Chapter 118 Chapter 118 Borrowing Money
Early in the morning on New Year's Day, Ning Shiqiu and Ning Shixia got up, put on their new clothes, and first greeted their parents. They happily received big red envelopes from their parents, and then the family had breakfast together.
After breakfast, the two children ran out to wish their relatives a happy new year. Zhao Ruyue and Ning Shaoming, who stayed at home, also prepared snacks and red envelopes, waiting for other children to come and wish them a happy new year.
The first person to come this year was Zhao Silian, who was too embarrassed to come last year. However, last year she came with her sister, but this year she came alone.
However, last year Zhao Silian was very cautious and ashamed when she paid New Year's greetings, but this year she was very generous. She earned some money in the summer, and gave a small part to her father, and kept most of the rest for herself.
She was not worried because she had money. This morning, she took out some change and gave it to her father, telling him, "I don't care about others, but Xiaoqiu and Xiaoxia from Ruyue's family are coming to visit us for the New Year. You must give them pocket money."
Her father Zhao Hongli replied with an embarrassed look on his face: "Last year, it was because someone set a trap and took all my money. This year, no one is gambling together, so how could I be like last year? You are too worried."
Zhao Silian is no longer afraid of her father now. As he said, she can earn money and has money in her pocket, so she is not worried and feels more confident.
She stretched out her hand directly to her father: "Then return the change I just gave you to me. This is the pocket money I saved for a long time."
However, Zhao Hongli still treated her as a child who knew nothing and was easy to coax: "I forgot to change my pocket money. Someone will come to pay New Year's greetings later. How can I give red envelopes to others if you go back? When the bank opens later, I will go to withdraw money and return it to you."
Zhao Silian snorted coldly, knowing that she would never get the money back once it was in his hands.
What he said about paying her back after the bank reopens is all bullshit!
"Then remember what I said, don't neglect Xiaoqiu and Xiaoxia. Their parents have helped our family a lot. Otherwise, if they don't buy us cheap ice cream next year, both of us will be left with nothing!"
"I know, I know. You are a little girl. How can you act like an old woman at such a young age? It's getting late. Go and pay your New Year's greetings quickly. Be polite when you go to someone else's house and don't lose your manners in front of your relatives."
When Zhao Silian heard these words, she couldn't help but roll her eyes behind his back. How dare he say these things!
Just as she was about to leave, she heard Zhao Hongli say, "Don't spend the red envelopes you received after New Year's greetings. Our family is not well off right now, so the money should be saved for your tuition and textbooks. Give it to me when you come back from New Year's greetings, and I'll save it for you."
Zhao Silian pretended not to hear and ran out without answering. After running out, she first went to her uncle's house, and then went directly to her cousin's house.
Zhao Ruyue knew that her life was not easy, so she gave her a red envelope, the same one she gave to her own nephews and nieces from her mother's side, and put fifty yuan in it.
In order to make it easier for her to hide the money and fool her father, she put change ranging from one to five yuan in the red envelope.
Zhao Silian was stunned when she saw such a thick red envelope.
But they don't refuse red envelopes during the Chinese New Year. Generally, they just say a few auspicious words when the elders give them and accept it directly without any arguing or pushing.
So even though Zhao Silian felt that her father would definitely not give so much to Xiaoqiu and Xiaoxia, and felt a little embarrassed to accept this big red envelope, she still accepted the red envelope while saying auspicious words.
Zhao Ruyue also stuffed a lot of snacks into her pockets and did not let her go until both of her pockets were full.
After Zhao Silian left, she ran to an empty corner, opened the red envelope, and was deeply moved when she saw the stack of money inside.
She counted the amount of money in it, then quietly took out forty-five dollars, leaving only five dollars to go back and deal with her father.
She did the same thing with the red envelopes given by others, keeping most of it for herself and only putting a tiny bit in the red envelopes.
After visiting all the relatives to wish them a happy new year, when she returned home, she would first observe what her father was doing, and then, while he was not paying attention, she would sneak back to her room and hide the money that had been allocated to her.
She slipped out again, pretending to have just returned home, and took out the red envelope and gave it to her father.
Zhao Hongli opened all the red envelopes and found that the total amount of money in them was less than fifty yuan.
He was very dissatisfied and asked: "Why did you get so little red envelope this year? Are the relatives so stingy this year? Or did you hide the money secretly?"
