Chapter 41 What? Borrowing money? Gambling? And losing money? ...
Qiu Xiaoman was naturally unwilling.
She was just testing Shen Qinghuai in the morning; she didn't expect him to actually come.
The hurt she had suffered was still vivid in her mind, and she would never forgive him. So she deliberately approached him and tried to provoke Liang Yuting.
She just wanted to see Shen Qinghuai's life thrown into chaos and turmoil; that's just how petty she was.
I will retaliate against even the smallest wrongdoing!
Besides, he doesn't want to acknowledge her, so why would he eat her for no reason?
She retorted directly, "What identity should I use to go out to dinner with you? A concerned citizen or a rookie police officer?"
Shen Qinghuai was stumped by the question, sighed, and said, "Then you'll eat out by yourself for lunch?"
"I'll eat instant noodles. I just arrived today and I don't know the situation yet. Next time I'll bring my own food, so you won't have to pick me up at noon." Qiu Xiaoman didn't want to talk to him anymore. There was a place to cook at the base, on the far end of the first floor, next to a hot water room.
The kitchen is fully equipped. If you want to have lunch here, just bring your own rice and noodles. Because this place is remote, unlike our colleagues in the city who can eat in the canteen, we receive a meal allowance of several tens of yuan per month.
It's fine. It's just a little troublesome. If you don't want to cook, you can just have instant noodles. You can also bring some biscuits or something. You can make do with a meal either way.
I'll have a proper meal when I get home tonight.
Shen Qinghuai didn't expect her to refuse so decisively. He thought that since he had given her so much money, she would be a little more polite to him.
At least don't be so cold.
However, he was too embarrassed to ask anything of his daughter, so he could only instruct her, "Then wait for me in the break room after you get off work tonight. I'm busy, so I might be a little late."
Qiu Xiaoman initially wanted to say no, she would take the bus home herself, but then she thought, what if Liang Yuting really went too far and didn't even spare the bus?
It's best not to involve innocent people. I can only suffer in silence. I've been riding in the same car with Shen Qinghuai for the past few days.
When the car arrived in the city, Shen Qinghuai stared at the canvas bag she was carrying and reminded her, "Go buy a nicer bag after get off work. It's not like you don't have the money."
Looking out at the street, Qiu Xiaoman changed the subject: "Liang Yuting is gone? Aren't you going to chase her back? Are you just going to let her go crazy and harm people like this? Don't forget, I'm a police officer now. If she really does it, I will definitely arrest her."
"My people were a step too late; the plane had already taken off. But I've already called her parents, and they'll try to persuade her," Shen Qinghuai said, but he wasn't entirely sure, so he still needed to be cautious for the next few days.
Qiu Xiaoman remained silent until she reached the entrance of the courtyard house. There, she looked at Shen Qinghuai with disdain, left a single sentence, and strode away.
Shen Qinghuai wasn't angry. Xiaoman was right; he had indeed brought trouble upon himself.
He should have divorced Liang Yuting after all the trouble she caused, but in the end he still compromised.
Was it because he loved Liang Yuting too much? No, it was because he loved money too much. He was unwilling to give half of his family fortune to Liang Yuting. He preferred to keep her by his side and give her a pittance, and he could tolerate her occasional tantrums.
Liang Yuting always thought that he was stingy with her because he disliked her for not giving birth to a son. In reality, he was afraid that she would go crazy and harm people, and he was also afraid that she would be out of her mind and be cheated out of money for investment. It had happened before.
In short, he chose this path himself, and now he has no one to blame but himself for living in fear.
After driving for a while, he called Secretary Liu and asked her to help him pick out a nice bag so he could reimburse him in the afternoon.
*
When Qiu Xiaoman returned, the children had already eaten, but they had left food for her.
Feng Shengnan smiled and helped her serve rice: "Sister Xiaoman, Xiao Qiao and Yangyang went to school today. The neighborhood committee came and took them there. It's the Guangming Elementary School next door."
"Really! That's great." Qiu Xiaoman was very pleased; this was the most important thing, and it was finally resolved.
She took the bowl and chopsticks and asked, "What about you and A-Yue?"
“I’m going to go find a job. It’s more difficult for A-Yue. They don’t recognize her middle school entrance exam scores from Yunnan, and high school isn’t compulsory education, so there’s no way to get her enrolled right now.” Feng Shengnan felt a little sorry for A-Yue. A-Yue had good grades. Although she didn’t get into the county high school, it was still the No. 1 High School, which was only one level below the county high school.
