Liu Fen waved her hands and said, “How can I do such a heartless thing! Of course I won’t!”
Liu Fen did not know why Qiao Mei suddenly asked her this question, but she felt that all families had their own issues. Liu Fen thought for a moment and added, “Every family has their own difficulties. If Kong Lu’s own family is doing too much better than his brothers, it will inevitably cause a rift. I mean, he can’t just watch his brothers starve to death.”
“It’s indeed alright to help out, but he can’t go overboard!” Qiao Mei deliberately opened the backyard door a little so that Kong Lu could hear them.
“Elder sister said that in the past few years, Old Madam Kong had taken more than 3,000 dollars in cash from her. In addition, the old lady also took away many of her other belongings. She took two television sets, and also three or four bicycles and sewing machines. She actually wanted more, but elder sister did not agree to it. Otherwise, she would have taken even more! It was only after all that that elder sister started having a problem with Old Madam Kong,” Qiao Mei said.
When Liu Fen heard this, she looked at Xia He. When Xia He heard someone else finally saying all the things she wanted to say, she wept silently at one side. Finally, there was someone who knew all the hardships she had gone through over the years.
“There are only two younger brothers in the Kong family. Is there a need for so many household appliances? The money they took is enough to build a big villa for them in the countryside! I also hear that these two brothers are very generous now. They agree to whatever the villagers request from it, they just go back to ask our elder sister for it. Furthermore, where are all the various coupons that brother-in-law sent back in the past few years? Why is it that our elder sister has never seen any of it?” Qiao Mei continued.
By this point, Qiao Mei became more agitated and shouted towards the door, “Our elder sister’s own coupons are all taken away by Kong Li. That woman can even smash open locked drawers! Yet she’s still not satisfied and wants our elder sister to hand over all her salary.”
“Old people actually don’t spend that much… Besides, Xia He earns a lot… They probably just want to save some money, right? It’s not like she can’t afford it… There’s no need to quarrel over money and ruin the harmony in the family…” Liu Fen defended the other party softly.
Qiao Mei was so angry that she laughed. Liu Fen’s family member was being bullied by outsiders and yet she still did not want to side with her own family.
“So I know now that Second Aunt-in-law is so generous. Then when Xia Zhe and I finished renovating our house, I’ll like to trouble Second Aunt-in-law to buy us all the electrical appliances we need,” Qiao Mei said.
Liu Fen thought for a moment and said, “Back then, Xia Zhe gave your family a betrothal gift of 2,000 dollars. When you’ve spent it all and it’s still not enough, then come and tell me. I’ll definitely get what you need for you.”
Qiao Mei was stunned for a moment. She did not expect Liu Fen to use her betrothal gifts as an excuse. “Second Aunt-in-law, the betrothal money is Xia Zhe’s gift to me. Don’t you also think that a married couple should have some savings in order to have a better life together? So I have to trouble Second Aunt-in-law to spend some money on our electrical appliances. We’re a family and it’s not good to ruin the harmony in the family because of this little bit of money. Don’t you think so, Second Aunt-in-law?”
Liu Fen was rendered speechless by the retort!
Kong Lu fell to the ground and looked towards the door in a daze. He did not expect his mother to have already taken so much money from Xiao He.
He did not know any of this. When he asked his mother about why the television set at home was gone, she said that it was broken. Not long after, Xia He bought a new one. When he returned, it was gone again and his mother had given him the same reason.
After that, he wanted to buy another one, but Xia He disagreed. She said that he should be more mindful, and that he should not buy one since the quality of the television set was not good and it would be a waste of money. At that time, he had thought that Xia He wanted to live frugally.
They never had any sewing machine or bicycle at home as Xia He said that she did not know how to use them. Yet, it turned out that she had bought so many sets for his brothers?
“I… I don’t even know about these things… My mother didn’t tell me either… Why didn’t she tell me…” Kong Lu said.
Qiao Mei opened the door and stood beside Xia Zhe as she said, “Because our elder sister doesn’t want to bother you with all these nasty matters. She doesn’t want to put any pressure on you and wants to be a good wife. But what about you? What have you done? Has our elder sister said anything bad about your family over the years?”
Kong Lu thought about it and shook his head. She had never said anything in all these years.
“Then what about your mother and sister? Have they ever said anything nice about our elder sister? What did she get in exchange for all her efforts all these years?” Qiao Mei said agitatedly.
Xia Zhe reached out to hug the upset Qiao Mei and quietly helped her catch her breath.
“Your mother’s main problem was not her bad attitude, but her lack of conscience,” Qiao Mei said calmly.
Actually, Xia He did not tell her too much. She had guessed most of what happened. After all, she had seen many such things happen in the village and could make a guess easily.
