"What ti is it? Haven’t you gone to pick up Xiao Qiang yet?! Are you trying to get yourself killed!"
After the sound of keys unlocking the door, the voice filled with curses followed swiftly.
Zhang Zhongquan, leaning on the sofa, was used to this, remaining calm and composed, not even glancing away from the suspense drama on TV. On the coffee table in front of him were various kinds of fruit, a few cans of beer, and a dish of spiced peanuts.
What does it an to live in the mont?
What does it an to seek pleasure promptly?
My wife works, I enjoy—definitely a model man, a winner in life!
Boss Jiang once said not to fear scarcity but inequality—it’s human nature. Indeed, very reasonable—upon entering the room and seeing such a scene, Mai Encui beca even more furious, her lungs almost exploded with rage!
"I’m talking to you, did you hear !"
Zhang Zhongquan’s wife was a bit similar to his cousin Jiang Huazi, well-rounded in figure, frankly speaking, plump, with thick eyebrows and fierce features, even more assertive than Jiang Huazi.
Usually, if yelled at, Zhang Zhongquan would be startled, quickly get up obediently and go to pick up his son. But today, he seed to have gathered up courage comparable to a lion’s heart.
It’s probably not because he drank too much.
Two or three cans of beer wouldn’t lead to that.
"It’s just past five. They finish their evening studies at six thirty, don’t they?"
Elentary school already offers extra classes.
Of course, though the Ministry of Education repeatedly stresses reducing the burden on primary and secondary students, there’s always a way—It’s against the rules to have extra classes, but after-school howork tutoring isn’t against discipline, right?
The elentary school is just a ten-minute electric scooter ride away from ho; school ends at six thirty, so there’s indeed no need to rush. But sotis won care not about the thing itself but the attitude shown by a man.
Being the practical head of the household, Mai Encui has always been bossy and decisive, never a negotiator. But today, her compliant husband dared to retort.
Is this even possible?
"You Zhang, look at you! I work hard to earn money and support the family, while you’re at ho indulging yourself. If you don’t want to live like this, then get lost!"
The overwhelming decibels drowned out the TV sound.
The familiar roar of a shrew.
In the past, Zhang Zhongquan, faced with such tactics, would surely be knocked over; but today, he showed so courage, remained indifferent, unmoved, firmly seated on the sofa without even shifting—his steadiness surprising enough to be infuriating. He retorted again, "You buy a bunch of clothes at once, what’s wrong with eating so fruit?"
Saying this, he even picked up a cherry, intending to eat it.
Mai Encui’s facial muscles twitched as she charged over.
"I gave you face! —Slap!"
She slapped the cherry out of Zhang Zhongquan’s hand, glaring daggers at him, looking as if she could devour him.
"How much did I spend on clothes? All of them were bargain purchases—I got coupons for the orchard. The total costs much less than your plate of durians! You Zhang, while I rack my brains to save, you live extravagantly!"
Looking at the fruits on the coffee table—
Durian, cherries, kiwi...
Definitely not less than a few hundred bucks.
"Did I make you buy those lousy goods?"
Lousy goods?
Furious, Mai Encui towered over him, almost spraying spit onto Zhang Zhongquan’s face.
"Oh! Now you dare say the clothes I bought are lousy goods? Why don’t I buy good ones? Because I married soone so incompetent as you!"
"Look at other n, working hard day in and day out, doing several jobs a day—what about you?? Idle and lazy! Barely in your forties, yet lying around at ho all the ti. Learn from others—they take up driving gigs at night. If work’s scarce, you could deliver takeout..."
"Shut up!"
The sudden shout left Mai Encui stunned and bewildered.
Her incompetent husband dared to shout at her?
"Deliver takeout? No matter what, I, Zhang Zhongquan, would never do such embarrassing things!"
Who says there’s no hierarchy in professions?
Nearly unemployed, Zhang Zhongquan still harbored deep-seated prejudice against delivering takeout.
If an anger gauge were visible, it’d show Mai Encui’s level rising like boiling water, rapidly nearing the limit—just as it was about to exceed the threshold, Zhang Zhongquan, back straight and acting like a man for once, bent over and opened a drawer under the coffee table.
A stack.
Two stacks.
Three stacks.
...
Money.
Lots of money!
Faced with the real-life version of the shrew, Mai Encui’s eyes dazzled, flabbergasted, suspicious, incredulous... various expressions intertwined on her fierce face.
Zhang Zhongquan calmly took out all the money from the drawer and neatly placed it stack by stack on the coffee table, appearing serene, yet actually resembling a triumphant lion boasting of its successful hunt.
"Where did this co from?"
After about ten seconds of silence, Mai Encui changed her expression and cautiously asked.
"Who just said I, Zhang, am incompetent? A good-for-nothing?"
Mai Encui felt awkward, entirely devoid of her previous arrogance.
The stacks of crisp bills on the coffee table tipped the scales of household authority, allowing Zhang Zhongquan to reassu his status as head of the house. He picked up a cherry again, this ti with no one stopping him.
He gained the freedom to eat fruit.
"Where did the money co from?"
Mai Encui asked softly, picking up a stack to inspect, ensuring the money was real.
One hundred thousand.
A full one hundred thousand!
And not counterfeit notes.
Every single bill was genuine cash.
With her heart racing, Mai Encui’s eyes were magnetically fixed on the stacks of cash on the coffee table, reluctant to glance away.
One hundred thousand yuan, for an average family, isn’t astronomical, but certainly an appreciable fortune.
In Sha City, many households don’t even earn a cumulative annual inco of one hundred thousand.
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