Chapter 112 Vanity

Published Mar 30, 2026, 07:07 AM

Chapter 112: Chapter 112 Vanity With a troubled expression, Wen Siyuan tried to explain, but was interrupted by Su Man, "What if the child in my belly isn’t a son?" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞 "Not a son?" Wen Siyuan was taken aback, then laughed, "Even if it’s not a son, it doesn’t matter, it will still be our child." Hearing this, Su Man’s expression slightly improved, yet she persisted, "You must have received a bonus this time you came back, I don’t care, we must buy a washing machine and a TV!" "I did receive a bonus, but I have to give part of it to my parents, and the rest needs to be saved to support you and the kids." A washing machine required a foreign exchange coupon to purchase, and it was costly; although a TV didn’t need a foreign exchange coupon, it required a TV license, and even so, the price wasn’t low. To ask him to spend a large sum of money to buy two household appliances at once, it wasn’t that he couldn’t afford it, but he genuinely felt there was no need for it. Why? Could a washing machine really get clothes clean? Moreover, it wasted electricity and might even tear the clothes; wouldn’t that be a loss? As for the TV... Not to mention the electricity it consumed, once you started watching a series, it was very easy to get addicted. In short, buying them brought no benefits to the household. "You already give part of your monthly salary to your parents, why should your bonus be divided among them too? You do realize your parents don’t only have you as a son!" Su Man was very dissatisfied with Wen Siyuan’s parents. Not to mention that the two had secure jobs with regular salaries, but in their family, aside from Wen Siyuan, who was the second child, didn’t the eldest and third siblings and their spouses all have jobs? Yet just because they had a younger brother and sister who weren’t yet married, they reached out to the second son for money every month, claiming it was for living expenses. Laughable, his family didn’t share meals with that big family; why should they pay any living expenses? Thinking this, Su Man’s dissatisfaction with her in-laws grew, and so did her determination to buy a washing machine and a TV. She didn’t want to be looked down upon by Kang Li, nor did she want all their money to go to her in-laws. She wanted the neighbors to know that she, Su Man, could afford a washing machine and a TV too, and to show her in-laws she wasn’t a pushover! Wen Siyuan, "Manman! Look, how about this, next year, let’s buy them next year..." Su Man interrupted again, "I want to buy them now. Just look at next door, Comrade Luo’s wife not only bought them a washing machine and a TV for their house but they also bought a sewing machine, a bicycle, and a radio. I’m about the same age as her, and the man I married is also on his second marriage; why can’t my man buy me those things too?" "You..." Wen Siyuan’s face showed a slight change as he struggled to suppress the frustration rising within him and spoke as patiently as possible, "Even though I only came back yesterday, I’ve heard people saying, the items Comrade Kang added to his home were either bought by Kang’s second brother or came with her as part of her dowry, they weren’t actually purchased by Professor Luo." Luo Yanqing had studied abroad and was a key talent in the institute, with a basic salary each month that was higher than his not to mention other benefits... What about him? Though he was a graduate from a prestigious university, he hadn’t studied abroad like Yanqing. If it weren’t for his hard work over the years, following Luo Yanqing diligently in research, his status in the institute would probably be like that of the guy across the way (Zhang Sheng) — many years of work, but still just a junior researcher, older than him by seven or eight years, yet his salary was still not as high as his. "I get it now, you resent that my family didn’t give me a more generous dowry, right? But is that my fault?" Su Man’s eyes reddened, "The dowry was held by my mother, what could I have done?" Wen Siyuan, "Manman, you’ve misunderstood me, that’s not what I meant."

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