Qiu Xiaoman really didn't have time to think about this problem. She quickly comforted A Yue: "Don't worry, stay home and read books these few days, and I'll think of a solution."
A-Yue herself didn't care and wasn't demanding. She was quite easygoing and content as long as she had books to read.
Not wanting to put Qiu Xiaoman in a difficult position, she smiled and reassured her, "I'm fine. I'll go out to work with Feng Shengnan."
“No, neither of you are adults, and you’re girls, unlike Li Tuantuan, who’s tall and strong, and no one would dare bully him.” After thinking it over, Qiu Xiaoman decided to find another way. She instructed, “Don’t think about anything else at home, wait until I get back.”
"Okay." Seeing that she was about to leave, Feng Shengnan asked, "Aren't you going to get some sleep?"
"No, it's too far. If we don't get there soon, we'll be late." Qiu Xiaoman didn't want to rush like this; it was too tiring. She would eat at the base starting tomorrow.
As soon as I stepped out the door, I saw Shen Qinghuai's car. He probably hadn't eaten much and was munching on a biscuit in the car.
Qiu Xiaoman pretended not to see anything, and after sitting down, she just kept looking at the street outside the window.
Shen Qinghuai sighed and handed over a rental and purchase contract: "Sign here, and I'll buy the courtyard house. You'll be the owner from now on. If you think it's too far from the base, I can find you a place outside the Third Ring Road so you can go back and take a nap at noon."
"Something's not right with you." Qiu Xiaoman felt like she was seeing a ghost. Shen Qinghuai, who was usually so stingy, was suddenly handing her cars, houses, and money. What was he doing?
Sugar-coated bullets, trying to corrupt her unyielding soul?
Dream on! She'll take the things anyway, but don't expect her forgiveness!
Shen Qinghuai hesitated for a moment, but eventually silently placed the pen in her hand.
Qiu Xiaoman signed the contract, glanced at the price, and was surprised that the courtyard house was so cheap.
Only 120,000? She thought it would cost hundreds of thousands.
Fearing she might think it was too cheap, Shen Qinghuai explained, "Recently, there have been real estate speculators from the south speculating on commercial residential properties, so there aren't many people interested in courtyard houses yet, hence the relatively low price. But don't worry, in less than five years, the price will be driven up, and the one you own will definitely be worth many times more. You can live there if you want, or sell it if you don't. It's a sure thing."
"Did you buy it yourself?" Qiu Xiaoman didn't know what the future held, but Shen Qinghuai was a businessman, so his judgment should be fairly accurate.
Shen Qinghuai smiled and said, "I have a set. If you ever stop bothering me, I'll take you to see it. It's in a better location than yours, the furniture is all mahogany, and the floor is marble."
"Is anyone living here?" Qiu Xiaoman didn't understand the world of the rich, even though she now had some extra money.
Shen Qinghuai smiled awkwardly: "Occasionally."
"Oh, stay here when your wife kicks you out." Qiu Xiaoman understands how hurtful that is.
Now it was Shen Qinghuai's turn to be silent. After a long while, he sighed and said, "If you want to laugh, then laugh. You don't have to hold it in."
Qiu Xiaoman rolled her eyes, quickly signed the contract, and handed it to Shen Qinghuai: "I don't need to be there?"
"Power of Attorney, sign it." Shen Qinghuai took out another document. "You've just started working, so you definitely can't get time off. The Housing Management Bureau isn't open on weekends, so I have to authorize you to handle it on your behalf. Don't worry, it's legal and compliant."
Qiu Xiaoman didn't understand this, so she picked up her mobile phone and called Jiang Mingyuan to ask him for clarification before signing.
Shen Qinghuai was speechless; she didn't trust him. He'd buy her a house, after all; would he really harm her? She was so easily hurt.
He was still sulking all the way to the base gate.
Qiu Xiaoman was too lazy to coax him. She grabbed her canvas bag and prepared to get out of the car. Shen Qinghuai quickly took out the leather bag that Secretary Liu had bought: "Wait, this is for you."
Qiu Xiaoman turned around, glanced at the ugly bag that looked like a bucket, and said with a hint of disgust, "It's so old-fashioned, I don't want it."
