Wang Xiuzhi felt she hadn’t raised her children well. They had only been with the army for a short while, and already they had picked up the bad habit of being vain.
Wang Xiuzhi worried that Commander Han would blame her.
Commander Han let out a sigh. “How much money do we have left in the family?”
Wang Xiuzhi got up and retrieved a locked box from the room.
Opening it, inside was a small pouch wrapped in layers of cloth scraps.
“It’s all here—563 yuan in total,” Wang Xiuzhi said, pulling two coins from her own pocket. “And I’ve got another yuan here.”
Commander Han hadn’t expected so much money.
His grandfather had diabetes, a wasting disease, and at his advanced age, with a diabetic foot, he had to have an amputation at the county hospital, along with frequent wound cleaning and dressing changes. That cost dozens of yuan every month.
In their hometown, that was practically an astronomical sum.
His parents had urged him to give up, but Commander Han had been raised by his grandfather. Now that he had finally made something of himself and could earn money, of course he would pay for treatment.
He didn’t even fully trust his own parents, but he trusted Wang Xiuzhi.
He sent all his money to her and let her take his grandfather to the county hospital for treatment.
Wang Xiuzhi was honest. Whatever Commander Han told her to do, she did.
He believed she would never slack off on the old man’s medical care. He just hadn’t expected her to save so much money.
“Xiuzhi, between Grandfather’s medical bills and the monthly money for my parents, my salary was already mostly spent. How did you manage to save this much?”
Wang Xiuzhi gave a faint, proud smile. “I’ve got hands and feet. I can work. My work points alone are enough to feed the three of us. I didn’t have anywhere to spend the money.”
Commander Han went silent, his throat feeling as if it were blocked.
He had always believed he acted with a clear conscience.
All these years in the army, he kept only a few yuan for himself each month and sent everything else back home.
He felt he had fulfilled his responsibilities—as a son, a grandson, a husband, and a father.
But now, the money laid out before him told a different story. It showed him that, for this small family, he hadn’t even fulfilled his financial duty.
He said nothing, and Wang Xiuzhi grew nervous again.
She didn’t understand why Commander Han wasn’t happy.
She had saved so much money—he should have been pleased.
At the very least, he should have praised her.
Commander Han stared at Wang Xiuzhi for a long time, making her feel deeply uncomfortable.
She touched her face, wondering if she had gotten something on it. “Old Han, what’s wrong? If I’ve done something wrong, just tell me straight.”
Commander Han suddenly understood why Lin Zhilan had asked him if he didn’t send money home.
It turned out his family had never spent his money at all.
Now, looking at Wang Xiuzhi’s frayed short-sleeve shirt and the trousers of the two children, which were too short, Commander Han felt a bitter pang.
“Xiuzhi, you need to learn to spend money.”
Wang Xiuzhi shook her head hurriedly. “Learn to spend money? I don’t need to learn. I don’t spend it because there’s nowhere to spend it.”
Commander Han said helplessly, “We have so much money at home. There’s no need to be so frugal.”
Wang Xiuzhi looked flustered. She felt like Commander Han was blaming her. But could not spending money really be a mistake?
“Five hundred yuan isn’t that much. In the future, the two kids will need school fees and marriage expenses. There are plenty of places to spend money.”
Commander Han sighed. “I’ll earn the money. Now that Grandfather is gone, the family will save a lot each month. There’ll be enough for the children’s school and marriages.”
Wang Xiuzhi wanted to say more, but Commander Han continued, “Xiuzhi, you’ve worked hard for most of your life. It’s time you let yourself enjoy some comfort.”
Neither Commander Han nor Wang Xiuzhi were the type to say sweet, sentimental things.
When she heard that, her eyes reddened instantly.
With those words, she felt all the hardship she had endured was worth it.
But when hardship is praised, the one who suffers is even more willing to endure.
“I’m already pretty comfortable now. Don’t worry about things at home—I definitely won’t waste any money.”
Commander Han felt a headache coming on.
He himself was stingy by nature and didn’t know how to persuade someone to spend money.
So he simply tapped the table. “From now on, spending money is our family’s task. Even if you don’t want to, you have to!”
Wang Xiuzhi was completely baffled. “Then… how do we spend it?”
She genuinely had no idea how to go about spending money.
Commander Han thought for a moment. “Starting tomorrow, you and the kids will each get two new outfits and a pair of new shoes.”
Wang Xiuzhi wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but when she met Commander Han’s eyes, she swallowed the words.
Commander Han then pulled out some small bills from his pocket, counted them, and handed each of the two children one yuan.
“Tomorrow, take this and buy ice pops. Eat as many as you want. They even have the milk ones.”
Commander Han himself had only eaten an ice pop once in his life—a 3-fen white sugar one. He could still almost remember the taste.
Liang Ping and Han Mei didn’t dare take it, looking at Wang Xiuzhi.
Wang Xiuzhi frowned slightly. “Your father is giving it to you, so take it… Don’t squander it.”
Commander Han, afraid the children wouldn’t dare spend it, added, “You know that Dr. Lin’s nephew? Jiang Chengzhou? Whatever he buys, you two buy the same.”
Liang Ping and Han Mei exchanged glances, hardly daring to believe it.
Commander Han pressed the money into their hands, speaking seriously. “If you want anything, come and tell me. As long as it’s reasonable, your mother and I will try to give it to you. But you must never do anything sneaky again. If something like today happens again, I will still hit you.”
“Mm…”
“Mm…”
Commander Han turned back to Wang Xiuzhi. “From now on, spending money is your task. When I come back tomorrow, I want to see the new clothes and shoes you’ve bought.”
Wang Xiuzhi looked lost, completely unsure what to do.
After seeing Commander Han’s family off, Lin Zhilan was carefully helped into the living room by Su Lang.
Deng Jing frowned and came over to help her as well. “Did you fall somewhere? I shouldn’t have let you go if I’d known.”
Lin Zhilan smiled gently. “I didn’t fall. Xiao Lang is just being overly cautious.”
“Xiao Lang?” Deng Jing asked, puzzled.
Su Lang grinned. “Second Sister-in-law, Zhilan is pregnant!”
“Really?” Deng Jing’s voice rose in excitement, then she lowered it, remembering the children were asleep. She took Lin Zhilan’s hand. “How long? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Only a month,” Lin Zhilan said, her eyes curving like crescent moons. “I wanted to be sure before telling everyone.”
“This is wonderful, wonderful!” Deng Jing clapped her hands happily. “It’s too late now. You need to rest. Xiao Lang, help her upstairs to sleep.”
“Actually, no,” Deng Jing reconsidered, glancing at the stairs. “It’s not good for you to stay upstairs while pregnant. When your belly gets bigger, it’ll be even more inconvenient. How about this: I’ll move to Mom and Dad’s room tomorrow, and you can move downstairs.”
