“Mother-in-law, you have no idea! Last night we…” Wu Meiyun didn’t speak, and Ding Ermei didn’t feel embarrassed at all. She went on and on, repeating the story of taking Ding Xiaocui to the hospital last night over and over again.
Wu Meiyun responded with "uh-huh" and "ah-ah," a gentle smile on her face, but she didn't say a word.
Ding Ermei was somewhat anxious.
She said all this in order to get Wu Meiyun to ask her if she was short of money.
However, Wu Meiyun didn't say anything.
"Mother-in-law, the noodles are ready. You and the children can eat first!" Zhao Qingshan walked over from the kitchen carrying a steaming bowl of noodles.
Time was of the essence, so Zhao Qingshan cooked noodles.
Early in the morning, there was no meat at home, so Zhao Qingshan fried three eggs as a topping.
Golden eggs are laid on top of noodles, sprinkled with a few green scallions, and the aroma is irresistible; it looks delicious too.
"Slurp~!" Zhou Jiaxiang's saliva dripped out, but he sucked it back into his mouth.
Zhou Hongyu was also swallowing hard.
Ding Ermei didn't have time to slurp her food and hurriedly buried her head in her food.
Zhou Jiaxiang and Zhou Hongyu were not to be outdone. They grabbed their bowls and quickly shoveled noodles and eggs into their mouths.
For a moment, the dining table was filled with the sounds of slurping and slurping.
Zhao Qingshan and Wu Meiyun exchanged a glance, and a hint of helplessness could be seen in each other's eyes.
The three members of the Ding family, including Ding Ermei, ate with such "bold" abandon, as if they were afraid the food would be snatched away.
After finishing her meal, Ding Ermei pushed the bowl away and wiped her lips with her hand.
Zhou Jiaxiang and his sister acted in the same way, which made Zhao Qingshan and his wife's eyes twitch.
Children have a strong ability to imitate, and they learn many things from the adults around them.
Fortunately, Jia Kaiyun and Ding Ermei are not close, so she didn't pick up Ding Ermei's bad habits.
After Ding Ermei and her two grandchildren finished eating, Zhao Qingshan cleared away the dishes and prepared to take them to the kitchen to wash.
“Father-in-law, don’t go yet, I have something I want to discuss with you!” Ding Ermei called out to Zhao Qingshan.
"Tell Meiyun what's wrong, and Meiyun will make the decisions." Zhao Qingshan ignored Ding Ermei, picked up his bowl and chopsticks, and left.
“Father-in-law, is it really your mother-in-law who makes the decisions about money? Are you even a man?” Ding Ermei asked in surprise.
“Mother-in-law, just say what you want to say, don’t beat around the bush.” Zhao Qingshan narrowed his eyes and sat down.
Zhao Qingshan wasn't provoked by Ding Ermei; rather, he believed that since some things couldn't be avoided, the only option was to face them positively.
“Father-in-law, I’ve come to borrow money from you. Xiao Cui’s hand is broken, and the doctor said there’s still a lot of money to be spent. She had surgery last night, and all the money I brought was gone. Now, the hospital is pressing for payment!” Ding Ermei said.
"How much do you want to borrow? For how long?" Zhao Qingshan asked after a moment's thought.
As the saying goes, you can help someone in an emergency, but you can't help someone who is poor.
Ding Ermei borrowed money this time because she urgently needed to pay her hospital fees, so it can be considered an "emergency relief".
In Taohua Town, the hospital deposit is usually only twenty or thirty yuan. As in-laws, Zhao Qingshan was willing to lend Ding Ermei twenty or thirty yuan to help her through this difficult time.
"Two hundred." Ding Ermei's eyes lit up. She held up two fingers and said, "I can't say how long it will take. I'll pay you back when my family has the money."
A sly glint appeared in Ding Ermei's eyes.
On her way to the Zhao family's house, Ding Ermei made up her mind.
She first borrowed two hundred yuan from the Zhao family to cover her deficit in her "secret stash." The remaining eighty yuan was used for Ding Xiaocui's medical treatment.
As for who should repay this money? Of course, it's Zhou Bingchen!
She kept saying she had no money to pay back.
