Luo Xiaoxue hadn't expected Lu Mingyuan to come to borrow money, and said awkwardly, "Third brother, why don't you wait until your brother comes back and tell him?"
Lu Mingyuan quickly stood up and waved his hand, saying, "No need, my brother will listen to you."
Luo Xiaoxue blushed and spat, "Borrowing money is a big deal. The main problem is that our family recently invested money to start a joint venture factory, and we are short of funds."
"Oh dear, eldest daughter-in-law, didn't we say that Boss Cai would provide the investment, and you two could just invest together?"
At this moment, Old Lady Ruan arrived with her family from the third branch of the family to join in the fun.
When Shao Chunhua's two children saw the White Rabbit candies on the table, they grabbed them without saying a word, not only eating them but also stuffing their pockets full, effectively dividing up the entire bag of White Rabbit candies.
"Haha, Qiaowa, you don't mind sharing some with your older brothers and sisters, do you?" Shao Chunhua chimed in, trying to cover for them.
Lu Siqiao said calmly, "I don't mind."
She approached Luo Xiaoxue and asked Lu Mingyuan, "Second Uncle, how much money do you want to borrow?"
Unexpectedly, she agreed, and Lu Mingyuan said with delight, "Five hundred yuan."
Five hundred yuan!
That's quite a boast.
A cold smile flashed across Lu Siqiao's eyes. They really treat the eldest son's wife like an ATM.
“Our family doesn’t have that much money. My mom gave birth a while ago, and Jin’an was in an incubator, which cost a full 500 yuan. My dad even got an advance of a few hundred yuan from Boss Cai’s salary just to cover the medical expenses.” She said earnestly, “However, if you want to borrow money, I can ask Boss Cai. He owns a loan company.”
Lending companies, wouldn't they have to pay interest?
Lu Mingyuan's smile suddenly vanished.
“Sister-in-law, if you won’t lend me money, fine, but there’s no need to disgust me like this.” He retorted to Luo Xiaoxue, assuming that she had instigated Lu Siqiao to humiliate him.
The pleasant atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
Shao Lihua, cracking sunflower seeds beside them, said boldly, "Sister-in-law, what my second brother said makes sense. Among relatives, we should help each other out whenever we can. Our family really doesn't have any money. Otherwise, let alone borrowing, I would have scraped together all the money for my second brother and sister-in-law."
"Third Sister, I just heard you tell your family a few days ago that you have some money and are wondering what kind of business to do with it. Since you're so generous, why don't you lend it out? We can't possibly cover the entire loss for your eldest son's family, can we?" Lu Siqiao saw through her little trick and smiled sinisterly.
At this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on Shao Lihua.
See? He contradicted himself.
"Where would I get the money? I have no money!" Shao Lihua became anxious and stood up to leave.
Lu Mingyuan stopped her, grinning, "Sister-in-law, your second brother and your new sister-in-law are deeply in love. You can't possibly not contribute a single penny, can you?"
Shao Lihua smiled insincerely and said, "How could that be? Of course I'll help if I can." She sat down and glared at Lu Siqiao fiercely.
Lu Siqiao smiled sweetly at her: "Third Aunt is rich. Whatever the third branch can contribute, we, the first branch, will add another hundred yuan, how about that?"
Lu Mingyuan rubbed his hands together excitedly, staring intently at Shao Lihua as if she were a big piece of fat meat.
Shao Lihua was caught in a dilemma. She grabbed a handful of melon seeds and put them in her pocket to calm her nerves. "Hehe, how can our third branch compare to the wealth and power of the first branch? What kind of talk is Qiaowa saying?"
Lu Siqiao said calmly, "Third Aunt, Second Uncle has finally found someone he likes. Are you going to object?" Not giving money is objection.
In the countryside, men's parents have to use all their savings to support their husbands to get married. Even if Lu Siqiao doesn't give money, Lu Mingfeng will give it to her when he comes back. Otherwise, Grandpa will lose face.
