Woman, just you wait—my secret stash is about to explode! (Please keep reading)
“Forget it, forget it! You’ve already handed it over—if you go and try to get it back now, aren’t you afraid of making a scene?”
“I’m starting to suspect that little girl figured you out a long time ago. I offered her two yuan and she refused, insisting on waiting for you. Clearly, she was sure she could squeeze more out of us!”
After helping Feng Jiayou to soothe her blood circulation, she wanted to get up and find her sister, determined to recover the ten yuan.
Cheng Xuemin pressed her down and mentioned it to her.
“What?! She found out?!”
Feng Jiayou’s face flushed immediately. If her sister really had caught her, how could she face anyone in the family after this?
“Well, maybe. I’m not sure!”
If she really had seen, Feng Jiamo wouldn’t be so sweet-mouthed. She’d definitely use this to make an outrageous demand and blackmail for hush money.
Pretending not to see anything isn’t her style at all!
Cheng Xuemin said this just to scare Feng Jiayou a little, hoping she’d let it go. The money was already given; there was no need to get it back.
It was only ten yuan—think of it as an offering for her sister-in-law’s change of address.
Besides, Cheng Xuemin wasn’t entirely comfortable with how his sister-in-law brushed up against him—he didn’t want Feng Jiayou to know about that.
“Then she didn’t see! I know her temperament better than anyone!”
Feng Jiayou was no fool and knew her sister inside out. If she hadn’t been exposed on the spot, it meant nothing had been discovered.
“And you, just wait, I’ll deal with you in a moment!”
Feng Jiayou struggled free, pointed at Cheng Xuemin, signaling him to wait for her, and stormed out with murderous intent.
Cheng Xuemin tried to hold her back but failed and let her go.
Soon, the sound of the two sisters quarreling loudly outside echoed through the house, startling everyone awake!
“Sis! How did you know your big old Xuemin gave me ten yuan? Didn’t he say it was a secret?!”
“Give it back? The money your brother-in-law gave me to buy a pen, I coaxed him out of it with my own skill! Why should I give it back to you?!”
Feng Jiamo had long anticipated her sister would come to reclaim the ten yuan. She’d hidden in her room and locked the door as soon as she could.
“Feng Jiamo, open the door! Since when does a pen cost ten yuan? Do you think your brother-in-law is that easy to fool?”
“Open up! Give me back the money! I’ll buy you a new pen tomorrow!”
Feng Jiayou pounded on the door, shouting at Feng Jiamo inside.
“I’m not opening! I got the money with my own cleverness, why should I give it back?!” Feng Jiamo boasted from within, making Cheng Xuemin, listening outside, even more anxious.
This damned girl! If only she’d be a bit sweeter and play along with her sister, but what was she doing now?!
If she kept flaunting her victory like this, Cheng Xuemin would get dragged into trouble too—he was doomed!
“Enough, enough! What are you two bickering about in the middle of the night?” Mother Feng came out in her coat, so exasperated by these two debt collectors that she had no temper left.
“Mom, Jiamo cheated Xuemin out of ten yuan, claiming she needed a pen! But what kind of pen costs ten yuan?!” Feng Jiayou called through the door, at her wits’ end.
“Mom, her husband gave it to me willingly—I didn’t cheat!” Feng Jiamo shouted from her room. “And tell my sister to check her man’s pockets—turns out he’s got a secret stash!”
“He gave her ten yuan?!”
Now Mother Feng was surprised too. Her son-in-law, that country bumpkin, was willing to spoil his sister-in-law with ten yuan for a pen?
“What?! Feng Jiamo took advantage of me being out of the room to trick her brother-in-law into giving her money for a pen! Xuemin is so gullible—he gave her whatever she asked for. I’m furious!”
Feng Jiayou stamped her foot, hoping her mother would right this injustice.
“Jiamo, come out here—what’s this all about?” Mother Feng’s frown deepened. What did she mean by taking advantage of her sister’s absence to trick her brother-in-law?