"Take it, this is an LV Papillon bag, an international brand, it costs over five thousand. I didn't buy you anything cheap." Shen Qinghuai insisted that she accept the bag, as it was definitely more presentable than the canvas bag she was carrying.
Qiu Xiaoman really didn't want it; the color was too old-fashioned, she'd rather buy pure black.
Shen Qinghuai refused, and simply grabbed her bag strap, insisting that she accept the new bag before he would let her get off the car.
Unexpectedly, I used too much force and broke the strap of her bag.
Qiu Xiaoman took out her mobile phone earlier without zipping it up, and now it's all over the floor.
She quickly bent down to pick it up, but before she could grasp a photo in her hand, Shen Qinghuai snatched it away first.
Qiu Xiaoman originally intended to snatch it back, but seeing that there wasn't enough time, she gave up.
Clutching her bag with the broken strap, she ran frantically into the office on the first floor.
In the car, Shen Qinghuai silently looked at the old photos and sighed.
This photo was taken thirteen years ago when I went to the county to buy a schoolbag, to commemorate Xiaoman starting kindergarten.
Who would have thought that things would turn out like this...
He carefully put the photo away, but ultimately didn't give away the expensive donkey bag.
When the car passed a photo studio, he asked the driver to stop so he could go inside and ask if they could develop a photo for him if they didn't have any negatives.
The shopkeeper shook his head, but still offered a solution: "I'll take a picture of it, print it out, and that'll do. But the image quality will definitely be a bit worse, your photo is too old."
"Okay, thank you." After the shopkeeper finished taking the photos, Shen Qinghuai took the original photo.
On the way, the driver cautiously glanced at the rearview mirror, only to find Shen Qinghuai looking at him as well, which startled him. He quickly assured him, "Mr. Shen, I will absolutely not tattle on you to your wife, absolutely not."
Shen Qinghuai no longer wanted to keep him, but not now. Liang Yuting didn't know that he knew her plan, and keeping the driver around was the only way to play her tricks.
Shen Qinghuai instructed, "When your wife arrives in Hong Kong, she will definitely ask you for information. Just tell her that I cried with the eldest daughter, and that I promised her that I would let her return to the Shen family, that I would divorce my wife, and that I would remarry her mother."
What? The driver couldn't help but laugh. If that lady found out, she'd be so anxious she'd want to jump off a building!
Wait a minute! Madam probably wouldn't dare. Even if she really wanted to jump, she'd have to do it in front of President Shen.
So, Mr. Shen, you're trying to trick your wife into coming back? And then what? Your wife will still go crazy!
Sigh, there's no solution to this problem no matter what I do. Oh well, he's just a driver, I'll just let him do whatever he wants.
*
In Hong Kong, Liang Yuting didn't have time to inquire about Qiu Xiaoman's situation. As soon as she landed, she went to her cousin's house and cried her heart out. In the end, she borrowed one million in Shen Qinghuai's name to gamble on horse races.
She desperately needs money, preferably a lot of it!
That way she'll have the money to hire a hitman!
She observed two rounds and found that a white horse had great potential. She gritted her teeth and spent 100,000!
They actually won! Ten thousand became two hundred and thirty thousand, this money came so easily!
She kept buying, and by the third round, she had bet all her savings.
He thought he would finally turn his life around, have huge assets in his hands, and never have to be at Shen Qinghuai's beck and call again.
Unexpectedly, the horse suddenly collapsed when it was almost at the finish line, twitched a few times, and then stopped moving.
In the end, she even lost all the money she had earned, suffering a huge loss of over 1.3 million yuan.
The cheers around her were irrelevant to her, as were the faint sobs and the violent insults.
All she knew was that she was finished. If Shen Qinghuai found out that she had borrowed money in his name and lost it, he might bring up divorce again.
She might be able to get a share of the assets after the divorce, but that means other women might also try to take a piece of her husband's property!
No, absolutely not! She won't accept it!
She suddenly remembered that she hadn't asked Qiu Xiaoman about her situation today, so she quickly went out, took out the last bit of change she had, and made a long-distance call.
"What? They want to remarry! No way!" Liang Yuting was furious. She hung up the phone, went to her cousin's house to pick up her child, and prepared to rush back and make a scene.
Her aunt persuaded her to take sleeping pills and go to sleep so they could talk about it tomorrow.
Aunt picked up the phone and called Shen Qinghuai: "When are you going to stop this nonsense? You're both so old, aren't you ashamed? You even made her borrow money, and she went to gamble it away. This is a sign that you're going to ruin your family business!"
