"You've just gotten married, what's there to rush into?" Zhao Lei was angered by Xu Qingning's attitude and said with a stern face, "You have a house, you don't need to take care of your elderly parents, and Jingyu isn't even home, so where would you get the money for expenses?"
The money was earned by her younger brother.
What right does Xu Qingning, a newlywed, have to interfere in the affairs between the siblings?
"Sister, do we need to report our expenses to you?" Xu Qingning already had a bad impression of Zhao Lei and didn't intend to get along with her. "You don't need to say these irrelevant things. Anyway, we don't have any spare money to lend you."
Their family is just crazy.
Why are they only targeting Zhao Jingyu?
On what grounds? On what grounds are they stupid and rich?
"Jingyu, is this what you wanted too?" Zhao Lei turned to look at Zhao Jingyu, her eyes red, and said, "You've always taken care of me before, and I felt like I still had my family to support me. Now if even you don't care about me anymore, I'll really be all alone."
Xu Qingning laughed in exasperation.
So, in Zhao Lei's eyes, her family members are just there to be exploited?
"Sister, what do you need so much money for?" Zhao Jingyu knew that Xu Qingning was not an unreasonable person. If his sister really needed the money urgently, he wouldn't refuse to lend it to her.
“Jingyu, you know our family only has three rooms. My parents-in-law live in one room, and we live in another. There are no extra rooms. I want to build a south-facing room so that you will have a place to stay when you visit.”
When Zhao Lei saw Zhao Jingyu asking her, she thought there was a chance. She even rolled her eyes at Xu Qingning and said, "I want to take advantage of the weather now, which is neither too hot nor too cold, so that we can start construction and finish it by the end of the year. When you come back next time, you can stay at my house for a few days."
"Does my sister mean we should pay for the construction of a south-facing room for us at your house?" Xu Qingning found it amusing. She turned to look at Zhao Jingyu, met his gaze, and smiled slightly. "You two siblings are really on the same wavelength. Yesterday you were saying you wanted to build a west wing against the west wall so that when your family comes, they'll have a place to stay and won't have to stay in the guesthouse anymore."
Although Zhao Jingyu's money is currently in her hands, she is unsure whether Zhao Jingyu has any savings on his own.
She had to make Zhao Jingyu reject Zhao Lei to her face.
Once Zhao Jingyu leaves tomorrow, things will be much easier; she won't lend out a single penny.
"Jingyu, this is a government-owned house, why are you paying for the side rooms yourself?" Zhao Lei found it baffling.
“The government doesn’t care about building side rooms; you have to pay for it yourself. Once you have children, the house will be more spacious.” Zhao Jingyu sided with Xu Qingning without hesitation; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to get into bed tonight.
“Sister, once the house is built, we’ll need to buy furniture and stuff. His salary isn’t enough to cover that.” Xu Qingning suspected that Zhao Lei wasn’t borrowing money from Zhao Jingyu for the first time and was deliberately trying to trick her. “Pay back the money you borrowed before. Your brother is keeping track of it!”
"If I had money, would I need to borrow from you?" Zhao Lei said awkwardly when she heard that Zhao Jingyu was keeping accounts. "I... I don't have money now, but I will definitely pay you back when I have it."
Zhao Jingyu was both amused and exasperated.
His sister was too honest; she found out right away... He hadn't kept any accounts at all.
"You haven't paid back the money you borrowed before, and you keep coming back to borrow. Do you treat your brother like a beast of burden, or like a fool?" Xu Qingning retorted without any politeness. "He's out in all kinds of weather, not home for half a year, not eating or dressing well. Do you think it's easy for him to earn money? Is this how you act as an older sister?"
Her words moved even herself.
Look how much she cherishes her man.
Zhao Jingyu looked at her with mixed feelings, a mix of gratitude and surprise. Everyone was used to his work and thought it was only natural for him to endure all of this.
