Chapter 18
Their eyes met.
When it came to things like this, Yan Lei never lost his composure. After all, he was a man who had walked through the battlefield.
He looked back at Qiao Wei: “What do you mean?”
Qiao Wei gently smoothed the book cover with her fingers: “I know that the themes conveyed in this book might not completely align with the spirit of civilization promoted by the Party, the state, and the government, and the values might differ slightly. It is precisely because I know this that I decided to get rid of them before the atmosphere becomes even more stringent, and before these books become evidence that our ideological commitment is not firm enough. I understand, I get it.”
“I’ve already told you all this,” she said, “but… I never said these books weren’t good.”
Just kidding, in this era, even banned books or erotica would be classified as serious literature in later generations. Given the high standards for literature in this era, there were absolutely no vapid, amateurish web novels like those flooding the internet in the future. The basic literary foundation of every book was solid and substantial.
It was impossible for them not to be engaging. It was impossible for them not to be good.
Especially in an era where information was so restricted and entertainment was so limited.
Yan Lei felt strongly that Qiao Wei was attempting to corrupt him. He wanted to retort, but just as he moved his lips, Qiao Wei pressed a finger down on them.
“No need to argue with me.” Her face leaned in close to his: “Just read it critically. Since you believe it is wrong, then you should know exactly how it is wrong, and only then can you more firmly uphold what you believe is right.”
“Just keep reading. When you finish, if you feel there’s a problem, that it’s wrong, then we’ll burn it. We’ll burn one for every one you read.”
Her face was fair and beautiful, and being this close, her breath carried the faint scent of peaches.
Yan Lei grabbed the finger she had pressed against his lips.
“Fine. I’ll read it,” he said, “but as long as I feel there’s an issue…”
“Don’t worry.” Qiao Wei didn’t need his warning: “From now on, there will absolutely be nothing on this bookshelf that affects your… cough, that affects your ideological progress.”
She had almost blurted out the word “career path.”
That kind of talk wasn’t popular in this era; it would make one seem overly ambitious, chasing fame and fortune. Besides, the people of this era were indeed very simple, orthodox, and even noble in their thinking.
Take Yan Lei, for instance. As a child from a poor rural background, he must have yearned to live in a house with red bricks and big tiled roofs, right? Yet he could stubbornly withstand his wife’s opposition and give the quota to someone else.
Their kind of selflessness and altruism came from the bottom of their hearts.
Yan Lei released Qiao Wei’s hand.
But he didn’t immediately continue reading. He calmly inserted a bookmark and placed the book back on the shelf: “I’ll find time to read it tomorrow.”
Good or not, it certainly wouldn’t be something he couldn’t put down.
Yan Lei sat on the chair, confronting Qiao Wei, who was leaning slightly over the table to look at him.
That was perfect; otherwise, it would have been hard to interrupt him. After all, he had been reading with such intense focus just a moment ago.
Qiao Wei said: “Then there are a few things I’d like to discuss with you.”
Yan Lei spread his legs a bit, sitting more firmly: “Go ahead.”
Qiao Wei looked left and right, then went to fetch a square wooden stool and sat down beside the desk. She opened the drawer and took out a few sheets of paper.
Glancing at the contents she had recorded, she raised her eyes: “I’ve never really understood our family’s exact income.”
Finances were too important. Currently, Qiao Wei didn’t work outside and was responsible for household chores, making Yan Lei’s income the family’s sole source of funds. However, Qiao Wei had scanned all the memories left behind by the original host and only had a vague understanding of Yan Lei’s income.
“Why are you suddenly concerned about this?” Yan Lei felt slightly surprised.
His wife had never really cared about this because she had no one left in her maiden family, unlike some women who would take their husbands’ money to support their own families. As long as she had enough to spend, that was fine. And the household money he put in the box for her was always enough.
Every time she went to the city, she would buy a new outfit, and he never said anything about it. She had never proactively asked about money matters.
But Qiao Wei cared very much.
Her own father had been terrified that she would drag him down, cutting off their blood ties with a single phone call. Her boyfriend had broken up with her in a rush; although their final conversation was vague, it wasn’t hard to guess that, in the end, it was all about money.
As someone living in a later generation, Qiao Wei wasn’t as noble as the people of this era, who spoke only of ideology and lived for the country. She was a person who had regained her life and just wanted to live a good, simple life.
How could one live a life without talking about money?
“How can we live within our means without knowing the exact figures of our family’s income?” She said, “I feel like I’ve been a bit spendthrift in the past, and I’m afraid you won’t be able to keep up.”
Who said he couldn’t keep up?
Yan Lei placed his hands on his knees and sat upright: “I’m on a Grade 15 salary, which is 127 yuan a month. The allowances depend on the situation…”
Qiao Wei tore off a piece of blank stationery and gave it to him, along with a pen: “Write it down so we can see it more clearly.”
Yan Lei took the pen and started writing swiftly.
His level of education wasn’t high, but his handwriting was quite good. The hand that held a gun could also precisely control a pen, making the strokes vigorous and powerful.
He listed them out one by one for Qiao Wei. How much his salary was, what the various allowances were, and how many monthly grain coupons, oil coupons, meat coupons, cloth coupons, egg coupons, sugar coupons, and industrial coupons he received.
As he listed them one by one, Qiao Wei’s understanding of this era became increasingly clear.
Yan Lei finished listing everything, put down the pen, and held the list with two fingers, extending it right in front of Qiao Wei’s nose.
Qiao Wei took it and scanned it. Recalling the prices of a few cents or a dime she had seen at the Farmers Market today, the corners of her mouth curled up: “It looks like our family is living quite well.”
Yan Lei let out a “hmph” from his nose.
“Alright, I have a rough idea now.” Qiao Wei asked, “Then how much savings do we have now?”
