novellhall Chapter 161 Earning money is for spending on yourself
Chapter 161 Earning money is for spending on yourself
Upon hearing this, Sun Mei's expression changed drastically. She even threw down the clothes she was holding and hurriedly ran towards the door.
Seeing this, Wenrou turned around and looked towards the door.
There was a truck parked at the entrance of the family compound. Wu Li was helped off the truck. His leg was in a cast, as if it was broken, and he was using crutches.
When Sun Mei saw that Wu Li's leg was injured, she immediately questioned the squad leader standing next to her.
"How did you protect your battalion commander? How did he get injured?"
The squad leader was already feeling guilty about Wu Li's injury, and now, after being scolded by Sun Mei, he was also quite apprehensive and dared not speak.
Seeing this, Wu Li said, "This was my own carelessness, it's not his fault. Why are you getting angry at him?"
He then waved to the class monitor, signaling him to go back first.
"Hey? Who told you to leave? Come back here!" Even after Wu Li said that, Sun Mei still shouted at the squad leader relentlessly.
Seeing this, Wu Li reached out and tugged at Sun Mei, his face cold as he said, "Alright, I've already said this isn't his fault. Why are you still harping on him? Besides, he's new here, and he got injured because of me. As the battalion commander, I have to set an example. Why do you always try to pin the blame on others?"
Sun Mei felt embarrassed by Wu Li's retort and started arguing with him in a fit of pique.
"Then who am I doing all this for? Isn't it all for you, for the sake of this family? Why are you taking it out on me?"
Wu Li was too lazy to argue with her at this point. Just as he was about to go home, someone suddenly called out to him at the door.
"Battalion Commander Wu."
Upon hearing the sound, Wu Li turned around and saw Huo Yanchuan and another battalion commander walking towards him.
Gao Weidong is the newly appointed battalion commander, replacing Hao Gang.
He had the best relationship with Wu Li in the army, and the two of them joined the army together.
Wu Li looked at Huo Yanchuan and gave him a military salute, "Commander Huo."
Huo Yanchuan gave a faint "hmm" and then handed the item in his hand to him.
"This is the punishment the military is giving you this time, Wu Li. As a battalion commander, you have to shoulder the responsibilities on your shoulders. Therefore, in response to your mistake this time, the higher-ups have demoted you. Do you accept it?"
Wu Li took the punishment results from Huo Yanchuan's hand, knowing that he couldn't escape it this time.
He nodded. "I accept."
Previously, when he worked under Huo Yanchuan, Huo Yanchuan would cover for him when he made mistakes.
This time, he was too eager for quick success. Due to a misjudgment, the vehicle overturned, and most of the supplies on board were destroyed.
He's been demoted to platoon leader now, which is only fair.
When Sun Mei heard that Wu Li had been demoted from battalion commander to platoon leader, she couldn't accept it at all.
"What? He's been demoted to platoon leader? What gives you the right to do this? My husband has worked so diligently for so many years, why are you demoting him like this?"
Sun Mei was previously the battalion commander's wife, but now she has been demoted two ranks. Of course, she, being such a vain person, was unwilling to accept this.
"Sister-in-law, this is a decision made by the leadership team above. Wu Li has indeed made a big mistake this time," Gao Weidong explained to Sun Mei.
"Was it you? What did you say to the higher-ups? Why did you get promoted to battalion commander while my husband, Lao Wu, was demoted?" Sun Mei looked at Gao Weidong beside her, hands on her hips, looking like a shrew, as if she was about to start a fight with him at any moment.
Gao Weidong didn't bother arguing with a woman like her. He had a good relationship with Wu Li and never thought of harming him.
He even thought of coming over to comfort him because of his demotion, but he didn't expect to be scolded by Sun Mei.
At that moment, Wenrou also came over.
"Your husband is already in this state, why are you still worried about being demoted? Shouldn't you help him home to rest and recover? There will be plenty of opportunities for him to make a difference later."
Wenrou had dealt with Wu Li before and knew that he was honest and had no bad intentions.
Also, her transport team had Wu Li's help before, which enabled them to complete the renovation quickly.
Wenrou originally didn't want to get involved in this matter, but when she thought of Sun Mei's smug look when she was making fun of her, she felt extremely upset.
She was framed for spreading false rumors about herself, and she was determined to get revenge.