Perhaps Lu Mingfeng is even more generous than her, letting the first wife bear all the expenses.
Lu Siqiao isn't stupid; she'll try to drag the third wife's family into this mess.
The pressure is now on the third branch of the Lu family.
Grandma Ruan even played the family card: "Third son's wife, your second brother's family has fallen apart. If there are no women in the house, what will happen to Si Rou and her sister? We can't expect them to come to your house for meals every day, can we?"
This is a combination of coercion and bribery!
Having no other choice, Shao Lihua said stingily, "Since Qiaowa is thinking of her father, we, the third branch of the family, can't not support her. We'll contribute one hundred yuan." She didn't forget to sow discord between Luo Zixue and Lu Siqiao.
Therefore, the eldest son's wife would have to come up with two hundred yuan.
It's still two hundred yuan short of Lu Mingyuan's desired price.
He said anxiously, "Sister-in-law, your second brother has really had a hard time. How about you contribute two hundred yuan?" That would cost three hundred yuan for the main house, so together it would be five hundred yuan.
Shao Lihua is stupid. She wants to spend 500 yuan on a wedding. Does she really want to buy the three major items? And this is her second marriage!
“Second brother, every family has its own problems. Unlike you, who runs a shop in the city, we are destined to be farmers. Your third brother works in construction in town, working non-stop all year, and only earns a few hundred yuan a year. We have two children to support, and this hundred yuan is already the limit for our family.” Her tone became aggressive. “Talk to Xiaoyan about what you want to buy. If you work hard to earn money, you will be able to buy it.”
Liu Yan sat to the side, smiling gently: "Sister-in-law is right. These days, being able to come up with a hundred yuan shows how much you support Mingyuan and me."
Shao Lihua chuckled and said, "Second Aunt, it's wonderful that you understand."
Judging from her tone, she showed no gratitude whatsoever. Humph, does she really think the other two families owe you anything?
Shao Lihua frowned, losing all interest in joining in the commotion.
If she doesn't make a fuss, Lu Mingyuan won't make a fuss either, and the three families will discuss the details of the banquet.
Liu Yan whispered a few words in Lu Mingyuan's ear.
Just as everyone decided to hold the wedding banquet at home in a month, Lu Mingyuan held the three hundred yuan that the two families had given him and said happily, "I just discussed it with Xiaoyan. She is quite pregnant and has difficulty moving around. We are worried that it might be dangerous for her to walk around during the banquet. We have decided to hold the wedding banquet and the baby's one-month celebration banquet together after the baby is born."
Shao Lihua: !!
Lu Siqiao wore an expression that said, "I knew it all along."
"No, if you're not going to hold a banquet, then give me my money back first." Shao Lihua was unhappy. Why should she pay for everything and not even get a full meal?
Lu Mingyuan said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, how can we take the money back after giving it? It's a token of your kindness from your third branch of the family. Although we're not holding a banquet, we still need to prepare dowries and such. Oh, and the house also needs to be painted. We'll have our third brother come back to help later."
Shao Lihua was furious; she realized she had been tricked.
She looked at Lu Siqiao for help.
But Lu Siqiao winked at her: You're only finding out who he is now?
"Okay, then I wish you a speedy delivery of your big, healthy son!" Shao Lihua couldn't sit still any longer and pulled Lu Zhenxing and his sister to leave.
Seeing them still fiddling with the roasted peanuts, he said veiledly, "All you do all day is eat, eat, eat! Be careful you don't stuff yourself to death!"
They fought while dragging them away.
Lu Mingyuan also suggested leaving.
Before leaving, Liu Yan turned back and smiled at Lu Siqiao: "Qiaowa, if the sauce factory needs people later, tell your second aunt, your second aunt also wants to go."
Lu Siqiao smiled faintly: "Okay."
The child hasn't even been born yet, and he's already thinking about it.
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