"That's what everyone says," Wan Min said softly.

Wen Qing asked, "What I mean is, who spread the news of the bankruptcy first?"

Wan Min shook her head: "I don't know either."

As soon as the two finished speaking, a quarrel broke out in a corner of the cafeteria.

The two looked over in response.

“It’s Ji Ningzhi and Xu Shanshan,” Wan Min said.

Wen Qing asked in confusion, "Are those two arguing?"

“They’re arguing.” Wan Min grabbed Wen Qing’s arm and took a few steps forward. “Let’s listen to what they’re arguing about.”

The two took a few steps forward and clearly saw the anger on Ji Ningzhi and Xu Shanshan's faces.

Ji Ningzhi, in particular, almost hit Xu Shanshan, shouting, "If you didn't spread it, who did?"

Xu Shanshan's face was flushed with anger: "You're so loose-lipped, how would I know?"

Ji Ningzhi angrily pointed her finger at Xu Shanshan: "Xu Shanshan, I've seen you for who you really are today. You're opportunistic and treacherous!"

Xu Shanshan's face immediately turned ugly: "Righteousness? What righteousness? You're always mocking rural people and the poor. Have you ever considered my feelings?"

"How do you feel? How do you feel about freeloading off me?" Ji Ningzhi pointed at Xu Shanshan's upper body: "This sweater you're wearing was a gift from me!"

"I'll take it off for you!" Xu Shanshan was about to unbutton her blouse when her classmate stopped her.

"This is a public place, what kind of behavior is this for a young lady to undress like this?"

"that is."

"Take it off when you get back and give it back to her."

"..."

"Ji Ningzhi went too far!" Xu Shanshan almost cried.

"Am I more unreasonable than you?" Ji Ningzhi persisted, "I only told you about my family's affairs, how come the whole school knows?"

Xu Shanshan remained silent.

Ji Ningzhi said, "Xu Shanshan, let me tell you, no matter how bankrupt my family becomes, it's still better than your family, which can only afford two meals of coarse grains a day and can't afford meat for a whole year!"

Xu Shanshan was exposed, and even her mild temper flared up: "Ji Ningzhi, don't push your luck! My family is poor because we all work hard, and we have land so we won't starve. Your family is rich because your brother works hard. If your brother gets killed by you and your mother, you won't even be able to eat shit!"

"What did you say? Your brother is dead, your whole family is dead!" Ji Ningzhi was so angry that she reached out to hit Xu Shanshan, but was stopped by her classmate.

Someone called their homeroom teacher, Ms. Zhao, and Ji Ningzhi and Xu Shanshan were both summoned to Ms. Zhao's office for a lecture.

The cafeteria returned to silence.

Wan Min pulled Wen Qing and said, "Wen Qing, let's eat breakfast quickly, or we'll be late for class."

"Okay." Wen Qing replied and quickly followed Wan Min to get her food.

After breakfast, on their way back to the classroom, Wan Min said, "Wen Qing, do you think Xu Shanshan relayed the message?"

Wen Qing was preoccupied with what had happened to the Ji family and didn't pay attention to what Wan Min said: "What did you say?"

Wan Min said directly, "I don't think it was Xu Shanshan who spread it. Xu Shanshan is actually quite nice to Ji Ningzhi, so she probably wouldn't spread it."

"Who is that?" Wen Qing asked.

"It's everyone's guess," Wan Min said. "You see, Ji Ningzhi usually spends money very lavishly, especially during the first few days of school. One day of her spending is equivalent to a month's living expenses for my family."

Wen Qing nodded. Ji Ningzhi was indeed good at spending money. She also had her own way of asking for money. She would ask Liang Wenhua for ten or five yuan, then ask Ji Yousheng for ten or five yuan, and when she asked Ji Yanjun for thirty or fifty yuan, it would be that way.

In particular, Ji Yanjun was often away on business trips, and he always thought that giving Ji Ningzhi some money was nothing. In his eyes, Ji Ningzhi was a very cute younger sister.

