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Instead, she urged Liu Zhaodi from behind, saying that, of course, it was Liu Zhaodi who would take the blame.
Liu Zhaodi thought about this and shot Zhang Man a fierce glare.
Tang Zhiwen noticed that Liu Zhaodi had understood the situation and stopped looking at her, turning his attention to his younger brother, Tang Zhiwu.
His brother appeared honest and simple-minded, not very articulate. However, having watched him grow up, Tang Zhiwen knew that beneath that exterior lay a sharp mind.
Despite Tang Zhiwu's cheerful demeanor every day, he was always careful to read the room.
After an earful of scolding from Grandma Tang, the old man glanced at his two sons and their wives and said, "Alright, everyone put away your little schemes. The third one called; he said he would reimburse the travel expenses for our conversation. I want you all to understand that our family's relative prosperity is entirely due to the money the third one sends home every month. He works himself to the bone out there, not to support ungrateful people."
His words made all four faces flush with embarrassment.
Especially Tang Zhiwen and Tang Zhiwu; as older brothers, they had indeed benefited greatly from Tang Zhi Cheng over the years.
The Tang family had not been wealthy back then; in fact, during that time, there were very few affluent families in the countryside.
When it was time for Tang Zhiwen to marry, the matchmaker introduced him to Liu Zhaodi.
From her name alone, it was clear that the Liu family favored sons over daughters.
It could be said that instead of marrying off their daughter, the Liu family was more like selling her off.
The hefty bride price was something the Tang family could not afford, and as the marriage seemed on the verge of falling through, Tang Zhiwen felt quite despondent.
It was then that Tang Zhi Cheng, who had just joined the army, borrowed money from his comrades to pay for the bride price and brought Liu Zhaodi home.
Tang Zhi Cheng took two full years to repay his friends for that money.
Since then, whether it was for Tang Zhiwu's wedding or for Tang Zhixiang's marriage, or even now as the children were going to school, it had all been thanks to Tang Zhi Cheng sending money home every month.
Usually, no one spoke of it; they just pretended to be oblivious while knowing full well what was going on.
But now that Grandpa Tang brought it up in front of them, they could no longer feign ignorance comfortably.
However, when it came to asking Tang Zhi Cheng not to send money back anymore, they found themselves unwilling to do so.
For a moment, the atmosphere turned awkward, leaving them unsure of how to continue the conversation. The old man, Tang, glanced at his two sons, a flicker of concern crossing his eyes.
Wasn't it just ten yuan a month? What was the big deal? He earned so much money each month; wasn't it only right to give a little back to the family? Liu Zhaodi thought she was speaking softly, muttering under her breath.
In reality, she believed she was being discreet, but everyone, including the old couple, heard her clearly.
Tang Zhiwen shot a fierce glare at Liu Zhaodi. This foolish woman was always causing trouble. The old man might have just been making a casual remark, a warning perhaps. But now, thanks to her complaints, they were likely to face some consequences.
Sure enough, the old man confirmed his suspicions with his next words.
"Now that the third son is married and will eventually have children, everything in the city costs money. This time when I go to Beijing, I’ll tell him not to send money every month anymore. Your mother and I can still work; we don’t need him sending money for our retirement. As for what happens when we can’t work anymore, we’ll deal with that later," Tang said.
This decision wasn’t made on a whim; it had been discussed and agreed upon by Tang and his wife the previous night. Over the years, their family had greatly benefited from Tang Zhiwen’s support. Currently, he sent ten yuan each month. This amount had decreased in recent years; during the more difficult times before, Tang Zhiwen had sent most of his earnings home after keeping only a few yuan for himself.
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