Song Wenjing shook her head. "I only found out about this yesterday when I got home. My mom told me they went to borrow money from relatives, but that's hundreds of thousands! I might never see hundreds of thousands of dollars in my lifetime. Only a few of them are guarding here. There are still several who go to his father's factory every day to cause trouble!"
Shengxia sighed. She really had no recollection of this incident. Thinking about it carefully, in her previous life, Qin Ge had just joined TEDA Jianye. It was a busy time and there was no holiday at all, so she stayed in the city with Qin Ge.
Later, she only sent some money home to her grandmother from time to time. She had looked down on Qingshui Town, a remote and poor little place. Just like when people become rich, they can't wait to get rid of their former poor appearance. After she left, she never wanted to come back, so naturally she would not hear from Zhang Xiaofen.
Shengxia and Song Wenjing stood at the door for a long time, but they had no idea what to do. Hundreds of thousands of dollars was still something that Shengxia, who had experienced it, could still think about, but for Song Wenjing, it was something she couldn't even think about. The two could only look at the empty house, feeling very anxious.
At least people are still guarding here, which proves that they have not caught the Zhang family yet. Otherwise, if they cannot pay back the money now, who knows what those people will do.
Shengxia returned home, lay on the bed, reached out to pick up the phone, and dialed Qin Ge's number. Qin Ge must have something to do, as the phone rang several times but no one answered.
Shengxia hung up and lay in bed fiddling with a flashlight all afternoon. At around ten o'clock in the evening, she called Qin Ge again.
This was an agreement between her and Qin Ge. Qin Ge didn't call her because he was afraid that his grandmother would answer the phone. Shengxia called Qin Ge every night. Their love affair was like fighting a tunnel war.
Qin Ge answered the call quickly. It turned out that the group of people from abroad had arrived early. Qin Ge was receiving them at the hotel with government leaders and Zhang Zhihui at noon, so she didn't receive her call.
Shengxia originally wanted to talk to Qin Ge about Zhang Xiaofen, but when she heard the strong hint of alcohol in Qin Ge's voice, she guessed that he had drunk a lot that night.
Shengxia felt distressed, so she didn't say anything. She only told Qin Ge that she went to play with Song Wenjing in the afternoon. Qin Ge told her to be good and listen to her grandma.
Shengxia could tell that Qin Ge sounded very tired, so she quickly told him to rest and sleep. After a few words of disgust, she reluctantly hung up the phone.
Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. There are sounds of firecrackers outside. I wonder if the young people who have returned from the city are setting off fireworks. She is not in the mood to watch them in the middle of summer. She got out of bed and closed the window tightly to prevent the cold wind from blowing in. She just sat on the bed when she heard some noise outside.
Shengxia was startled. There were especially many thieves during the Chinese New Year. She calmed down and listened, but the sound was gone again.
Shengxia crawled into bed, thinking that it was New Year's Day, and even if he encountered a thief, he would not be so stupid as to steal from their poor family.
After a while, Shengxia's ears moved! She heard someone knocking on her window!
Her window was on the second floor! Shengxia was so frightened that she stood up suddenly. Before she could find anything to protect herself, she heard someone outside shouting quietly, "Shengxia! Shengxia! It's me! Zhang Xiaofen!"
It’s Zhang Xiaofen!
Shengxia immediately ran out of bed, opened the curtains, and looked down. She saw Zhang Xiaofen, whose hands and face were red from the cold, stepping on the bricks on the first floor of her house, clinging to the window of her room with difficulty.
"Zhang Xiaofen! Why are you back?"
Zhang Xiaofen quickly told her to keep her voice down: "Keep it down! I came back secretly! They might find out!"
Shengxia quickly opened the window and grabbed Zhang Xiaofen's arm and pulled her up. It was winter and she was wearing thick clothes, so Shengxia used all her strength to pull Zhang Xiaofen in. The two of them climbed into the house, fell to the ground, and gasped for breath.
"Zhang Xiaofen, what's wrong with your dad? Why does he owe so much money?"
Zhang Xiaofen has been hiding from debt collectors these days. She took off the hat that was covering her face, her face filled with regret: "My dad went to Guangdong and didn't know anyone there. He had a meal at a restaurant and met a stock trader. He called himself a teacher and said he could make tens of thousands of yuan in a single night! I started out by helping him queue up at the stock exchange to buy shares. But when he saw how much money he could make, my dad got tempted and gave him all his money. He made a little money at first, but the stock market crashed the month before, and he lost it all!"
"My dad didn't dare come back. He introduced me to someone else, saying he could get money without interest and that he could turn the tables. My dad got drunk and signed the contract in a daze! The next day, he disappeared!"
As Zhang Xiaofen spoke, she couldn't help but cover her face in pain. Her hair was messy and her fingers were covered with frostbite. She was really suffering.
I have been asking relatives for money these days, but none of them have come through. I feel so discouraged.
Shengxia listened, the stock market crash! Wasn't there a nationwide stock market crash that year? Later, when it was revealed, it forced many people to lose their fortunes overnight and commit suicide by jumping off buildings! Who would have thought that this stock market disaster would even affect Zhang Xiaofen's family?
Shengxia sneaked downstairs and brought a plate of meat and several steamed buns from the table to Zhang Xiaofen. Zhang Xiaofen ate them ravenously. Shengxia looked at her and asked worriedly, "Now that the money is gone, can we still find those who cheated us?"
Zhang Xiaofen slowed down her swallowing. She was silent for a moment and shook her head: "Where can I find it..."
This question left both of them speechless.
Shengxia could only sigh. With no internet access, surveillance wasn't widespread. Even if he knew the name, where could he find it? China was so vast, he wondered how many bosses had absconded with their money in the same place.
"So what are you going to do now? Where's Auntie?"
"My mother has gone to hide at a friend's house."
Sheng Xia breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good to hide, it's good to hide. Now it's just a matter of who can last the longest. From the accents of those people, they all seem to be from other places. I guess they won't stay here for long. If they really can't find anyone, they will have to go back. Otherwise, if they stay for one more day, at least they need to eat, and money is needed everywhere!"
Zhang Xiaofen listened, put down the steamed bun in her hand, and wiped her mouth: "I can't stay here anymore, I want to go to the south to try my luck."
"Ah! You're going by yourself?"
Shengxia was surprised. Zhang Xiaofen said, "There's nothing I can do. Shengxia, I actually came here to borrow some money from you. I know you're having a hard time. I asked someone to buy a ticket to the south at midnight, but I don't have a penny on me..."
"I know, I know." Shengxia didn't ask any other questions. She opened the drawer and found the unopened red envelope that Qin Ge had given her during the Chinese New Year.
"Here, there are three hundred yuan in there. Wait a minute, I'm looking for some!" Shengxia pulled out several of her cotton-padded jackets and trousers from the closet and rummaged through them. She found some unspent money from when Qin Ge bought her food, and there was still more than a hundred yuan left. She stuffed it all into Zhang Xiaofen's hands: "This is all the money I have. If you had come a day earlier, I could have given you an extra five hundred yuan. Now grandma has locked it in a drawer and pressed it under the bed. How about waiting until tomorrow morning and I'll get it for you..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com