"Sun Mei, think carefully before you speak or spread rumors in the future. Don't be so quick to speak that you'll end up suffering the consequences yourself." Wenrou said to her with a cold face.
"You..." Sun Mei was quite angry at Wenrou's words. She didn't expect that her husband would get into trouble right after she mentioned Wenrou and Squad Leader Ma.
"You...you're all ganging up on our family! Oh dear, everyone come quick! The Huo family is bullying us! My husband was perfectly fine, and they've ruined him like this! Is there no justice in this world?"
When it comes to arguing and fighting, Sun Mei knows she is no match for gentleness.
So all she could do was start making a scene and trying to gain sympathy.
Upon seeing this, Huo Yanchuan's gloomy gaze fell upon Wu Li.
Seeing this, Gao Weidong, who was standing to the side, also felt a headache for his good brother.
Wenrou and Huo Yanchuan stood together, watching the scene with cold faces. She wanted to see what kind of trouble Sun Mei could cause.
At this moment, Wu Li could no longer hold back. He raised his hand and, in front of Huo Yanchuan, Wenrou, and his good brother, slapped Sun Mei hard across the face.
With a sharp "slap," the sound of the slap was crisp and loud, and Gao Weidong, who was standing to the side, was stunned.
Is this still his brother?
His family spent all their savings to find him a wife. His mother was already in poor health, and it was only with great difficulty that they managed to arrange the marriage with Sun Mei.
Even though it was his second marriage, he had to treat her like a god, never daring to scold or beat her, and always going along with her wishes.
This made Sun Mei even more lawless, believing that Wu Li would never find another wife after leaving her.
However, she never expected that someone who would never dare to utter a sound in front of her would actually hit her in front of so many people.
"Wu Li, you dare to hit me? I'll fight you to the death!" Sun Mei couldn't stand this humiliation, especially since Wu Li hit her in front of Wenrou, whom she despised the most. This made her lose all her remaining dignity.
Sun Mei rushed forward to fight Wu Li, but being a woman, she was easily thrown away by Wu Li with one hand.
"I'm sorry, Commander Huo, Mrs. Commander, please excuse my rudeness." After apologizing to Huo Yanchuan and Wenrou, Wu Li took Sun Mei's arm and went home.
Even after the two returned home and closed the door, Wenrou could still hear Sun Mei cursing.
Wenrou glanced at Huo Yanchuan, who then gave Gao Weidong some instructions before letting him go back.
Seeing Wenrou pushing her bicycle in from outside, Huo Yanchuan naturally reached out and took the bicycle from her, and the two walked home together.
"Did you send Jiang Yan to school?" Huo Yanchuan asked.
Wenrou nodded gently. "Yes, I waited until he finished his exams before coming back. With his current level, he's good enough to start from fifth grade."
"His parents were both top scientists in the country. If they were still alive, they would definitely have made even greater contributions to the country. It's not surprising that he inherited his parents' excellent genes and is a bit smarter than the average child."
Huo Yanchuan felt sorry for Jiang Yan's parents.
"If possible, I hope that the child can carry on his parents' wishes and continue their scientific research achievements."
"It depends on him. As long as he doesn't go astray when he grows up, he can do whatever he wants."
Since learning about Jiang Yan's fate in her past life, Wenrou no longer dares to ask for too much, lest it backfire.
After arriving home, Wang's wife handed the child over to them and prepared to go home.
"Sister-in-law, wait a moment," Wenrou called out to her.
These days, she has been troubling Sister Wang to help her look after the children, and she feels really bad about it.
So he took out some dried fruit, pastries, and canned goods from the house and handed them to her.
"Thank you so much for taking care of my two children these past few days. Please take these things back to Xiaoya."
Wenrou knew that although Sister Wang had made some money growing mushrooms, she was usually reluctant to buy snacks for Xiaoya.
Every time she offered it to Xiaoya, she refused.
She knew that it must have been Wang's wife who instructed her not to take things from other people.
These days, life is tough for everyone. If she takes something from someone today, she has to return it twice as much tomorrow.
"This...this is too much, Xiaoya can't eat that much." When Sister Wang saw that Wenrou had given her a full basket, she hurriedly declined and returned it.
