"Big sister, you mustn’t tell mom," Luo Honglan, upon hearing Zhou Yunmei’s name, immediately confessed everything honestly, "Actually, the monthly salary that sister-in-law gives to Yu’er and me is quite good. I get fifty yuan a month, and there’s a bonus if I do well. Yu’er gets five yuan less than me each month.
In fact, Luo Cuilan’s intent was to find out how much salary Luo Honglan was earning each month, but she had initially noticed that Luo Honglan was beating around the bush and not willing to say it, as if guarding against her, which made her feel uncomfortable. So, she deliberately used reverse psychology to get Luo Honglan to spill the beans about her salary.
Upon hearing that Luo Honglan was making almost fifty or sixty yuan a month, Luo Cuilan’s eyes widened in astonishment.
She had thought that someone like Fang Pingying, being so formidable, would definitely not pay high salaries to her own relatives, but it turned out that the salaries of Luo Honglan and Yu’er were even higher than many of those who worked in factories outside.
Luo Cuilan looked at Luo Honglan with overwhelming envy.
Suddenly, she had two ideas in mind.
Firstly, since Luo Honglan was earning such a high salary every month and had been working for almost a year, she must have saved at least several hundred yuan. Luo Cuilan was thinking about her own medical treatment and how she had no money now. With Luo Zhiyong not caring and Zhou Yunmei unable to fork out any cash, she wanted to get some money from Luo Honglan.
Then again, having lived in the city for so long, she had completely fallen in love with city life and wanted to live there in the future. She thought about calling Zhang Jianguo after a few days, urging him to come to the city as well.
When the time came, Zhang Jianguo could find some work in the city elsewhere, and if nothing better was available, he could work at the lumber factory or construction sites, just like Luo Zhiming did before.
As for herself, she planned to work at Fang Pingying’s shop and expected to earn tens of yuan each month. How good their life as a couple would be, she thought.
She was thrilled at the thought of their combined income nearing a hundred yuan a month.
But for now, Luo Cuilan’s goal was to get a sum of money from Luo Honglan.
So she took hold of Luo Honglan’s hand with a very affectionate attitude, pretending to be casual as she asked Luo Honglan, "Little sister, from the sound of it, you must have saved quite a bit of money, right?"
As soon as Luo Honglan saw Luo Cuilan’s smile, she sensed ill intent and immediately waved her hands, "No..."
But before Luo Honglan could finish speaking, Luo Cuilan cut her off, "Little sister, back when we were at home, big sister treated you really well, gave you all the good food and things to use, and whenever mom hit or scolded you, I was the one who stood up for you, I’ve treated you better than anyone else. You can’t start keeping things from me now just because you haven’t been living with big sister."
Luo Honglan’s mind wasn’t particularly sharp, and she even thought Luo Cuilan, knowing she had money, would start by asking for it. Now, with Luo Cuilan saying all this, she was actually a bit puzzled and didn’t understand what Luo Cuilan really wanted to do, looking at her cluelessly, "Big sister, did I do something wrong?"
"No." Luo Cuilan shook her head, holding her hand with a smile, "Big sister just wants to know how much money you’ve saved up."
Luo Honglan now somewhat understood that after all the roundabout talk Luo Cuilan had given, the ultimate goal was still about the money.
She quickly waved her hands, "I really haven’t saved much. I need some money for myself every month, and then occasionally send some to my parents. The rest is saved up by my sister-in-law. Your and mom’s visit this time also cost quite a bit, so I don’t have much left."
When Luo Cuilan heard that Luo Honglan’s money was being saved up by Fang Pingying, she was startled for a moment and after a while asked Luo Honglan with a furrowed brow, "All your money is being saved by your sister-in-law?"
Luo Honglan nodded, "Yes, my sister-in-law is keeping it for me, saying she will give it to me when I get married in the future."
Luo Cuilan pressed on, "How much is there?"
"I don’t know either." Luo Honglan wasn’t trying to deceive anyone with her reply; she really didn’t know. She trusted that Fang Pingying wouldn’t withhold her money. Whenever she needed money, she would just take some from Fang Pingying, and the rest was saved up. She genuinely didn’t have a clear idea of how much there was.
Seeing that Luo Honglan seemed to not be lying to her, and knowing her personality, Luo Cuilan chided her while poking Luo Honglan’s forehead, "Oh, my silly little sister, why are you so honest and trusting? You don’t even know how much your own money is. Aren’t you afraid that Fang Pingying, that tough cookie, might swallow up your money someday?"
"My sister-in-law isn’t short of money at all, she won’t take my little bit of money." Luo Honglan finished saying, and then she argued in defense of Fang Pingying, "Besides, my sister-in-law isn’t that kind of person. I trust her."
"Silly girl, you just trust people too easily, that’s why you’re willing to let Fang Pingying save up your money." Luo Cuilan pouted her lips and started to instigate Luo Honglan, For original chapters go to novelꜰire.net
"Have you thought about how formidable Fang Pingying is? Look how nice big brother used to be to us, providing for our whole family. Since he got married, big brother has become much stingier under her direction. Even the money for mom and dad has decreased a lot. He’s even more indifferent toward us siblings. Isn’t this because of Fang Pingying’s manipulation behind the scenes?"
Luo Honglan felt that what Luo Cuilan was saying was a bit conscienceless, and spoke in defense of Fang Pingying and the others, "I think big brother and sister-in-law treat the family well now. They give mom and dad quite a bit of money every year."
"That’s just to deceive you. Have you seen with your own eyes how much money they send to mom and dad every month?" Luo Cuilan said, deliberately sighing, "You don’t know the hard life mom and dad are leading at home."
Luo Honglan might not be clever, but she knew quite a lot. Moreover, she went with Fang Pingying every time she sent money back to Zhou Yunmei and knew well that Zhou Yunmei wouldn’t be living a hard life with that money every month.
In fact, this time Zhou Yunmei came over, she specifically told Luo Honglan several times that Fang Pingying had given them quite a bit of money this year. Had it not been for Luo Cuilan’s issue, she wouldn’t have asked Luo Zhiyong for money, as they didn’t lack money at home.
But Luo Cuilan’s words sounded so convincing that Luo Honglan was somewhat confused.
Since she couldn’t fathom Luo Cuilan’s thoughts, she simply asked outright, "Big sister, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Luo Cuilan acted as if she was kindly advising, "Little sister, if I were you, I wouldn’t save my money with someone who has no blood relation to me. Even if I trust people, it would definitely be my own direct relatives, like sisters and such."
Now Luo Honglan finally understood, and she frowned at Luo Cuilan, "Big sister, do you mean you want me to take the money saved with my sister-in-law and then save it with you?"
(To be continued. If you work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)