"Everything's fine. The children are all well-behaved and just waiting for you to come back. If you're ever short of money, you must tell your mother. I still have some savings for my funeral..."

Meng Shuyun said softly, her words filled with heartache and worry.

Su Xiangnan was silent for a moment, then regained his composure and slowly said, "Mother, I am indeed very short of money right now..."

Meng Shuyun hung up the phone, extremely anxious. She rushed home to find her bankbook and planned to withdraw the money.

Over the years, she has scraped together her meager savings, along with the money her children have given her as filial piety, totaling just over 20,000 yuan.

That evening, Meng Shuyun gathered her family together and spoke solemnly about Su Xiangnan's situation: "Xiangnan is in trouble in Beijing. We are all family, brothers and sisters, and we should help each other out if we can. As for how much money to give, it's entirely up to you."

Meng Shuyun understood that each child had different abilities, and how much to give them depended on their individual preferences; she didn't want to impose any rules.

The next evening, the children all returned with the money.

Su Xiuju pulled out a thick envelope, her eyes full of worry: "I don't know if this is enough. I've taken out all my savings. I hope my second brother can get through this difficult time smoothly."

Meng Kangshun silently placed an envelope down. Although he didn't say anything, his heartfelt sentiment was evident inside.

Su Xiulan put down two envelopes, looking anxious, and said to the siblings, "This is all I can borrow. If it's not enough, I'll think of another way tomorrow."

Su Xiumei also took out an envelope containing all her savings and said firmly, "Xiang Nan will definitely be alright."

Su Xiangyang was the only one who was empty-handed. When everyone saw him like that, his scalp tingled. He hurriedly explained, "I, I really have no money. All my money went to my mother to pay the rent. The five yuan I have left isn't even enough for my own food."

Su Xiangyang was telling the truth. In the end, having no other choice, he took out his food allowance for the next half month from under the sole of his shoe, two yuan, and handed it over.

The amount of money collected by everyone included both whole and odd amounts: Su Xiuju: 3718 yuan, Meng Kangshun: 5223 yuan, Su Xiulan: [amount missing] yuan, Su Xiumei: 3880 yuan, Su Xiangyang: 150 yuan, Deng Jiaqi: 150 yuan, plus a box of gold jewelry.

Looking at all this, Meng Shuyun felt gratified. She took out a notebook and carefully wrote down the amount of money each person contributed. She remembered exactly who contributed how much.

Early the next morning, Meng Shuyun hitched a ride on Li Quan's tractor to the bank and immediately wired money to Su Xiangnan. By scraping together the money, she managed to wire a total of over 50,000 yuan.

After transferring the money, they rushed to the place they had arranged to meet Zhou Xianye. Around noon, they finally picked up Gu Xue. But upon seeing Gu Xue unconscious, Meng Shuyun and Su Xiulan panicked instantly and, without saying a word, immediately took her to the hospital.

Fortunately, after the doctor examined her, he said it was just some superficial injuries and that she was a little malnourished. He said she just needed to rest and recuperate, and prescribed some supplements. Then they took Gu Xue home.

After waking up, Gu Xue hugged Meng Shuyun and cried for a long time. As soon as she regained some strength, she insisted on leaving for Guangshi immediately, saying that she wanted to sell the house to raise money for Su Xiangnan.

"Xue'er, you're still weak, so take good care of yourself first. We've already sent money to Xiang Nan, so he shouldn't have too much to worry about in terms of money," Meng Shuyun advised with concern.

Gu Xue's face was covered in tears. When she heard that more than 50,000 yuan had been transferred, she still shook her head and cried, "It's not enough, it's still not enough. It won't last long."

She covered her face, sobbing as she spoke, her voice full of pleading, "Mother, please let me go to Guangzhou! I need to raise money for Xiangnan."

Seeing Gu Xue like this, Meng Shuyun felt extremely distressed.

Although we don't know exactly what happened, the fact that so much money can't solve the problem suggests that the situation is quite serious.

She gently patted Gu Xue's shoulder and comforted her, "You're finally back, so just stay home and relax. If Xiang Nan knew you weren't here, he'd definitely worry about you, and that would distract him. Give me the property certificate in Guangzhou, and I'll figure out the money."

After returning home and retrieving the property certificate, Meng Shuyun's first thought was to apply for a loan at the bank, as she felt this was the fastest way to get the money.

Although I had a house as collateral, because it wasn't a local property, I went to several banks and only managed to get a loan of 20,000 yuan.

This amount of money is probably far from enough. Meng Shuyun frowned deeply, filled with anxiety.

As it was getting late, Meng Shuyun had no choice but to go to school to pick up the sisters Xiaoli and Xiaojuan.

When she arrived at the school, she was still twenty minutes late. All the students had left, and only the two sisters were still waiting obediently at the school gate.

"Xiaoli and Xiaojuan are so thoughtful. Grandma is late. I'm so sorry. Grandma promises not to be late next time," Meng Shuyun said with a guilty expression.

The two sisters were very sensible; they didn't cry or make a fuss. They took Meng Shuyun's hand and walked home, saying, "Grandma, it's okay."

"How can it be nothing? Come on, let's go to the convenience store. Grandma will treat you to soda as an apology," Meng Shuyun said.

The sisters' eyes lit up instantly when they heard they could drink soda.

Just then, a little boy suddenly rushed out and blocked the three of them's way.

The little boy was about the same height as Xiao Juan, with big eyes, but he was so thin he was skin and bones.

"Xiao Juan, I have something to tell you." The little boy was so nervous that he was panting heavily, and he kept clutching his clothes with both hands.

When Meng Shuyun saw this, she recognized the child as the one she had encountered last time, so she didn't stop him.

Xiao Juan stepped forward, took out the coarse grain biscuits she had specially saved, and handed them to him: "Here you go, tell me what you want."

"Could you lend me some money!" the little boy said, almost summoning all his courage. He lowered his head, tears streaming down his face. "My grandma is dying, I...I don't have money to take her to the hospital, could you lend me some..."

Children's emotions are very contagious. As soon as Xiao Juan heard this, she started crying too. She turned her head and looked at Meng Shuyun with pleading eyes, her voice full of entreaties: "Grandma, can you lend me ten yuan first? I'll pay you back when I get back."

Xiao Juan had saved up ten yuan of her allowance, intending to buy her grandmother a birthday present, but it seems that's not going to happen now.

Xiaoli sniffled and pitifully shook Meng Shuyun's arm: "Grandma, please help him. Lend me ten yuan, and I'll pay you back when I get back."

Meng Shuyun hesitated for a long time, but looking at the child's desperate eyes, she finally softened and took out twenty yuan to hand over.

This is no small sum, she instructed, "Make it clear, this is a loan from me."

The two sisters took the money, handed it to the little boy, and urged him to hurry back and take his grandmother to see a doctor.

The little boy kept wiping away his tears, trying his best not to cry out loud. With a "thump," he knelt down in front of the three people, kowtowed three times, then got up and ran away quickly.