Sun Honghua put down her vegetable basket, smiled as she looked at Linlin crawling around, and said, "Time really flies. In the blink of an eye, the child has grown up so much."

"That's for sure. We're all getting old, and the children are growing up too."

“That makes sense,” Sun Honghua agreed with a smile.

"No, Honghua, is there something you want to tell me? We're all family, just say what's on your mind!" Granny Liu noticed that her sister-in-law seemed to have something on her mind, looking troubled.

Sun Honghua blushed and stammered, "Sister-in-law, you've already figured it out?"

Grandma Liu fed her granddaughter a sip of water and wiped her drool. "It's written all over your face! Tell me, what's wrong that you can't make up your mind about?"

Sun Honghua was straightforward and said directly, "Actually, it's just a matter between Xiaoshi and her husband. Her in-laws are making arrangements to send their two children abroad to work."

"Working abroad? Is it reliable? Don't get tricked into working illegally." Granny Liu's face turned serious when she heard that it was about going abroad. It's different abroad. Not only is there a language barrier, but if you get scammed, you'll really be left with no one to turn to.

"There's no problem with that. It was Xiaoshi's older sister who called and told them to go. She said they should work at her Chinese restaurant first, and then open their own shop after they've learned the language and saved some money."

Sun Honghua knew that her eldest daughter's husband's older sister had been living abroad for many years and often brought money back to her parents. Her family was extremely proud whenever they talked about this daughter, after all, she was truly successful.

So when Xiaoshi said she wanted to go abroad to work, she had no right to stop her. It was fine to go abroad and work for a few years while she was young, and then come back after she had earned enough money. It was better than being poor in China.

"I vaguely remember that Xiaoshi's husband's older sister lives in Italy, right?" Xiaoshi had heard her mention it when she got married; it seemed to be in Italy, which was quite far away.

Sun Honghua nodded, "Everything else is fine, it's just that we're a little short on money, sister-in-law, I can only ask you for help."

Although it's supposed to be working for relatives, I still have to pay for my own round-trip travel expenses. Moreover, the way I go isn't exactly aboveboard; I still have to spend some money to smooth things over.

Xiao Shi's husband's family also has several brothers, and her parents-in-law can't give them all out, so the eldest daughter came to her parents' home for help. As her mother, she should at least lend her a hand!

"It's nothing. When Minghan wanted to do business before, you all lent him money without hesitation. This time, Xiaoshi's trip abroad is a big deal, how could I not lend you money?"

Granny Liu was a sensible woman. When Minghan wanted to do business in another province, her third sister-in-law lent him three thousand yuan without hesitation, so she would remember this favor.

"Alright, just tell me, how much more do you need? I'll make up the difference for you."

“Hongzhen and I have put all our savings together and we can only scrape together four thousand yuan. We’ve kept a little for ourselves. Xiaoshi needs at least ten thousand yuan each. So, sister-in-law, can you lend me two thousand?”

She planned to visit other relatives' homes to make up the difference.

"Sure, no problem, I can give it to you right now." Granny Liu readily agreed. Ever since she went to Tianshui City to help take care of the children, Xue Mei had been paying her a salary every month. Although she had only been paid for two months, it was still a thousand yuan. Combined with what she had saved before, it was more than enough.

"Thank you, sister-in-law. I know you're short on money, but don't worry, Xiaoshi will send the money back as soon as she earns it abroad, and then she can pay you back."

Originally, Xiao Shi and her husband could have gone abroad for free without paying, but that would mean working for the boss for free for five years. Even though she was the older sister-in-law, they still had to follow the rules.

I thought five years was really too long, so I figured I might as well grit my teeth and pay the money; I could earn it back in five years anyway.

Nowadays, it's common for people to go abroad through relatives or fellow villagers, but usually they have to work for free for several years before they can get paid. So many people without money end up working for free for a few years before they go abroad.

"That's right, you've thought it through. Five years is too long." Granny Liu thought so too. Everyone says that wages are higher abroad, so Xiao Shi and her husband could probably break even in two or three years if they went out to work. So it's more cost-effective for them to pay for their own travel expenses.

"What five years?" Xu Minghan walked in carrying a kettle.

"Why are you all alone? Where's Panpan?"

"She's eating watermelon at my sister-in-law's. She's been playing like crazy all morning. I'm back to rest for a bit." Xu Minghan plopped down on the straw mat and pulled his youngest daughter, who was trying to climb out, back inside.

What were you just saying?

“We were talking about Xiaoshi’s plans to go abroad.”

"Xiao Shi is going abroad, Third Aunt? Do you have the money? How about you get some from me?"

Xu Minghan knew that in his previous life, his cousin Xu Mingshi and her husband had also been in trouble for a while because of their plans to go abroad. They had agreed that her husband's family would lend them 10,000 yuan, and Xiaoshi would borrow some more from her parents' family, so that the two of them could raise 20,000 yuan and go out to make money.

But when it was almost time to leave, her in-laws changed their minds again, saying they couldn't borrow that much, at most they could only lend five thousand, and they would have to find a way to get the rest themselves. This made Auntie San very anxious. In the end, she had no choice but to borrow money from Granny Liu at high interest rates to barely get out of the country.

Fortunately, Xiao Shi and her husband were also very hardworking. When they arrived abroad, they worked at her sister-in-law's restaurant while learning the foreign language. I don't know if it was because of the pressure of the debt or something else, but they learned the language very well in just six months. After that, they opened a grocery store, which did quite well. They paid off their debt in less than two years. I heard that they even brought a lot of money back to their aunt!

So now that he's run into this situation, let's lend a hand, so that Auntie San won't be so worried that she can't sleep every day and her hair will turn quite white.

Sun Honghua remained calm and waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "No need, no need. Your mother has already prepared to lend me two thousand. I'll go to your second aunt's house to see if I can raise enough. It's not easy for you to earn money, and you have to support a whole family. You should be more frugal."

Xu Minghan knew that his third aunt was doing it for his own good. Just like in his previous life, when he lost money in business and couldn't pay back the three thousand he owed her family, she didn't urge him to pay back the money when Xiao Shi was in a hurry to go abroad. Of course, he really didn't have any money back then, so he had to repay this favor.

"Alright, Third Aunt, why are you being so polite with me? Going abroad is a big deal. Besides, you've given all the family's money to Xiaoshi. What will you spend it on? What if someone gets sick? Here's what we'll do: I'll lend you 10,000 yuan, and I'll still lend you the 2,000 yuan from my mom. That way, you'll have more money on hand."

"No need for so much, why don't you lend me two thousand too?" Sun Honghua was shocked by her nephew's big talk. How could he ask for ten thousand so readily?

It seems Minghan has made some money in the past year or so, but he still has two children to support, and he doesn't know when he can pay back the money he borrowed, so it's better not to borrow so much.