After work, Wei He headed ho, wondering whether Zhang Yu had gone back to normal today.
He’d spent a long ti thinking at work and felt it might be better to choose paying living expenses; at least that way he wouldn’t have to do housework.
Otherwise it’d be buying groceries, cooking, doing the laundry and all that again, which was really exhausting, and the old lady had always been the one doing these chores before anyway.
Wei Jiang had been busy all day and was already starving; he’d eaten at work at noon, but to save money he basically hadn’t eaten much, just waiting to go ho and have a big al at night.
After work, Wei Dazhi also headed ho, and the three of them happened to run into each other at the factory gate.
Wei Jiang and Wei He exchanged a look, then greeted Wei Dazhi. The latter grunted, "There’s no food at ho. You figure out what you’re eating tonight yourselves."
Looking at how they were, he knew they’d never taken Zhang Yu’s words seriously at all, which made Wei Dazhi very annoyed.
What? No food at ho, and they have to figure out dinner themselves?
Wei He was baffled. "Nobody cooked at ho?" They hadn’t even gone back yet, so how did the old man know there was no dinner at ho today?
Wei Jiang rubbed his stomach, which had long been protesting nonstop. "Dad, I’m starving."
Wei Dazhi snorted coldly. "Last night I told you to wash the dishes. How did you do?"
"You still haven’t washed them. The dishes and chopsticks are still dirty. How’s your mom supposed to cook?" Wei Dazhi was furious. "Your mom said this morning we’re going out to eat."
The old man strode off. If he didn’t leave now, he was really afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from giving the two sons a good lesson.
Huh? Wei Jiang and Wei He stared at each other, both looking at the other in disbelief. "Mom is really angry?"
In their mory, no matter how the three brothers kicked up a fuss, the old lady would always clean up after them. After they left for work in the morning, they subconsciously assud Zhang Yu would help wash the dishes.
The two of them both thought, this is bad, and sped up to catch up with the old man, thinking they might say a few words to him—after all, they were busy at work too.
But when they saw the old man’s face stretched long, neither dared speak. They knew his temper wasn’t good; once he was really angered, they’d be done for.
At this hour everyone was busy cooking. Of course Auntie Wang was also going in and out of the kitchen. She noticed Zhang Yu actually hadn’t cooked today and was stunned. She was just about to say sothing, but rembered what Zhang Yu had said earlier today, so she kept quiet.
Seeing Wei Dazhi and the two sons behind him, Zhang Yu said, "Old man, you’re back. Let’s go out to eat."
"You’re ho too, good, you can keep an eye on your kids." Zhang Yu rushed to speak before they could. "I know what you want to say—asking why I didn’t cook."
"Well, did you wash the dishes?"
"You left it from last night to this morning and still didn’t wash them, so I’ll just see when you plan to wash."
"If you don’t wash them today, that’s even better." Zhang Yu really wasn’t cowed at all. If they didn’t wash the dishes, then she wouldn’t have to cook tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow they could just split the kitchen. Wow, delightful.
Wei Jiang and Wei He had originally wanted to question Zhang Yu about why she hadn’t cooked. But as soon as the old lady opened her mouth, and with it being the off‑work hour when everyone was poking their heads out to watch, they both felt utterly embarrassed.
"Mom, but I’m hungry. I’ve been working all day." Even though he knew why Zhang Yu wasn’t cooking, Wei Jiang still felt she was going too far.
Of course Zhang Yu heard the dissatisfaction in Wei Jiang’s words. Wei He hadn’t spoken, but his eyes revealed the sa aning. Plus what Wei Ming had said, it showed that he and his wife must have complained plenty in private.
"Hungry, huh? Then you’d better get used to it. The day after tomorrow we’re splitting our als. Whether you’re hungry or not, you two will have to go ho and cook."
"Oh right, I wasn’t feeling well and went to the hospital. They found a lot of problems that need slow treatnt."
"Because it’s a chronic condition, I’ll have to take Chinese dicine continuously for a few months. My appetite will be shot, so I just got so herbs to soak in water, with ginseng in it."
What? When they first heard Zhang Yu say she wasn’t feeling well and had gone to the hospital, Wei Jiang and Wei He didn’t take it seriously at all. People get older, of course there’ll be discomforts.
But when they heard her say the dicine she got actually contained ginseng, the brothers froze. They had only one thought in their heads: ginseng—that costs a lot of money.
"Is it serious? Do you need to be hospitalized?" During this little clash between mother and sons, Wei Dazhi hadn’t spoken, knowing his wife could handle it. But hearing that her prescription contained ginseng really scared the old man.
In his mind, whenever ginseng was involved, that ant a serious illness.
"Huh, ginseng? Mom, you didn’t get taken for a ride, did you? That costs quite a bit, right?" Wei He couldn’t help knitting his brows. After all, any money Zhang Yu spent was money that would otherwise go to them in the future.
Most importantly, from the way the old lady looked, she didn’t seem unwell at all; when scolding people, her voice was strong and full.
Compared with Wei He’s more tactful words, Wei Jiang was blunt. "Ginseng, Mom, that costs a lot of money."
"You look perfectly healthy. No need to waste that money." Honestly, just thinking about the expense made Wei Jiang’s heart ache.
Listening to his two sons, Wei Dazhi was furious and landed a few punches on them. "You hear your mom say she’s not feeling well, and all you two care about is money. How did I end up with you two as sons?"
He’d always known his sons were selfish, but hadn’t expected them to be this selfish. "Don’t worry, you don’t have to pay."
"Hmph, I’m still alive, I have money." He’d helped them out so much, and when their mother got sick, they didn’t show a shred of concern, only worried about money. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
As for what Wei Jiang and the others said, Zhang Yu didn’t take it to heart at all, let alone get angry. "Relax, even though I don’t work and I’m just a freeloader, I’m supported by your father. To this day, you’ve never supported ."
"Once the dishes are washed, I still won’t cook tomorrow. For the eldest’s household, I’ll give you 0.5 yuan for food, since that’s 15 yuan a month for living expenses. As for the third son, I’ll give your household 0.34 in living expenses."
Getting angry with them wasn’t worth it. Zhang Yu took Wei Dazhi and left. "What’s the point of getting mad at them? We should live well, especially you."
"Look at , I haven’t even used their money yet, and they’re already talking like this. Sigh." Zhang Yu let out a soft sigh. "So you must live longer. Only if you have your pension will I have money."
"Those two, we really can’t count on them." The original Zhang Yu hadn’t been willing to talk about family affairs outside. Even when complaining in front of old sisters like Auntie Wang, she’d think three tis, worried it might affect her children and grandchildren.
But Zhang Yu now couldn’t care less. Each of them had been taking advantage of her soft heart; she wasn’t going to wait on them anymore. "Oh, and I said yesterday you all have to wash your own clothes, but you still left them at the door."
"Tell your wives to wash them themselves." Zhang Yu led Wei Dazhi out the door.
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