Actually, Luo Zhiyong's monthly salary was just over forty yuan. Before he got married, he used to send back about thirty yuan a month.
If he sent even more, at least thirty-five or more, that meant he and his wife only had around ten yuan to use, not even enough to cover the monthly cost of food and groceries, let alone live on.
Luo Zhiyong had also detected Fang Pingying's hesitation, so he explained, "I know that sending over thirty yuan a month is a bit much, but I'm not home all year round and can't take care of the family, so I thought sending more money would let mom and dad do less work."
He paused, then continued, "It would also help them save for Cuilan and Hong Lan, so that they can buy dowries when the time comes, especially since Cuilan is getting married at the end of the year."
"I understand, but I'm just afraid that mom gives all the money to Luo Zhiming and his wife, leaving none for themselves and Cuilan, or Hong Lan," said Fang Pingying, recalling Fang Xiu's new home furnishings from yesterday, adding,
"Look, the stuff Zhiming arranged for his wedding is many times better than ours, just those four major items must have cost a fortune."
Luo Zhiyong was obviously aware of this, but since he hadn't been optimistic about his own marriage, he didn't care about such things.
Now he felt that his wife marrying him was indeed a grievance. While Fang Xiu had everything, she only had the set of clothes she wore yesterday, which were probably made to save fabric.
However, Luo Zhiyong wasn't one for sweet talk. He was silent for a while before saying, "If you want those four major items too, I'll save money in the army to buy them for you."
Fang Pingying was touched by this, but sentiment aside, if Luo Zhiyong really did send that much money home each month, who knows how long it would take to save enough to buy things, especially since Fang Pingying wasn't fussy about these things.
She said, "I don't want these things. If you really want to save dowry money for Cuilan and Hong Lan, it's better to keep it with us. When it's time for their marriage, we can ask them whether they want dowries or money. If they want dowries, we can get those for them; if they want money, we can just give it to them directly."
"If you leave the money with dad and mom, dad always stays out of family matters, and mom only has Luo Zhiming on her mind, how much dowry would she give to Cuilan and the others?"
After a short pause, Fang Pingying continued, "Not to mention others, look at Hong Lan's hardship at home. Only sixteen, she has to do everything, yet she doesn't even have a single decent piece of clothing, and gets scolded or hit by mom whenever she pleases."
Although Fang Pingying didn't know the specifics, she could tell just from the clothing Hong Lan wore yesterday.
During their family's celebration yesterday, everyone else was dressed brightly, even Dashan wore a new khaki shirt, but Hong Lan's clothes were clearly old, probably hand-me-downs from Cuilan.
Given Zhou Yunmei's partiality over these small things, it was easy to imagine how little she would provide for Hong Lan's dowry when the time came. In the end, it would all probably go to Luo Zhiming.
Luo Zhiyong, after all, was a man who didn't pay much attention to detail, and never involved himself in domestic affairs, simply leaving the money with Zhou Yunmei to manage.
After hearing Fang Pingying's analysis, he thought about the situation at home and also felt it indeed made sense.
Moreover, his mother always favored boys over girls; in her heart, even her own children had different levels of importance.
She may put Luo Zhiyong first with her words, but in her heart, she cherished Luo Zhiming the most, followed by Luo Zhiyong, then Cuilan, and lastly, Hong Lan.
With this realization, Luo Zhiyong thought Fang Pingying's plan was good, so he said, "According to what you said, that's fine. In the future, let's send less money back, and you keep the rest to prepare dowries for Cuilan and Hong Lan."
Hearing this, Fang Pingying's heart fluttered slightly, feeling some sweetness.
When a man is willing to let a woman manage his money, it must mean he has completely opened his heart to her and acknowledges her.
She remembered in her previous life, due to her reluctance to marry into the Luo Family, her relationship with Luo Zhiyong was never good.
Although Luo Zhiyong did what a husband should do, and even cared for his wife more than the average rural man, she knew he had never regarded her as his most loved one.
Even after they had been married for a long time, when Luo Zhiyong returned to the army, he was unwilling to bring her along, sending the money directly to Zhou Yunmei each month, who would then give her just a few yuan for pocket money.
Perhaps because he couldn't feel her true affection for him, he was also reserved, which led to such an outcome.
In this life, she would never let that happen again.
Fang Pingying smiled and said to Luo Zhiyong, "That works. When we leave, we'll make it clear to dad and mom, we'll send back twenty yuan to the family every month."
"The remaining ten yuan will be saved to prepare Cuilan's dowry first, since she's getting married at the year's end. We'll combine it with what mom has saved up over the years to buy her stuff."
Fang Pingying thought for a while, "As for Hong Lan, she's still young, and it'll be a few more years before she marries, so we have time to save, no rush."
Luo Zhiyong felt this was fine and nodded, "We'll do as you said and I'll talk to mom when we leave."
They stayed in the hospital for one night, and perhaps due to Luo Zhiyong's good physical condition, nothing happened during the night.
The next morning, the doctor prescribed them some medicine and let them leave the hospital, also instructing them to buy a pair of crutches, emphasizing that it was critical not to bump the area during the initial bone healing stage.
Hearing the doctor's advice, Fang Pingying didn't hesitate at all and spent ten yuan to buy a pair of crutches.
Money wasn't the most important thing right now; what mattered most was Luo Zhiyong's leg.
Seeing Fang Pingying take out the money without hesitation to buy crutches, a warm current slowly crossed Luo Zhiyong's heart.
Yesterday, Fang Pingying couldn't bear to buy herself a meal, sharing a steamed bun with him for lunch.
During dinner, she only fried a dish for him, while she ate the two leftover steamed buns from lunch with plain water.
Yet now, she spent over ten yuan without blinking to buy him crutches. No one had ever done such a thing for him in this world.
At this moment, Luo Zhiyong somewhat appreciated his leg injury. If it weren't for this injury, he would not have married Fang Pingying, nor would he have such a good wife.