Chapter 137: Many Matters
She had another reason as well.
"Minmin, you know that my two co-sisters-in-law back home are also a handful. I’m not here helping you just for fun, I’m thick-skinned enough to take the wages, right? They’re green with envy, it’s like they’ve got chicken eyes. Ever since I got this ’little nemesis’ in my belly, my cravings have gotten pickier. Once, I had no idea why, but I was just dying for some canned fruit. I had some at Lanzi’s place last year, and I’ve never forgotten the taste. That’s what I craved."
"Your brother-in-law saw that I wasn’t enjoying eating anything and secretly bought me some. But we couldn’t let everyone find out; it’s such a precious item. If my mother-in-law learned about it, she’d scold me for wasteful spending. In the end, I didn’t feel good about it, so I asked your brother-in-law to buy another two pounds of meat to share with everyone, so they could have a taste of meat too."
"Usually, we earn our work points and get paid at the end of the year when the team distributes them, and then my mother-in-law divides it among the rooms. There’s not much money to begin with, and she holds the purse strings for communal expenses—anything from medical expenses to money for visiting the natal family requires asking her. So no one has the means to add meat to our family meals."
"By doing this, we’ve made ourselves the center of attention in the family. They all think I’ve made a lot of money working with you. My mother-in-law and co-sisters-in-law beat around the bush to probe for information, and my cousins from my uncles’ families often crowd around me to see if I’ve hidden some tasty treats or to find out exactly how much money I’ve taken from your place."
"I was careless. Right after dinner, I brought out a piece of pickled fruit in my room, and your brother-in-law’s nephew saw it and ran straight to my mother-in-law to tattle. It was like stirring up a hornet’s nest. My mother-in-law called me over for a grilling, accusing me of selfishly eating alone. I explained it was because of my pregnancy that I ate it, but she called me frivolous, wasteful, and selfish, and wouldn’t rest until I brought out the remaining canned food to share."
"But that was just one hurdle with my mother-in-law. Then there were my two co-sisters-in-law, who started gossiping about your brother-in-law’s and my wedding—how many tables we’d set and how much dowry we’d given. They insisted that our room had taken advantage of theirs and that when they got married, they didn’t spend nearly as much money. They insinuated that Man Cang and I should ’even out’ the difference."
"Tell me, aren’t they just crazy for money? How would I know how much they spent on their weddings? They’re just beating the dog to find its owner!"