Only she saw his hardship and his difficulties.
Zhao Lei was left speechless by the rebuttal.
She was so angry that she cried.
That's just how his job is, what can she do?
“Sister-in-law, if you don’t want to lend it, then don’t. There’s no need to ruin our relationship.” Li Yucheng finally couldn’t sit still any longer. With a dark face, he pulled Zhao Lei away. “I said I wouldn’t come, but you insisted on coming.”
The two of them dragged each other out and started arguing at the door.
"Don't pull me, you good-for-nothing! If you were any better, would I need to lend you money?" Zhao Lei shoved Li Yucheng aside and stormed off.
“Both Mom and Dad disagree with building the south-facing house, so let’s not build it.” Li Yucheng pushed his bicycle and followed. “We’ll talk about it when we have our own money.”
The room finally quieted down.
Xu Qingning glared at Zhao Jingyu, went into the bedroom, took a washbasin, and went to the public water tap in the yard to wash up.
Zhao Jingyu was still immersed in the feeling of being understood. He silently cleared the table, washed the dishes and chopsticks, and carried the washbasin over.
Xu Qingning washed up by herself, ignoring him.
He was about to say something when she took the washbasin and went back into the house.
After Zhao Jingyu finished washing up and returned to the room, Xu Qingning was already in bed, her back to him, clearly angry.
“When I was single, I didn’t care much about money. When my sister borrowed money from me, I gave it to her.” Zhao Jingyu stood by the bed and explained patiently, “I didn’t know my wedding would be so rushed. Otherwise, I would definitely have saved more money and wouldn’t have lent it out.”
"You mean I'm holding a grudge?" Xu Qingning turned over, looking at him angrily. "Since you're not going to hold a grudge, then lend out all the money and let my daughter and me starve."
"Look at you, that's not what I meant." Zhao Jingyu chuckled. "I meant that this money was lent out before you married into the family, and it won't happen again."
"Zhao Jingyu, tell me, do you have any secret savings?" Xu Qingning calmed down and decided to have a serious talk with him about the family finances.
"I don't have any secret savings." Zhao Jingyu was taken aback by her question and quickly replied, "We've been together these past few days, how could you possibly think I have any secret savings?"
"Whose money did you pay for those clothes and daily necessities you bought at the department store yesterday?" Xu Qingning didn't believe it.
“It was money that Wang Yaqiang and Liu Dawei borrowed from me before, and I asked them to pay it.” Zhao Jingyu looked at her beautiful eyes and felt his throat tighten for some reason.
"Zhao Jingyu, how much money did you lend out?" Xu Qingning gasped, feeling a pang of pain in her heart. "Your own family is struggling to make ends meet, yet you're helping others and saying you don't care about the money?"
I understand now. No wonder his underlings were so devoted to him, swarming around him like flies.
It turns out he bought it all with money.
“I told you, that was before, and it definitely won’t happen again.” Zhao Jingyu immediately realized the importance of the issue and solemnly promised, “From today onwards, all the money in the house will be entrusted to you for safekeeping, and I won’t keep a single penny.”
"Zhao Jingyu, I can't trust you. I don't think you're suited for marriage or having children." Xu Qingning pulled the blanket over herself, refusing to look at him.
This was in 1978, a time of scarcity and everyone struggling to make ends meet.
He's so keen on lending money out of his pocket, what kind of big shot is he?
"Wife, I was wrong." Zhao Jingyu hugged her from behind, his warm breath brushing against her ear, and grabbed her hand. "Or, why don't you hit me?"
"Don't touch me!" Xu Qingning pushed him away and said irritably, "From now on, you can stay at your sister's house and don't come back."
"If I don't come back, who will raise the child with you?" Zhao Jingyu threw off the covers and lay down on her without a care. His large hand slid down her waist to her lower abdomen and gently caressed it. His tone was gentle. "Don't be angry. Being angry is bad for the child."
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