Zhao Silian lied to him without blushing or beating her heart: "You found me as soon as I got home. How could I hide the money? You still have the nerve to blame me. Why don't you blame yourself for not giving red envelopes to other children last year, causing them to lose money last year. It's great that my relatives and elders are willing to give me red envelopes this year. You still have the nerve to complain about it being too little! Who is willing to lose money from you every year? How much red envelopes did you give to other children this year?"
These words left Zhao Hongli speechless. He was also a little angry and embarrassed, but he didn't dare to hit the child like he did before.
Because Zhao Silian would not only find someone to support her, but would also go on strike and stop earning money for the family.
Anyway, when she, a little girl, went to her relatives' house for meals, no one would say anything. Even when she went to other people's houses for meals, she helped with housework, farm work, and laundry, and people thought it was a good deal.
Children from poor families have to grow up early. Zhao Silian started learning to work since she could walk. She was good at farming, growing vegetables, washing dishes, washing clothes, and feeding chickens, pigs, ducks and cows.
But Zhao Hongli, as an adult, can't do that. He is not that diligent. Last year, he had a falling out with his older brother and couldn't go there for free meals. He actually had to rely on his young daughter for support.
"I just said one sentence, and you have a hundred sentences waiting for you. If you don't have anything hidden, just say it. Why say all that? Okay, go and have fun. I'll keep the money for you. When school starts, you'll have to find some more money to make up for your tuition."
Zhao Hongli felt that it was too troublesome. It would be great if his daughter didn't have to go to school and could just work and earn money at home every day.
Unfortunately, the school disagreed, saying that the state stipulates nine years of compulsory education and it is illegal not to let children go to school.
When Zhao Ruyue sent away the last child who came to pay New Year's greetings, it was already noon. Normally, children come to pay New Year's greetings in the morning and no one will come after noon.
After lunch, Zheng Xiu's car stopped at the door.
Ji Huixuan got out of the car with her camera and greeted Zhao Ruyue with a smile: "Happy New Year, Xiaoqiu's mother!"
Zhao Ruyue's family of four also greeted her in unison: "Happy New Year, Teacher Ji!"
Ji Huixuan had resigned from her job as a teacher a long time ago, but Zhao Ruyue's family was still used to calling her that.
Not only them, but also the students she had taught before and their parents, would habitually call her that when they saw her on the street.
Ji Huixuan reminded them several times, but no one could change, so they just let it go.
After the investigation team came to investigate, it was found that the vice principal of the town’s central primary school had indeed embezzled a lot of money. He was demoted to the lowest position and it was said that he would be sentenced. However, the case is expected to have a result only next year.
However, the case of Ning Shaoxian was closed. Ning Shaoxian was sentenced to only three years in prison because he only had the intention to sell drugs but did not actually sell them. In addition, he had a good attitude towards admitting his guilt and provided some useful clues.
Not long after Ji Huixuan opened the store in Zhao Ruyue County, she completed her resignation procedures and opened a photo studio.
Following Zhao Ruyue's original idea, after opening the photo studio, she chose two or three working days a week to run around the nearby villages and towns, taking photos for people at their homes and promoting her photo studio in the county.
When Ji Huixuan first started doing this, other people didn't quite believe her. Later, Zhao Ruyue reminded her to print some business cards with the name of her photo studio printed on them, and then write down her address, name, phone number, etc.
Once this business card was printed and distributed, Ji Huixuan appeared to be much more professional and reliable than before.
In villages and towns, many people have only seen people handing out business cards on TV or in movies, so when someone suddenly gives them one, they feel it is very novel and also think that the young photographer girl has become more advanced.
Looking again, the business card has the picture, address, phone number, etc. of the photo studio, which is much more credible than just saying that you own a photo studio.
With this, her door-to-door photography business quickly and smoothly developed.
The money Ji Huixuan earns now is many times more than when she was a teacher, but sometimes she has to run around everywhere, which makes her life more difficult.
This year, Ji Huixuan did not go back to her hometown to celebrate the New Year. She spent it alone in a rented house in the county town. The New Year is a good time to make money.
Ji Huixuan planned to take advantage of the New Year holidays to set up a stall in places like parks and help people take photos to earn money.
However, few people go to the park on the first day of the Lunar New Year. It is not until the second day of the Lunar New Year that most relatives who should visit have left, and children and adults have time to play, that more people appear in the park.
Zhao Ruyue knew that Ji Huixuan was spending the New Year alone and wanted to invite her to join them, but Ji Huixuan refused.
She wanted to take care of Ji Huixuan's business and invited her to come to the town today to take photos for her family.
