Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 822 - 812: Women Can Hold Up Half the Sky

"What did you do with the money?" Sun Chengbin demanded, gripping Li Xianghe’s collar, his face twisted with accusation.

"We, we don’t have any money," Li Xianghe said, terrified by the ferocious look she saw on her husband’s face for the first time.

"No money? Then what about my salary from the past several months?" Sun Chengbin said. After Li Xianghe joined him at the military base, he wanted to show his second uncle, so he gave Li Xianghe control of the family finances, and now when he needed money and asked her for it, she claimed they had none, not a single penny.

"Your, your salary is so little each month, after we feed the family, there’s just a little left for Niuniu’s medicine, and then it’s gone," Li Xianghe said in an almost inaudible whisper, feeling guilty.

Although she’d initially taken Niuniu to see a doctor, and the doctor had prescribed medicine, Li Xianghe deemed it a waste, so after the child finished what they had, she never bought more.

Sun Chengbin simply did not believe her; how could he not know whether his child took her medicine every day? And as for what they ate daily at home, he had a clear idea, it simply wasn’t possible that his salary was spent entirely.

He tightened his grip on her collar, and Li Xianghe felt like she was struggling to breathe.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing? Let go of me right now. If my second brother finds out you’re treating me like this, just wait and see how he’ll deal with you," Li Xianghe threatened, knowing Sun Chengbin respected her second brother.

Although Li Xianghe saw through her husband’s intentions, she misjudged his pride. He wanted to climb higher, but would not allow anyone to comment on it, especially not someone close to him.

Sun Chengbin looked at the woman in his hands with a fierce expression but eventually controlled the anger in his heart and pushed her onto the bed, "Go on, go complain to him, with your behavior, after completely offending your sister-in-law, you think your second brother will take your side? Do you even use your brain?"

"Hmph, that woman is an outsider, I’m my second brother’s own sister. When push comes to shove, he’ll be on my side," Li Xianghe said with a trace of triumph in her eyes, confident that Sun Chengbin wouldn’t dare do anything to her because of her second brother.

"Enough with your fantasies. Just gather whatever money we have at home quickly; I need it urgently," Sun Chengbin rubbed his face.

Had it not been for the urgent letter from home asking for money, he wouldn’t have bothered with her at all.

"I’ve told you, there’s no money, with your meager monthly earnings, everything costs money for a family of three to live—eating, drinking, and everything else. I was so frugal, I didn’t even indulge in meat, just to buy you a shirt, and you think there’s any money left?" Li Xianghe felt secretly pleased at that moment, thankfully she’d bought Sun Chengbin a shirt when she’d gone shopping in the city last time, along with clothes for herself, or else she really would have had no excuse. "Besides, your parents have more than just you as a child, why do they always write to you for money whenever something comes up? When I decided to follow you to the military, I didn’t have a penny on me, and your parents just watched, not even offering to pay for my bus ticket, so why should I give them money now?"

Today, Sun Chengbin received a letter from his hometown saying his father injured his leg while farming and needed to go to the hospital, but the family had no money left and asked him to find a way to send back fifty yuan. Sun Chengbin came home and told Li Xianghe to take out the money, but she claimed they had none and refused to give it.

Sun Chengbin’s fingers cracked with tension, but he ultimately subdued his anger, "Fine, you won’t give the money, will you? Then live with that little bit of money you have for the rest of your life. Don’t even think about touching my salary ever again."

After dropping those words, he grabbed his hat, turned around, and slammed the door behind him. freёweɓnovel.com

"What are you doing, it’s so late already? Hey, talk to me." Li Xianghe shouted as she chased into the corridor.

He didn’t take what she said seriously. When he was right here, his own salary was still something he wanted to keep; that’d be a joke. Eventually, he would find a way to squeeze out the money.

"Xianghe, what’s going on between you and Captain Sun? It sounds like a battle over there. Look, we women can’t be passive like before. It’s a new era, and we can hold up half the sky. There’s no need to be afraid of them. If they dare to lay a hand on us, sister will teach you. You go straight to the military district leaders, and you’ll surely find support." The door opposite opened. The military wife across had been eavesdropping for a while. Hearing that Captain Sun seemed to have left, she finally came out to talk.

"Ah, sister, rest assured, my Sun Chengbin wouldn’t dare to hit me." Li Xianghe perked up with pride upon seeing the newcomer, boasting about her triumphs of the day.

As for Sun Chengbin, although he could be a bit tricky, he was still quite a filial son. Having received a letter from his hometown, he was genuinely anxious. Clearly, getting money from Li Xianghe was not an option, but his folks back home were waiting for money to save lives, so he had no choice but to borrow money and then pay back a little each month.

He took out a cigarette and started smoking downstairs, thinking over whom it would be best to borrow money from. Once he finished his cigarette, he made up his mind and headed to his second uncle’s place.

When Sun Chengbin knocked on Li Hongjun’s door, the Li family of four was having their dinner.

"Oh, it’s Chengbin! Why are you alone? Come in, come in. Haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ll go get you a pair of chopsticks. Just join us and have a bite here." Seeing Li Hongjun remaining quiet, Shen Yunfang had to get up and take the initiative to greet the guest.

As long as Sun Chengbin didn’t come over with Li Xianghe, he would receive a warm welcome from Shen Yunfang.

"Sister-in-law, don’t trouble yourself, I have something to discuss with second brother, and I’ll be leaving shortly," Sun Chengbin said sheepishly.

"All right, your sister-in-law has gotten you a set, so just eat something here for now, and we can talk about your matter after dinner," Li Hongjun said, noticing Sun Chengbin’s unusual demeanor, and thus inviting him to stay for the meal to talk later.

Li Hongjun’s family food was, as always, very good.

Today, Li Hongjun was at home, so dinner was four dishes and one soup: a boiled fish, a dish of simmered large shrimp, braised pork ribs, a dish of shredded meat with translucent jelly strips, and a soup that Sun Chengbin hadn’t looked at yet. But given the numerous ingredients inside, he guessed it couldn’t possibly taste bad.

The soup that Sun Chengbin didn’t recognize was Fujian’s famous "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall." It was a new recipe Shen Yunfang had attempted. In her previous life, she had tasted the authentic dish but never attempted it herself due to its complex preparation. A few days ago, when she had some spare time, she started to think about the soup. After researching and trying multiple times at home, she finally made a version that tasted quite good. Of course, it could not compare to the authentic one, but it suited the taste of northerners very well.

"Um, sister-in-law, this soup is not bad," Sun Chengbin praised after taking a sip, finding it truly tasty with a rich flavor.

"Is that so? If it tastes good, have some more," Shen Yunfang said, pouring a bowl for each of her family members.

The soup, of course, would be good. The ingredients alone included dozens of items such as sea cucumber, scallops, pigeon, ribs, and so on. She added a bit of everything she could find and simmered it over low heat for five to six hours until the flavors of the ingredients fully infused into the soup. How could it not taste good?