Fang Pingying suppressed a sneer. The moment Zhou Yunmei opened her mouth, she knew that it wasn't just a simple matter of making a bowl cabinet; in fact, Zhou Yunmei wanted someone to give her one for free.
Even if someone is a carpenter and has some leftover scraps from woodworking, they couldn't possibly have enough left over to make a whole bowl cabinet. This request was clearly asking for a handout.
It wasn't just Fang Pingying who saw through Zhou Yunmei's intentions, Luo Zhiyong and Luo Cuilan also understood her mindset. Luo Zhiyong immediately frowned and whispered to Zhou Yunmei, "Mom, if you want to make a bowl cabinet, you should buy the wood yourself. Even if people do woodworking, they don't have that much useless wood lying around. Don't make things difficult for Jianguo."
"How can there not be leftovers? Last time I went to Jianguo's house, I saw that all the tables and chairs there were made with those kinds of wood, and they looked very good," Zhou Yunmei retorted with a laugh, then turned to question Zhang Jianguo, "Jianguo, isn't that right?"
Zhang Jianguo didn't speak, but a flash of annoyance quickly passed through his eyes—it was probably not the first time Zhou Yunmei had taken advantage of him like this, but he was in no position to complain since he was seeking to marry her daughter.
Before Zhang Jianguo could respond, Luo Cuilan, who was sitting next to him, started yelling at Zhou Yunmei,
"What's this 'what's'? The furniture at Jianguo's house is made from leftover scraps. If they're not sturdy, it doesn't matter. They can just be made again if they break. If the bowl cabinet we make for you isn't sturdy, you'll surely have a lot of complaints. Either you pay for the wood, or don't do it at all. It's your choice."
Zhou Yunmei's expression turned awkward when Luo Cuilan scolded her, and she glared at Luo Cuilan fiercely, cursing, "You wretched girl, why are you turning your elbow outwards?"
Luo Cuilan wasn't afraid of Zhou Yunmei and disdainfully rolled her eyes at her, "I'm being reasonable with you. Don't always think about taking advantage. Your character is not good."
"I..." Zhou Yunmei wanted to say more, but Zhang Jianguo had no choice but to interrupt, "It's alright, Auntie. You just tell me what kind of bowl cabinet you want. If the wood isn't enough, I'll pay for it myself."
What Zhang Jianguo said sounded nice, but upon deeper thought, it became clear that he was essentially telling Zhou Yunmei that they would have to pay for the wood. If he really intended to pay for the Luo Family's bowl cabinet himself, he wouldn't have specifically brought up the matter of money.
But relying on Zhou Yunmei's intelligence, she surely wouldn't catch on.
Moreover, she looked extremely pleased with Zhang Jianguo and nodded, "Good, good, I'll tell you later what kind of bowl cabinet I want."
After sitting a while, Zhang Jianguo borrowed a ladder and went back. Luo Cuilan went to see him off and didn't come back for a long time. Zhou Yunmei didn't seem in a hurry, which made Fang Pingying somewhat perplexed. Could it be that the Luo Family was so liberal now, allowing Luo Cuilan—who was not yet married—to live together with Zhang Jianguo?
Or was it that there was some confusion with the times between this life and the previous life? Had Luo Cuilan and Zhang Jianguo already been together, and the incident of Luo Cuilan's premarital pregnancy already passed?
It did seem somewhat likely, or the Luo Family wouldn't be so reassured about Luo Cuilan not returning by this time, and Zhou Yunmei seemed to have already accepted Zhang Jianguo. It wasn't because Zhang Jianguo was skilled in carpentry, but because she knew her daughter could only marry him, so she behaved so courteously.
Back in the room, Fang Pingying deliberately tested Luo Zhiyong, "Cuilan has been gone for so long, should we send someone to bring her back?"
Luo Zhiyong's face darkened upon hearing this.
After a moment's hesitation, he pulled Fang Pingying down to lie with him and said in a low voice, "Let's not meddle too much in her affairs. She'll come back when she wants to."
Fang Pingying paused, then continued, "That doesn't seem quite right. Although the marriage has been settled, they aren't married yet."
