She had waited for many years and given so much, yet she still had not received a clear answer from Doctor Lin.
Although Father Lin and Mother Lin already treated her as their future daughter in law, the one who would marry her was Doctor Lin. If Doctor Lin did not give her a definite answer, she might not end up marrying him at all.
Her mother called her again, urging her to go home for arranged dates. The matchmaker had introduced several men with decent incomes, including doctors working in small hospitals.
He Yuehua knew her mother was urging her to meet someone for two reasons. First, she was already nearing the age of being considered an older unmarried woman. Second, her parents hoped that when she married, they could receive a bride price. No matter how much it was, they likely would not let her take it back to her husband’s family.
He Yuehua did not dare to hope for much of the bride price. If her mother was willing to let her take half back to her husband’s family, that would already be very good. She had secretly saved some private money herself. It was not much, but she still had several tens of thousands.
If her mother allowed her to take half of the bride price, she would have at least one hundred thousand in her hands.
This amount was not much to wealthy people, but for someone like her, who had to hand over her wages to her parents after starting work, having one hundred thousand was already a lot.
He Yuehua would not argue with her parents. She treated the bride price for her marriage as the final repayment for her parents’ kindness. She had already told her parents and siblings that once she got married and had her own small family, she would no longer hand her wages back to the family.
This was also the custom in their village. No matter how filial a daughter was before marriage, and no matter how much she earned, the money went back to the family. Once the daughter married and had her own small family, her earnings would no longer be handed back.
Only during festivals would she give her parents some money, and how much depended on her own ability. Parents would not demand a specific amount.
He Yuehua was actually anxious to get married too. Once she married, she would be able to decide how to use her own wages, instead of handing them back to her parents. Her parents did not spend the money on themselves anyway, but on her brothers.
She admitted that her parents favoured her brothers more. There was nothing that could be done about it. In her hometown, family property was given to sons, and supporting parents in old age was also the sons’ responsibility. Daughters did not need to support their parents. When parents fell ill, medical expenses and hospital fees were all the sons’ responsibility.
Daughters could give however much they wanted, and no one would say anything. After all, the property went to the sons, so naturally the sons had to take responsibility for supporting their parents until the end.
He Yuehua envied Doctor Zeng and also knew that she could not compare herself with Doctor Zeng.
Doctor Zeng’s family background was far better than hers. Doctor Zeng’s parents were not biased. They bought a house for Doctor Zeng’s brother and also bought a house for Doctor Zeng, both fully paid.
Her own parents did not even think of buying her a house. When she wanted to save money to buy one herself, her parents would not allow it. They said she would marry in the future, and after marriage, the man’s family would have a house to live in, so there was no need for her to buy one.
They would never be like other parents who bought a house for their daughter in advance. Even a small house would have been a way out prepared by parents for their daughter.
Doctor Lin already had a house under his name. If she married Doctor Lin in the future, once they had money and children, they would definitely change houses. As for Doctor Lin’s premarital house, she would not ask to have her name added.
As long as they bought a house after marriage, it would be joint marital property. Only then would she truly have a home of her own.
Unlike now, when she returned to her hometown, she did not even have a room of her own. Every time she went back, she had to sleep in the same room as her mother. Even though there were empty rooms at home, her sister in law said that the nieces and nephews were growing up and those rooms had to be reserved for the children.
She rarely returned to her hometown anyway, and even when she did, she only stayed for a few days before going back to work. She did not need an independent room. Sleeping with her mother for a few days was enough.
That home, to which she had contributed so much, would never truly be her home, nor would it ever be something she could rely on.
She had to hold tightly onto Doctor Lin, please Father Lin and Mother Lin, secure her footing in the Lin family, and truly integrate into that family. Only then could she find a home for herself.
After a long while, He Yuehua finally started the car and drove the drunken Doctor Lin home.
When they arrived at the Lin family home, she carefully opened the door, afraid of waking Father Lin and Mother Lin.
However, as soon as she opened the door and turned on the light, Mother Lin came out of the room. Seeing her struggling to support her son, Mother Lin hurried over to help her support him into the house.
She spoke with distress, “How did A Jian get so drunk, he reeks of alcohol. How much did he drink.”