Zhou Bingchen couldn't very well let the Zhao family come to her to collect the debt, could she?
"No," Zhao Qingshan said in a deep voice.
Zhao Qingshan originally thought that Ding Ermei would only lend him twenty or thirty yuan at most to tide him over.
Unexpectedly, Ding Ermei made an outrageous demand, asking to borrow two hundred yuan. She even said, "I'll pay you back when I have the money."
Pooh!
Do they really think Zhao Qingshan is a fool? Their family's money didn't grow on trees.
Besides, after Zhao Zhenzhu married into the Zhou family, Ding Ermei and Ding Xiaocui bullied her quite a bit.
Zhao Qingshan was willing to lend money just now because he thought it was for Zhou Bingchen's sake; it's better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester.
The bond between Zhou Bingchen and Ding Ermei, mother and son, is unbreakable. Zhao Qingshan's help to Ding Ermei also adds weight to Zhao Zhenzhu's standing in her husband's family.
"No? Father-in-law, don't you feel guilty saying that? There are three people in your family who get paid, and your mother can even make money by sewing clothes. How could you not even have two hundred yuan? You probably don't want to lend me money, do you?" Ding Ermei's voice became sharp.
Ding Ermei was unaware that Zhao Tianyu and Liang Xiaohe had already divorced. She even considered Liang Xiaohe as part of the Zhao family.
“Yes, I don’t want to lend it. You just ask to borrow two hundred without saying how many days or when you’ll pay it back. Do you really think other people’s money is just waiting to be spent by you?” Zhao Qingshan said in a deep voice.
Ding Ermei is so arrogant even when borrowing money, Zhao Qingshan won't tolerate her.
"Oh my, you don't have to be so rude if you don't want to lend money! The richer you are, the stingier you become," Ding Ermei said indignantly.
“Mother-in-law, if you’re not stingy, lend me two hundred! I’ll pay you back in a month. I’ll even write you an IOU,” Wu Meiyun couldn’t help but say sarcastically.
Ding Ermei was speechless.
I considered telling her that she would also write an IOU, but then I thought better of it.
If she writes an IOU but doesn't repay the money, the Zhao family will definitely call the police to arrest her.
Anyway, Ding Xiaocui won't die anytime soon. Maybe that doctor just wanted to make more money, so he exaggerated Ding Xiaocui's condition?
"You know perfectly well I have no money, yet you still say the opposite of what you mean. Fine, I won't lend you the money. Can I leave the children at your house for half a day? I need to go back to the hospital to take care of Xiao Cui. When Bingxing arrives, I'll come and pick up the children to go home together." Seeing that she couldn't borrow the money, Ding Ermei had no choice but to settle for second best.
Zhao Qingshan originally did not want to agree.
Seeing Zhou Hongyu looking at her pitifully, Wu Meiyun sighed and agreed.
After Ding Ermei left, Zhao Qingshan went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
It was already quite bright outside; in about ten minutes, the children should be up.
Wu Meiyun still has a lot to do.
Wu Meiyun hasn't finished checking all the hair ties that Granny Hua and the others handed over yesterday.
After eight o'clock, Grandma Hua and the others will come to hand in the hair ties and collect the materials for today's work. Wu Meiyun needs to start preparing.
Wu Meiyun took two comic books and had Zhou Jiaxiang and Zhou Hongyu sit in the living room to read them. Then she turned around and went to attend to her own business.
Wu Meiyun had no words to say to the two children!
Zhou Hongyu flipped through a few pages but didn't understand. So she held the book out to Zhou Jiaxiang and asked, "Brother, what's this saying?"
Zhou Jiaxiang didn't read the book at all.
As soon as Wu Meiyun left, Zhou Jiaxiang's eyes darted around, looking everything in sight.
The tables and chairs in the Zhao family's house look much nicer than those in the Zhou family's house.
The house is also newer than the Zhou family's.
Zhao Qingshan and Wu Meiyun's clothes were all unpatched, suggesting they were living a comfortable life.
Grandma said the Zhao family is very rich. Where would the Zhao family keep their money? Is it in Zhao Qingshan's bedroom?
Zhou Hongyu's question interrupted Zhou Jiaxiang's reverie.
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