Chapter 199 Family Affairs
Yang PeiMin was astonished. Li Hong was not pregnant after all—didn’t that mean she had been shamelessly exploiting her condition, only to be caught red-handed? She was very curious; what was her expression like once the mistake was discovered? It seemed Yang Dahai’s refusal to let Yang Peijun come over was not just because he was busy; perhaps it had something to do with this situation, prompting him to offer that excuse.
Her curiosity only grew, and she persistently pressed Yang Peiguo for details.
The honest and simple Yang Peiguo couldn’t withstand her relentless questioning, and ended up spilling all the recent family matters like pouring beans from a basket.
The Yang Family’s caramel candy had been selling so well that the county department store increased its orders. Zhang Minghua was therefore kept busy and stopped going to work with the team—she stayed at home making candy with Yang Peiying, taking care of the housework and looking after her grandson. After paying back the team’s money, their quality of life improved a bit too; Zhang Minghua was willing to buy meat once or twice a month and tofu and eggs every three to five days. They also got enough piglets and chicks to raise.
Everyone at home noticed these changes. Yang Dahai, who had initially opposed these ideas due to traditional thinking, finally let out a sigh and turned a blind eye after seeing the family’s happiness and increased energy in their work.
Li Hong, using her supposed pregnancy as an excuse, conveniently stopped working, always complaining of discomfort and lack of energy. The Yang Family, not ones to be stingy or mean, raised no objections. On the other hand, the eldest sister-in-law, Jiang Erni, acted as if she were not pregnant at all and joined the other village women in working the fields without showing any special awareness of her condition. Yang Dahai, pitying her for being pregnant, assigned her lighter tasks.
With just Li Hong, Zhang Minghua, and Yang Peiying left at home, Li Hong occasionally helped with the household chores, especially when Zhang Minghua was making candy. Once, Gong Chenglan sent a message requesting a rush order of thirty pounds for a wedding banquet. It caught them off guard because they typically made fixed quantities at scheduled times. They would not produce much extra, and this nearly overwhelmed Zhang Minghua and Yang Peiying due to the tight deadline. Seeing this, Li Hong began scheming, offering her help.
However, Zhang Minghua refused her offer. She had her own set of calculations in mind. She did not plan to teach her craft to her daughter-in-law, let alone Li Hong, who wasn’t genuinely on her side. Teaching it to her daughter-in-law was like teaching it to her family, and even if they didn’t pass it on, they would surely have their own schemes. Zhang Minghua, strong and capable as she was, decided to take on the work herself. Furthermore, she was also planning to save up a dowry for Yang Peiying and to restore what had been used from Yang PeiMin’s initially planned dowry once they had the money.