Chapter 55: Renovating the House for the Family

Shen Shoutian's face lit up, "Really? Xiaomeng, that's fine. Then you should sit down and rest for a while. Qinlan, clean up our room and let Xiaomeng stay there tonight. The second son and I will sleep on the floor in Dad's room. You can bring the child and Xiaomei to sleep there."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Lu Qinlan stood up and walked towards her room. She smiled awkwardly at Shen Meng, as if she was afraid that Shen Meng would despise her. After all, her sister-in-law's in-laws' family was many times better off than theirs. This time she brought meat, eggs, and a bag of clothes. She was so grateful that she couldn't express it in words.

Su Xiaomei also stood up, walked around Shen Meng and the others, and went towards her own room. She also had to clean up.

Shen Meng felt a little embarrassed when she saw that her two sisters-in-law were busy with their work. She suddenly felt that it was a bit abrupt for her to stay overnight. But looking at the people in the Shen family, she knew that they really missed the original owner. They didn’t come back for a month or two before, but now they suddenly come back. Isn’t it exciting?
Wang Guizhi took care of Shen Fugui until he fell asleep, and then she came out of the house. In the main room, everyone in the Shen family was sitting and talking. Shen Yutian put his son down to sleep and came over to chat with his sister.

"Xiao Meng, why did you bring so many things this time? Does your mother-in-law have any objections?"

"We have divided the family, haven't we? If that old lady dares to bully Xiao Meng again, I will go and beat her up." Shen Yutian said this. It was only later that he found out about the injustice his little sister had suffered. He wanted to make a scene, but his parents wouldn't let him.

He insisted that if it was because of him that his sister's family broke up, then it was his fault. How could he bear such a big blame? It would be better if his wife persuaded him to wait and see, and that's why he didn't go.

Shen Meng felt very warm in her heart. The people in the Shen family were very kind to the original owner, but in the past, the original owner was only thinking about how to gain benefits from her husband's family. Of course, these benefits were also for herself.

But in the end, he was no match for the sweet talk, and the allowances he got from Lu Zhenping and the army ended up in the pockets of Liu Sanjin and several of his sisters-in-law.

"Now that the family has been divided, the private plot has been allocated to me. I will be able to live with my children on my own in the future. I don't know how comfortable it will be!"

Wang Guizhi sighed and advised: "Xiao Meng, no matter what, your mother-in-law is Zhenping's mother. You have to respect her. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for Zhenping in the future. Can he still not want his own mother?"

"Hey, I know, don't worry, mom. As long as she doesn't do anything naughty, I won't quarrel with her. I'm not going home today because I have something to say."

Wang Guizhi and her two sons looked at each other and said quickly, "Tell your family if you have any difficulties."

"It's not a big deal, it just requires my parents' consent."

"Oh, my girl, just tell me. Isn't it enough for me to agree? I'm really anxious. I'll tell you. If you don't feel wronged, can you stay at my house for one more day? Tell me now!"

Shen Meng said quickly, "It's not difficult. I'm thinking about repairing our house. Our adobe house is very conspicuous along the way. Look at our roof, the straw is black. It's because it's been there for too long. When it snows this winter, the roof will definitely collapse. It's better to take off the roof and dry the rotten straw to use for burning later."

Wang Guizhi didn't expect it was for this matter, and quickly waved her hands. How could she use the money of a married girl for her own affairs? Wouldn't that make people poke her in the back? "How can I ask you to repair the house? Dad and I have discussed it before. I will ask your eldest and second brothers to talk to the secretary and ask for some straw from the production team. The production team's own straw is cheaper. We can just find a bricklayer to fix it."

"Mom is right, Xiao Meng, don't worry about the family. As long as you are doing well, Mom and Dad, your second brother and I will be relieved. Our family is doing well, so you should worry about the family."

Shen Shoutian was happy. In the past, people always said that he had a capable brother-in-law, and that Qing would enjoy a good life with his family in the future. He always refuted that after waiting for several years, others did not see his younger sister doing anything for the family, so they started to gossip.

Look, isn't his younger sister thinking about the family today? But before the family was separated, even if she was thinking about her parents' home, she couldn't let her mother-in-law know, otherwise how could the family be at peace?

"What are you talking about? I'm married, not sold. I gave birth to children for Lu Zhenping, and in the end, I wanted to help my parents, but it became my fault. Mom, big brother, second brother, don't think so much. Zhenping misses you too. The last time he wrote to me, he asked about mom and dad's health. He also asked me to be filial to them. If he comes back and knows that our family has become like this, he will blame me."

Wang Guizhi was delighted. She didn't expect her son-in-law cared about them so much.

"Really?"

"Of course it's possible. By the way, the straw in my family's private plot has not been harvested yet. Brother, please give me a ride tomorrow and bring the straw back. We have to work early. The children have to go to school at ten o'clock tomorrow. I will show Zhenping's letter to you then."

Shen Shoutian looked at his mother and said, "Okay."

"Mom, big brother, second brother, I feel sad when I see the current situation of our family. It's okay if the weather is good, but if the weather is bad, it will rain heavily outside and lightly inside. And Xiaobin is still living in the compartment of the main hall and is about to get married. What kind of girl from a good family can marry into our family!"

After Shen Meng said this, Wang Guizhi and the others were silent. They had not renovated the house in the past two years because their family was poor. They also sold their labor to do the work, but the family was getting poorer and poorer. They didn't know what was going on. Sometimes they themselves felt there was no hope.

"Just listen to me. We will tear down our house and rebuild it. I will ask someone later if we can get some bricks and tiles. We will make the house more spacious and solid. Then it will be easier for Xiaobin to propose marriage."

As Shen Meng spoke, he took out the money from selling the radio from his pocket, a total of two hundred and thirty-five yuan, and placed it all on the table. The stack of money was so thick that everyone in the room was shocked and unable to recover.

"Give this money to mom. It's definitely not enough to build a red brick house, but it's definitely enough to build a few adobe houses with black tiles. If you can't use it, ask the carpenter to make furniture and cabinets. Also, buy some clothes, shoes and socks for my nephews and nieces. Big brother, earn work points well, and send your children to school in the future."

The original owner gave her a second life, which was a grace of rebirth no matter what. For this reason, she also had the obligation to help the Shen family.

(End of this chapter)