Yan Lei hadn’t expected her to ask about their savings as well. He paused, but still stood up and closed the door to the west room, isolating Yan Xiang in the living room.
Then he went into the bedroom, took down the tin box from the top of the large wardrobe, opened the small iron lock, and took out a tin can from inside. It had “Sesame Crisp Candy” printed on it.
Opening the crisp candy can, Yan Lei pulled out the thick rolls of money inside and took out a piece of paper to hand to Qiao Wei: “I have records of everything.”
Qiao Wei unfolded the paper and saw that he recorded every time he put money into the crisp candy can each month. Scanning through it, it was basically all about putting money in, with almost no instances of taking money out.
“So you can save 40 a month…” Qiao Wei mused.
“Don’t calculate it. I give you 50 a month, remit 25 to my hometown, and use some for various expenses myself.” Yan Lei’s eyes held a hint of wariness, “I can definitely save no less than 40 yuan every month.”
That piece of paper was densely filled with records dating back a long time. It was clear that he had started saving money a long time ago.
Of course, his salary might not have been as high before, so he saved less, but it gradually increased later on.
The latest balance was 2,372 yuan.
Considering the current prices, if converted according to later generations, it would be equivalent to…
Qiao Wei let out a long sigh.
This man was really good at saving money!
This traditional virtue of being keen on saving was simply wonderful. It gave one such a sense of security.
Qiao Wei really wanted to praise this man. No matter the era, regardless of gender, a person with a strong ability to earn a living and support a family, who was also so good at saving money, deserved to be praised.
But when she looked up, she saw that Yan Lei’s eyes were full of wariness.
Qiao Wei was puzzled: “What kind of look is that?”
Yan Lei’s face was taut: “I’m a regimental commander now, so it’s even more impossible for me not to remit money to my hometown. Besides, if they have money and coupons in their hands and live well, they won’t come over to cause trouble for you.”
When he said this, a sense of irritation and disgust surged into Qiao Wei’s mind, just like the natural aversion she felt when she first met Yan Lei—these were all residual emotions from the original Qiao Weiwei.
Qiao Wei suddenly realized. So it was about the whole mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflict thing.
She hadn’t experienced marriage or mother-in-law issues in her past life, but after thinking about it, she waved her hand: “That’s not what I meant. You definitely have to give money to your family; I won’t interfere with that. No one can just abandon their parents.”
When she said this, Yan Lei’s tense body relaxed slightly, but he was still suspicious: “Then what are you doing today?”
His wife had suddenly set aside her past aloofness and was questioning the details of their family income in such a meticulous manner, so Yan Lei immediately thought it was about his remittances to his hometown.
So, he hadn’t believed her at all. Qiao Wei sighed helplessly: “Didn’t I say it already? I just want to know where we stand and live within our means.”
“You really earn a lot,” she praised him sincerely, “and you’re so good at saving money. This is great; keep it up, keep it up.”
Qiao Wei smiled and returned the savings ledger paper to Yan Lei.
Yan Lei stuffed the money back, put it away, and placed the box back on top of the wardrobe. He brushed the dust off his hands and walked out to the study.
Qiao Wei swung her arms a few times and handed Yan Lei a piece of paper: “Take a look at this. Can you find someone to make it?”
There was something drawn on the paper, and Yan Lei asked: “What is this?”
Actually, it was drawn quite well. It was clearly three stick-like objects fixed together in a cone shape. Then, a fourth stick hung down from the top by a rope. The fourth stick was suspended, and a short stick was tied horizontally in the middle, looking like a place to hold with one’s hand.
Yan Lei asked: “Is it for pounding rice?”
If a stone trough were placed underneath, it would indeed look a bit like the thing used for pounding rice in the countryside.
“You can understand the structure, right? I feel like I drew it quite clearly.” Qiao Wei was very happy.
It was indeed quite clear and easy to understand. Yan Lei said: “You can draw?”
He hadn’t known that before.
Naturally. Because this was Qiao Wei’s skill, not the original host’s skill.
Qiao Wei skipped the topic and told Yan Lei directly: “This isn’t for pounding rice; it’s for washing clothes.”
Yan Lei: “Huh?”
“Look like this…” Qiao Wei gestured for him, “You put a basin or a bucket underneath, soak the clothes in it, and this stick hangs down, with the bottom end reaching into the bucket. I grab the handle—this horizontal part, the small horizontal stick is where you hold it. I hold this, then use this stick to stir and rotate continuously in the bucket to wash the clothes clean.”
It could be called a human-powered washing machine.
Yan Lei was skeptical: “Can this wash clothes clean?”
“Definitely… well, it should be able to,” Qiao Wei said, “Actually, it’s about the same principle as hitting clothes with a wooden club. To be honest, I question that method of pounding with a club; can it really wash them clean?”
“Of course it can,” Yan Lei was very certain, “It’s been washed that way for hundreds, thousands of years.”
“Then mine can definitely do it too.” Qiao Wei was also very firm.
Because agitator washing machines all rotate like this.
And this human-powered “washing machine” was from an online video Qiao Wei had come across while lying in her hospital bed.
The video creator lived in a small town, and an elderly relative of his who lived alone had made it. It was said to have been used for over ten years, and a bucket of clothes only cost the energy of two bowls of rice.
“Why bother with this? Didn’t I tell you that you don’t need to worry about the laundry?”
Qiao Wei was truly relieved. After transmigrating into this era, the man she encountered could take the initiative to shoulder heavy chores like washing clothes, rather than acting like most men who, after eating dinner, would cross their legs and do absolutely nothing.
But she had her own ideas.
“I want to redistribute the household chores,” Qiao Wei said, “I really hate washing dishes.”
“I want to take on the laundry, and you can wash the dishes instead.”
