Chapter 405: Ninety's Contrast System (8)

Zhu Meijiao was still calculating how much money Xie Yang had left after buying new clothes, and whether it would be enough to renovate a bathroom.

Her classmates' families were already using ceramic toilets and large bathtubs, while her own home still had a stinking pit latrine.

Not to mention that going to the toilet was like undergoing torture, every time she finished bathing, she had to laboriously carry the tub out to dump the water; it was too troublesome.

Therefore, this month, every time she came home, she would talk and talk to her father and stepmother, hoping the family would renovate a bathroom.

Last week when she came back, she finally got her father to nod, and her stepmother also promised to start the work once Xie Yang returned.

Why wait for Xie Yang to return?

How could Zhu Meijiao not know in her heart? It was just waiting for that salary and year-end bonus in Xie Yang's hands.

But now...

At the thought that the beautiful ceramic toilet and large bathtub were about to drift away from her, and the brand-new bathroom was clearly about to fall through, Zhu Meijiao's mood plummeted to the bottom.

Hearing Xie Yang suddenly say she wanted to move back to the old house in Zhou Family Village, she subconsciously stopped her:

"Auntie Ru, I think Sister's complexion really doesn't look too good. Why not just let her move to the attic to live?"

If she stayed, there might still be a way to make her pay for the family's bathroom renovation; if she moved back to Zhou Family Village, would there still be a chance?

Hearing Zhu Meijiao say this, Zhou Ru glared at Xie Yang irritably: "Alright, alright, it's just a matter of setting up a bed board and laying out a quilt. Must you make the whole family go through such trouble? I must have owed you in my past life!"

Saying this, she prepared to go to the north room to roll up the bedding and move it to the attic.

Xie Yang leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed: "This set of bedding isn't warm enough. Zhu Meijiao is using a quilt made of new cotton; I want that kind too."

Zhou Ru was so angry she raised her hand to hit her: "Do you think new cotton doesn't cost money?"

The Zhu Family didn't grow cotton themselves, and because they were too busy, whenever they needed cotton, they bought it from other villagers.

This year's new cotton was only enough to make one ten-pound new cotton quilt for Zhu Meijiao; Zhou Ru hadn't even been willing to make one for herself.

Xie Yang turned around and started walking out.

"You dead girl, where are you going?"

"I'm going back to Zhou Family Village! I don't believe my grandfather and grandmother would be unwilling to let me use a new cotton quilt when they see I'm sick like this."

"..."

Why was this dead girl so stubborn now!

Zhou Ru bit her back teeth and hurriedly shouted to stop her: "Get back here! You still want to go and lose face in your grandfather's village?"

Xie Yang shrugged: "I don't care."

"..."

In the end, Zhou Ru spent some money to go to the end of the village to find the family that processed cotton and bought a sample quilt, setting up the bed for Xie Yang in the attic.

Calling it a bed, it was actually just an old door panel placed on two long benches.

However, Xie Yang was fairly satisfied; at least the bedding was new, and the duvet cover was one she had bought herself in the County. After washing it with hot water and drying it during those days she stayed at the hotel, it smelled fragrant like the scent of the sun once she put it on.

The afternoon sunlight spilled into the attic, baking the cramped little space until it was warm.

Xie Yang lay on the bed fully clothed, looking up to admire the blue sky outside the skylight.

Because it was a wooden structure, the sunlight spilling into the skylight and the small south-facing window gave one a unique feeling of being in an ancient boudoir or embroidered tower.

She mused that if Zhou Ru and Zhu Meijiao didn't come to bother her, living here for a short time wouldn't be bad.

Later, when Zhou Family Village was demolished, she would take her share of the compensation, play the stock market, and take care of her health. After all, in the A-share market of the nineties, anyone who entered could pick up a bargain; even without working, her living expenses would be covered.

She sat leisurely waiting for the "Female Supporting Character Contrast System" to unbind from Zhu Meijiao and complete the task for this plane.

