Chapter 1 — Live towards the light

"If a family lives together and spends so much money, how can they not manage money in a unified way?" The mother-in-law announced right at the dinner table.

I glanced around, my brother-in-law, wife and children of four were also here, eating and living depended on the whole family.

“Okay, I pay all my salary.” I replied immediately without hesitation.

My mother-in-law smiled with satisfaction, and my husband also breathed a sigh of relief. Only I knew, the next day, I contacted my boss, asking to only transfer 2,100 yuan to the card each month. Four months passed, and my mother-in-law came to me with a notebook filled with words, her face unsightly as ever.

“Tell me the truth, are you outside…”

01 Storm on the dining table Luu Ngoc Mai's chopsticks hit the table with a dry sound, her voice was cold: "I'll tell you something." The whole dining table instantly fell silent. My son Co Lac Lac, who was burying his head in the rice bowl, was startled and his hands shook, a few grains of rice fell onto the table. I remained calm as if nothing happened, slowly picked up a green vegetable and put it in the boy's bowl.

"My family is now full of people and our expenses are also large." As Luu Ngoc Mai spoke, her eyes scanned around, finally stopping on my face, her eyes full of calculation. “Without unified money management, this life cannot be maintained.”

I didn't speak, just glanced at the other side of the table with indifferent eyes. Co Vi's brother-in-law still bowed his head and ate as if he had never heard anything, while his wife Vuong Le was meticulously picking up each piece of braised meat for their son Co Tieu Bao. A family of four of them have been here for three years, eating from my family, using from my family, never paying a penny for electricity and gas, but now my mother-in-law says that we have big expenses and need to unify money management. Just hearing that makes me laugh to the point of sarcasm. Under the table, Co Thanh gently touched my leg, his eyes carrying a hint of pleading that was hard to hide. He knows I don't want it. But he was a famous filial son, his mother's words to him were like decrees, with no room for rebuttal.

“Tieu Nghien, you see…” he started, his voice full of awkwardness, as if he was forced to stand between two sides.

Vuong Le also stopped his chopsticks, his eyes lit up, he couldn't hide his anticipation as he looked towards me. Her monthly salary is 3,000 yuan, Co Wei's salary in the factory is only a little more than 4,000 yuan, the two of them combined is not even a fraction of my income. Once money management is unified, who benefits is clear enough at a glance, there is no need to calculate. Luu Ngoc Mai cleared her throat, acting like she had arranged everything in advance: "My money, Co Thanh's money, and Tieu Nghien's money, all are left to me to keep."

"Co Wei and Vuong Le just bought a car and are short of money on hand. There is no need to pay it for now."

"Every month I will give my children a fixed amount of pocket money, save the rest, and later let Lac Lac and Tieu Bao go to college."

I said it so solemnly that it sounded like a plan for the family's future, but inside I just felt cold and funny. Co Thanh became more and more nervous, his palms began to sweat, he was afraid I would get angry right at the dinner table, making him lose face in front of the whole family. Everyone's eyes were on me, some were waiting, some were calculating, some were simply wondering. want to see a play. The pressure in that moment was all on me. I put down my chopsticks, took a tissue to wipe my mouth slowly, then amidst countless eyes watching, I smiled softly.

“Okay, I agree.”

My voice was gentle but clear.

“I have no opinion.”

The air in the room seemed to freeze for a brief second. Co Thanh was stunned, as if he didn't expect me to agree so quickly. Luu Ngoc Mai's eyes flashed with surprise, but was quickly overwhelmed by joy, she could barely hide her gloating.

“You… you really agree?”

“Yes, I agree.” I nodded, my voice calm. “What Mom said is right, there should be someone in the family who manages the money clearly.”

"It's just that I have to wait until next month for my salary to be paid before I can give it to you. This month I still have a few credit cards to pay."

Luu Ngoc Mai laughed until she couldn't close her mouth, her voice full of joy: "It's okay, it's okay, these few days are not worth much, no need to rush."

"Tieu Nghien is still understanding and knows how to think about her family."