How did she manage it? Come out and explain!
“Hee hee. Mom, I’m not as silly or gullible as big old Xuemin. I’m not coming out!”
“If I do, my sister will just snatch the money back. You’d have to kill me before I open this door!”
Feng Jiamo stayed inside, smug and defiant.
Now even Cheng Xuemin was annoyed, cursing that his sister-in-law was hopelessly ungrateful!
So, in the end, he was just the rich, gullible fool, easily tricked?
And besides, it wasn’t even his money to begin with!
Cheng Xuemin wasn’t that foolish. With her calling him “big old Xuemin” left and right, would he keep pampering her with spending money?
She could dream on!
It was just tonight she’d happened to catch him at a weak moment, and her sister was forced to comply and hand over the cash for now.
At this point, Cheng Xuemin hoped more than anyone that Feng Jiayou could reclaim the money!
But in reality, money that landed in the sister-in-law’s pocket was never easily retrieved.
Seeing Feng Jiayou return to the room, fuming, Cheng Xuemin, who had stayed out of the argument, asked sullenly, “Well?!”
“Cheng Xuemin, you… you’re driving me mad!”
Feng Jiayou slammed the door hard, locking it tight behind her.
“No, darling, listen to me—it really wasn’t my fault… you were the one who insisted!”
Cheng Xuemin looked at his wife, nervous, hurriedly defending himself.
But Feng Jiayou, still furious and having failed to get the money back, found his excuses amusing and asked with a smile, “So it’s my fault, is it?”
“No, no! Darling, I’m not blaming you! I—I was wrong. Please give me a chance to make it right!”
With his wife clearly angry, Cheng Xuemin wisely chose not to argue. He confessed his mistake, his attitude almost as if he was about to kneel on a washboard.
“You were wrong?! And what exactly did you do wrong?” Feng Jiayou sat down next to him, still smiling, making him even more uneasy.
“I was wrong to give Jiamo so much money! I was wrong to ask you for inspiration! I was wrong to even have inspiration tonight!”
It was all this “seeking inspiration” that got him in trouble. Cheng Xuemin decided to admit everything, continuing, “Darling, I admit my mistake, I apologize, and I’ll make it up to you! I’m willing to accept any punishment you see fit!”
“All right, since you mentioned compensation, first make up the ten yuan Jiamo took from me.” Feng Jiayou held out her palm, signaling him to hand it over.
“Well… darling, I’ve just about spent all my allowance for this month! How about I give it back double once my manuscript payment comes in?” Cheng Xuemin asked meekly.
“Manuscript payment? What manuscript payment? Isn’t that my money? When did you start having manuscript payments?” Feng Jiayou’s smile returned as she looked at him.
“It’s not today’s payment, darling. It’s from my publication in Yan Capital Literature… Yes, yes, that’s your payment too—all of it is yours!”
At first, Cheng Xuemin thought his wife misunderstood, thinking he was referring to her earnings today, not his own from Yan Capital Literature. But seeing her expression, he quickly realized the truth.
There was no such thing as his own manuscript payment anymore!
Earlier that day, his so-called earnings at Yan Capital Literature had been forcibly allocated to her private fund—it was her money now, not a single cent belonged to him, the original author!
Sensible as always, Cheng Xuemin immediately changed his tune: “It’s yours, absolutely yours, all of it!”
A man still needed his own private stash!
He decided that, while working openly on his new novella, he’d secretly create a few more pen names to write short stories and earn a bit of pocket money on the side.
Otherwise, without his own small savings, he’d have no authority at home!
If Cheng Xuemin had five or six pen names, each with its own little stash, he wouldn’t have to rely on his wife’s reluctant “inspiration” anymore.
When inspiration fell short, a little money could make up for it—a handful of cash, and his money-loving wife would obediently help him seek inspiration under the desk!
…