He Ying felt a pang of worry whenever she thought of her unreliable second husband. She turned to Qian Duoduo and held her hand tightly, her eyes revealing a mixture of concern and expectation: "Duoduo, we're entrusting our third son to you from now on. You must keep a close eye on him and make sure he doesn't bring back any more troublemakers like the previous ones. The first one was already a headache enough; one daughter-in-law like that is enough. I don't want a second one; it's just too much of a hassle."
Qian Duoduo smiled at He Ying and comforted her, "Auntie, don't worry. With Brother Qian Xiang and Brother Qian Yin around, they will definitely keep a close eye on Brother Qian Gui. I don't need to worry about him at all."
He Ying gently patted Qian Duoduo's hand, and said with a hint of embarrassment, "Duoduo, I know you're a good child, but there are still some things I need your help with."
Qian Duoduo looked at He Ying with suspicion, wondering what she wanted to ask for a favor.
He Ying took a deep breath and went straight to the point: "If you know any nice young ladies who don't mind that our third son is divorced, could you introduce one to us?"
Qian Duoduo was taken aback, not expecting that she would be given the task of being a matchmaker just by going home. She said, "Auntie, I can't say for sure." She originally wanted to decline, but seeing the worry in He Ying's eyes, she could only change her words: "If there really is a good girl, I will introduce her to Brother Qian Gui."
He Ying's eyes sparkled as she smiled and said, "Auntie trusts your judgment."
Qian Duoduo smiled somewhat awkwardly, muttering to herself: You believe in me, but I don't really believe in myself!
Jin Jinxiu noticed Qian Duoduo's unease and quickly said, "It's good that Qian Gui isn't here, otherwise I was really worried that the Zhen family would cause trouble again." Saying this, she turned to He Ying and asked, "Sister-in-law, has that Zhen Qiao come to cause trouble for our family again recently?"
He Ying shook her head and replied, "I heard that Zhen Qiao's father sold her to a remote mountain area, and she has never been seen since."
Qian Duoduo listened quietly to the side. Not long after, she saw Qian Sheng rushing home in a hurry. As soon as he saw Qian Duoduo at home, his eyes lit up and he quickly waved to her.
He Ying and Jin Jinxiu exchanged a glance, then said to Qian Duoduo, "It seems that the Qiao family has started asking your father for money. As for whether or not to lend it to them, Duoduo, it's up to you."
Qian Duoduo understood that with the Qian family's small two-story house standing there, no one would believe they were broke. Moreover, only she could come from the source of the thousand yuan to deter others from taking it. While Qiao Tiezhu's confession had indeed made her a little embarrassed, they were young then; even if they couldn't be lovers, they could still be friends. Even if they couldn't be friends, the Qiao family and her family had been neighbors for many years, and Qian Duoduo wouldn't want to make things awkward. So, she smiled and walked over: "Dad, what do you want?"
Qian Sheng said to Qian Duoduo, "Old lady, your mother has told you about the Qiao family's affairs, hasn't she?"
Qian Duoduo nodded to indicate that she understood, while Qian Sheng sighed helplessly and said softly, "You know that for a family like ours, it's not easy to come up with 1,000 yuan. So I wanted to ask if you have that amount of money on you?"
Qian Duoduo nodded again to indicate that she had it.
Qian Sheng continued, "In that case, could you lend this money to the Qiao family? I think they are indeed facing difficulties right now."
Qian Duoduo asked in confusion, "Did something happen to Tiezhu at work? Why would he need to pay compensation?"
Qian Sheng sighed heavily and replied, "He works at the winery in our county, where he is responsible for brewing wine. He accidentally ruined a vat of wine. The factory is asking him to pay 1,000 yuan in compensation so that he can keep his status as a formal employee."
Qian Duoduo nodded and continued to ask, "Shouldn't the production of liquor be done by multiple people? Was he the only one in charge?"
Qian Sheng explained, "No, there were three of them brewing liquor together, but each of them has to bear 1,000 yuan in compensation liability. However, the other two are long-term employees, come from well-off families, and both live in the county town."
Qian Duoduo nodded in understanding, turned and went into the house, took out a thousand yuan and handed it to Qian Sheng, and instructed, "Dad, have them write you an IOU."
Qian Sheng took the money, nodded, and then walked out.
Qian Duoduo sighed inwardly. He hadn't expected that Qiao Tiezhu would actually go to work at a winery after graduating from vocational school. That was pretty good; he was finally getting a government-supplied food ration in Qianshan Village.
Not long after, Qian Sheng returned with the IOU. He handed it to Qian Duoduo and asked, "My dear girl, do you think this IOU is okay?"
Qian Duoduo recognized Qiao Tiezhu's handwriting at a glance. After carefully reading the contents, she nodded and said, "Okay, Dad, you can keep this IOU."
Qian Sheng quickly said, "You took the money, why would I take it?"
Qian Duoduo explained, "Dad, you should keep it. I'll be going back to Harbin in a while. If he comes to pay me back, you'll have to give him the IOU, right? How are you going to pay him back if I keep it here?"
Qian Sheng thought about it and agreed with her, so he nodded and handed the IOU to Jin Jinxiu in front of Qian Duoduo, telling her to keep it safe. Jin Jinxiu took the IOU and put it in the cabinet, muttering, "What kind of mess is this!"
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window and fell on Qiao Tiezhu's face. He rubbed his eyes and got out of bed. After washing up, he ate a quick breakfast, then carefully put the 1,000 yuan he had borrowed the day before into his pocket. Then, he left home and went to work.
At the same time, Liu Fen arrived at the Qian family's door, stood outside the gate, and called out loudly, "Aunt Qian, are you home?"
Jin Jinxiu came out from the chicken coop and saw that it was Liu Fen, so she responded. Wen Yugui was dressing her youngest daughter, and when she heard someone coming, she also craned her neck to look outside.
Seeing Jin Jinxiu place a bowl of chicken feed aside and then go to wash her hands, Liu Fen walked in familiarly, smiled at Jin Jinxiu, and called out, "Second Aunt!" She glanced into the house and then asked, "Is Duoduo home?"
Jin Jinxiu shifted her feet when she saw her movement, blocking her gaze, shook her head at her, and replied, "No, Duoduo went out."
Liu Fen said with some surprise, "Does Duoduo still have so much to do after coming back? I saw her riding her bike out yesterday, she wasn't home, and she's not home today either."
Jin Jinxiu smiled proudly and said, "I, the old maid, am someone who does great things. How can I stay at home all day like the rest of us?"
Liu Fen blushed slightly. Although she felt that Jin Jinxiu was implying something about her, she had no evidence, so she said somewhat embarrassedly, "Then I'll come over when Duoduo comes back." After saying that, she turned and left.
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