Transmigration: On the Gossip Front
Chapter 142: Brother-in-law is the Ex 42_1

Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Brother-in-law is the Ex 42_1

Zhang Xiaoya listlessly returned to her room, assuming that Huang Lixin had already gone to rest.

To her surprise, he was actually leaning against the headboard, smoking and deep in thought. "Why have you started smoking again?"

Zhang Xiaoya said irritably as she approached him and took the cigarette from his mouth, "You know full well Xiao Lei is pregnant."

"Don’t you know it’s bad for the child?" Zhang Xiaoya snuffed out the cigarette.

She then opened a crack in the window, "What’s gotten into you today? You even scared Xiao Lei."

Scared Huang Lei? Huang Lixin chuckled, "Don’t worry, even if I scare myself into something serious, she won’t be frightened."

"For her, as long as she has a house, after having one child and raising the eldest, she can then have a second child. By the time the second child grows up, she would’ve been out of the workforce for over a decade."

"We would’ve retired early too, and even if we wanted to help her find a job, we’d be powerless."

The principle that ’out of sight, out of mind’ was something Huang Lixin had always understood. His former leader had done a good job, but in the end, had to leave reluctantly due to age.

The treatment his leader received after leaving was all witnessed by Huang Lixin. The once bustling home had turned quiet and empty.

As for his situation, it could only be worse, not better.

"She’s not working, and Ho Zhen isn’t giving her his salary, how is she going to live?"

"Isn’t it us who will have to foot the bill?"

"Here we are, at our age, still supporting our daughter, our grandchildren. What about this..."

Huang Lixin took a deep breath, "Anyway, I will take responsibility for the child’s expenses, at least for the milk formula and diapers. As for more than that, I refuse to involve myself."

"When the child gets older and needs to go to classes or attend hobby groups, that will be their problem as a couple."

"Don’t expect any more financial support from me."

What Huang Lixin regretted the most now was, "I was really out of my mind back then, worrying about Huang Lei being mistreated by others."

"I even suggested that he marry into the family. Just look, Ho Zhen was an alright guy at first, but now that he knows he’s marrying into the family, the whole person has changed."

"In fact, I should never have suggested that. The house is ours; we could’ve let them live there without paying rent."

"They could’ve put in the effort as a couple to save money to buy their own house."

"Now that they have the house, why would Huang Lei want to go to work?"

Huang Lixin paused, "I’ve thought about it and decided to talk to Ho Zhen. No marrying in, no wedding."

"They don’t have to give a dowry, and Xiao Lei won’t prepare any dowry."

"The house they’re living in is ours. We’re the ones handling the renovations; we’re paying for all the furniture and appliances."

"It’s like renting it to them. I’ll have Ho Zhen give Xiao Lei some rent money every month as her pocket money."

"As for the household expenses, as the man of the house, whether or not he’s willing to pay, he simply must."

Zhang Xiaoya never expected Huang Lixin to come up with such an idea. "You’re saying, you’re saying, not to let Ho Zhen marry in?"

The wedding was fast approaching, and preparations were advancing step by step.

Now Huang Lixin brought up this explosive topic, Zhang Xiaoya could hardly bear to think about how the Ho Family would laugh at them once they found out.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"You’ve always regretted not having a son, but now, though we don’t have a son, at least Xiao Lei’s man can marry into our family."

"The child can take the Huang surname; isn’t that just like having a son?" Zhang Xiaoya thought about how she’d been mocked by her uncles and aunts, and her sister-in-law, just because she gave birth to twin daughters and not a son.

"Including back when I had the twins, my health was poor, you were busy with work, and I couldn’t take care of the children on my own, so I asked your mother to lend a hand."

"That look on her face, I still remember it to this day."

"They all joked that I gave birth to two losses."

"Your family looked down on me, and you sided with them. Although you didn’t outright say it, your expressions really gave you away."

"No matter what, it was not easy to get the Ho family to agree to Ho Zhen marrying into our family, and I’m not going to let this final step fall apart like this."

No matter how Huang Lixin analyzed the situation, Zhang Xiaoya simply wouldn’t change her mind, "I must let people know that my eldest daughter, though she is a girl, has everything that others have."

Zhang Xiaoya remembered a news piece she saw a few days ago, "The child my daughter gives birth to, I can be sure that it’s indeed Xiao Lei’s child."

"But as for others, can you be sure that the child your wife gives birth to is definitely yours?"

Huang Lixin had not expected Zhang Xiaoya to watch such news, and was utterly surprised, "Wife, you must be really bored to watch that kind of news."

"I am bored, having to mop the floor, mopping twice a day."

"Then there’s the non-stop trips to buy groceries; otherwise, feeding so many people is a problem."

Although cooking was tiring, at least she didn’t have to clean the house, Zhang Xiaoya couldn’t help letting out a long sigh.

"I want to take advantage of being here to see a doctor, and later find a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner to properly adjust my health."

Although my health seems fine at the moment, the body belongs to me, and who else would know if it’s not feeling well?

These days following Huang Lei around, Zhang Xiaoya couldn’t pretend she wasn’t tired, "You have no idea how picky Xiao Lei really is."

"One moment this, another that." Now, it was just the two old folks, Zhang Xiaoya felt free to vent her complaints.

Hearing Zhang Xiaoya’s complaints, Huang Lixin suddenly said, "Right now we still have money, think about it, that’s the treatment we get."

"If we didn’t have money, didn’t have a house, think about what your precious daughter would do?"

"Would she provide for us in old age?"

"Anyway, I feel that neither the elder nor the younger one would care about us."

One only cares about herself, blind to others, while the other has already been hurt too much by them to bother with us at all.

"We, ah, can’t let go of this apartment we’re living in now, nor the one we’re about to buy, no matter what."

"As long as we live, the house stands; when we die, the house goes."

"Plus, with the money we still have, we can’t keep spending like this."

"You making money tutoring is the only way we have more. Once you retire, do you think the eldest will be able to take care of the children well?"

"And when you’re taking care of her children for her, will you still have money?"

"The eldest doesn’t want to work, so think about what Ho Zhen will do then?"

"The house isn’t his, the child doesn’t share his surname, he works for a foreign company, and he’s quite presentable. Once his income rises, he’ll just ask for a divorce, what will we do then?"

"He wouldn’t dare," Zhang Xiaoya snorted coldly, "That would be quite the audacious move."