*Note: Grocery Money.*
**【My father-in-law likes grouper. Buy a big one. My mother-in-law loves fish maw chicken soup—get the high-quality yellow croaker maw, the kind you made during my postpartum confinement. Patrick and Savannah want hairy crabs and abalone. Just buy whatever looks good, ten pieces or so should be fine.】**
My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles turned white.
A short, incredulous laugh escaped me.
500 bucks?
That wouldn't even cover the abalones—let alone the premium fish maw.
Years of me subsidizing their lives with my own money had spoiled her rotten. She had completely lost touch with reality—firewood, rice, oil, and salt didn't come free.
I untied my apron and tossed it onto the counter.
Done.
I was *done*.
As I grabbed my phone to leave, my thumb grazed the screen—accidentally accepting the transfer.
I froze.
Before I could send it back, Jade's voice messages flooded the family group chat.
"Mom, you really are a retired accountant—you *sure* know how to calculate."