Chapter 21: Sheng Wanze’s Thoughts
Sheng Wanze glanced at his mother. It was rare for her to be in such a good mood, and she seemed unusually tolerant of him today.
“Go on, spit it out,” she prompted.
“Well… I’ve found a partner.”
Cough, cough, cough!
Hearing this, both Mother and Father Sheng choked violently, nearly spitting out the mouthfuls of white flour buns they were chewing. Fortunately, they reacted just in time, turning their heads away so the spread on the table was spared.
Sheng Wanyan blinked in confusion. Weren’t they just frantically plotting to set him up on blind dates yesterday? How did he suddenly drop such a massive bombshell today?
“Sheng Wanze! You wretched boy, you didn’t even breathe a word of this in your letters!” Mother Sheng scolded. “And here I was, agonizing over finding you a match, you rebellious son!”
She was genuinely furious. He had kept his relationship a total secret while she had been anxiously asking around the whole neighborhood on his behalf.
“Where is she from? How did you two meet?” Father Sheng asked, hitting the key points. Since his son was officially bringing it up to the family, it meant they were heading toward marriage.
“She’s a deputy platoon leader in our military art troupe. She’s from the capital.”
Hearing she was from the capital, Father Sheng’s expression faltered. A family from the capital… would her parents really agree to let their daughter marry so far away?
“What is her family’s background?” Mother Sheng asked bluntly. She didn’t want her son to be at a massive disadvantage compared to his girlfriend.
To put it frankly, if the gap in their family backgrounds was too vast, it would lead to countless headaches in the future. Furthermore, as a man marrying into a significantly wealthier or more powerful family, he would inevitably lack a voice and feel insecure around his in-laws.
She didn’t care if her future daughter-in-law came from a humble background. As long as the girl had good character and a clean family history, she would happily welcome her. But if the girl came from a prominent background and acted entitled or unreasonable, Mother Sheng absolutely would not accept her!
If someone like that married into their home, Mother Sheng didn’t mind playing the role of the wicked mother-in-law. She had worked far too hard for too many years to maintain this family’s harmony. She refused to let a poorly behaved daughter-in-law ruin their peace.
“She has two older brothers and one older sister, and her father is the second child in his family,” Sheng Wanze explained. “Her siblings are all married. Her father is the division commander of our military region, and her mother is the head nurse. Both of her brothers are in the capital. The eldest is the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau, and the second brother is a soldier like me, serving in another unit. Her sister is an elementary school teacher married to a factory manager. Her grandparents are retired and live in the capital with their eldest son.”
Sheng Wanze laid out her family tree clearly. By the time he finished, Mother Sheng felt a massive headache coming on. It sounded like her entire family was made up of high-ranking leaders!
The gap in status between their two households wasn’t just large; it was staggering enough to make her ears ring. This wretched son of hers—he either gave her absolutely nothing, or he dropped a bombshell so massive it made her want to strangle him.
Both Grandpa and Father Sheng lowered their heads, deep in thought. Grandpa Sheng took a slow sip of the liquor Sheng Wanze had brought back. After a long silence, he finally spoke.
“Xiaoze, what are your thoughts on this?” The old man’s eyes lacked their usual easygoing warmth; instead, they were piercing and grave.
“Grandpa, I know what you’re worried about,” Sheng Wanze said, sitting perfectly straight. His face was calm, radiating a quiet confidence as he spoke with absolute sincerity. “My military medals were earned with my own blood and sweat. I am marrying a wife, not her family’s status.”
“Do you understand what others will say behind your back?”
“Grandpa, you’ve taught me since I was a child to walk an honest and upright path. In the face of true strength, gossip and schemes are nothing but paper tigers.”
He used the very principles his grandfather had instilled in him to reassure the old man. Hearing those words, Grandpa Sheng felt a profound wave of relief. His grandson had always kept his teachings close to his heart.
Taking another sip of liquor, the old man’s expression softened. “Since you have made up your mind, we won’t stand in your way. However, since we are on the subject, there are a few things I need to lay out today.”
Sheng Wanze nodded, resting his hands respectfully on his knees, his posture military-straight as he gave his grandfather his full attention.
“Before, when you didn’t have a partner and weren’t planning to start a family, we kept our family arrangements to ourselves. But now that you’re at the stage of discussing marriage, lines must be drawn clearly.” Grandpa Sheng tapped his knuckles against the table. The entire family looked at him. Grandma Sheng already knew exactly what he was about to say.
“You and Yan’er are both children of this household, and you are the Sheng family’s only grandson. In the future, providing for your parents will be your primary responsibility, and your sister will always be your blood. But getting married means forming your own, separate family unit. That means our household’s finances and interests must be clearly divided right now.”
Sheng Wanze immediately realized where this was going. “Grandpa, what are you saying? We are one family.”
Grandpa Sheng waved his hand to silence him. Once a man took a wife, he had to balance two different worlds. To the elders, both grandchildren were pieces of their own flesh and blood. They didn’t want the arrival of a new daughter-in-law to cause friction. If boundaries weren’t set, Sheng Wanyan might feel wronged in her own home, the new bride might feel alienated, and Sheng Wanze would be trapped miserably in the middle. The harmony they had maintained for decades would shatter.
He had to establish the rules before any conflicts could even sprout. Sometimes, the smallest slight could become a thorn in the heart, and some thorns festered for a lifetime.
Reading the atmosphere at the table, Mother Sheng set down her chopsticks and voiced the decisions she and her husband had agreed upon years ago.
“Xiaoze, over the years, your father and I have safely tucked away the majority of the salary you sent home. We only used a small fraction to subsidize the household’s daily expenses. When you marry, I will give you half of your accumulated savings as a starting fund for your new family. The remaining half, we will hold onto as an emergency reserve for you, just in case your new household ever desperately needs it.
“As for our own money—it will only be spent on your father, your grandparents, and myself. After you are married, you and your wife will manage your own income. You will simply send us fifteen yuan a month for living expenses. Your father and I have saved our own salaries for years, and we won’t play favorites just because you’re a son. Our savings will be split directly down the middle. When the two of you marry, it will be given equally as a dowry for your sister and a betrothal gift for you.”
Hearing this, Sheng Wanze looked at his mother, opening his mouth to protest, but she swiftly cut him off.
“Your sister is working now. We bought that position entirely with our own money; we didn’t touch a single penny of yours. And while your father and I didn’t buy your original position in the military, you know very well that during all your years of service, this family mailed you the best meat, grain, and clothes we could get our hands on every single month. All that added up to no less than three hundred yuan, probably more. In that regard, your sister actually took a bit of a loss.
“You only kept five yuan a month for yourself because the military provided your food and housing—you lacked nothing. Your sister might not have had a formal job before this, but her life here at home wasn’t any easier than ours. Your grandparents are getting older, and the heavy housework takes a toll on their health. Your father and I often come home exhausted and aching. Through it all, your sister has been the one solely caring for us. By all rights, that should have been your responsibility as the son.”
Listening to his mother’s words, Sheng Wanze looked across the table at his sister. A deep wave of distress and profound guilt washed over him.
