngest son was becoming like the first and second; once married, they forget their mother. But considering the arguments with the first and second sons’ families, she couldn’t rely on them, so no matter what, she had to depend on her youngest for her old age. She reminded herself not to spoil things with her daughter-in-law, or else she would truly have nobody to care for her in her old age. With this thought, she felt a bit better and went to buy food for her daughter-in-law with the lunch box.
However, on the way, she became conflicted again. Getting food required money and Food Coupons, which meant she, the old lady, had to pay. Thinking about her last remaining "Great Unity" bill, she trembled with distress. Back when her second son got married, not only did she not contribute money, but the gifts she received actually fattened her purse. But for this daughter-in-law, within half a year of marrying into the Li Family, she nearly lost four hundred yuan, and now she was down to her last ten.
No matter how much Qiu Shuping grudged spending the money, she ended up buying the meal for her daughter-in-law.
In the sickroom.
"Hongqi, it’s not that I’m blaming you," Zheng reproached, "but Xiaolan lived her whole life without hardship, and now, less than six months into marrying into your family, look what has become of our child. Had I known, I wouldn’t have agreed to her marrying you in the first place."
"Wuwu, Mom..." Zheng Guilin, upon hearing her mother speak so, felt an immense sense of injustice. Who would have thought that simply bending over would cost her her child?
"Daughter, stop crying," Zheng consoled her daughter. "You’re in your ’little confinement’; crying too much now will make your eyes hurt later."
"Mom, I know it’s my fault for not being capable enough, causing Xiaolan to suffer with me, I deserve to die," Li Hongqi said with tears in his eyes. As he spoke, he suddenly began to slap his own face, a picture of extreme anguish.
"Ah, Hongqi, what are you doing? Mom, hurry and hold him back," Zheng Guilin tried to get up from the bed, but unable to rise because of the recent curettage surgery, the pain in her lower body still intense.
"What are you doing, get back down there," Zheng urged her daughter, startled by her and shocked by her son-in-law at the same time. "Hongqi, stop it right now, don’t you want Xiaolan to recover properly?"
"No, Mom, I just feel so useless." Li Hongqi paused, his fair face flushed but without the imprint of a palm, showing how gently he had hit himself, "I promised to buy a house for Xiaolan in the county, but because my second brother wasn’t home, my mom couldn’t do anything about my sister-in-law, so we didn’t manage to gather the money. The house purchase was delayed, and Xiaolan suffered for it. It’s all because I’m useless." As he spoke, tears began to fall.
"Don’t blame yourself, don’t blame yourself, it’s not like you wanted this to happen. It’s all your sister-in-law’s fault, not yours," Xiaolan, moved by her husband’s genuine emotions, started sobbing as well.
"Oh, please don’t cry, the both of you. What time is it now? Take care of your health first." Zheng Guilin’s mother was also full of worries and quickly started consoling them.
Having calmed down the couple, she then carefully thought about her son-in-law’s words.
The son-in-law did mention buying a house in the county when he first visited the family, but they, the elderly couple, did not take it too seriously, because they never thought their son-in-law could afford a house. It seemed like a statement made mostly for appearances. After all, even they couldn’t afford another house in the county, let alone a university graduate from the countryside who had just started working – how could he possibly have more money than working professionals?
So when their daughter and son-in-law ended up living in the countryside after their marriage, they didn’t say much. They figured that in the future, when units started distributing houses, they could pull some strings, give some gifts, and possibly secure a house for their daughter and son-in-law. They thought it would be fine for the young couple to move in later on.
But now it sounded as though their son-in-law’s family did have money, yet due to someone’s interference, he couldn’t buy a house in the county. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
"Hongqi, what did you mean just now? How could your second brother have the money for you to buy a house?" Zheng Guilin’s mother didn’t believe that her son-in-law’s family had wealthy relatives, but with the words already at her lips, she still asked to make things clear.
"It’s not exactly that my second brother is giving me the money," Li Hongqi explained slowly, altering the details slightly. "My second brother is a soldier in the military, and when he got married, my sister-in-law demanded a separation. At that time, we had no choice but to divide the family assets. However, my sister-in-law did promise to pay my parents a yearly allowance for their elder care, given that my parents raised my second brother, and it’s only right for him to reciprocate when he grows up."
Zheng Guilin’s mother nodded in agreement. Although they did not have a son, they had raised a daughter and also expected her and their son-in-law to take care of them in old age. That was why they had picked a son-in-law from a big family, so that his own parents would have other sons to look after them, and he would only need to provide for their elder care. Therefore, hearing her son-in-law speak about the duty to take care of the elderly, she was very pleased and fully agreed.
"My parents spent all they had on getting wives for my two older brothers, and by the time it was my turn, there was nothing left at home. But as a son, I can’t hold that against them after they raised us brothers for so many years," Li Hongqi pretended to sigh as though he had suffered a great injustice.
"Ah, your parents certainly haven’t raised a bad son," said Zheng Guilin’s mother admiringly.
Having a son-in-law from a rural family with many children has its downside; one cannot expect much from his family for one’s daughter. However, this also demonstrated the son-in-law’s character, proving he was indeed a good man.
"No, I just can’t bear to trouble my parents; they’ve already had a hard life," Li Hongqi looked down, "but my dad said that since he arranged marriages for my two brothers, he couldn’t neglect me, the youngest. So he wrote to my second brother, asking him to think of a way to send several years’ worth of elder care allowances at once. That way, I’d have the money to get married, and it wouldn’t be like my second brother had to pay extra. He has been a soldier for many years and has many comrades-in-arms; surely, they could help raise the amount needed."
"That could be a solution," agreed Zheng Guilin’s mother, nodding. After all, Li Family’s second son would have to give money for parental care sooner or later; better early than late.
