Looking at the five gleaming gold bars in front of her, Zhou Wei's eyes welled up with tears. Her mother was finally saved.
She desperately wanted to sell the gold bars right now, but it was too late and the gold recycling shops were already closed. She would have to go there early the next morning.
The tension that had been building up over the past few days finally eased, and that night Zhou Wei finally got a good night's sleep after a long time, and even had a sweet dream.
She dreamed that she sold her gold to raise money for her mother's surgery, that her mother's surgery was successful, and that she was able to return to school.
The next morning, Zhou Wei took the bus to a gold recycling shop and spent the whole morning selling several gold bars in batches. Looking at the extra 200,000 yuan in her bank account, Zhou Wei's hands trembled with excitement.
She rushed to the hospital immediately and paid for her mother's surgery.
Zhou's mother lay weakly on the hospital bed, lost in thought. She was happy to see her daughter enter the ward, but her joy quickly turned to worry: "Weiwei, didn't you go to school again today? I don't need you to take care of me. You should go back to school first."
Zhou Wei forced a smile: "All my classes are in the morning today, I don't have any in the afternoon, Mom, don't worry."
Hearing this, Zhou's mother breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. I know my own body. I feel much better these past two days and want to go home to rest."
The hospital stay cost money like water. Although Zhou's mother had saved some money over the years, it was all for her daughter's tuition. She didn't want to spend all the money because of her illness. As for surgery, she didn't even dare to think about it. 200,000 yuan was not something that she and her daughter could afford.
Zhou Wei held her mother's hand tightly and said with a smile, "Mom, I have good news for you. I've already paid the surgery fee, and you'll be able to have the surgery soon."
"Paid it? Where did you get so much money, child? You didn't borrow from loan sharks, did you?" Zhou's mother was anxious and immediately wanted to sit up and question her daughter. If Weiwei really borrowed from loan sharks because of a momentary lapse in judgment, her life would be ruined.
Zhou Wei quickly reassured her, "Don't worry, it's not loan sharking. Let me explain slowly."
Zhou Wei told a little white lie, saying that she had met a netizen online and the two had been chatting for several years. This time, when the other party heard that she was in trouble, he lent her money without saying a word.
Zhou's mother looked at her daughter with a mixture of belief and doubt: "Weiwei, you're not lying to your mother, are you? How could an online friend lend you so much money?"
“I’m not lying to you. My online friend is named Xia Qingqing. She’s about my age. Her family is very rich. Tens of thousands of yuan is just the price of one of her handbags. We get along very well. She said that helping me is just a small thing for her, and I can pay her back slowly after I start working.”
Zhou Wei's use of names and details made her mother believe her to a great extent.
However, she was feeling down. It was all because she, as a mother, was useless. Other women who were about the same age as Weiwei could spend tens of thousands of yuan on a bag, while Weiwei had to go out and borrow money for her useless mother.
"Mom, don't worry, I'll make sure you enjoy a good life in the future, believe me, okay?" Zhou Wei's eyes sparkled, touching her mother's heart.
She smiled and nodded: "Mom believes in Weiwei, you will always be the best in Mom's heart."
Zhou Wei spent half an afternoon with her mother at the hospital before her mother urged her to return to school.
She was unaware that Zhou Wei had taken leave during this period, nor did she know that Zhou Wei had previously planned to drop out of school. She always thought that Zhou Wei was still attending classes normally, so Zhou Wei did not dare to come to the hospital too frequently.
She happened to need to buy things for Xia Qingqing anyway, so she left as Zhou's mother wished.
——
After leaving the hospital, Zhou Wei went straight to the grain and oil wholesale market and randomly picked a shop to go into.
A man who looked to be in his thirties approached her: "Miss, what would you like to buy? We have all kinds of rice, flour, and oil here, including white rice, glutinous rice, and fragrant rice."
"What's the price of this rice? Are there any discounts if I buy a lot?" Zhou Wei asked, pointing to a type of long-grain rice.
Xia Qingqing had told her that she didn't care about the taste of rice and flour, as long as the quality was roughly the same.
She can now drink the porridge that stings her throat without batting an eye. Being able to eat rice is good enough for her; what more could she ask for?
The boss's eyes lit up when he heard Zhou Wei's words: "How much do you need, miss?"
Zhou Wei made a hand gesture and said, "5,000 catties of rice, 5,000 catties of flour, and 100 barrels of oil."
Upon hearing the numbers she mentioned, the shop owner grinned from ear to ear: "No problem, I'll definitely give you a discount. I'll charge you 1.5 yuan per jin for the rice you chose, 2 yuan per jin for the flour, and 55 yuan per barrel for the oil."
Zhou Wei didn't know much about the wholesale price of rice and flour, but this price was much cheaper than what she bought in the supermarket.
Still a little uneasy, she added, "Boss, don't try to cheat me. I need a lot more stock later. If I find out you've cheated me, I won't come to your store again."
"Don't worry at all, miss. My shop has been open for so many years since my dad started it. If you find out I've cheated you, just come and find me," the owner said, waving his hand dismissively.
In business, reputation is paramount. He aims for long-term business success and would never damage his store's reputation for a small profit.
"It's 23,000 in total. Where should I send these goods? Give me an address."
Zhou Wei gave the location of a warehouse: "Have someone deliver it here, and call me when it arrives."
The warehouse was a temporary one she rented online last night. The minimum rental period was one week, so she had to rent it for a week first.
Having secured the rice, flour, and oil, Zhou Wei hurried off to another location.
I bought the snacks from the same chain snack store as last time. They have a wide variety of snacks and the prices are cheaper than in supermarkets, which makes them very popular with young people.
Zhou Wei grabbed a basket and began sweeping up spicy strips, dried meat, ham sausages, squid, duck legs, chicken feet, chocolate, and so on.
When one basket is full, she moves on to another.
Before long, the four baskets were full. Zhou Wei stopped when she thought it was almost done and went to the front desk to pay.
The cashier was stunned by the way she was buying things; anyone who didn't know better would have thought she was there to buy new stock.
Although these things were all bought for Xia Qingqing, Zhou Wei still felt very satisfied with the purchase. It was the first time she had bought snacks without having to worry about the price. Usually, she would carefully calculate the cost of any snacks she bought to treat herself, and she wouldn't dare to buy anything that was too expensive.
Zhou Wei was busy until late at night before she had bought almost everything Xia Qingqing needed, except for a watch.
She found a reputable online watch store and ordered a 100-yuan watch, asking them to expedite the shipping so she could receive it in about two days.
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