Seeing her mother-in-law frown, she quickly explained, "Mom, first, we havenāt separated the family yet. He has the ability to help out at home, and itās only right for him to do so. Second, opportunities like this are rare.
If we can buy that house, weāll have more space to live in. What do you think?"
Mother He snorted coldly, "I see no reason. If you in the second family have the skills, then you buy it. Why involve Jinxuan?"
Second Sister-in-law He replied reluctantly, "Isnāt it true we havenāt split the family yet? Heās working at the Mechanical Factory now, and they allocated him a yard there. The money is just sitting there, why not let the family use it temporarily? Isnāt that okay?"
Mother He threw down the rag in her hand, "You know very well what youāre plotting. Donāt talk about whether he even got that bonus you mentionedāassuming he did, why should he help the family? You only contribute living expenses monthly; you save the rest yourselves. Have I ever said anything?
Heās already grown, and he hasnāt started a family yet. Instead of saying youād help him, youāre scheming for his money. Such nerve."
Second Sister-in-law He saw her mother-in-law was really upset, "Mom, look at what youāre saying. Canāt the family just borrow that money from him?
Little brother is dating now; wonāt we need to free up a room if he gets married?
The kids at home are growing up day by day, and we only have so much space. When they get older, they canāt always squeeze in with the adults, right?"
After hearing her second daughter-in-lawās words, Mother He sighed inwardly, "Even if what you say makes sense, this is a family matter, and itās not possible to expect him to pay that money."
Second Sister-in-law He felt like she couldnāt make things clear with her mother-in-law, "Mom, how about this: didnāt Dad just ask you to go to the Mechanical Factory to see the third brother? Iāll go with you then, and if you feel awkward, Iāll talk to him about it. What do you think?
The main thing is, many people want the house next door. If we wait too long, itāll be snatched up, and weāll only regret it later."
Mother He was somewhat wavering; she neither agreed nor refused.
Second Sister-in-law He was afraid her mother-in-law might say "no" again, so she quickly found an excuse to leave. Yet before she reached the door, she remembered to call out, "Mom, Iāll apply for leave at work this afternoon, and tomorrow Iāll go with you."
At this moment, He Jinxuan, the one they were talking about, had just sent his two nephews to bed. Initially, he wanted to stay in the west room where Yu Xinyan used to live, but he was afraid of people gossiping, so he had the two nephews move there.
He opened the folder and looked at the two certificates for a long time before taking out the two envelopes. Because the case was significant, the bonus was indeed substantial: 800 yuan from the province, 600 yuan from the city, plus the 200 yuan reward previously given by the factory, totaling 1,600 yuan.
Thinking about how this money had been with Yu Xinyan for so long, a smile appeared on his lips.
As for what was on his mind, only he knew.
He took out a metal box from the hidden compartment of the cabinet and put the two money-filled envelopes inside. When he returned to the city someday, he would deposit the money then.
Thinking about the favor he had asked someone to do, he pulled two ten-yuan bills from the box and put them in his pocket before returning the metal box to the hidden compartmentāonly he knew about this place, and nobody else could find it even if he didnāt say.
After tidying up, he lay on the bed, his thoughts drifting to Yu Xinyan. He wondered how the girl was doing at school today and if she was being bullied.