The meal ended in an atmosphere of artificial harmony. Co Thanh let out a long sigh, his eyes looking at me filled with gratitude, as if he had just been freed from an awkward situation. Vuong Le and Co Vi glanced at each other, the corners of their lips raised, their pride almost impossible to hide. Only I know, this play has just opened. Returning to my room, I locked the door, completely isolating myself from the outside world. I turned on my phone, found boss Ly's WeChat, and slowly composed a message.

“Mr. Ly, I'm sorry to bother you.”

“From next month, every month you just need to transfer 2,100 yuan of basic salary to my salary card.”

"You help me keep the rest in cash. At the end of the year, I will come directly to the company to receive it in one lump sum."

As soon as the message was sent, the other party responded almost immediately.

“Okay, no problem.”

I looked at the phone screen for a few seconds, then calmly deleted the entire chat history. Outside the window, the night had fallen, thick and quiet, like a curtain hiding all the calculations that were silently taking place. 02 New rules The next morning, the atmosphere in the house had clearly changed. Luu Ngoc Mai hummed a few songs and was busy in the kitchen, her mood was so good that there was no need to hide it. On the dining table, a plate of fried eggs rarely appeared. As soon as Co Tieu Bao saw it, he noisily asked for two. Vuong Le smiled brightly and immediately took it for the boy. If it were before, Luu Ngoc Mai would have shouted mercilessly: "Eat, eat, just eat, an egg costs 1 yuan!" But today, she was unusually generous, her voice also carrying a bit of indulgence: "Eat, our Little Treasure is growing up, you need to nourish yourself." As she spoke, she glanced sideways at me from the corner of her eye, the pride in her gaze almost overflowing, as if she was bragging that look, now that she's in charge of the money, the whole family's standard of living will immediately increase. I didn't bother to pay attention to those petty considerations and just quietly ate my breakfast. Co Thanh sat next to me, clearly in a very good mood. He leaned closer and said in a low voice: "Wife, you're really good."

"Mom mentioned this a long time ago. Now she's happy and the house is more peaceful."

I glanced at him, in I just feel funny. It's just the calm before the storm. After eating, Luu Ngoc Mai called all of us to the living room.

"Since I'll be in charge of money in the future, I have to set new rules."

She took out a small notebook and pretended to clear her throat, as if she was about to announce something very important.

"I've calculated it, our electricity, gas, and management fees are about 1,000 yuan each month."

“Money for shopping, 100 yuan a day, 3,000 yuan a month.”

“Miscellaneous things combined, each month's fixed expenses are about 5,000 yuan.”

She stopped for a moment, her eyes turned towards me and Co Thanh.

“Gu Cheng's salary is 8,000 yuan, my pension is 3,000 yuan, totaling 11,000 yuan.”

"Waiting for Tieu Nghien to pay his salary next month, our family will have nearly 30,000 yuan in income every month."

“Minus expenses, still save more than 20,000 yuan every month!”

She spoke until her face brightened, as if she were painting a bright vision of wealth. Vuong Le sat next to her, listening with her eyes shining.

“Mom, so… what about our pocket money?”

Co Thanh asked that for me. Luu Ngoc Mai turned another page in the notebook, her tone was extremely certain.

“Me, Co Thanh and Tieu Nghien are the main workers, each person gets 1,000 yuan a month.”

“As for Co Wei and Vuong Le… the young people spend a lot, so they gave each of them 500 yuan.”

“Lac Lac and Tieu Bao will go to school separately.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Co Vi and Vuong Le's faces immediately darkened. The two of you combined only have 1,000 yuan in pocket money?

“Mom, how can it be this little?” Vuong Le couldn't help but speak up, his voice full of dissatisfaction. “I don't even buy enough skin care products.”

Luu Ngoc Mai's face immediately fell and her voice became serious: "What's so little? Food and accommodation are all at home, so why do you need to spend so much money?"

“Aren't I helping my children pay for the car payment?”

"Besides, now the money is under my control. If you want to buy anything, just let me know. If I agree, then take it out from the general fund."

One direct statement stops everyone.