Back to the 70s: My Childhood Sweetheart Spoils Me Rotten
Chapter 149: Taking Control

Chapter 149: Chapter 149: Taking Control

Gong Dajiang didn’t rest well for the whole night; the news he heard last night still wouldn’t let him calm down.

Gong Dajiang didn’t expect his own wife to be so biased, sixty yuan a year, he really didn’t see it coming.

By morning, Gong Dajiang’s mood hadn’t improved at all; his expression towards Zhang Lan was as unpleasant as it could get.

Zhang Lan was all sorts of restless, "Old man, um..."

"You’d better think carefully about that money," Gong Dajiang pressed on about the money.

The money was certainly received, but Zhang Lan really didn’t have it on her, "Um, um..."

Zhang Lan knew that saying it all went to Gong Qiang would probably make the old man blow up, but not saying it left her with no way to produce the money; what could she do?

Zhang Lan was filled with hate, knowing that Cai Meina, this daughter-in-law, was the most cunning, just like her parents.

"Speak," Gong Dajiang was furious, "Did you give it to your mother’s family?"

Thinking of the old woman’s maternal family made Gong Dajiang’s mood just turn sour, "Did you give it to your mother’s family?"

"No, no," Zhang Lan couldn’t admit she sent money to her mother’s family, that would be suicidal in various ways.

"Then who did you give it to?" It couldn’t have all gone to the eldest son, right? Gong Dajiang pressed further.

Zhang Lan, helpless, nodded, "You know the eldest’s days are hard, with so many kids..."

Was life really hard for Gong Qiang’s family? Gong Dajiang really couldn’t tell, "That’s because his wife has an even more troublesome maternal family."

"I just don’t understand, why are the Gong family’s daughters-in-law’s maternal families always so troublesome, starting with you..." Whenever Gong Dajiang thought of the money Gong Tao dutifully sent being funneled through Gong Qiang to his wife’s family, could his mood be good?

Gong Ruini was at the corner of the wall listening with great delight, finding the dog-eat-dog scene all kinds of amusing. Hmph, it served the old woman right for not forgetting to badmouth his family yesterday.

The woman should be properly reprimanded, otherwise, she’ll really not know the heights of the sky.

Gong Ruini didn’t believe Gong Dajiang was speaking up for his family; after all, he never once mentioned why Gong Tao’s family had to contribute to retirement funds, and even less about returning the money.

Instead, he kept asking where the money went, talking about annoying in-laws; Gong Ruini really wanted to say, instead of complaining about this and that, why don’t you manage your wife properly? If you manage your wife well, wouldn’t the ones below have nothing to emulate?

"I will manage the family money from now on." Gong Dajiang suddenly wanted to know how much money they had as a couple; it couldn’t all be slowly given to the eldest, right?

Ah, Zhang Lan was shocked, then quickly bowed her head. Now, seeing the old man’s various angry looks, she didn’t dare mention that the family finances had always been managed by women. That would only make him explode in various ways.

But can the money be managed by the old man? Of course not; it’s not that Zhang Lan insisted on managing the money, but the loopholes inside were not ordinary and were beyond her ability to patch.

Zhang Lan believed she didn’t show her anxiety, but her fleeting reaction was caught in Gong Dajiang’s eyes; even if Zhang Lan later said there was no problem, he noticed that moment of panic.

"We must have some money, without money, we’d feel anxious."

"You aren’t thinking that Gong Tao and the others will continue to take care of us, are you?"

Gong Dajiang wasn’t unclear that he might have wronged Gong Tao in the past, but it was impossible for him to apologize.

Not to mention that Gong Tao and his wife had already developed in the Northeast, will their future be good?

Since this son was more or less useless, Gong Dajiang was too lazy to waste more effort on them; what’s more important was from the moment they entered yesterday until now, he didn’t fail to notice this son’s indifference towards them.

Other than greeting them at the beginning, there was nothing else, making Gong Dajiang increasingly uncomfortable, and variously regret coming here.

Early in the morning, Cai Meina first made breakfast for the Zhao Family, then made their own breakfast. The breakfast was so watery, you could hardly see any rice; fortunately, there were plenty of sweet potatoes, or it would really feel like drinking water.

"Didn’t you make eggs?" Zhang Lan poked her head in and saw it was sweet potato porridge, yet there were no eggs in sight.

Eggs? The old woman was really watching her moves, "Those were for the Zhao Family’s breakfast, we don’t have chickens, where would we get eggs to eat."

What, the chickens in the yard aren’t Gong Tao’s? Zhang Lan was so excited when she saw the chickens in the yard in the morning, even thinking of taking some chickens home.

After all, with the cold weather, she could easily bring some chickens home, not expecting these chickens weren’t her son’s at all, "Don’t think you can trick us; of course, you have your own chickens."

"No money," Cai Meina was even more straightforward, "We gave all our money to you, Mom."

"As for so many chickens, those are specifically for Zhan Jing for her special diet during confinement."

"In winter, chickens lay very few eggs, and as for the eggs that are laid, they’re saved for after the childbirth."

Upon hearing the chickens had nothing to do with him, it was false to say Gong Dajiang wasn’t angry, but his daughter-in-law kept bringing up the retirement money, which was also a bit infuriating, yet he couldn’t argue back.

"The rice we eat, plus the sweet potatoes, are also given by the Zhao Family; after the year-end harvest, we have to return them."

Hmph, don’t think we’re going to mail the grain back; those are for paying debts.

This was the Zhao Family, and that was the Zhao Family; Zhang Lan wouldn’t truly believe their son and daughter-in-law completely relied on the Zhao Family’s support.

"How are you two living here?" Zhang Lan was infuriated, not understanding how they couldn’t take advantage of such a good environment.

Zhang Lan, being frustrated, wore an expression as if she was worried about them, but Gong Tao and Cai Meina didn’t believe she genuinely had their best interests at heart.

"We arrived at the wrong time, almost winter, how could we do work? If we didn’t work, how could the village support us for free?"

"We had so little money, after buying some daily necessities, it was almost gone. Even if we raised chickens, there was nothing to feed them, it would be a waste of money."

"Moreover, I’m someone who can’t do things properly; Mom, weren’t you always saying I was the most useless of the brothers?" Gong Tao echoed back the words Zhang Lan used to scold him before.

How familiar did those words sound? On thinking, weren’t those exactly what she used to say? "Yes, you are not as smart as your elder brother or your younger brother."

Regarding whether the younger brother was indeed better, that remained to be seen; as for whether the eldest was better, anyone with eyes that weren’t blind would know.

"The eldest brother is indeed capable; he has his ways to handle his promotion, I think he should be doing even better now."

Gong Tao remembered what Gong Qiangzhi had smugly said to him: some people only know their limits after they fall once or twice, they only know that without protection, they’re nothing.

"Moreover, the eldest brother probably doesn’t need help from a broke, incapable brother like me to support the family." Gong Tao used to pretend to be someone he wasn’t; now he absolutely wouldn’t be so foolish.

Why should he foolishly be good to his parents, especially when he didn’t receive any response at all?