When Xia Wen reached home, he remained silent. It seemed as if he did not say anything, but it already confirmed his stand.
From the majestic Xia family's main residence, they had arrived at their small apartment unit which was far away from the city. They even had to share the kitchen with others. If they had children, this house would be unlivable.
"You didn't say anything along the way. Now that we're home, don't you think you have to give me an explanation," Tan Jing asked as she sat on the bed.
They did not even have a sofa in their house. The moment they entered the house, there was only a bed. Although the survey document stated that the area was 60 square meters, more than half of it was shared space. The corridor, kitchen and the corner of the storage room were all shared by everyone.
In reality, that part did not belong to them at all.
During the past few years, she had been advising Xia Wen to talk to his father and ask Xia Mao to get them a bigger house close to the school. She knew that there was a small house there that was allocated by the army. Although it was not big, it was a single-family house and did not have any shared area. The kitchen was also situated inside the house.
However, for the sake of his reputation, Xia Wen did not want to say anything. He kept telling others that he was doing very well and did not want his family to help him, but he helped his family selflessly.
How could anyone live like this!
"What kind of explanation do you want?" Xia Wen asked.
"Don't you and your mother both blame me for not being able to have children? I know that you all like Qiao Mei and her babies! It's not that I don't want to have children, so can't all of you restrain your feelings for Qiao Mei! For Qiao Mei, you're almost emptying our house!" Tan Jing shouted aggrievedly.
"We like Qiao Mei because she's Xia Zhe's wife. Regardless of whether she has children or not, we'll treat her the same way. As for the issue of children, perhaps my parents really want to have grandchildren early. I can't do anything about them being especially biased towards Qiao Mei, but no one is blaming you," Xia Wen explained earnestly.
Tan Jing did not listen to these nice words at all. In her ears, they were all excuses and nonsense. She had never been treated in the same way as Qiao Mei. There was not a single person in the entire family who did not like Qiao Mei.
Qiao Mei was just a country bumpkin from the countryside. What right did Qiao Mei have to rise above her? She was someone who was born and bred in the city. Qiao Mei even had difficulty reading. What was so good about such a woman?
"You're lying to me. Even if Mother is anxious to have grandchildren, what about you? Why are you so nice to Qiao Mei? You do everything yourself even when their courtyard is damaged. After the courtyard is repaired, you still go to clean up the house and take care of the plants in the courtyard every week. You even dig up all your old books and send them to her. How can you say that you don't care?" Tan Jing said as she looked at Xia Wen agitatedly.
What Tan Jing said was true, but Xia Zhe was the one who asked him to repair the house. He was paid for it so he was not doing it for free. Since he was the eldest brother, he decided to help take care of the flowers and plants in the courtyard. He no longer had any use for the old books and it was a pity to leave them piled up there. Since Qiao Mei wanted them, he decided to give them to her.
How did these appear to be ulterior motives?
"Just say what you want to say." Xia Wen could not be bothered to beat around the bush with Tan Jing. He knew what Tan Jing wanted to express. Basically, it was a woman's jealous feelings.
"Don't interfere in Xia Zhe's family matters in the future. Don't bother about them from now on." After Tan Jing said that, she sat opposite Xia Wen and looked into his eyes.
Xia Wen laughed and said, "Live separately? Then how are you going to pay off the gambling debts for your elder and younger brother? How much do you think I can save with my low salary? Can I afford to take out 10,000 dollars at one go to pay off your younger brother's gambling debts?"
Tan Jing's younger brother was a gambling addict. In the beginning, Xia Wen did not care about it at all. He did not care to punish that fellow for small issues. Later on, the matter blew up. Tan Jing's younger brother owed money to a loan shark and the other party said that they wanted 10,000 dollars before they would let her younger brother go.
Xia Wen had no choice but to ask Xia Zhe to pay the ransom first and then captured all these loan sharks in one fell swoop later. However, he could not get back the 10,000 dollars.
It could be said that Tan Jing's younger brother's life was bought with money. He only told Tan Jing's younger brother about this matter and even threatened to send him to jail if he dared to gamble again. Only then did he manage to have a few years of peace.
"What did you say? Did you take that money from home?" Tan Jing looked at Xia Wen in surprise.