Jiang Si got straight to the point, "Let's settle the accounts."
After speaking, she pointed at the wardrobe. "Oh, and help me get that box down from up there."
Inside the box were the monetary gifts received at their wedding, as well as the "name-changing fees" given during the toast ceremonies.
Mother Huo had handed all of it to her back then, and Jiang Si hadn't tallied it yet.
"Alright."
As he spoke, Huo Tingzhou grabbed a pillow from the bed and placed it behind Jiang Si for support.
After retrieving the box, he massaged her shoulders while saying,
"You've been sitting in the room for over half an hour. Do you want to get up and move around a bit?"
"Whatever needs calculating, I can do it for you."
"No need." Jiang Si shook her head.
Ever since entering the third trimester, she noticed Huo Tingzhou had become unusually anxious.
If she so much as furrowed her brows or turned over in bed at night,
he would immediately ask, "Sweetheart, are you feeling unwell? Do we need to go to the hospital?"
Household chores? Needless to say, Huo Tingzhou took care of everything.
And then, in the past couple of days, he had picked up some advice from who-knows-where.
Every sharp corner on tables and chairs in the house
had been padded with cotton fabric.
At the time, Jiang Si was baffled. The baby wasn’t due for another two months.
Even after birth, walking and running wouldn’t happen until after the first year, right?
Wasn’t it too early to be padding everything now?
Turned out, Huo Tingzhou clarified—these weren’t for the baby.
If not for the baby, then it had to be for her.
Jiang Si was speechless.
But the absurdity didn’t end there. Last night, she had casually mentioned
that they should prepare the hospital bag in advance.
Huo Tingzhou acted swiftly—by morning, he had already packed it.
Yet when Jiang Si saw it, she nearly went into early labor.
To the uninformed eye, it looked less like a hospital bag and more like they were moving house!
Recalling this, Jiang Si frowned at him. "I’m fine. You don’t need to be so nervous."
But the moment the words left her mouth, she knew she’d messed up.
Oh no.
She shouldn’t have frowned.
Sure enough, those two familiar, dreaded questions instantly rang in her ears.
Thankfully, Jiang Si reacted quickly and covered his mouth.
"Enough. No more talking. I have something important to discuss."
"Mm, go ahead."
Huo Tingzhou agreed but kept massaging her shoulders.
Seeing this, Jiang Si let him continue.
She opened the box and glanced inside—it was filled with red envelopes. After a quick count:
The "name-changing fees" were likely prearranged: grandparents, parents, and Third Uncle’s family each gave 200 yuan.
Since it was a dual-sided custom (both families), this alone added up to 2,000 yuan.
Eldest Brother, Second Brother, and Fourth Brother’s families each gave 100 yuan.
Maternal Uncle, Aunt, and Fourth Uncle’s families each gave 66 yuan.
Combined with the wedding gifts, the total came to over 3,500 yuan.
Jiang Si noted the amount and added it to their earlier calculations.
Staring at the abacus, she was momentarily stunned.
Honestly, she’d always been fortunate.
Both before and after transmigrating into this novel, she’d never worried about money.
But she hadn’t expected their savings to be this substantial.
Huo Tingzhou was equally surprised. "This is our household savings?"
Jiang Si nodded.
The first sum came from Shen Xiuwen and Lin Yueru when they tricked her into moving to the countryside—principal plus interest totaled over 13,200 yuan.
She sold her textile factory job twice: first for 1,000 yuan, then for 1,220 yuan.
Later, while emptying their home, she found Lin Yueru and her daughter’s savings—two bankbooks totaling over 24,800 yuan with interest.
The fourth sum was Huo Tingzhou’s entire savings when they moved to Qiongzhou Island—over 62,000 yuan.
The fifth was from Mother Huo:
888 yuan for the bride price, 2,000 yuan for settling in, and 1,200 yuan for the "Three Turns and One Sound" (bicycle, sewing machine, watch, and radio) plus furniture—totaling 4,088 yuan.
Her grandparents also gave Mother Huo a bankbook, and with gifts from the other three branches of the family, this added over 2,500 yuan.
The sixth sum came from dividing the family assets. Jiang Si declined the 30,000-yuan bankbook and took only 6,000 yuan.
The seventh was earnings from her five-senses library templates—80,000 yuan.
The eighth was the dowry from Third Uncle—68,000 yuan.
Then came compensations from the Red Committee—two installments: the first over 5,000 yuan, the second (which Huo Tingzhou helped reclaim) 16,000 yuan.
Lastly, during New Year’s, Third Uncle’s family of four gave 2,000 yuan in lucky money combined.
As for expenses, they relied on Huo Tingzhou’s salary and New Year’s bonuses—and even those weren’t fully spent.
After calculations, Jiang Si’s current savings and cash totaled over 288,000 yuan.
With interest, it might be even higher—after all, deposit rates were quite favorable back then.
The household belonged to both of them. Aside from her spatial secret, Jiang Si laid everything out honestly, including her plans.
"This is all our savings. I want to divide it into three parts."
"The 8,000-yuan remainder will cover daily expenses."
"With the baby being young, costs will be minimal. Combined with your salary, it should suffice."
"As for the remaining 80,000 yuan—I’d like to donate it to the Fourth Division."
This 80,000 yuan was earned through her own efforts, so Jiang Si felt particularly justified using it.
At this, Huo Tingzhou looked up at her.
Jiang Si knew what he was thinking.
Truthfully, she wasn’t some blindly generous person.
Especially after witnessing the "storms" of the future, she detested the word "donate."
But—
After a moment of reflection, Jiang Si spoke her mind.
Back when her grandparents donated money and supplies, many couldn’t understand.
They called them foolish, saying things like, "People have profited off national crises since ancient times! How much of what you give will actually reach those in need?"
Yet her grandparents did it anyway—and persisted for decades.
Now, she could only do so much.
But her grandparents’ words stayed with her:
"When wealthy, never forget your roots. When capable, bear greater responsibility."
As a member of the Jiang family, she owed it to their legacy to uphold this integrity.
Her expression remained calm as she spoke, but the impact on Huo Tingzhou was profound.
When he stayed silent, Jiang Si turned to him. "Did you hear what I just said?"
"I did."
Jiang Si muttered, "Then why didn’t you say anything? I thought you disagreed."
Huo Tingzhou sighed. "Why would you think that?"
He wrapped his arms around her from behind. "From the moment we met, you’ve always called the shots."
"That hasn’t changed, and it never will."
He just hadn’t expected his wife to donate 80,000 yuan without blinking.
After a pause, he kissed her hair. "Sweetheart, thank you."
"There's no need to thank me for this."
Jiang Si lightly patted his hand, her voice soft and gentle. "Let go of me first. I have something to ask you."
"Go ahead, I'm listening."
So he wasn’t planning to let go?
But Jiang Si had her ways. She gave a light cough. "My legs are sore..."