“But this time, she didn’t spend any money. Not only did she not treat her classmates to meals, but she even paid her tuition with spare change. Doesn’t that make everyone’s imaginations run wild? Then they’ll discuss it, and if word gets out, it’ll seem like she’s bankrupt,” Wan Min said.

Wen Qing agreed with Wan Min's statement, but what happened to the Ji family?

Even after the two arrived in the classroom, the students were still gossiping about it.

Just then, a mischievous boy ran into the classroom and whispered to his deskmate, "Ji Ningzhi's family has really gone bankrupt!"

Wen Qing and Wan Min happened to be sitting in front of the mischievous male classmate, and they couldn't help but lean back slightly to listen carefully.

The two boys in the back seat were whispering:

Why did it go bankrupt?

"Ji Ningzhi's brother is in trouble."

Wen Qing's heart tightened upon hearing this. It shouldn't be like that. In her previous life, Ji Yanjun had always lived a peaceful and smooth life until her death. Could it be that because of her rebirth, the dimensional events were all disrupted?

"What happened?"

"Isn't Ji Ningzhi's brother a truck driver? He was supposed to be the first driver of the year, but then his driver took over. The road was slippery, and the driver lost control of the truck. It happened to be going over a big ditch. I heard that the ditch was just dug by several nearby villages, and it's really deep and wide. The driver, truck, and cargo all veered into the ditch!"

Wen Qing was shocked.

Wan Min turned pale with fright and whispered, "That's terrifying."

"Has anyone died?"

"No, the driver was seriously injured and is being treated in the hospital."

"So what happened after that?"

"We're definitely going to lose money."

"How much compensation will we have to pay?"

"More than 100,000?"

"So much! Holy crap, I couldn't earn this much in ten lifetimes."

"How could it not be a lot? The truck still hasn't been pulled out of the ditch, and we have to compensate for the entire load of goods. I heard that one load of goods alone is worth tens of thousands. We'll have to pay for the driver's medical expenses, and because of this accident, Ji Ningzhi's brother's business will definitely be affected. Otherwise, why would Ji Ningzhi stop paying her tuition in full 100 yuan increments?"

"Why!"

Wan Min, lacking life experience, was terrified when she heard these things. When she turned to look at Wen Qing, Wen Qing was lost in thought.

"Wen Qing, Wen Qing." Wan Min called twice before Wen Qing came back to her senses.

"What's wrong?" Wen Qing asked.

Wan Min patted her chest and said, "You scared me to death! Were you scared too?"

Wen Qing remained silent.

Just then, the homeroom teacher, Ms. Zhao, began teaching with her books, followed by Ji Ningzhi and Xu Shanshan.

Ji Ningzhi and Xu Shanshan were both angry, and they each went back to their seats without looking at each other.

Teacher Zhao said a few simple words about unity and friendship, turned the page, and then began the lesson.

After class, Teacher Zhao called Wen Qing to her office, asked her about her studies, and gave her a mock exam for senior high school students, asking her to take it without reading it and see her score.

Wen Qing nodded: "Thank you, Teacher Zhao."

Teacher Zhao smiled kindly. She still remembered a year ago when Wen Qing brought her younger brother to her house and said that she wanted to go to school. She was such a promising student.

"Study hard, and your future will be bright," Teacher Zhao encouraged.

Wen Qing nodded: "Mm."

"Alright, let's go back to the classroom."

"Um."

After returning to the classroom with the test paper, Wen Qing focused on her studies. Her life continued as usual. As soon as school was over, she would rush to Green Garden. In her room, she would read, draw, make and receive phone calls, and arrange her work. Occasionally, she would go to Damo Plaza to visit Aunt Xiao and Bao Hong.

In general, workers in this era were extremely responsible. As long as they were paid reasonable wages, they were diligent and exceptionally loyal.

For example, Master Yan, Aunt Xiao, Bao Hong, the team leader, and the accountant are all capable people that Wen Qing can't find fault with.