This was decided long ago. We have to take a family photo at least once a year.
Ji Huixuan took a family photo for Zhao Ruyue's family, and also took individual photos of them.
When taking photos, a neighbor passing by thought it was meaningful to take a photo to commemorate the New Year, so he ran over and asked, "Teacher Ji, how much is a photo now? Can you come to my house and take a few photos for my family?"
Ji Huixuan smiled and said, "It's the same as before, but I have to go to Master Zheng's house later. If you can wait, I will go to your house after I finish taking pictures of Master Zheng's family."
"Yes, yes, yes, I'll go home and tell my family, you can't let others cut in line!" the man said as he ran towards his home.
Ji Huixuan waved her hand and said, "Don't worry, there are so many people testifying. Your family is the third one in line, and we won't let other families cut in line."
Originally, Ji Huixuan just thought that she had nothing else to do in the county town, so she accepted the invitation to help take pictures. As a result, she actually earned a lot of money in one afternoon.
Some people didn't get a spot in the afternoon, so they made an appointment with her to come back on the second or even third day of the Chinese New Year.
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Zhao Ruyue's family of four went back to her parents' home for dinner with New Year gifts. The gifts they gave were basically the same as those they gave to her parents-in-law on New Year's Eve.
It's just that the time of sending them off is different. Her parents' home is close by, and they see each other quite often. She doesn't have the mentality of people who married far away, so the main purpose of coming back is to get together with her cousins who married far away and it is not convenient for them to go back to their parents' home.
Zhao Ruyue's younger sister, Zhao Ruyuan, also married far away, and this year Zhao Ruyue finally got to see her.
In the past, they could only see each other a few times throughout the year when the couple sent her eldest daughter and son to study at her parents' home, and when they took the two children back home before the New Year to celebrate the New Year, or on the second day of the New Year.
If Zhao Ruyue was still working, they would probably only be able to see each other once a year, on the second day of the Chinese New Year. If one of them couldn't come back that year, they wouldn't be able to see each other at all all year round.
Last year, her younger sister Zhao Ruyuan's youngest son was only a few months old, and it was inconvenient for her to travel, so Zhao Ruyuan was unable to come back.
So it was a full two years before they met each other once.
Her sister's in-laws are very keen on having a son. They think having one son is not enough and are still believing that the more children, the more blessings.
Because her first child was a daughter, Zhao Ruyuan was not fined when she gave birth to her second child, but she was severely fined for giving birth to the third child. She could not take care of the two older children and had to send them to her parents' home to study.
Zhao Ruyue held her little son and asked, "How many days can you stay this time?"
Zhao Ruyuan: "About two or three days. Your brother-in-law said he would go back to work early and the boss would give him a big red envelope."
"I heard from mom that you're going to take Cairou back home this time and not let her continue studying here?"
Zhao Ruyuan asked: "Did our mother tell you?"
Zhao Ruyue nodded and said, "Yes, the old lady's eyes turned red as she spoke, and she looked like she was about to cry."
Lin Cairou is Zhao Ruyuan’s eldest daughter. She was sent here to study when she was very young. It can be said that she was raised by the elderly people on her mother’s side.
The child was well-behaved and obedient, and her academic performance was good. Deng Ximei seemed to treat all her children equally and loved them all, but in fact, she loved this granddaughter the most.
"Alas... we have no choice. In the past, there was no school selection fee for studying here. Now I heard that even those whose household registration is not here will have to pay school selection fees. Besides, Cairou is about to go to junior high school. She has good grades. My husband's family is under the jurisdiction of the provincial capital. If she does well in the entrance exam, she may be able to get into a junior high school in the provincial capital. By then, the school's teaching staff will be better."
The place where she married was a village close to the provincial capital. Although it was under the jurisdiction of a county under the provincial capital, her children could indeed get into schools in the provincial capital.
"That's true. The education level in the provincial capital is definitely the best. Even if it's not the best junior high school in the provincial capital, it's much better than the one in the town." Zhao Ruyue could actually understand her decision. She was also thinking about her child's future.
Zhao Ruyuan looked at the gold bracelet and gold ring on her sister's hand, the necklace on her neck, and the earrings on her ears.
She hesitated for a moment, and finally asked, "Sister, you and your brother-in-law made a lot this year, right?"
Zhao Ruyue noticed her gaze and touched the ring on her hand.
In fact, she bought these jewelries because she saw that Ning Shichun bought jewelries for Sun Jiajia at a low price. It is better to buy gold than to save money and let it depreciate.
