Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 203 Maternal Family

The Yang Family knew that Yang Peiguo hadn’t come home last night, he definitely stayed overnight at the Shen family’s place, and they also knew that they would surely return in the morning, so Zhang Minghua had instructed Yang Peijun to head to town early to buy some meat.

Poor Yang Peijun, pedaling his bicycle, had set out as early as 5 AM, but for the sake of enjoying some meat, he did so willingly.

Every time Yang PeiMin came home, Zhang Minghua seemed as if she hadn’t seen her for such a long time, pulling her into an embrace the moment she walked in, "Oh, Minmin, how have you lost even more weight?"

But this feeling was truly wonderful.

"Missing mom, thinking about you made me lose weight," Yang PeiMin said cheerfully, hugging her arm.

Of course, when others hugged their arms, they got goosebumps, but Zhang Minghua was visibly moved.

Everyone gathered around her, eager to hear about her family visit, and Yang PeiMin gave them a brief summary.

However, about her returning so early, some didn’t quite understand. Bai Hehua examined her clothes and asked, "Minmin, why haven’t you stayed with the military unit? Did you want to come back, or did your brother-in-law tell you to come home?"

The real reason, Yang PeiMin had already cleared up with Yang Dahai and Zhao Minghua. She hadn’t told the others, and she wasn’t about to reveal it now; it was better to be discreet about this kind of thing. After all, if she didn’t pass the exam, it would be embarrassing.

So, her response to Bai Hehua was that the Military Family Building wasn’t finished yet and Shen Yiguang couldn’t bear to see her suffer, so he let her come back first.

Bai Hehua eyed her blue short-sleeved blouse with a baby collar, slightly tailored black polyester pants, and the pair of black leather shoes on her feet, which made her look particularly delicate and literate, just like a city person. A pang of envy rose in her eyes, "Your brother-in-law is really good to you, does he give you his salary to manage?"

Zhang Minghua glanced at her, "If he doesn’t give it to Minmin, who else would he give it to?"

Bai Hehua quickly laughed, "Then it’s not surprising, with money in your own hands you can buy whatever you want. That outfit of yours must have cost a good amount, right?"

Yang PeiMin shook her head, "I didn’t use his money for these clothes; I earned them myself." She bought them when she was out shopping with Qiao Ying and had made some minor alterations herself. The leather shoes were the pair that Shen Yiguang accompanied her to buy last year. She wasn’t lying; from selling those eight sets of cosmetics, she had made over a hundred yuan in commission.

Bai Hehua wasn’t convinced and looked at her dubiously, "Sister, are you talking about the salary from when you were substitute teaching?" She could roughly calculate how much that job paid and knew it wasn’t much. Minmin sent five yuan home to her mother each month, which would hardly be enough to buy a pair of leather shoes. Bai Hehua’s mind worked quickly; she immediately thought of the caramel candies Minmin had brought back, suspecting that she might have her own way of making money.

Thinking this, Bai Hehua felt a surge of warmth and her gaze at Yang PeiMin changed.

"Sister, you really are capable. So, what are you planning to do now that you’re back? The Military Family Building won’t be finished anytime soon, won’t you get bored at home?"

"What’s there to be bored about? Visiting neighbors, doing housework, the days pass by very quickly."

She’d just exchanged a few words with her sisters-in-law when Zhang Minghua pulled her aside into the room for a more private conversation.

First, Zhang Minghua asked about any movement from her belly, and the second thing she brought up was their family’s caramel business.

"We’ve already discussed it with your father, when the five kids in our family get married, we both plan to chip in a bit, trying to keep things as even as possible. We had your dowry ready a long time ago, but we didn’t expect so many problems to arise during the New Year, and in a panic, we used your dowry for something else."

"We also didn’t anticipate you’d find your match so soon, and your parents didn’t have enough time to prepare your complete dowry before you had to rush off to get married. It’s left us feeling quite guilty, so we thought we’d slowly make up for it over time. Don’t be surprised by what I’m saying now, the caramel business isn’t doing too bad. We can save up a bit every month. Just tell us, what do you prefer? Cash or goods? Your father and I will prepare it for you." freёweɓnovel.com

Yang PeiMin was touched and grateful. "Mother, there’s no need. I had a good send-off when I got married. Who in the village got married as grandly as I did? Besides, your son-in-law and I have everything we need, we really don’t lack anything. We have enough money too, so you really don’t need to spend any more." The caramel sold about seventy to eighty catties a month, earning twenty cents a catty, barely fifteen or sixteen yuan a month, which was half of what an ordinary worker made. With so many people in the family to support, how could they save much money?

"Mother, you should save up for Peiying’s dowry instead. What kind of married woman still brings a dowry back to her husband’s family? People would laugh us to death."

Zhang Minghua felt helpless and tried to persuade her, but her daughter was as stubborn as an ox.

"Alright then, if you don’t want it, I’ll just keep the money for your future grandchildren."

Well, in the end, it still came back to her grandchildren.

Luckily, Yang PeiMin wasn’t one to dwell on things and already had a plan in mind. Otherwise, if she had been someone else, with her in-laws, parents, neighbors, and villagers all discussing the activity in her womb, she would have surely gotten depressed.

Yang PeiMin stayed at the Yang Family for lunch before returning home.

She only saw Li Hong at mealtime because she hadn’t been present in the morning as she’d gone to work. After the previous incident where she mistakenly thought she was pregnant, she seemed to have learned her lesson. She apologized to her family first and then took the initiative to go to work. When she returned from work, she was very diligent, promptly going into the kitchen to help cook.

Before the meal, Yang PeiMin distributed the gifts. The presents for Yang Dahai and Zhang Minghua were the same as those for her in-laws, she kept it even with these things as well. Yang Peiying received a silk scarf, different from those of Shen Yiyue and Shen Yixiang, chosen according to their complexion and temperament. They all loved them, and the three nieces and nephews just got some small toys. She didn’t buy individual gifts for everyone else since it’s not a good habit to form, to avoid creating expectations and resentments over such things. Besides, she wasn’t that wealthy. She only purchased some pastries, which she distributed to everyone.

Bai Hehua eyed the silk scarf that Yang Peiying had received and, taking it in hand, couldn’t stop admiring it, looking as if she couldn’t bear to let it go. "This is really beautiful. I’ve never worn a silk scarf before. I don’t even know what it looks like on me. I remember seeing a city girl wearing one when I went to town once. My, it looked so elegant. I heard some girls would only wear them during their weddings or when attending a wedding banquet."

"Peiying, could you let sister-in-law try it on? Just to see."

Yang Peiying nodded.

Zhang Minghua seemed displeased, "Don’t wear it now, you’ll get it dirty."

"Mother, Peiying has agreed, and I’ll be careful."