Wenrou stuffed everything into her arms. "If she can't eat it, you can eat it too. We earn money to spend on ourselves, sister-in-law. Don't blame me for being blunt. You earn money to save for Xiaoya, but we women also have to plan for ourselves. When we have money, we can dress ourselves up and spend it on ourselves, instead of always thinking about our husbands and children."
She had wanted to say something gentle for a long time, but she hadn't said anything before because Wang's family had a hard life.
But now that she has finally earned money, she is reluctant to spend it on herself and keeps saving it, which makes her an easy target for others.
In that case, I'm afraid we'll end up losing both our money and our loved ones.
That Zhu Chao, and his mother are both troublemakers.
Although she had interfered in their family affairs before, it was ultimately their family matter, and as an outsider, it wasn't appropriate for her to meddle too much.
They've always disliked that Xiaoya is a girl, and haven't given up on getting Wang's wife to give birth to a boy.
However, Wang's wife suffered a miscarriage and severe bleeding during her previous pregnancy, and the doctor said it would be difficult for her to conceive again.
Although Zhu Chao now entrusts his allowance to Sister Wang for safekeeping, his monthly allowance is still far less than what Sister Wang earns.
They're thinking of mixing all the money together so they can take it all later.
Aunt Zhu had already been secretly looking for other women for her son, hoping that he would divorce Wang's wife and marry someone else.
"Thank you, little sister. I've remembered everything you said. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now," said Sister Wang to Wenrou, then picked up her basket and went home.
Wenrou watched Wang's sister-in-law's retreating figure, wondering if she had taken her words to heart.
Just as Sister Wang returned home with the things Wenrou had given her, she ran into Zhu Chao returning.
Seeing him return, Sister-in-law Wang was taken aback and asked, "Why are you back at this time? Shouldn't you be training in the army?"
Zhu Chao glanced at Sister Wang, his gaze settling on the basket she was carrying. He didn't answer her, but instead asked, "Where did you get this?"
"It was given to us by Huo Tuan's wife next door. I was helping her take care of her child, and she gave it to our little girl."
Zhu Chao nodded without saying anything, and then went inside to change his clothes.
"I've taken leave from the army to visit a comrade. Can you give me some money?" Zhu Chao said coldly to Sister-in-law Wang.
When Sister Wang heard what he said, she didn't think much of it and went to give him the money.
After she gave him the money, she went back inside to change her clothes and came out to find that the basket that Wenrou had given her and its contents were gone.
Upon seeing this, Sister Wang's expression changed. By the time she chased after him, it was too late; Zhu Chao had already vanished.
She was furious, but there was nothing she could do but silently endure it.
Even if it's for the sake of Xiaoya and this family, this is the only way.
She sighed, remembering what Wenrou had just reminded her of. She realized that she had indeed earned a lot of money during this period, and Zhu Chao had also entrusted her with her allowance.
But even if she kept that money, it wouldn't stay with her for long. Her husband and mother-in-law would find excuses every few days to take the money out of her hands.
These things were, after all, family matters, and she felt ashamed to tell others, so she didn't even tell Wenrou.
She sat in the chair, staring blankly at herself in the mirror.
In the past, when Zhu Chao came back, he would still be affectionate with her, but now he doesn't even look at her.
Even when he was sleeping at night, he would turn his back to her and wouldn't even touch her.
During this time, she was so busy growing mushrooms to earn money that she didn't have time to groom herself.
Adding to the heat, the sun was so strong that her face got a lot darker and even peeled off a layer of skin.
Actually, she's only in her early thirties, not much older than Wenrou, but when they stand together, they look like they're decades apart.
She was envious of Wenrou's fair and tender skin.
The more this happened, the more inferior she felt.
Just then, Aunt Zhu returned. Seeing Sister Wang sitting in a chair without cooking, she said to her with a displeased look, "What are you doing sitting here like a dead person? I'm starving, why isn't the food ready yet?"
Sister-in-law Wang checked the time, thinking that Xiaoya would be back soon, so she went into the kitchen to cook.
After she finished cooking, Xiaoya came back. She was very happy today because she got all the questions Jiang Yan had explained to her right and was even praised by her teacher.
After the meal, Sister Wang cleaned up the dishes.
After washing up and getting ready for bed, Zhu Chao finally returned.
"Where did you take all my things? Those were given to Xiaoya by Huo Tuan's wife. Even if you're going to take them, you should at least leave some for her. You can't take them all!" Sister Wang glared at him angrily and questioned him.