Yang Shuying was so startled she almost dropped her water glass.

Jiang Yonggui, on the other hand, was deathly pale.

Yang Shuying stood up, panicked: "Auntie, don't joke about this with me, I'm easily frightened."

“I’m not kidding,” Wang Yingqiu sighed again. “Jobs are hard to find in the city, especially in a machine factory. Why are you so careless?”

Yang Shuying had no words to express her suffering.

Is she not taking it seriously?

It was all that damned Liu Wenbing who beat Jiang Qiutang into the hospital!

She couldn't bring herself to tell outsiders about this.

"Is there any way now? Auntie, you see, it wasn't easy for us to come all this way. Yonggui has already quit his job in the county town."

Wang Yingqiu shook her head and sighed, "State-owned machinery factories aren't vegetable markets. Every position there is filled. Once they've already hired someone, they won't hire anyone else. Sigh, you could have written me a letter the other day."

Yang Shuying's face turned deathly pale, and her voice changed. "Auntie, I beg you, can you help me think of a solution?"

"Oh dear, mother-in-law, there's really no other way this time."

Yang Shuying was filled with mixed feelings. After exchanging some polite words, she left with her son, feeling upset.

When he came out, Jiang Yonggui's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He glanced at Jiang Qiaoyun, who was waiting at the entrance of the family compound.

"This is all your doing. Now you're satisfied."

Yang Shuying: "Yonggui, what time is it? You're still talking about this? In the end, it was Liu Wenbing who caused this. I can't just ignore your father's life or death, can I?"

Jiang Qiaoyun asked in a low voice, "Mom, what's wrong?"

"Sigh, your brother's job fell through."

"Huh? What do we do now?"

Jiang Yonggui said irritably, "Go home, what else can we do?"

“If you want to go back, go back yourself. Yang Hailong is here, so I’m definitely staying in Ningzhou.”

Jiang Yonggui gave a cold laugh and left.

Yang Shuying hurriedly gave Jiang Qiaoyun a few instructions and then left with her son.

She still has to rely on her son to support her in her old age.

We mustn't offend him.

*

At this time, Jiang Xuan had already gone to Ningzhou University.

She saw a house for sale near the school and even secretly went to take a look.

It's a second-hand house, on the first floor, with a small yard below. She thinks it's quite suitable for her mother.

She hadn't had the money before, but now that she'd received 500 yuan for fashion design, she decided to give it a try.

The landlord was a man in his fifties, wearing reading glasses, feeding the fish.

Upon learning that Jiang Xuan had come to inquire about selling the house, the landlord greeted her with a smile and welcomed her inside.

“My house is in a good location, and the surrounding facilities are quite complete. Look, there is a university across the street. If my son hadn’t wanted to buy a high-rise apartment, I wouldn’t have been willing to sell it.”

Jiang Xuan looked around the room, which was about 80 square meters.

Two bedrooms, one living room, and one bathroom.

Both bedrooms face south and have good natural light.

Jiang Xuan nodded, "Uncle, I really like this house. What's the lowest price you'd offer?"

The landlord held up one hand, his thumb curled up: "40,000."

Seeing that Jiang Xuan didn't speak, the landlord continued, "My house, besides the small yard outside, also has a basement. This price is already very low."

"Uncle, the price is acceptable, but I don't have enough funds on hand right now. Would you be willing to agree to an installment payment plan?"

The landlord blinked, looking somewhat puzzled: "Installment payment? What do you mean?"

Jiang Xuan explained, "It means I'll pay you a portion of the money first, you give me the house, and I'll pay the rest in 20 installments, monthly. Of course, I'll give you interest every month. Does that sound feasible?"

The landlord stroked his chin, a cautious glint in his eyes.

"Girl, isn't this just like buying on credit? I'll give you the house, but what if you don't pay on time later?"

“Uncle, I understand your concerns. I can sign a contract guaranteeing timely monthly payments. If I fail to pay on time, you have the right to take back the house, and you won't have to refund the money I've already paid. You see, this way you won't suffer any losses.”

The landlord fell into deep thought, weighing the risks and benefits in his mind.

Jiang Xuan continued, "Don't worry, I study at Ningzhou University. If I really don't pay, you can go directly to the school to find me."

"So how much are you planning to pay for the first installment?"

"I only have 1,000 yuan right now."

"Only 1,000? That's too little. You should at least pay 10,000 first."

Jiang Xuan said with difficulty, "Uncle, I'm still a student, and my family can't afford this money. To tell you the truth, the reason I want to buy this house is because my mother is sick, and I want her to be by my side so that it's convenient to take care of her."

“But this thousand is really not enough. My son wants to buy a house, and we don’t have enough money, so we were planning to sell this one. I’m in a difficult position because of what you’re doing.”

"Give me a month, and I'll give you the remaining 9,000 then. Is that alright?"

"A month?"

"Yes, I'll pay you 1,000 today, and the remaining 9,000 will be paid to you a month from today. Then, I'll pay you the remaining 30,000 in 20 monthly installments of 1,500 each, plus 100 in interest, which is 1,600. Is that alright with you?"

The landlord calculated that with an interest rate of 100 yuan per month, it would only amount to 2,000 yuan per year, which wasn't bad.

As for his son buying a house, that's just a pretext; his son had already saved enough money.

"Alright, then write down the contract in detail."

Jiang Xuan nodded repeatedly: "Okay, do you have paper and pen here? I'll write now."

Half an hour later, Jiang Xuan came out happily.

The landlord has said that he will clean up the house in the next couple of days, and they can move in as soon as the National Day holiday is over.

The matter was resolved, but Jiang Xuan was still troubled: 9,000 yuan was not a small amount.

Even if we borrow the 2,000 yuan that Grandpa gave us, we're still short 7,000 yuan.

How can I raise this much money within a month?

Jiang Xuan pushed his bicycle, deep in thought.

I need to hurry over to Xiguan Road to check on the shop's renovation. I hope we can rent it out as soon as possible.

She had just gotten on her bicycle when she heard someone calling her.

When I turned around, it was Yang Shujun.

I wonder what kind of bad idea he's up to this time?

What a bad day! I met so many annoying people.

Jiang Xuan continued walking forward.

"Jiang Xuan, wait for me." Yang Shujun walked up quickly. "I thought you weren't here because school was on holiday. I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence."

"Is there something you need?"

"I'm sorry, Jiang Xuan. What happened before was my fault. I apologize to you."

Seeing that Jiang Xuan ignored him, Yang Shujun lowered his voice and said, "Your uncle came to see you this time because he wants to tell you a secret."

"What secret?"

"Actually, you have an older brother."