Zhou Lina watched Zhou Dajiang leave before she flashed out from inside the house, "Zhou Yong has run out of money."
Zhang Shifen made a sound of agreement, "Even if he had any, it should only be a little left."
"Jazzing up meals at restaurants every other day, buying things for the other side’s parents, brothers, and sisters."
"How could the amount spent be small?"
Zhang Shifen was really looking forward to the day Zhou Dajiang would find out that the son he favored had hardly honored him, while being so generous with the Luo family."
"Wait and see, Zhou Yong’s wedding will be quite a hassle."
With Zhou Yong out of money, neither Old Master Zhou nor Zhou Dahai would be willing to pay, and it’s very likely that these two would blame Zhou Dajiang for their family losing face.
Not asking him to compensate for the losses is already very nice, let alone lending him money.
"That brat Zhou Yong has been so spoiled by Zhou Dajiang that he only knows what he wants, and Zhou Dajiang has to make it happen, otherwise, it’s like he has wronged him."
"And the daughter-in-law he’s chosen is just the same." Suddenly, Zhang Shifen felt very fortunate, "Thank goodness I moved out, otherwise..."
She didn’t dare to imagine how pathetic her life would have been if she had continued to stay there.
"Right, why go back?" Zhou Lina hugged Zhang Shifen tightly, "Let them stir things up by themselves."
"By then, Zhou Hong’s wife, Zhou Yong’s wife, they will have enough to fuss over."
"As for us, we can just enjoy the show." Zhou Lina could already picture the abundance of drama to witness, how could she not be excited?
"Didn’t he say by the end of the year, Zhou Hong would be able to take back the house?"
Take back the house? Zhou Lina doubted it was likely, "How much money do you think Zhou Hong and his wife have on hand?"
"At the beginning, they got married in our family home, which came furnished. They basically moved in without bringing much, and they didn’t take much furniture with them when they moved out."
"When they moved over there, they must have bought furniture, do they have the money?"
Zhou Lina felt that Zhou Hong also knew about his wife subsidizing her family and didn’t take it seriously.
Suddenly, Zhou Lina started to laugh, and Zhang Shifen looked at her with puzzlement, not understanding why she would suddenly burst into laughter.
"Zhou Hong listens to his wife, his heart leans toward his wife’s family."
"Zhou Yong is the same, buying things for his wife’s relatives."
"They really are brothers indeed."
One could only say that this was typical of Zhou family men, "Forget it, let’s not worry about it, I need to go keep an eye on the house today to see how things are turning out."
"Remember to study, there have been a lot of people signing up these past few days." A factory was recruiting on a large scale, drawing many eligible people to apply.
Zhou Lina couldn’t help but get anxious, although no one was going to take the position meant for her, she had to pass the exam to secure it.
"Mom, don’t worry, I understand what’s important."
"The house matter is important, but so is getting a job."
"Now that you’ve fallen out with Uncle Zhou, and he wants to throw a grand wedding for his favorite son, he will need quite a bit of money."
"He might even need to borrow money, and for at least the next six months, don’t count on him to cover Xiao Xuan’s living expenses."
"After Zhou Yong gets married, he and his wife will surely want to have a baby, and the money needed for that is another story."
"Once the child is born, the mother will need nutrition, and if it’s a grandson, given how biased he is, his heart and eyes will have room for only the eldest son and grandson, even less so for Xiao Xuan."
"We must get two jobs." Zhou Lina had already given up hope that Zhou Dajiang would remember Zhou Xuan.
Zhang Shifen, of course, was aware of these things and had prepared herself, but she hadn’t expected Zhou Lina to know it all, "I still have some savings."
"Mom, it’s not about savings, but you have to go to work, and so do I."
"Otherwise, when Zhou Yong’s wife gives birth, as her nominal mother-in-law and without a job, don’t you have to attend to and take care of them?"
"Then you’ll have to do household chores and look after the child as well. Zhou Yong already has a bad attitude towards you when you have a job."
"If you don’t have a job, will their attitude be any better?"
"It’s quite possible that if you eat a bit more, they’ll even resent you for eating too much."
"And then they will also resent Xiao Xuan."
"As for Uncle Zhou, let’s just forget about him; he’s really unreliable."
Zhou Lina tried convincing Zhang Shifen not to think about transferring the job. "Besides, their performance might not even be as good as mine."
That was a laugh, as she could manage even more challenging tasks than these.
"Mom, isn’t it getting late? Aren’t you going to work?" She glanced at the time; it was indeed getting late enough to risk being tardy.
Zhang Shifen looked at the time and realized she really should be going. "It’s late, I’m off. Oh, just make lunch something simple."
Zhou Lina hummed in acknowledgment, and after sending Zhang Shifen off, turned to see Zhou Xuan, who was ready to wash the dishes. "Let’s go see if someone has started work over there."
Although Zhou Hong had promised that he would get people to work today, and Zhou Dahai had also given his assurance that he would closely supervise the work,
Zhou Lina wanted to say that one still needs to keep a constant eye on them, or else who knows when problems might arise.
"Okay, sis, just let me finish washing these dishes," Zhou Xuan said, speeding up his movements.
Watching Zhou Xuan busily working in the kitchen, Zhou Lina couldn’t help but sigh—such a domesticated brother, who knows who will reap the benefits in the future?
Zhou Xuan dried his hands and came out to find Zhou Lina staring at him again; he had gone from initially being uncomfortable to gradually adapting to it.
The two sauntered over and found several people busy inside the house; Zhou Hong’s Wife was incessantly instructing on how to renovate.
When she saw Zhou Lina, she glanced over and continued instructing the workers on what to do.
Zhou Lina didn’t mind and seriously took a look around, "How many more days will this take, roughly?"
The craftsman looked at Zhou Hong’s Wife, unsure whether to respond, "This is my house."
"Please take care of things," Zhou Lina told the craftsmen after observing their craft. It wasn’t bad; their workmanship was quite good.
She guessed they must have been reprimanded by Zhou Hong last night.
Zhou Hong’s Wife, acting like the mistress of the house, was so irritated seeing Zhou Lina, she really wanted to say a few words.
Remembering Yang Zhaodi’s reprimand from the day before, and Zhou Hong’s silence, she was indeed very angry.
Not to mention being woken up early this morning by Yang Zhaodi and being made to cook.
What was even more outrageous was having to make meals for Zhou Dajiang and his son; she was so busy she could barely keep up.
Seeing Zhou Lina now, how could she show a pleasant face? She ungraciously rolled her eyes.
Zhou Lina didn’t care at all and continued to give detailed instructions to the craftsmen.
"By the way, could I trouble you to help me fix up the attic later?"
Because it was the top floor and the ceiling was high, there were lofts in some areas which could be used for living or storage.
Zhou Hong’s Wife was unhappy, "Surely my family shouldn’t be the one paying for this." Outrageous, trying to take advantage of her own home, that was absolutely not going to happen.
"I never thought of asking you to pay. After all, with a few attics fixed up, there will be more space for storing things."
"That way, the living space can be more spacious."