Chapter 413: Ninety-Era Contrast System (16)

At the mention of money, Zhou Ru was instantly struck dumb.

She lowered her voice even further:

"Stop bringing up money at every turn! The family was in urgent need of it, so it's already been spent. You're a part of this family too; we share in the blessings and the burdens. Once the bathroom renovation is finished, won't you be using it too?"

"And as for medical treatment, aren't you perfectly fine? You even went behind our backs to buy chicken on credit. I kept this from Zhu Shushu, but you aren't allowed to do it again. If your complexion is poor, Mom will take you to see a traditional Chinese medicine doctor another day. It's normal for a young girl to have a poor complexion; just get some treatment and you'll be fine."

Zhou Ru truly thought this way.

The dead girl's complexion wasn't great, but she didn't believe in any terminal illness.

Doctors loved to exaggerate. It was perfectly normal for a young girl to lose some menstrual blood every month, leading to weak blood and a poor complexion.

She would take her to a traditional Chinese medicine clinic later to get a few prescriptions, have her drink them for a few days, and by the time spring arrived, she should be mostly recovered.

"You can rest well during the New Year, but once spring starts, you still have to go work in the South with Meifang and the others. What kind of talk is it to stay home and eat for free!"

Xie Yang was brushing her teeth and nearly choked on the toothpaste foam when she heard this.

Was this woman hard of hearing or just stupid? Things had reached this point, and she still wanted to order her around to work and earn money for this family?

After rinsing her mouth, Xie Yang straightened her back, looked into Zhou Ru's eyes, and said, "Did you not understand what I meant? I am going to use the money I earned over the past year for my medical treatment and recovery. I don't plan on going out to work, nor do I plan on finding a job nearby."

"What!" Zhou Ru was stunned. "Are you saying that after the New Year, you're going to keep idling at home like this?"

Idling at home?

"You can think of it that way if you like." Xie Yang shrugged. "For the past ten years, I've given too much to this family, resulting in a body full of illnesses. If I don't treat them properly, I won't live past thirty. I don't want to die young. Whoever blocks my medical treatment is my mortal enemy!"

"!!!"

Zhou Ru never imagined that the dead girl actually had no intention of going out to work, and even insisted on getting back the wages she had sent home previously.

But this money had already been mostly spent; where could she possibly get it from?

Besides, if she didn't go out to work, what about the future source of income?

If they had just stayed poor like in previous years, Zhou Ru wouldn't be this anxious.

But after experiencing days with savings, and because the money being remitted was from her own daughter, it had given her much more confidence in this family. Now that this source of income was suddenly going to be cut off, how could she not be anxious?

Furthermore, the family was indeed waiting for money to be used.

Don't look at the fact that Meijiao was only in her first year of high school; after the New Year, a new semester would begin. There were still several semesters of tuition, book fees, and living expenses ahead, and Meijiao even planned to start renting a room off-campus in her second year.

Rent in the County was definitely more expensive than in the town.

Once she got into university, the tuition, housing, and living expenses would certainly be higher than high school, plus the graduation banquet the man had promised... in short, there were a pile of places waiting for money.

Zhou Ru suddenly felt a headache.

With the money from her daughter's wages gone, the family's financial situation suddenly became severe and tricky.

And her own daughter, whose wings had hardened, seemed like a different person lately. Not only did she shirk all housework, but she was also buying all sorts of things on credit...

Just as she was fuming, the voice of the butcher's wife came from the courtyard gate.

Zhou Ru walked out, puzzled: "A Rong's wife, what wind blew you to my house? Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"Not yet. The money for the credit today hasn't been settled yet; I'll go home to eat once I finish settling it."

Hearing this, a bad premonition suddenly rose in Zhou Ru's heart.

Sure enough, the next second she heard the other woman say with a smile:

"Your daughter weighed out two pork ribs and a pig's trotter at my place today. I gave her the pig liver as a gift; her complexion is poor, so eating some pig liver will help replenish her blood. You'll have to trouble yourself to settle the bill for the ribs and the trotter."

"!!!"

The dead girl had gone behind her back to buy on credit again!

But she had no way to deal with her daughter, who had suddenly changed her temperament.

She used to be such an obedient and sensible person, but now she was like a piece of tough gristle.

She wouldn't do the housework she was told to do, and as for the things she wasn't allowed to do, like buying on credit, she did it every day and enjoyed it.

If this continued, the little bit of money left in the house wouldn't even be enough to pay the dead girl's bills.

So, she specifically sought out the big chicken farmers and the butcher, telling them not to let her daughter buy on credit anymore. If they let her, she wouldn't pay, and they could go collect from whoever they let buy on credit.

As a result, those families stopped letting her, but the dead girl turned around and went to the foot of Xiao Chai Shan, finding a family that raised sheep to buy a lactating ewe on credit, dragging it back to drink goat milk every day.

She claimed the doctor told her to drink it, that goat milk was nutritious and beneficial for treating her illness.

It made Zhou Ru so angry she didn't sleep well for several nights.

If this kept going, they wouldn't be able to live!

Zhu Meijiao, who had finally finished her final exams, returned home to find an extra sheep in the courtyard. The rope tying the sheep was tied to the trunk of their persimmon tree; one look and it was clear it hadn't walked to the wrong house.

"Auntie Ru, did we buy a sheep?"

Zhou Ru, who was collecting a bag of dirty laundry as usual: "..."

She had grievances she couldn't voice.

She couldn't tell the truth that it was bought on credit by the dead girl.

She had to make up an excuse: "It's almost New Year's, isn't it? I got a sheep for you two sisters to milk and drink. You're tired after finishing your exams, so it's just right for some nourishment."

"In your dreams!"

Xie Yang's lazy voice drifted down from the platform:

"I bought this sheep, and only I can drink the goat milk."

Zhou Ru was so angry she looked up and glared at her: "You bought it? Did you pay for it?"

Xie Yang raised an eyebrow: "What? I've worked hard and given to this family for ten years, and I can't even drink a mouthful of goat milk?"

"..."

Xie Yang pulled her hand out of her down jacket pocket and counted on her fingers: "Let me calculate, how much is the monthly wage for a live-in nanny in Shencheng?"

"..."

"Honestly, I really don't want to settle accounts with you so clearly, but who told you to take my wages and not return them! I'm short on money for my medical treatment right now; if I want to drink a mouthful of goat milk, don't I have to buy it on credit?"

"..."

Zhu Meijiao finally understood: Xie Yang had bought a sheep on credit and was milking it to drink every day.

The money for the sheep was paid by Zhou Ru.

What Zhou Ru paid was equivalent to the family paying for it.

She felt unhappy in her heart at once.

The money in the family was earned by her father farming, selling grain, and doing odd jobs; how could it be spent on Xie Yang! If it was to be spent, it should be spent on her. She was the father's own daughter. Xie Yang was nothing but a burden.

Zhu Meijiao bit her lower lip.

She distracted herself by glancing at the progress bar of the Female Supporting Character Contrast System.

A week had passed, and the progress bar had shrunk even more severely, already falling to 53%.

Once it dropped below 50%, those useful Props would be taken back.

It could not go on like this!

Just then, on the way back to the village from town by three-wheeled motorcycle, thanks to the "Good Luck Bonus," she luckily heard an important piece of news.

Taking advantage of the fact that Xie Yang was upstairs and had not come down, she called her own father and stepmother into her room.

"Dad, Auntie Ru, I heard that our village will very likely be relocated next year. I remember Auntie Ru's household registration is still in Zhou Family Village. Why not find an opportunity before the new year to move it here? When the time comes, we can get an extra portion of compensation for the land relocation."

"!!!"