Zhao Ruyue didn't wear it normally, and only wore it during the Chinese New Year when she wanted to be more festive. She felt it was a bit ostentatious, but Ning Shaoming insisted that she wear it, and he thought she didn't wear enough, as there were some that had not been worn at home.
"It's OK. We've worked hard for a year and now we've finally made it. Your brother-in-law was so busy for a while that he lost a lot of weight. I was really scared, afraid that he would get sick from working so hard."
"Do you have any spare money you can lend me? Guohao wants to contract the village pond to raise crayfish and supply them to the provincial capital in the future. We have some savings, but it's not enough. My parents-in-law gave me some, and I came back to plan to borrow some from my parents, but it's still not enough. We are still short of 50,000 yuan."
"Raising crayfish?" Zhao Ruyue thought about it, but didn't remember that they had done this in their previous life. Could it be that they didn't raise enough money?
Seeing that her sister did not refuse immediately, Zhao Ruyuan spoke carefully: "We used to go to the provincial capital to sell vegetables and fruits grown at home. We were allocated little land and did not earn much. The pond in their village was originally rented to others for fish farming, but later there were too many fish farmers and several people lost money, so they stopped renting it out.
Guohao heard from his current boss that the night market stalls in the provincial capital were becoming popular and raising crayfish would definitely make money, so he thought about renting a pond that no one else was renting and raising crayfish.
We have a three-wheeled motorcycle at home, and we can use it to transport goods. If you make a loss from raising crayfish and can't pay back the money, we will give you the three-wheeled motorcycle as collateral for part of it, and we will work to pay back the rest. We will definitely not default on the debt, and we can write an IOU to you and your brother-in-law. ”
My dear sister, now that we have come to this, it would be fine if I don’t have the money, but fifty thousand is less than my family’s monthly profit, so it would be unreasonable for Zhao Ruyue to refuse.
And this is her sister, not her elder sister. If it was her elder sister, she wouldn't dare to borrow so much.
But Zhao Ruyue didn't agree immediately: "I need to go back and discuss with your brother-in-law if I want to borrow so much money at once."
Zhao Ruyuan also expressed her understanding. After all, it was 50,000 yuan, and it would take an ordinary family several years to save up that amount.
Even if her sister and her husband are running a business now and earn more than others working, they may not have that much spare money. I heard that people who do business have to invest most of their money in the business, so it is normal for them to not have much spare money.
When the two were talking about this, other cousins came to pay New Year's greetings and have dinner, so they had to put the matter aside and chat with their cousins.
After Zhao Ruyue returned home in the evening, she told Ning Shaoming about this.
Ning Shaoming thought for a moment and said, "I can lend you the money, but you can't just let your sister handle this."
Zhao Ruyue knew what Ning Shaoming meant. If only her sister came forward, and if she couldn't pay it back in the future, her brother-in-law would push the blame and say it was a matter between the sisters and he didn't know or understand it, so he wouldn't care.
Then the 50,000 yuan will either not be recovered or it will all be left on her sister.
As an elder sister, she used to have such a good relationship with her younger sister. Could she really force her younger sister to pay back the debt or sue her in court just for 50,000 yuan which was nothing to her?
In the end, the 50,000 yuan became a mess.
Zhao Ruyue said, "I will tell Ruyuan about your attitude tomorrow. If my brother-in-law is sensible and really wants to do that business steadily, he will definitely find a chance to come over tomorrow and explain this matter to us again in detail."
If he is ignorant and doesn't want to borrow money, then forget it.
Fortunately, Lin Guohao is not an ignorant person.
Zhao Ruyue said to Zhao Ruyuan, "Your brother-in-law doesn't know much about this matter, so he is a little hesitant."
Lin Guohao and Zhao Ruyuan soon came to the door with the things.
Zhao Ruyue didn't know what to say when she saw them carrying things: "Sisters from the same family, why are you still carrying these?"
She never thought about accepting gifts from her sister.
Zhao Ruyuan also knew that as long as she showed a positive attitude and had a good talk with her sister and brother-in-law today, there was a high probability that she would be able to borrow money.
But they couldn't just come empty-handed: "We're here to ask for your help, so we have to have an attitude, right?"
Zhao Ruyue stepped aside to let them in: "You are the one who likes to be particular."
"The more gifts you give, the less blame you will get!" Zhao Ruyuan put the things down and looked at her sister's new home, feeling a little envious.