Luo Zhiyong closed his eyes in silence for a while before opening them and asking Fang Pingying, "You've always been in the village, don't you know about their affairs?"
"What affair?" Fang Pingying actually had some guesses in her heart, but for fear of being wrong, she dared not speak hastily.
"If you don't know, just let it be, it's late. Time to sleep," Luo Zhiyong glanced at Fang Pingying and said nothing more, then turned over to sleep.
Seeing Luo Zhiyong's expression, Fang Pingying was more certain that her guess was correct. Many things in this life and the previous life were the same, but the sequence of some events was off.
In her past life, when she was married into the Luo Family, Zhou Yunmei was firmly opposed to Luo Cuilan marrying Zhang Jianguo.
Zhou Yunmei had a hot temper, and Luo Cuilan's was no smaller. When Zhou Yunmei forbade her from marrying, she created a huge fuss at home, eventually running away and shamelessly moving into Zhang Jianguo's house. Later, she got pregnant before marriage, and the whole village knew about it.
With no choice left, Zhou Yunmei could no longer oppose the marriage, even if she wanted to.
If it really was the case, according to her past life, it wouldn't be long before Luo Zhiyong left for the army. This time, because of an emergency in the military, he couldn't take her with him, and this was when she met Xu He. A few years later, she divorced Luo Zhiyong.
In fact, after much contemplation, Fang Pingying realized that although a significant reason for her tragic end in the previous life was due to her in-laws and her own vanity, at the heart of it was her over-reliance on others, both financially and emotionally, tying her happiness entirely to others.
To put it more bluntly, she couldn't earn money herself, couldn't support herself, and relied on Luo Zhiyong and her in-laws for sustenance, always having to live at the mercy of others. With her personality that couldn't stand such a life, when she met a man who was slightly nicer to her, she started having thoughts.
Therefore, Fang Pingying felt that in this life, the first thing she needed to do was to become self-reliant and self-sufficient, to be able to support herself and stand tall.
Making money was not difficult per se; the real challenge was, first, the lack of capital. She now had less than a hundred yuan in hand, which was also needed for Luo Zhiyong's leg treatment, and it was uncertain if there would be any left.
Secondly, living together in a large family like this, if she truly started making money, she would have to get through Zhou Yunmei and the rest of the family.
On the Luo Family's side, it was a small matter to just share some money with them, but the problem was too many people could mean too many complications, and if she started doing anything, it would be hard to keep a secret.
However, Fang Pingying believed that no matter what, there would always be difficulties. It was just a matter of dealing with them one by one, and the biggest problem right now was the capital.
After thinking it over, Fang Pingying nudged Luo Zhiyong, who was lying beside her, and asked him, "Zhiyong, your salary for this month is coming soon, right?"
"Yes, soon," Luo Zhiyong was already drifting off to sleep and answered groggily.
Fang Pingying looked at him and said directly, "From now on, don't give your salary to mom, give it to me instead. I will give her the living expenses on time every month."
"Okay," Luo Zhiyong responded without opening his eyes, seemingly not really paying attention to what Fang Pingying said.
Fang Pingying didn't care whether he heard her clearly or not and continued, "I've thought about it, and giving twenty-two yuan a month is too much, just ten yuan will do. We will only give fifteen yuan to the family this month."
"Ten yuan a month should be more than enough to cover meals for the household. Let Zhiming, Fang Xiu, and Cui Lan find some work to do. Otherwise, ask mom and dad to grow more crops, like peanuts, soybeans, sesame, and sorghum. The whole family should help out. We can't just sit at home doing nothing, relying solely on your salary to support the family."
Fang Pingying calculated that Luo Zhiyong's monthly salary was forty-five yuan. Giving fifteen this month left them with thirty yuan, which should be enough to start some small-scale business. Once they earned money, they could then think of expanding.
Luo Zhiyong, half-asleep, only heard Fang Pingying talking about work and didn't give it much thought before agreeing.
Fang Pingying didn't care whether he understood or not; she had made her decision.
When running a household, there needs to be someone capable of managing it. If everyone splurged like Zhou Yunmei, even if Luo Zhiyong worked hard all his life, he'd never climb out of poverty, let alone support a wife and children.