Chapter 2357: Level of Savings

Editor: Atlas Studios

“You want to go too? You don’t even have a good relationship with Li Gui. What if you mess things up! You’re not allowed to go!” Old Madam Xu said disdainfully.

“I won’t! Li Gui is about to join our family, so I won’t behave disagreeably!” Liu Xiao said immediately.

Old Madam Xu sized up Liu Xiao. Recently, Xu Tian had been beating Liu Xiao up. Apart from the parts of her body which were not covered by clothing, she had wounds everywhere else. If she revealed any flaws at Qiao Mei’s house, who knew what the Xia family would say about them! If the wedding plans between Li Gui and Xu Ba were ruined, Liu Xiao would not be able to pay the price!

Qiao Mei did not choose to entertain the Xu family at home, nor did she ask them to go to Li Gui’s restaurant. She owned a small bungalow in the city center that had just been renovated recently. When she bought the house, she had already checked on the surroundings. The neighbors here had either already gone overseas to study or had other properties. There were very few long-term residents in the area.

Even if the Xu family members caused a scene, it would not cause any embarrassment to Qiao Mei.

Xu Ba did not come together with the Xu family members. He turned up earlier at the small bungalow to look for Li Gui. He was worried that Li Gui could not cope with all the preparations alone. The event today could be considered their engagement banquet. Xu Hang and Xu Cai also came with Xu Ba to help out, though both of them looked very unwilling to do so.

“Uncle Xu, you’re here so early,” Qiao Mei said in satisfaction.

“Is there anything else that needs to be done? The children and I have come over to help,” Xu Ba said with a smile.

Qiao Mei led them into the house. Her helpers took care of everything at home and there was no need for them to worry about anything at all. However, there was indeed something that she needed to say in advance while Old Madam Xu was not around.

“Since everyone is here, I’ll get straight to the point. My mother doesn’t need betrothal gifts and she doesn’t have any dowry. Also, is your family willing to pay for the banquet?” Qiao Mei asked.

The Xu family could only offer a betrothal gift of 500 dollars at most, not a single cent more. Qiao Mei and her family did not need this 500 dollars. It would actually look bad on them if they accepted it, so they might as well just reject it right from the beginning. Besides, Li Gui was getting married a third time and it was not something nice to announce out loud.

“No problem! This is what we should do,” Xu Ba said.

“Uncle Xu, how much money do you have in your savings now?” Qiao Mei asked directly.

Xu Ba looked a little troubled. He did not earn as much as Qiao Mei and Li Gui. He only earned a fixed salary every month and had to pay for all the family expenses. After working for so many years, he had only managed to save up 3,000 dollars.

“In that case, who is in charge of the family’s money in the future? Uncle Xu, have you thought about this issue?” Qiao Mei asked as she stared at Xu Ba.

Before Xu Ba could speak, Li Gui quickly said, “We’ll take care of our own money! We won’t pool our money together! When the time comes, we’ll each contribute a sum of money to pay for the family expenses.”

“No, I don’t agree with this approach. From now on, Uncle Xu’s salary and savings have to be handed over to my mother,” Qiao Mei said sternly.

During this period of time, Liu Xiao had told Qiao Mei a lot about the Xu family. Xu Ba had been single all these years and he handed his salary to Old Madam Xu every month. After he got married, she would definitely want to continue to hold on to Xu Ba’s salary. Did he intend to rely on Li Gui to support his big family?

Although Li Gui could afford to do so, this was not the way to go. Why should Li Gui be the one to suffer a loss after joining the Xu family? Moreover, as time passed, it was inevitable that she would feel resentful. Qiao Mei did not want Li Gui to get a divorce again.

“Qiao Mei…” Li Gui said softly as a form of reminder. She did not want to say such things in such a formal setting and make everyone feel awkward.

“It’s better to make things clear when everyone is around. Otherwise, there will be a lot of trouble later and everyone will be unhappy. When men have money, they will go out and fool around. When beautiful women see the money in his pocket, they will definitely flock to him,” Qiao Mei said.

Xu Cai immediately retorted, “My father is not such a person!”

“I also know that Uncle Xu won’t do such a thing, but nothing is absolute in this world. You have to give us a promise and a guarantee, right?” Qiao Mei said with a smile.

“I’ll hand it over. I’ll hand everything to her!” Xu Ba said willingly.

“Very good. There’s no hurry with regard to this matter. Go back and calculate the exact amount of savings and salary and let me know. Next, let’s talk about Xu Cai and Xu Hang,” Qiao Mei said.

Xu Cai looked at Qiao Mei in confusion and said, “Us? What’s the issue with us?”

“Uncle Xu, how much pocket money do you usually give them?” Qiao Mei asked.

Xu Cai and Xu Hang were still in school and still needed financial support from their family. Their monthly expenses were not much, but there had to be a specific amount.