Wen Qing was thus left with a lot of worries.

Because of the beautiful styles and high quality of Feng Qing's clothes and shoes, and the promotion by Aunt Xiao, Bao Hong, and Zhang Xiuying, Feng Qing's business grew bigger and bigger, and Feng Qing's products were produced in greater and greater quantities. Wen Qing and Feng Qing's reputation in the industry grew higher and higher.

You often hear these kinds of conversations on the street: "Did Feng Qing buy you this dress?"

"There are more and more styles available for spring."

"Both the new and old models of Fengqing are beautiful."

"..."

Wen Qing's wallet was naturally getting fatter and fatter. If it weren't for her busy schedule preparing for the college entrance exam, she would have gotten a driver's license and bought a car immediately, instead of taking the bus.

However, this Friday afternoon, instead of her squeezing in herself, Shi Lei quickly got on the bus and grabbed a seat for her.

"Please sit down," Wen Qing said.

"It's okay, you're a girl, you sit down," Shi Lei said with a smile.

As Shi Lei spent more time with Wen Qing, he blushed less frequently, but he became even nicer to her.

He would go to Green Garden three times a week to wait for Wen Qing. Actually, there was nothing much to do, just talking about random things. He even brought Wen Qing the mock college entrance exam papers from No. 3 Middle School, saying it was to help Wen Qing with the college entrance exam. Of course, these were all papers that he had taken and written on.

Wen Qing didn't mind.

"Thank you," Wen Qing said with a smile.

Shi Lei: "You're welcome." Then he stood next to Wen Qing and chatted with her.

"How many points did you get on that test paper I gave you last time?" Shi Lei asked.

Wen Qing replied, "A little less than yours."

"That's pretty impressive."

Wen Qing laughed: "I'm not as good as you."

“We’re different. You’re a junior in high school and you’re self-studying for your senior year. I’ve already completed a semester of my senior year. If you study more, you’ll definitely do better than me on the college entrance exam,” Shi Lei said.

Wen Qing smiled and nodded: "I'll try my best."

"Yes, I will also work hard, and we will try to get into the same university."

"good."

The two chatted easily and soon arrived in Wangcheng County. Because Shi Lei wanted to come back with Wen Qing, he didn't take the direct bus to his home, so he had to transfer after getting off the bus.

"I'll wait for the bus with you," Wen Qing said.

Shi Lei smiled and said, "Okay."

The two walked toward another bus stop, talking and laughing, when they turned around and saw Ji Yousheng and Liang Wenhua.

Ji Yousheng looked a bit older.

Liang Wenhua remained unchanged.

"Wen Qing." Ji Yousheng greeted Wen Qing with a cheerful smile.

Wen Qing smiled and said, "Mr. Ji."

"School's out."

"Um."

“Ningzhi will be back soon,” Ji Yousheng said. “Your aunt and I will wait for her here.”

Auntie? Hehe.

Wen Qing smiled and said, "Mr. Ji, please wait patiently. I'll be going now."

"Okay, okay, goodbye," Ji Yousheng said with a smile.

"Let's go," Wen Qing said to Shi Lei.

"Hmm." Shi Lei assumed that Ji Yousheng and Liang Wenhua were Wen Qing's neighbors or something, and nodded to the two of them before leaving.

After Shi Lei turned around, Liang Wenhua spat out a "pui".

"What are you doing?" Ji Yousheng said unhappily.

Liang Wenhua glanced at Wen Qing and Shi Lei not far away and was displeased to see the two chatting and laughing: "Pah, what's wrong with her? She was clinging to my Yanjun the moment before, but as soon as she saw that something happened to my family, she immediately switched to someone else. Is there such a fickle woman?"

“Hey, why are you being unreasonable? When did Wen Qing break off the engagement? My family’s troubles happened recently, what does that have to do with this?” Ji Yousheng said.

"She was with one man in front of her, and then she found another man behind her..."

Ji Yousheng interrupted her: "Some people arrange marriages ten or eight times. Does that mean they don't want to live?"

