Chapter 33 Debt Collection
The cell phone kept ringing in the bag, as if it would not give up until it achieved its goal.
Han looked at Liu Suping beside him and pretended not to hear.
Liu Suping also noticed the situation. She stared at Han Que and reminded him, "Your phone keeps ringing. You need to take it out and see who it is."
Han said, "It's a harassing call."
Liu Suping was incredulous: "How could a harassing call ring so many times? You'll know if it's a harassing call if you answer it. It's the other party calling anyway, and they're paying for it, so you don't lose anything."
Han shook his head and continued to lie to her: "Don't answer it. What if it's a scammer? You might lose your money. You can't answer this kind of call."
Liu Suping frowned and complained, "Hey, why don't you listen to advice, child? You're so stubborn. You're going to die just answering a phone call..." She then said to Han Yourong's photo, "Look at your daughter, she's so stupid, she doesn't even know how to answer the phone. I don't know how she interacts with people outside. And she keeps saying that everyone says she's amazing, like she's a sales champion. I think she's just bragging."
Han kept a wooden face and listened to her chatter.
Liu Suping finished her monologue and urged her, "Answer your phone, it's ringing so loud it's annoying."
Han had no choice but to take out her phone. Liu Suping looked over and saw the words "Han Youfang". She immediately poked her arm and said, "This is your aunt. Why is it a harassing call? You really are... Oh, I can't say anything to you. Hurry and answer the phone. She called so many times, she must have something urgent to talk to you about."
Han was holding her phone, looking at the screen hesitantly, and she knew that it was definitely not a good thing.
Seeing her like this, Liu Suping paused, frowned and scolded: "I say, why are you so disobedient? You don't listen even after I've talked for a long time. This is your aunt, not a liar. Hurry up and answer the phone, don't delay things." As she spoke, she rubbed her hands anxiously and walked around in circles.
Han Que had no choice but to answer the phone. When the call was connected, Han Youfang raised her voice and yelled, "Han Que, are you deaf or dead? You haven't answered my call for a long time. What do you mean?"
Han could only apologize in a low voice: "I'm sorry, aunt, my phone was in my bag just now and I didn't hear it."
"Didn't hear?" Han Youfang snorted, "What do you mean you didn't hear? You clearly just hung up on me. You deliberately didn't want to answer, didn't you?"
Han had no choice but to say, "Aunt, that's not what I meant. My mother and I are visiting my father's grave. It's not good to make loud noises at the cemetery."
"What do you mean by no one is allowed to make a loud noise? Stop talking nonsense to me." Han Youfang was not buying it. "You just don't want to answer my call and use my brother as a shield. Oh, you are just like your mother, both ungrateful."
Han Que's face suddenly darkened, and she pursed her lips in silence. Liu Suping snatched her phone away and said, "Youfang, we're visiting your brother's grave. I was just blaming Han Que for not inviting you along. Hey, you haven't visited your brother in two years, your brother must miss you too."
Han tugged at her clothes and whispered, "Mom, don't say that. I sent her a message, and she said she couldn't come."
"Oh, it's my sister-in-law." Han Youfang changed her tone and snorted sarcastically, "Oh, it's not that I don't want to visit my brother's grave, it's just that I've had a headache recently and can't get out of bed. You can just burn some paper for my brother on my behalf."
Liu Suping didn't detect the discomfort in Han Youfang's voice. Instead, she asked with concern, "Oh, you're not feeling well? What's wrong? You should go to the hospital. We're all old now, and if we feel unwell, we should go see a doctor immediately. Look, your brother's illness was delayed. If he had listened to me and gone to the hospital for examination and treatment earlier, he wouldn't have ended up like this. Now he's left us, an orphan and a widow, with such a hard time..."
When talking about sad things, Liu Suping's voice choked again.
Han Youfang was silent for a moment on the phone, then gritted her teeth and said resentfully, "Isn't it all your fault... My brother is so young, how could he suddenly get this disease? It's all because of you and your daughter..."
Her voice was sharp and piercing. Liu Suping's face turned pale and her eyes were fixed. However, Han frowned, snatched back the phone, turned around, and said to Han Youfang with his back to Liu Suping, "Aunt, since you are not feeling well, just take a good rest. It's enough to show your kindness. There is no need to come over. Let's talk about what you want to talk to me about later. I'll go back with my mother first. She's in a bad mood today. Don't bother her."
Han Youfang was silent for a while: "Oh, that's fine, I'll send you a message."
Han said, "Okay."
Not long after, Han Que's WeChat phone rang. Han Youfang sent her messages, one after another:
"Han Que, when can you pay me back the money you owe me? I'm waiting for the money."
"Also, was the money you sent me last time too little?"
"I think the number is wrong. Do the math yourself. Did you give me less?"
However, Han frowned and replied to her: "Aunt, I transferred the money to you on the 15th of last month. Please check it." She then found a screenshot of the bank transfer and sent it to Han Youfang.
She recorded every sum of money she transferred to Han Youfang clearly in her memo, making it very easy to find it.
Han Youfang: "That's not enough. I'm waiting for the money to be useful."
Han Que: "Aunt, we agreed before that I would transfer the money to you on the 15th of every month and calculate the interest based on the bank's interest rate. You also agreed to this number. Please take a look at the bank's deposit records on your side."
