Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 644 - 634 Sister-in-law, did you send too much money?

Zhao Erkui wiped his hands on his clothes before carefully taking the envelope his sister-in-law passed to him; then, seeing that everyone else had opened theirs, he followed suit and poured out the money inside.

"Hiss..." Comrade Zhao Erkui drew in a sharp breath. The sight of the hundred-yuan bill nearly dazzled his small eyes. Then, he quickly put the money back into the envelope and pushed it forward, stuffing it back into his sister-in-law’s hands while he stammered, "Sis-, sister-in-law, there’s a mistake, there’s too much in here."

Shen Yunfang wanted to laugh at his shocked appearance and finally did, chuckling, "Hehe, there’s no mistake, this is for you." To avoid a repeat of the situation, she raised her voice and explained, "As I just said, the first month was the most critical one. Everyone worked day and night to successfully sow so many acres of soybeans. I’m very grateful in my heart. Our Old Li has lectured me, saying that all those expressions of gratitude are what cultured people say. We are all family here, so let’s cut the niceties and go straight for what’s most substantial. That’s why I’ve decided to give everyone an extra bonus of fifty yuan this month, as a small token of my appreciation. Of course, let’s make it clear, I’m only adding this extra for the first month; I won’t keep on increasing it in the future." As she spoke, she pressed the envelope back into Zhao Erkui’s hands.

Zhao Erkui was in a quandary, uncertain whether to accept it or not, so he anxiously looked at the others to see what they would do and planned to follow suit.

Seeing that most wanted to decline, Li Hongjun put on a stern face and said, "What’s given to you is what you deserve, because this is what your work is worth. Besides, your sister-in-law runs a farm, not a charity. While we don’t expect to become wealthy from it, at least we need to cover the basic living expenses. Your sister-in-law isn’t about to operate at a loss. She has given you this money because she believes your work deserves this price. So, stop dilly-dallying and just take the money. If you really feel embarrassed, then just work harder in the future, which is better than anything else."

Li Hongjun’s words were more effective than Shen Yunfang’s. Listening to him, everyone stopped hesitating, thanked their sister-in-law, and then put the envelope into their pocket with great care.

"Let me remind everyone," she said, "our farm’s dormitory has not been built yet, and there are construction workers everywhere. Now that you have money in your pockets, you must keep it safe, preferably on your person, even during the day when you’re out in the fields. Don’t leave it in the shed, as it’s not far from the construction site, and the workers there are strangers; you never know who to trust. So please, take care of your own finances. If you find it inconvenient, then take some time to go to the bank in town and open a passbook; depositing your money there is safer than carrying it around." Now that there were outsiders on the farm and everyone had a sum of money in their pockets, it was necessary for her to remind them.

Everyone nodded in agreement after hearing her words.

"How about this, if anyone wants to deposit their money in the bank, let me know tomorrow morning. Tomorrow morning I’ll have my husband make a trip so that we can get this sorted without interfering with work. What do you say?" Chen Jing thought of a convenient solution.

Everyone readily agreed. However, Ma Huilan felt somewhat at a loss upon hearing that she was expected to go to the bank to deposit money. At her age, she had only seen a bankbook during last year’s Spring Festival, and even that was after Chen Jing had completed the transaction and handed it to her. She had never been to a bank herself; to put it bluntly, she didn’t even know which way the bank’s door opened.

Seeing Ma Huilan’s fear, Shen Yunfang directly said, "Well then, I don’t have anything planned for tomorrow, so I’ll accompany sister-in-law to the bank. Everyone, think it over tonight and sign up with Brother Chen tomorrow morning if you want to deposit money."

Relieved to hear that Shen Yunfang would be going too, Ma Huilan cast her a thankful glance.

After the salary distribution, observing that it was getting late, Li Hongjun greeted everyone and went home with his wife. The rough men, stimulated by the hefty salaries they had just received, went back to the fields and continued working until it was so dark no one could be seen, only then did they return to rest.

The next morning, after breakfast, Shen Yunfang went to the front gate and soon saw Ma Huilan riding her bicycle over. Shen Yunfang took the bike, locked it inside the courtyard, and then came back out to join her on the bus to the city.

"Yunfang, is it possible that you’ve given me too much salary? I haven’t been working with the rest as they did, why have you paid me so much?" After boarding the bus, Ma Huilan, seeing that there weren’t many people around and no one was paying attention to them, quietly brought up the matter of the money with Shen Yunfang.

Yesterday, upon opening the envelope, she saw more than a hundred and ten yuan inside. She felt uneasy since she hadn’t done the physical labor like the men had, and after discussing it with her husband for quite a while last night, she decided to ask Yunfang about it this morning and return any excess money. frёewebηovel.cѳm

"There’s no mistake, sister-in-law, the amount I gave you is what I believe you deserve. Although you didn’t help clear the fields, you’ve not been idle these days, cooking three meals a day for them, which is no easy task. Moreover, you’ve done a lot of miscellaneous work this month. If we add it all up, you worked just as much as they did, only in a different job type. You deserve this money," Shen Yunfang reassured as she patted Ma Huilan’s hand.

For almost that whole month, it was Ma Huilan who had cooked the meals because the mosquitoes were too many in the outdoors. She had also taken the time to make a few large mosquito nets and hung them inside several thatched shelters so that the men could get a good night’s sleep after a day’s work. Furthermore, she was always looking out for tasks to do, finding her own work when she had free time.

Seeing the clothes the others had no time to wash, she’d take them to the river herself. When there were not enough hands during the sowing, she’d go to the fields to help out whenever she could. All of this Shen Yunfang had noticed, and that’s why she felt Chen Jing deserved the money.

A few words calmed Ma Huilan down. As the bus entered the city, more people got on, and Shen Yunfang saw Ma Huilan becoming anxious again. Whenever someone moved closer to her, she would clutch at her pocket protectively. Shen Yunfang sighed inwardly, there was nothing to be said about that.

She hurriedly swapped seats with Ma Huilan, letting her sit on the inside, which improved the situation.

Only after reaching their destination did Shen Yunfang find out that, apart from a few people who were depositing their money into the bank, most of them intended to send remittances back to their hometowns.

This reminded her that most of them were family men, with households and dependents back home. Now that it was time for salaries, of course, they needed to send money back home.

Therefore, the two first went to the bank, where they set up savings accounts. Shen Yunfang guided her through the process, with Ma Huilan handling the operations herself – after all, she would likely need to help everyone deposit money in the future, so it was essential to learn the procedure.

After finishing their deposits, they headed to the post office for the remittances. This was something Ma Huilan was familiar with, no need for Shen Yunfang’s guidance. She had to send money to the elderly back home every month, so how could she not be proficient?