It was late at night, and Shen Qinghuai had just come out of a drinking party; he could barely hold his mobile phone.
He had just let out a burp when the cold wind woke him up.
What, you want to borrow money? Gambling? And you lost it all?
In an instant, the world spun around, and the wine, filled with sorrow, became an emetic, causing him to vomit so violently that he felt dizzy and disoriented.
After vomiting for a while, there was no more alcohol or stomach acid left, just blood!
After vomiting, she closed her eyes and collapsed onto the driver's shoulder. The driver was terrified and quickly helped her into the car. He then picked up his mobile phone and called Qiu Xiaoman.
Qiu Xiaoman was exhausted and didn't want to go. After all, Shen Qinghuai hadn't taken care of her when she was sick with fevers all these years! Besides, she couldn't possibly sign the consent form for his surgery! What would be the point of going?
She called Jiang Mingyuan and asked him to notify the Shen family.
"Understood, I'll arrange it." Jiang Mingyuan had just finished get off work and was too busy with the human trafficking case to care about Qiu Xiaoman, who was new to the company. He quickly told Qiu Xiaoman some good news, "By the way, Zhao Qing has been found! He should be here tomorrow morning."
"Really!" Qiu Xiaoman breathed a sigh of relief. Great! Now everyone is here. Except for A Yong, who cheats people out of money to buy lottery tickets, everyone else can stay with her.
She has no family in Beidu, but she is willing to be family with these children!
In the dead of night, Shen Qinghuai slowly woke up. The pungent smell of disinfectant made him feel uncomfortable all over.
A young man in his early twenties was by his bedside. This was his nephew, Shen Tenglong. Seeing that he had woken up, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Uncle, you just had an acute gastric perforation, that was dangerous. What happened between you and Auntie? You had a fight the day before yesterday that led to the police being called, and today you've ended up in the hospital drunk. If you can't make it work, then don't. Is it worth making yourself suffer so much for a little money?"
Shen Qinghuai did not answer.
Is it worth it? I don't know. He struggled to glance into the ward, but didn't see his eldest daughter, so he could only sigh.
Shen Tenglong asked, "Who are you looking for, Uncle? My sister who's a policeman? She had Jiang Mingyuan contact us. Grandpa and Grandma don't want to get involved in your affairs, and my dad is busy, so they sent me over. Take it easy, Uncle. You didn't raise her when she was little, and you didn't acknowledge her as a member of the Shen family. Even if she wanted to sign the consent form for your surgery, the doctor wouldn't agree."
Yes, what kind of relationship is this, where he and his eldest daughter are now in such an awkward and strained state?
He sighed silently, closed his eyes, and vaguely heard laughter echoing through the valley.
The innocent laughter of a young girl.
A silvery laugh.
Those days are gone forever.
The next morning, a familiar-looking man came to the courtyard to take Qiu Xiaoman to work. His features were five or six points similar to Shen Qinghuai's, especially his eyes.
After Qiu Xiaoman died in her previous life, her soul wandered around. When she returned, she saw this person collecting her body.
His mother also appeared with him, her eyes red as she helped her change into a decent set of clothes and took her to the funeral home for cremation and burial.
The entire process was handled by this mother and son.
Qiu Xiaoman was puzzled at the time, wondering who this person was. Now, when she encounters him again, she can only guess that he is some kind of relative of Shen Qinghuai.
He was wiping the fog off the car windows when he met Qiu Xiaoman's gaze. He smiled and said, "Get up. I'm your brother, and my dad is your uncle."
Qiu Xiaoman got in without saying a word, and Shen Tenglong didn't disturb her. Just before getting out of the car, Shen Tenglong asked, "Aren't you going back for lunch?"
"Hmm." Qiu Xiaoman showed no concern for Shen Qinghuai's condition from beginning to end.
Shen Tenglong didn't press the matter, but asked curiously, "Your hands are empty, what are you having for lunch?"
"Thank you for your concern, I'll take care of myself." Qiu Xiaoman opened the car door and reminded him, "Could you please tell him to return the photos to me?"
"Oh, okay! See you tonight!" Shen Tenglong said with a smile, seemingly having a good personality.
Qiu Xiaoman hesitated for a moment, but finally convinced herself and said thank you, brother.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Unexpected quizzes are so annoying!
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