Although the decoration here looks simple, except for air conditioning, her sister's house seems to have all the necessary electrical appliances.
What she envied most were the water heater and washing machine. It must be very convenient to take a bath and wash clothes in winter.
If she hadn't given birth to a younger son, her family's conditions would actually be pretty good. After buying these electrical appliances with the money from the fine, there would probably be a lot left.
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as "if". The children have already been born and cannot be put back. I can only work hard to earn more money. After all, I have three children to raise.
The four of them sat down in the main room and chatted briefly before talking about raising crayfish.
Ning Shaoming didn't want to embarrass them, he just wanted an attitude.
After listening to Lin Guohao's description of the crayfish farming industry, I felt that this business was indeed viable and that Lin Guohao's boss did not cheat him. If this really worked, the boss might be his benefactor.
He and Zhao Ruyue nodded and agreed to borrow the money immediately.
Seeing that they had agreed, Zhao Ruyuan and Lin Guohao could not suppress their excitement and said on the spot that they could write an IOU right away: "If we are fast, we can pay back the money in one year, and if we are slow, we can pay it back in three years."
"Then let's set the repayment date three years from now, otherwise you will be under a lot of pressure." Zhao Ruyue thought, since the money has been borrowed anyway, it would be better not to put such a huge repayment pressure on them, so that they can do their business more calmly.
Otherwise, the pressure will be too great and it will be easy to make wrong decisions when making choices. Starting a business is not easy. If you make a wrong decision in the middle of the process, you may lose everything.
Ning Shaoming said, "We don't have that much cash at home right now. We only have 20,000 yuan. We have to wait until the bank opens to withdraw the rest. Then we can send it to you, or do you come back to get it?"
Zhao Ruyuan said, "We'll come back to get it when the time comes. Let Cairou stay a few more days this time, and we'll come to get the money and pick her up at the same time."
Zhao Ruyue took out 20,000 yuan and gave it to her sister: "Keep it safe. Children are running around everywhere during the New Year, don't let anyone touch it."
Zhao Ruyuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, sister. Guohao and I will be back tomorrow. I will carry this money with me from today to tomorrow. I will put it in the bag I sew on my underwear."
Zhao Ruyue nodded: "It's OK as long as you have a plan in mind."
After seeing off her sister and brother-in-law, Zhao Ruyue was just about to take a nap as she had to entertain her elder sister-in-law who was coming back to her parents' home in the afternoon. But then her elder sister-in-law came with some things.
They both felt strange: "Sister, why are you here at this time?"
Don’t we have to go to the old house first?
"I've been over there," Ning Meiting came in in a hurry, put down her things and said, "Do you feel that there's something wrong with mom?"
Zhao Ruyue and Ning Shaoming looked at each other and said to Ning Meiting, "Did you find out?"
Ning Meiting slapped her thigh and said, "You guys discovered it too?"
She talked about what happened when she went to the old house just now: "After I went there and put my things down, my mother shouted to the house, 'Your sister is coming back to her parents' home for the first year of her marriage, what's wrong with you three? You don't even come out to entertain her!
After a while, he said to me: Your second brother will graduate this year, and I don’t know where he will be assigned. If you have any connections there, please ask for him. It would be best if he could come back to the town to work.
How scary is this? Mom, what happened? ”
Ning Shaoming sighed, "It may be a brain disease. We don't really understand. Ruyue asked her relative who is a doctor yesterday and he said it was a sign of Alzheimer's disease. We should take him to a big hospital for a checkup. But there may not be a cure, it can only relieve the symptoms."
Ning Meiting felt sad and worried when she saw her own mother become like this: "Then wait for your second brother to come back, and we will discuss it properly. Shaoxian is not here, so the medical expenses have to be paid by the three of us. Your second brother is really something, he didn't even come back to his hometown during the Chinese New Year, what a shame! He only came back on the second day of the Chinese New Year, and those who didn't know would think he married into someone else's family!"
Ning Shaoming said, "Sister, you don't have to pay. When you got married, your family didn't give you much dowry, and you didn't get anything when the family was divided. My elder brother is not here, and my sister-in-law has no other income except the little harvest from the fields. My second brother and I will pay for Mom's medical treatment.
Please help us persuade Mom to go to the hospital with us. Even if I tell her to go to the hospital for a check-up, she may not be willing to go. I'm worried that she won't cooperate and delay the disease. She will go when her illness becomes more serious, which will be more troublesome to deal with then. ”
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