Drama Couple in the 80s

Chapter 40

Jiang Ya initially thought the matter was settled. However, on the very night after bidding farewell to Jiang Yuan and Gu Xingzhou, Old Man Jiang privately approached her with 80 yuan, which he insisted she take.

He claimed it was because he feared they might be short of funds, implying that leaving 20 as their gift was already substantial enough.

Jiang Ya refused, "Father, we have enough money so don't worry about us."

"Take it," Old Man Jiang urged. "Knowing your spendthrift ways, you two will go through money quickly. I'm well aware of how you operate."

It seemed not only did Gu Xingzhou suspect He Cheng of putting up a facade, but others shared similar concerns.

The supposed pretender stepped forward, took the money, and stuffed it back into Old Man Jiang's pocket. "Father, we've already made our contribution publicly. If you secretly give us more now, what kind of person would that make me? The new daughter in law has just joined the family, and if you start favoring your unmarried daughter like this, considering we haven't yet separated households, won't you risk upsetting her?"

Old Man Jiang retorted, "Who cares what she thinks? It's not her money I'm using, and when we officially split the household tomorrow, I won't mistreat them."

"That still won't do," Jiang Ya smiled. "Father, how about this - we can't accept this money; it's simply not right. If we truly find ourselves short on funds someday, I'll come to you for a loan then, alright?"

Old Man Jiang attempted to respond, but He Cheng gently took hold of his shoulders, leveraging his height and strength to steer him away, pushing him all the way through the Jiang family's gate.

Reflecting on the situation, Jiang Ya pondered why Jiang Yuan's relatives in the original novel were portrayed as such problematic characters.

In the book, it was mentioned that during Jiang Yuan and Gu Xingzhou's visit for Jiang Fengchan's wedding, they traveled a great distance from their home to attend. Upon arrival, they faced a crowd eager to curry favor with them. The aunties, uncles, and various other distant relatives showered them with flattery, highlighting the superiority of the protagonist couple.

Later, even the bride herself tried to ingratiate herself with her new sister in law from the city, suggesting that she and her husband might seek Jiang Yuan's help to move there and find work...

Naturally, Gu Xingzhou declined. From the perspective of the groom's family, allowing the newlyweds to rely on their sister in the city would be akin to sponging off her success.

Jiang Yuan had a soft heart, but Gu Xingzhou was no pushover. He purposely accompanied her back home precisely to shield her from potential mistreatment by her family, asserting his protective stance firmly.

Over the past few days, Jiang Ya hadn't heard the new bride make such demands. Naturally, as the elder sister traveling far to attend the wedding, some warmth and hospitality were expected. As of now, Jiang Ya hadn't witnessed any specific requests from the bride on this matter whether it happened privately or not remained unknown.

In Jiang Ya's view, if her younger brother wanted to find work in the city and sought temporary refuge with his sister there, simply aiming to get settled and secure employment, could it really be considered parasitic behavior?

Jiang Ya had only interacted with her new sister in law a handful of times since Jiang Fengchan brought her home for their engagement. According to local customs, after getting engaged, they would meet each other's families, spend short stays during periods of agricultural downtime post-harvest, and visit briefly after New Year celebrations. In rural areas, tradition dictated that before marriage, without special reasons, one wouldn't frequent their future in laws' home. Consequently, Jiang Ya couldn't fully grasp her new sister in law's temperament and personality yet. From what she observed, Shi Qiaoling seemed like a lively and cheerful young woman.