TYH-DCI | Chapter 8 – “Give Me 50 Yuan and I’ll Leave”

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Wang Cuihua was quite efficient, and with Jiang Lai helping, dinner for the Jiang family was quickly prepared.

Jiang Rou still hadn’t come home. Standing by the upstairs window, Wang Cuihua looked down the street.

“That girl… it’s already this late and she still isn’t home for dinner.”

Her words sounded like a complaint, but her tone carried unconcealed worry for Jiang Rou.

Still, the family was hungry and couldn’t wait for her alone.

So Wang Cuihua deliberately set aside a bowl of food for Jiang Rou.

Then she instructed Jiang Lai to bring the dishes into the main room.

Jiang Lai dismissed the idea of “saving food” for Jiang Rou. She even felt a faint sympathy for the original host—there really was a huge difference between being loved and being ignored.

Not wanting to cause trouble, she carried the dishes into the room.

Inside, the Jiang family sat around the table. Only when Jiang Fu Hai picked up his chopsticks did the others begin eating one after another.

No one mentioned Jiang Rou at all.

Tonight, Wang Cuihua had made braised pork. The meat had been cut into small pieces, and after cooking, there was only a small bowl left.

Everyone was too busy fighting over the meat to care whether Jiang Rou came back or not.

Jiang Lai’s chopsticks moved like lightning, managing to snatch nearly half a bowl.

Seeing how quickly the dish was emptied, Wang Cuihua exploded.

“ARE YOU ALL STARVING GHOSTS? I’M TELLING YOU, EVEN YOUR FATHER AND I BARELY GOT A FEW PIECES!”

Jiang Tianxu pouted in dissatisfaction.

“Mom! Look at Jiang Lai—she took almost all the meat! We didn’t even get any!”

Jiang Ya quickly chimed in to stir trouble.

“Exactly! Mom, you need to properly teach her a lesson!”

She shot Jiang Lai a sharp glare, but Jiang Lai ignored her completely.

She finished the meat in her bowl in a few bites and immediately reached for the cabbage beside her.

Wang Cuihua’s eye twitched violently at her ruthless eating speed, but she said nothing and simply sped up her own chopsticks.

If she slowed down even a little, she wouldn’t get anything either.

Dinner ended in a chaotic scramble. Strangely enough, the food always tasted better when you had to fight for it.

Just as Wang Cuihua was about to order Jiang Lai to clean up, Jiang Lai spoke first.

“Dad, the director from the recruitment office told me that when I registered for going down to the countryside, there was a 100-yuan resettlement subsidy.”

“No matter what, you’ve still given me food for so many years. I won’t ask for much.”

“Just give me 50 yuan and I’ll leave.”

“Mom said the family won’t prepare any food or supplies for me anyway. Once I go down there, I’ll be short on everything. I need some money on me.”

She looked directly at Jiang Fu Hai, waiting for his response.

Wang Cuihua immediately exploded.

**“ARE YOU INSANE?! FIFTY YUAN? THAT’S MORE THAN YOUR FATHER’S MONTHLY SALARY! WHERE DO YOU GET THE NERVE? I KNEW IT—you’ve really gotten bold these past few days. I’ll teach you a lesson today!”**

She looked around, searching for something to use as a weapon.

Jiang Tianxu eagerly handed her a feather duster.

“Mom! Use this! Teach her a good lesson!”

Wang Cuihua grabbed it and raised it to strike.

But Jiang Lai sneered.

“If you think I’m an easy target, you’re wrong. If I don’t get this money, none of you will have an easy time either.”

With a sharp motion—

**BANG—CRASH!**

She flipped the entire dining table.

Bowls and chopsticks flew everywhere, shattering across the floor.

Jiang Fu Hai’s expression darkened immediately.

At that moment, Jiang Lai knew the money would not come easily.

But she had no intention of backing down.

“I’m telling you now—if you don’t give me the 50 yuan, I’m not going down to the countryside.”

She tilted her head, calm and almost amused.

“Let me think… what happens if someone refuses a state-assigned labor duty?”

“Tsk. That’s hard to say.”

“Maybe all of you will lose your jobs… or maybe we’ll all end up in prison together.”

She shrugged.

“Honestly, I’m fine with either outcome. If we go down together, that works too.”

The room instantly went silent.

Wang Cuihua’s hand froze mid-air, the feather duster trembling.

“You… you unfilial girl… I must have been cursed in my past life to give birth to you! You’re trying to destroy this whole family!”

Jiang Fu Hai’s face turned even darker.

“You leave tomorrow. This isn’t up to you.”

Jiang Lai shrugged.

“You can tie me onto the train if you want. But can you follow me all the way there?”

“Once I get off anywhere I choose, I’ll be gone.”

“And if I disappear halfway, guess who’s going to be in trouble?”

She wasn’t bluffing.

Cases of people evading rural assignment duties had happened before.

Families had once tried to hide their children, but they were eventually discovered. The consequences were severe—jobs lost, investigations triggered, entire families implicated.

After that, enforcement became much stricter.

No one dared take the risk anymore.

Hearing this, Wang Cuihua slowly lowered the feather duster.

Even Jiang Fu Hai stared at her, his expression shifting slightly.

He realized—she wasn’t lying.

Seeing this, Jiang Lai softened her tone.

“Of course… if you give me the 50 yuan, I won’t forget you when I’m down there.”

“I heard Guang Province has abundant resources. Some educated youths even send extra supplies back home every year.”

“I won’t slack off either—I’ll earn work points, exchange them for grain and meat, and send them back to you at the end of the year.”

“After all, you’re my parents. The closest people I have in this world.”

Her eyes looked sincere as she spun a convincing story.

And strangely enough, it landed exactly where it mattered.

Although both parents worked, Wang Cuihua was only a temporary worker earning about 18 yuan a month. Jiang Fu Hai earned slightly more, around 30 yuan—but that was still barely enough for a six-person household.

And soon, both younger children would be graduating too. Weddings, jobs—everything would cost money.

If Jiang Lai could really send supplies back… it would ease their burden significantly.

The couple exchanged a look.

Calculations flickered in their eyes.

The family did have savings—but those couldn’t be touched easily.

Out of all their children, Jiang Lai had always been the most obedient, the most sensible, and the most considerate toward them.

And maybe… she could still be useful in the future.