Chapter 54: Tang Erlong's Anger

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Tang Ailian thought for a moment and then said, "Grandma, you can't say it like that. If it weren't for Uncle Xiao losing a hundred yuan, that man wouldn't have known that I had the miraculous medicine to save people. Without Uncle Xiao, I wouldn't have earned this money. Besides, the two hundred yuan that Uncle Xiao had was repaid by that old man Bai. It wasn't my medical fee."

"But..." Grandma protested.

"Grandma, that old man Bai is a friend of Uncle Xiao's. Without him, I wouldn't have been able to earn these things and money."

Tang Lao Ye gave his wife a stern look. "Do you want to ask Shui Sheng for that two hundred yuan? It was repaid by old man Bai to him, not to us."

Tang Grandma had to give up the idea of asking Tang Shui Sheng for the money. "Oh, that's generous of him then."

Little did she know, Liu Xiujian was furious when she heard what Tang Ailian said. "Is it because your Uncle Xiao revealed that you have the miraculous medicine to save people? I knew it! You're still so young, how could that man believe that you can cure illnesses? That gambler actually put you in danger. I'm going to find him! I won't let him get away with this!"

Why wouldn't Liu Xiujian be angry? Tang Shui Sheng had put her daughter in danger. Moreover, it was her daughter's life-saving medicine given by her master. If the medicine ran out or couldn't save people, what would happen?

She didn't have that kind of money, and she couldn't let her daughter be in danger.

Tang Ailian immediately understood her mother's thoughts. This was motherly love. While others cared about how much money she earned, her mother cared about her suffering. She would always put her children first, not money or power.

She immediately hugged her mother and wouldn't let her go. "Mom, I'm tired."

Liu Xiujian quickly called Love Poetry to accompany Tang Ailian to sleep. Love Poetry was a bit unhappy because she didn't have her share of the new clothes. There were four sets for everyone else, but none for her!

She glared at Tang Ailian fiercely and, when her mother asked her to accompany her younger sister to sleep, she huffed and pulled Tang Ailian away rudely.

Seeing Love Poetry's reaction, Tang Ailian couldn't help but secretly smile and whispered in her ear, "Sister, don't worry. I don't know what kind of clothes you like, so I didn't take your clothes. But the old man who asked me to treat him has already left forty yuan at the department store in the market. We agreed to go there tomorrow to pick out new clothes together with your brother."

At this time, money was very valuable. One foot of plain cloth cost only a little over two mao, twill cloth was a little over three mao per foot, and khaki cloth was a little over four mao. A set of children's clothing was about six feet for a sister and four or five feet for a brother. The cost of sewing a set of children's clothing was only a few mao, so three or four yuan could buy a new set of children's clothing, and forty yuan could buy eight sets of children's clothing, which was already quite expensive.

Love Poetry immediately smiled and patted Tang Ailian's forehead with her cold hand. "You little brat, at least you remember your sister. Sister didn't love you in vain."

After her sister fell asleep, Tang Ailian quietly got up again and went to the upper room. That was where her father lived. For some reason, during this period, her father and grandmother did not live in the same room.

Tang Ailian knocked on the door, and her father opened it without asking who it was.

"Dad." After Tang Ailian entered, she took out a newspaper-wrapped package and handed it to her father. Tang Lao Ye opened it and glanced at it before putting it away. "Is there something you need Dad's help with?"

"Dad..." Tang Ailian wanted to roll her eyes. "Dad, why do you always think I'm giving you money when I visit? Ailian is just showing filial piety to Dad, okay?"

She knew that once the money was in Grandma's hands, it would be difficult to get it out, and her father often didn't have money on hand. That's why she gave him a hundred yuan.

"How much do you have left?" There was a hint of warmth in Tang Lao Ye's eyes.

Tang Ailian widened her eyes and looked at Tang Lao Ye. "Dad, are you sure you want to know for real?"

Tang Lao Ye looked at Tang Ailian and suddenly smiled. He rarely smiled, but when he did, it was very warm. "Alright, Dad won't ask. Ailian showing filial piety to Dad is already good. Dad accepts Ailian's filial piety." He naturally didn't think that Tang Ailian would hide the money herself; she should have given some of it to her mother.

Tang Ailian wiped her sweat. Indeed, the most formidable person in the family was her father.

The next day, Tang Ailian claimed that the man from the supply and marketing department had bought several sets of clothes for Love Poetry and Love Wen at the children's clothing section. Today, she had to take Love Poetry and Love Wen to the supply and marketing department to choose clothes.

Tang Grandma was a bit dissatisfied. Why didn't they think of showing filial piety to the elderly?

Tang Erlong was even more dissatisfied. Why could their sisters buy new clothes, but others couldn't?

He looked at Tang Grandma. "Mom, I want new clothes for the New Year too!"

Originally, because of the natural disaster, they weren't planning to buy new clothes this year. However, because they had just won a large sum of money, Tang Grandma generously agreed. "Sure, everyone will go to the market tomorrow. Each person will sew a new piece of clothing from the cloth. In fact, the cloth coupons issued by the government have been saved for two years."

Each person sewed a new piece of clothing, and the family had a total of eight people, not including the eldest. Tang

 Ailian, her three siblings, and her uncle already had new clothes from others, so only five people needed new clothes. Each person needed about three zhang of fabric, and with sewing costs included, it would cost about seven or eight yuan in total. Tang Grandma felt a bit reluctant to spend this money.

The next day, the Tang family went to the market in full force, and each person sewed a new piece of clothing. Love Poetry and Love Wen used the "forty yuan left by someone else" to buy four sets of nice clothes for different seasons, spending a total of twenty-three yuan and having seventeen yuan left.

Since the money had been left behind by someone else, they could only use it to buy things and not take the money away. Tang Grandma was a bit envious of the money that was left.

However, Tang Lao Ye clapped his hands on the spot and gave all the remaining money to Liu Xiujian to buy fabric, compensating for the lack of dowry and betrothal gifts when she got married.

With the remaining seventeen yuan, Liu Xiujian bought ten pieces of fabric of varying thickness.

In this way, they used up all their fabric coupons.

However, fabric coupons were not like food coupons. They were not valuable, and there was generally an annual issuance of fabric coupons. Adults received one zhang and two chi of fabric, while children received eight chi. Many families in the village had a surplus of fabric coupons because not everyone could afford to buy fabric, and those with many children often gave away their surplus coupons. Since fabric coupons couldn't be bought or sold, they weren't of much use.

On the other hand, food coupons were different. Without them, you had to buy rice on the black market, where rice cost more than twice as much.

Of course, these were the usual prices.

(End of Chapter 54)