Han Youfang: "I've seen the bank records, but now I hear that the bank has adjusted its interest rates. You can't settle it with me based on the old rates."
Han thought for a moment before she understood. She almost laughed at her anger. She opened her mobile banking app, took a screenshot of the bank's published interest rate, and sent it to Han Youfang: "Look, the bank's interest rate has been adjusted and lowered. The one I calculated for you was higher than this before, and the interest difference is so much..." She quickly calculated the difference with a calculator and sent it to Han Youfang: "Do you want me to calculate it according to the new rate? That's not appropriate. I think we should just use the old interest rate. I can't bully you."
The other party paused, indicating that they were typing. After a while, Han Youfang sent her a voice message: "Han Que, I won't talk to you anymore. Just return the remaining balance to me directly. You can only charge the interest until this month. Gao Wen has decided not to take the college entrance examination. He wants to study abroad, and I have to raise money for him."
Han was stunned. She had never heard that her cousin Gao Wen was going to study abroad, but since they wanted money, she didn't say much. She just replied with one word: "Okay, I'll send it to you when I have enough."
Han Youfang sent another voice message: "Hurry up, the agency said that it needs to be done as soon as possible, otherwise it will affect Gao Wen's application to the school. It's best to wire the money to me within the next two days."
Han looked at the chat dialog box, wanting to ask a few more questions, but he just remained silent for a while and replied, "Okay, I'll try my best."
Seeing her busy for a long time, Liu Suping asked, "What does your aunt want to talk to you about? Why is she so anxious?"
Han Que hesitated and didn't say it clearly, but just vaguely said that she might need money. When Liu Suping heard the word money, her eyes became strange. She nervously pulled Han Que's sleeve and asked, "She came to ask for money? How much does she want? Didn't you remit the money to her on time every month? She came to ask for it. Hey, Han Que, I say you really are... When your father was sick, your aunt lent us money to help us. You must remember to pay her back all the time. How can you owe her money? You didn't answer the phone just now. If your father knew about this, he would be furious..." She pounded her chest, stamped her feet and sighed, "Oh, I won't say anymore, I won't say anymore. I'm going to be mad at you..."
She pulled Han Que's arm hard, her nails almost digging into her muscles.
Han endured the pain and stared at her silently. Looking at his mother who was half a head shorter than him, thin but extremely strong, he felt his throat tighten and couldn't speak.
Han grabbed her arm and soothed her, "Mom, don't worry about it. I can handle it myself. Don't be angry. It's going to rain. Let's go back."
"No." Liu Suping jumped up. She let go of Han Que and knelt in front of the tombstone. She held the tombstone tightly with both hands and stared back at Han Que with red eyes: "No, I won't go. Don't take me with you. I'm here with your father. I can't let your father stay here alone. If you want to go back, go back first. I won't leave. I'll stay here with him."
She cried so hard that she couldn't speak. Facing Han Yourong's photo on the tombstone, she said, "You see, your daughter is becoming more and more disobedient. She used to follow you wherever you went, but now she's grown up and her heart has become wilder. She's becoming more and more disobedient. I really can't control her. What should I do when you're not around..."
Han also knelt beside her and cried with her.
Han Que finally persuaded her to stop and slowly took her back. They walked in the mountains surrounded by pine and cypress trees. The cold wind blew, making a rustling sound, and Han Que felt a chill on his back.
On the way back in the car, Liu Suping was tired after making a fuss for half a day. She closed her eyes and didn't say anything. After a while, she began to snore softly.
Han turned her head and looked at her sleeping face, which was as peaceful as a child. There was still crystal clear saliva on her lips. Her eyes were sore. She took out a tissue and wiped her eyes, put her head on her shoulder, and put her arm around her to let her sleep more comfortably.
As the car passed through the fields on the outskirts of the city, you could see rows of brilliant yellow rapeseed flowers blooming in the mountains. A cement road meandered through the fields, leading to the green foot of the mountain not far away. Old cows were leisurely eating grass in the fields, and the pond reflected the gloomy sky. After a while, it started to rain.
It rains heavily during the Qingming Festival, and the pedestrians on the road are heartbroken.
Raindrops fell on the glass, big and small, rustling down. Soon a layer of fog rose up and it was impossible to see outside clearly. The driver turned on the air conditioner for dehumidification, and the air gradually cooled down. Han took off his coat and put it on Liu Suping, and asked the driver to turn up the air conditioner temperature.
The driver glanced at the silent mother and daughter in the rearview mirror and tried to make conversation. However, Han just hummed a few times in response and then remained silent. The driver had no choice but to shut up and drive away.
The ride was bumpy, but Han felt sleepy and gradually fell asleep, and even had a dream.
She dreamed that she seemed to have returned to her childhood. Han Yourong and Liu Suping still looked like their young selves. Han was holding one of them hand in each, walking on the lawn in the park. As they walked, they suddenly let go of each other's hands, quickened their pace, and left her behind. Han hurriedly chased after them, but could not catch up. She wanted to shout, but found that her throat could not make a sound. She watched her parents gradually disappear, and the white fog blocked her sight, and she could not see anything clearly.
She was overcome with grief, her heart ripping apart. She suddenly woke from a nightmare, drenched in sweat, her shirt icy against her back. She sneezed and touched Liu Suping beside her, still sound asleep. Only then did she feel relieved, tears welling up in her eyes and falling onto her chest.
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