After speaking, Ji Yousheng took a few steps forward, keeping a distance from Liang Wenhua.

Liang Wenhua muttered again, "It's not like that. It's more like, when you're incompetent, you cling to Yanjun, but when you're capable, you kick Yanjun away."

Regardless of what Liang Wenhua said, Wen Qing and Shi Lei chatted and laughed not far away.

Ji Yousheng found it irritating. He used to think that Wen Qing was just being stubborn and that he was just joking around, and that Ji Yanjun could just coax her.

Now it seems that Wen Qing is serious and determined to break up with Ji Yanjun, otherwise why would she be dating another guy?

The young man was clean-cut and looked a little older than Wen Qing, but not by much. He seemed to really like Wen Qing and kept carrying her bag.

Ji Yousheng turned to look at Liang Wenhua and said, "You may seem like a blade of grass, but you're actually a treasure!"

"Bullshit!"

Ji Yousheng pointed at Liang Wenhua: "Look at how you talk."

Liang Wenhua ignored Ji Yousheng and glanced at Wen Qing. Wen Qing was just putting Shi Lei into the car and walked past the two of them.

Liang Wenhua rolled her eyes at her.

Wen Qing pretended not to see and walked straight toward Feng Qing's clothing factory.

At that moment, another bus stopped.

Ji Ningzhi jumped out of the car.

"Ning Zhi".

"Ning Zhi".

Ji Yousheng and Liang Wenhua rushed forward to greet Ji Ningzhi, asking, "How is it? How is it?"

Ji Ningzhi shook her head: "My aunt said her family has no money."

Liang Wenhua gritted her teeth: "This family is utterly heartless. Years ago, their child was sick and almost died. I took five hundred yuan to save their child's life. How can they do this to us now?"

"Alright, let's not talk about this here, let's go home first," Ji Yousheng said.

Ji Ningzhi remained silent, keeping her head down as she followed Ji Yousheng and Liang Wenhua.

After arriving home, Ji Ningzhi asked, "Where's my brother?"

“Many people owed your brother money before, and he went to collect it now,” Ji Yousheng said.

"What if we can't get it?" Ji Ningzhi asked.

“How could we not get it? Paying back debts is a matter of course!” Liang Wenhua said.

Ji Yousheng looked at Liang Wenhua and said, "Go and get Su Hongmei's six thousand yuan. Did you get it?"

Liang Wenhua immediately fell silent.

Liang Wenhua did more than just try to take it; he even stood at Su Hongmei's door with his hands on his hips and shouted a couple of times before Su Hongmei chased him away with a big broom!

Six thousand yuan? Who owes six thousand yuan? Where's the evidence? Is there any written proof? If not, don't spout nonsense!

Not to mention Liang Wenhua hates Su Hongmei, Su Hongmei wishes she could tear the Ji family apart.

At the police station that day, Ji Yanjun said, "Each family member should come and pick them up," so Shen Youbang went to pick them up, and Li Chuanli's mother also came at the same time.

Originally, everything would have been fine once they took her back, but Li Chuanli's mother was no pushover. After leaving the police station, she pointed at Zhang Fangfang in the street and started cursing her for being shameless.

They said Li Chuanli was only seventeen years old and didn't understand anything, while Zhang Fangfang was over twenty and still didn't know shame, taking advantage of her knowledge to seduce Li Chuanli.

The more Li Chuanli defended her, the more fiercely her mother berated him.

As a result, Su Hongmei and Zhang Fangfang were covered in mud and looked utterly disheveled as they were surrounded by people from the county. Su Hongmei and Shen Youbang lost face, but Zhang Fangfang was completely humiliated. In this era and in this county, a woman in her twenties was already considered old. With her reputation ruined, how could she ever get married?

Zhang Fangfang was so angry that she cried. She fell ill when she got home and was sick until the start of the new semester. Even when she went out, people still talked behind her back. Who knows what will happen to Zhang Fangfang in the future?

