Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Fall Flat on One’s Face
“When did she say she wouldn’t lend it? She clearly said she was out of pencils!”
Then I heard my mother-in-law curse, “This stingy idiot of a woman, I’ll have a word with her.”
So I hurried over to explain, “Mom, I didn’t say I wouldn’t lend it, it’s just that Zhiwen and Zhiwu ran out of pencils at school.”
“They’re already out of pencils I just bought last month?!”
Zhang Guihua’s voice suddenly rose eight octaves, and with a darkened face, she accused, “Are you also trying to swindle money out of me?!”
If it had been her biological son, that would have been one thing, but if her daughter-in-law even thought about it, a harsh beating would be getting off lightly!
“I swear to heaven and earth, I’m not lying to you, Mom! There’s just a lot more homework at the end of the term, so the pencils are used up faster,” Sun Lixia protested with an aggrieved face.
She wished she could, but she didn’t dare; her mother-in-law was too shrewd.
Upon hearing the reason, the old lady’s expression softened slightly, “Eldest, just let San Ya practice writing with a fire stick on the ground for now. We’ll buy more when school starts.”
Every penny saved is a penny earned.
“No way, I can’t let my daughter suffer like that!” Jiang Changhai immediately retorted without thinking, “My nephews use paper and pencils at school, so my daughter must do the same!”
Sun Lixia thought to herself, how could one girl compare to her two sons.
The old lady, however, coaxed him in a gentle and peaceful tone, “I didn’t say we wouldn’t buy it for her, just that we’ll buy it when school starts.”
“If you don’t give me the money, then I’ll trade the eggs we have at home for it,” Jiang Changhai issued a stern threat and then turned to leave.
The old lady instantly roared in anger, “You little bastard, if you dare touch an egg, I’ll break your damn hands!”
But Jiang Changhai had always been impervious to soft or hard tactics; he would use any means necessary to get what he wanted.
Thus, Jiang Dashan, puffing on his pipe, spoke up, “Alright, Eldest, how much money do you want?”
Jiang Changhai turned swiftly, “One yuan.”
“You’re talking nonsense, one pencil is only two cents!” The old lady exploded again; she knew this good-for-nothing was trying to cheat her again.
Jiang Changhai insisted, “How can one pencil be enough for our smart Mianmian! She also needs to buy an eraser, a schoolbag, and a pencil case.”
Upon hearing this, Sun Lixia barely suppressed a snicker; she thought the Eldest was going to ask for an exorbitant amount, not realizing he was so ignorant to think he could buy everything with just one yuan.
Especially since a schoolbag alone cost one yuan, and that’s the cheapest kind.
The old lady also eerily fell silent for two seconds before regaining her composure and saying, “Fine, I’ll go get it.”
“I knew you and Dad still love Mianmian,” Jiang Changhai said with satisfaction as he walked away with the money.
Lin Aibao, who was teaching in the main room, saw this and said, “Uncle, we have pencils and notebooks at home; you can go to my place and ask my dad to lend you some to use for now.”
“Good, I’ll come by later,” Jiang Changhai nodded cheerfully and went into his own room.
As Su Wanyu, who had been listening to the commotion, closed the door, she whispered, “Dad, one yuan won’t be enough to buy all those things.”
“Of course I know that, I’m not stupid. We’ll just buy the paper, pencils, and eraser with this one yuan. We’ll use the rest to buy some food, and then ask for more from Mom and Dad when school starts,” Jiang Changhai said, his face unblushing and breath steady. After all, this wasn’t the first time he had done something .
Su Wanyu’s face immediately lit up, “Brother Hai, you’re so clever!”
She knew the man she had chosen wasn’t that stupid!
Jiang Changhai was puffing with pride: “Of course, our daughter is so smart because she takes after me.”
“Back when I was in school, I also had the best grades in my class. If it weren’t for the disturbance that closed down the school, I’d definitely be a high school student,” Su Wanyu bragged.
Jiang Mianmian: …, she clearly inherited it from her past life.