媳妇如今只能拆东墙补西墙
“[Li Zhengyou, Legitimate Grandson of the Seventh Branch—Son of Sun Wanyi] I can only patch one hole by tearing open another.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
咱们自家人的月例还拖欠着呢
“even the monthly allowances for our own family members are still overdue.”
媳妇如今只能 拆东墙补西墙
“[Li Zhengyou, Legitimate Grandson of the Seventh Branch—Son of Sun Wanyi] I can only patch one hole by tearing open another.”
绛月
“Jiangyue,”
“Do not blame me for unpaid stipends; I am barely keeping this household afloat.”
In traditional households, daughters-in-law often carried the stressful responsibility of balancing household books (guanjia) while answering to critical elders.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
to rob Peter to pay Paul; to resort to makeshift measures
A very common idiom used when solving one financial or logistical problem only by creating another.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“That's just robbing Peter to pay Paul. You're getting married very soon,”
“would've been worth a fortune had we invested in real estate instead!”