NOVPUB
Chapter 766: Chapter 756 Give Me My Salary (Additional update for Haixuelao)
In the evening, before getting off work, Shen Yunfang led a group of people as they made their way grandly toward the military district’s family residences.
After getting home, Shen Yunfang gave Wang Dan and Li Xianglian a few instructions to prepare dinner, as she and her husband had some matters to attend to and couldn’t have dinner at home. She told them to make whatever they wanted to eat.
Fortunately, Wang Dan didn’t behave as unreasonably as she did with Goudan and didn’t press them about what they were up to. Instead, she went straight to the kitchen, ready to show off her cooking skills. She must have been salivating over all the good ingredients on the cool shelf already.
When Li Hongjun got home from work, the couple changed clothes and left.
There was an appreciation event at the farm tonight, mainly to reward the employees who had worked hard all year. The highlight of the event was the distribution of red envelopes to every employee.
The arrival of Shen Yunfang and her husband was warmly welcomed by all the staff.
As the owner of the ’Feiyang’ farm, Shen Yunfang gave a brief summary of the past year before the meal began, acknowledging shortcomings and discussing plans for the next year, as well as envisioning a bright future.
Amidst rounds of applause, the banquet began. 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
Halfway through the meal, Shen Yunfang and her husband distributed red envelopes to each employee—everyone, understanding the unspoken agreement, did not open them in public, probably afraid of others knowing the amount and preferring to look at them in private later.
The dinner lasted until after nine o’clock that night.
The next day, the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, Shen Yunfang had handed over the farm to Zhang Chunwang and started her New Year’s holiday. As there were many people coming over for the New Year’s celebration, there was a lot of frying and cooking to be done.
On New Year’s Eve, Sun Chengbin and Li Xianghe arrived uninvited, much to Shen Yunfang’s displeasure, but since they shamelessly imposed themselves, and her own skin wasn’t as thick, she had to endure it.
Because there were more people this year, the New Year’s Eve dinner was served at two tables—with the eight adults eating at the dining table and the children gathered around the coffee table, eating while watching TV.
"I’ve been a soldier for so many years, and I’ve rarely had the chance to reunite with my family during the New Year. Last year, I went back to my hometown and managed to show filial piety to my parents. This year is even better, I’ve been transferred here, I’ve brought Xianghe and the kids over, and my little family has finally settled down. Now, being able to spend the New Year with several brothers and sisters, I’m truly very happy," Sun Chengbin said while eating, moved by the occasion.
Listening to him, Shen Yunfang snorted internally. He was happy, but she certainly wasn’t. She was willing to host Li Xianglian’s couple and Wang Dan’s couple, but she didn’t expect Li Xianghe’s couple to shamelessly come over for the New Year’s dinner. She wasn’t in a good mood about Li Xianghe’s arrival. However, for the sake of harmony and unity, she couldn’t dampen the mood, so she decided to act as if she hadn’t heard or seen anything and just focus on her own meal.
As for Wang Dan, she had a relatively good opinion of her brother-in-law and said with a smile, "That’s right, our second brother is also a soldier. He hasn’t been home for New Year’s many times over the years. We, as his siblings-in-law, have so many things to take care of at home. This year, coming here to celebrate has allowed us to see how the New Year is celebrated in this big courtyard. It’s indeed better than back in our hometown. Now both of your families have come up in the world, living in these nice, clean, and warm apartment buildings, eating well... just don’t know when we’ll be lucky enough to enjoy such blessings ourselves," Wang Dan said, her face full of envy.
"Sister-in-law, your blessed days are yet to come. With your three sons, now that Goudan is able to earn money, just wait a few years until Erdan and Sandan grow up and can make money too. Then you can really say you’ve made it through the tough times," Li Xianglian said with a sigh.
In the eyes of most parents, if the children are successful, there’s hope for the family. Now that Goudan is working at Shen Yunfang’s farm, he can earn nearly a hundred yuan a month, which is not considered a small sum anywhere.
"Hehe, big sister, stop it, I’m so embarrassed. These three boys of mine, they’re just heartless, only caring about whether they’ve eaten themselves full, never caring for anyone else. How’s that compared to your Jiajia? Just look, a little girl indeed knows how to be more caring. What was all the fuss about needing to have a son back then? Tell me, what was it for?" Wang Dan said, glancing at Goudan beside the coffee table, her dissatisfaction with her eldest son apparent.
No one responded to that because they all knew why Wang Dan was saying these things.
Ever since Wang Dan found out that Goudan could earn seventy to eighty yuan a month, she became dissatisfied with the hundred yuan he sent back to her. She wanted to take control of all of Goudan’s salary. In her mind, her child was hers, so naturally, the money he earned should be managed by her. When it came time for her son to marry or build a house, the money should also come from her. However, Goudan didn’t see it that way. He said he wanted to keep the money he earned and would send a monthly allowance to his parents, but he intended to save the bulk of it for his future marriage.
The difference in their viewpoints had caused chaos in the house these past few days, and everyone present had been dragged into Wang Dan’s complaints, so they all understood what was going on.
In this situation, Shen Yunfang suffered the most. Since Wang Dan couldn’t do anything about her own son, she could only start with Shen Yunfang. She planned to have Shen Yunfang not give Goudan his salary when it was time to do so, but instead, mail it directly back to her in their hometown. This way, she could control Goudan at the source.
However, Shen Yunfang couldn’t agree to this. Goudan was her employee, not Wang Dan, so when it came to paying wages, there was no way she could give it directly to Wang Dan. Shen Yunfang flatly refused, as the matter should be settled between mother and son, and as an outsider, she couldn’t take part.
Goudan glanced at the people around the table and then lowered his head to continue eating as if he hadn’t heard anything. Did he not understand his mother’s character? She was a real miser, and if he let her take control of his salary, it would be impossible to get any of it back. So it was better to keep the money with himself.
"Enough, enough, be content. When kids grow up, they have their own thoughts. Why are you always meddling? Just take the money they give to you, and don’t worry about the rest," Li Hongjun disapproved of his sister-in-law’s greed. She even wanted to take advantage of her own son, and it didn’t seem right for a mother.
"It’s not like that, I’m only thinking of his best interests. What’s a young man going to do with so much money? What if he squanders all of his wages? And it’s not just me, remember how grandma also used to control your salary," Wang Dan retorted, still not convinced.
When she mentioned Qiu Shuping, everyone fell silent, as it had been a long time since anyone brought her up.
"That’s why I say, sister-in-law, you’re not as crafty as my mother. If she was here, there’s no way Goudan would get to keep his salary. Just look at how my second brother turned out, he always had to obey my mother," Li Xianghe said with a chuckle.
Shen Yunfang glanced at Li Hongjun. You see, weren’t you foolish back then? Your sister understands something you couldn’t see. It’s good that you married me, otherwise you’d still be enslaved by your mother now.
Li Hongjun understood what his wife meant. He could only roll his eyes at her, silently telling her to keep it down.
Sun Chengbin wished he could sew his wife’s mouth shut with needle and thread as she managed to bring the mood down with just one sentence. Couldn’t she keep her mouth shut, always dredging up the past at the wrong moment?