Compared to the life of endless toil in the previous plane, the persona for this plane seemed pretty good for now.

Main System: 【...】

The persona for this plane was originally very hardworking and uncomplaining, okay?

It was you, the Host, who forcibly twisted it into a frail and sickly female supporting character.

【Host, pull yourself together!】

Seeing Xie Yang with her hands behind her head, bathing in the faint sunlight and seemingly about to fall asleep, the Main System reminded her, feeling that she was failing to live up to expectations:

【Your biological mother and stepfather in this body are plotting to get the little money you have.】

"Oh?" Xie Yang opened her eyes curiously, "What are they plotting?"

Zhou Ru and Zhu Weiguo were plotting... no, they were discussing the areas where the family urgently needed to spend money recently.

Zhu Meijiao was there too.

She had to return to school after lunch.

Usually at this time, she would be in her room reading essays or writing her weekly journal, but today she was in no mood.

Xie Yang had returned, but what about the promised money? She hadn't seen her take it out yet.

Was the bathroom going to be renovated or not!

So annoying!

"Auntie Ru, how did Sister get sick so suddenly? It sounds quite serious. I'm afraid treating the illness will require a lot of money. How about I drop out of school? It just so happens I haven't paid the tuition for next semester yet; take that money to treat Sister's illness."

Zhu Meijiao cleverly used the tactic of retreating to advance.

Sure enough, Zhou Ru hurriedly stopped her: "That won't do! You've already reached high school, and there are only two years left until the College Entrance Examination. You've walked the long march all the way to the final stage, how can you give up? Don't worry, I've already set aside the money for your schooling."

"But..." Zhu Meijiao looked as if she were about to cry.

"Cough." Zhu Weiguo took a drag of his cigarette and said in a muffled voice, "It's all my fault for being useless. When an emergency arises, the family can't scrape together any extra money. If it really doesn't work out, let's renovate the bathroom later. Anyway, Meijiao usually lives at school and only comes back on weekends; she won't use the toilet or bathtub many times. You've been good enough to her; don't spoil her in everything."

Hearing the last sentence, Zhou Ru felt much more at ease.

It showed that the man saw all the sacrifices she had made over the years. That was enough!

She patted Zhu Meijiao, who was aggrieved with reddened eyes, in a soothing manner:

"It was agreed that the renovation would be done before Meijiao's winter break. The toilet and bathtub are already ordered, the blueprints for the Septic Tank have been checked by someone, and I've already hired the mason. If we change our minds now, wouldn't that offend several parties?

Meijiao will be in her second year of high school soon, and the study pressure is high. When she comes home, shouldn't she be allowed to take a bath and relax?"

Besides, a latrine without a Septic Tank really stinks, especially when summer arrives; with those flies buzzing around, it's not just that Meijiao is too embarrassed to bring classmates home to play, even I get a headache just looking at it.

In any case, since the bathroom renovation was decided before the New Year, don't change it; I've already arranged the money.

It is arranged.

It's just that half is still missing, and isn't that counting on Xie Yang's last month of wages and year-end bonus?

The plan was so well-made, yet that dead girl had to drop the ball at the critical moment, wasting a sum on a hospital check-up and wasting another sum on buying clothes and shoes; she really thinks she's something!

It seems she can't be allowed to manage her own money in the future; next year, if she goes out to work with Meifang and the others again, her ID card must be kept by a reliable girl to prevent that dead girl from taking it to open a bank account and stashing money in it privately.

This girl really has more schemes the older she gets!

Just look, she's only been away from home for a year, and now that she's back, she doesn't recognize her own kin; refusing to live in the dark and damp north room, refusing to sleep on the hard old bedding, insisting on fighting Meijiao for the room and the quilt...

I really underestimated her before!

She is indeed Xie Lei's seed, truly as cold-hearted and cold-blooded as her Educated Youth father.