Shen Youbang worked in a state-owned factory. He had a promotion opportunity, but because of this public opinion, his chance was snatched away.

How could Su Hongmei not be furious?

Six thousand yuan? No way!

"You're not going to pay it back?" Ji Ningzhi asked.

"Are you going?" Ji Yousheng asked.

Ji Ningzhi was so angry that she couldn't speak.

Liang Wenhua remained silent.

Just then, there was a knock on the courtyard gate, startling Liang Wenhua, Ji Yousheng, and Ji Ningzhi.

"They're not here to collect debts, are they?" Liang Wenhua asked.

Ji Yousheng said, "I'll go take a look."

Upon opening the courtyard gate, they indeed found debt collectors. Because Ji Yanjun was of good character, the debt collectors were merely pressing for payment and had not engaged in any other misconduct. They simply wanted compensation as soon as possible, otherwise they would pursue legal action.

Ji Yousheng saw the debt collector off with a forced smile.

Liang Wenhua and Ji Ningzhi turned pale with fright.

"Mom, what should we do?" Ji Ningzhi asked fearfully.

Liang Wenhua was also afraid. More than 100,000 yuan was no small amount. The debt collectors had given a deadline. Even if Ji Yanjun received the debt, would he really have more than 100,000 yuan?

Of course not. What can you do if you don't have one? You'll be sentenced to jail. Ji Yanjun is her only son. How can she go to jail if she's unmarried and has no children?

Liang Wenhua became increasingly frightened as she thought about it. She had always believed that she was well-liked and that everyone treated her well. She was usually quite helpful, but now that her family was in trouble and needed money, even her relatives wouldn't lend her any, let alone her neighbors. All the friendships she had built up were just a facade!

What should we do now?

Suddenly, a name popped into her mind: Wen Qing, yes, Wen Qing.

Liang Wenhua looked at Ji Yousheng and said, "Yousheng, Wen Qing is now the richest person in Wangcheng County. I heard that last time Yanjun delivered goods to Fucheng for her, she earned more than 100,000 yuan in one trip. Moreover, Wen Qing's clothes are not only sold in Fucheng."

"What do you want to do?" Ji Yousheng asked.

“More than 100,000 yuan is nothing to her, right?” Liang Wenhua said.

Ji Ningzhi looked at Liang Wenhua: "Mom, do you mean to borrow 100,000 yuan from Wen Qing?"

"Yes!" Liang Wenhua nodded.

"You guys are really shameless!" Ji Yousheng said, then waved and left.

Liang Wenhua cried out, "Otherwise, what can we do? Do you want to see Yanjun with nowhere to turn?" As she spoke, Liang Wenhua started to sob.

Meanwhile, Ji Yanjun was sitting in his office smoking and talking on the phone with Gangzi.

"Sell the car?" Gangzi asked in disbelief.

Ji Yanjun: "Hmm."

"Are you crazy! Once the car is sold, the company is finished, you'll have nothing left!" Gangzi roared on the other end of the phone. "Why would I work with you anymore!"

Ji Yanjun smiled and said, "Gangzi, don't get agitated. It's not like we haven't had tough times before. We can start over. We can't leave people with unpaid debts. Everyone works hard to earn money, and Da Wu is still lying in a hospital bed."

Gangzi immediately fell silent.

Ji Yanjun flicked the ash from his cigarette and said with a smile, "It must be because I was too complacent before, so this time God gave me a reminder to rein myself in and temper myself."

"Screw your balls! Why are you in such a hurry? Sell the car as a used car, it'll definitely be cheaper. Besides, who has that much money to buy a car all at once?"

"There should be; each car is sold to one business," Ji Yanjun said.

Gangzi remained silent for a while on the other end, seemingly slowly accepting what Ji Yanjun had said. He softened his voice and asked, "After you sell the car, how will you support your Qingqing? The money you planned to use to buy Wenqing a big house by the sea in Xia City is gone too, isn't it?"

"Let's earn it again," Ji Yanjun said.