Chapter 141 Chapter 141 Mortgage
Deng Ximei gave her son, daughter-in-law and daughters many instructions, saying that they had only enjoyed a good life for a few years and that they should learn to cherish their blessings. Even though it was a birthday celebration, there was no need to make it too grand. It would be enough for the whole family to get together and have a meal, just like when she and the old man celebrated their 50th birthday.
But now life is better and material conditions are abundant.
Among the four children, three have extra money in their pockets, and there is also a son-in-law who is an excellent cook. No matter how simple the party is, the dishes they can prepare are much better than those on their previous 50th birthday celebrations.
After all, they were already in the 1990s when they reached their 50th birthday.
At that time, the economic conditions of their families were very poor, and the dishes on the table were about the same level as the New Year's Eve dinner in those days. It was just a family gathering and a meal.
The present one is not grand, but it is better than the grand birthday celebrations in the town back then.
We only invited close relatives, so there were about three or four tables.
Add to that Zhao Ruyue's sisters, who came with their husbands and children, and her parents and brother's family, and there were at least two more tables.
There are also neighbors who are close to their parents and have helped each other, and old friends of their parents.
These old friends are as old as their parents, and it is rare for them to get together. In the future, they will see each other less and less. But they have been friends for decades, so they have to be invited. Here are another one or two tables.
In addition, a table is prepared in case there are unexpected guests coming.
When others come to celebrate your birthday, even if you didn't invite them, on such a happy day, as the host you can't just say, "I'm out of food, can you just put down your gifts and leave?" You have to let others eat before leaving.
With this calculation, we need to prepare enough food for at least ten tables.
After discussing it, the children decided to order enough food for ten tables.
Deng Ximei said, if there are ten tables with ten people at each table, that would be a hundred people. How could there be so many people coming? It would be too extravagant, so let's not do this.
But her children insisted on inviting the right people, and she had no choice but to go along with them.
When he turned around and told people this, his tone sounded like he was complaining that his children were growing up and not listening, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
I heard from others that it was because her children were filial that they wanted to do a good job for her. Others wanted to do a good job but didn't have that blessing. With her children being so filial, she can only wait to enjoy the good life in the future.
Deng Ximei's eyes narrowed into slits due to smiling. She just felt sorry that she couldn't show the gold necklace given by her second daughter to others.
Although she is very happy that her children are filial to her, she also remembers that she still has a daughter and her life is still not easy.
It’s not that they can’t afford to eat. There are almost no families in the town who can’t afford to eat now. Every household can eat meat every now and then. It’s just that the eldest daughter’s family doesn’t have any extra money.
Now that her eldest daughter at least doesn't need support from her parents' home, Deng Ximei is already very relieved.
But if she took out the necklace to show off to others, it would be like she was pointing fingers at her other daughters who had not given her any gold jewelry, and that was not what she wanted.
No matter what her daughter gives her, she will be very happy and relieved, as long as the thought is there.
The desire to show off would sometimes creep into her mind, but she was not confused enough and did not want her daughters to compete with each other because of her vanity.
When the second daughter gave her the gold necklace, she did so in private, not in front of others, and also told her not to let anyone else know except her father. Deng Ximei knew that the second daughter had the same idea as herself.
Deng Ximei was very satisfied that her brothers and sisters could live in harmony and help each other.
Facts have proved that the decision of Zhao Ruyue and his sister to prepare a few more tables was the right one, as so many people really came.
This birthday celebration made Deng Ximei the envy of the elderly people on the street for a long time.
For a long time, Deng Ximei walked with a breeze on the street.
Later, there were people who held birthday celebrations on a larger scale than hers, but she still always remembered her children’s filial piety towards her.
On the day of the birthday banquet, all ten tables were almost full. Zhao Ruyue and her siblings were still worried that if more people came, there would not be enough food. Fortunately, all the people who were supposed to come had arrived, and there were only a few surprise guests, except for a few who heard the news and came with gifts.
The other few were her brother's friends. They happened to be seen by her brother as they passed by the door. While they were chatting, her brother pulled them in to eat together. The tenth table was not full, but the dishes prepared in advance were all used and nothing was wasted.
Zhao Ruyue was a little surprised that someone came to her on his own initiative.
Those few who came to her house with gifts on their own initiative were indeed related to her family, but she had never had much contact with them before.
Those families had moved to the provincial capital a long time ago, and they didn't have much contact with her parents, let alone Zhao Ruyue.
In her entire life, she has met those families no more than five times. In the past, when her parents celebrated their 50th birthday, they never took the initiative to come.
Those families only came back to visit relatives during the Chinese New Year and once every one or two years, and her third uncle once came when he celebrated his 50th birthday.
It's not that they are rich and look down on her poor family, but her family is already a distant relative of theirs. When they came to visit relatives in the past, they only visited the families with elders who were older than her father.
When several families invited their relatives to dinner together, each family of the same clan only sent one person to eat.
Otherwise, with so many relatives in the town, it would be too grand and troublesome for everyone to have dinner together every time a distant relative came.
Usually when distant relatives who are not very familiar with each other come over, either her father or her brother goes to eat.
So this time, several of their families took the initiative to send people to celebrate her mother's birthday. His father and brother were able to communicate with these people, so it wasn't awkward.
What surprised Zhao Ruyue was that during the Chinese New Year, they never stayed overnight and drove back to the provincial capital after dinner.
This time, they actually stayed at the home of a relative who was closely related to them. The next day, they went to her mother's home and asked her brother to call her to ask if she was free because they wanted to visit her.
On the phone, Zhao Ruyue was a little confused: "Visit? Come to my house?"
It was the first time she encountered such a situation, and she didn't know what to do for a moment.
Her brother said, "Yes, that's what they said when they came just now."
Zhao Ruyue couldn't understand: "But I don't have any relationship with these families, why did they suddenly come to visit me?"
She knew that her brother probably didn't understand why, so she didn't really want to ask him for an answer.
Then he asked, "Did they reveal why they were looking for me?"
"They didn't say anything, they just said they'd like to visit if you're free."
Zhao Ruyue frowned: "Why are you so mysterious?"
"I guess they might want to ask you for help? If you don't want them to go, I'll help you push it."
"Let me think about it..." Zhao Ruyue thought for a while before continuing, "After all, they are relatives. They came specially to celebrate Mom's birthday. I can't be so ruthless and not even want to see them when they want to visit right after Mom's birthday. I have to accompany my two children to the city on Sunday, so I don't think I will have time during the day. I'll have to wait until Monday or Tuesday."
"Then I'll reply to them like this," he said, and couldn't help but give them a few more instructions, "If they ask you to help with something that's difficult to do, or if you don't want to do it, just refuse. Don't be embarrassed to refuse them just to save face for me and Dad."
Zhao Ruyue smiled and said, "Brother, don't worry, I understand."
Zhao Hongfa hung up the phone and turned around to see his third brother-in-law standing not far behind him. When he saw that he had finished, he came over and asked, "Brother, is it my second sister calling?"
In fact, Lin Guohao roughly knew what they were talking about through what his brother-in-law said just now, but he still wanted to ask.
Zhao Hongfa nodded: "Yes, someone is looking for her. I'll ask her if she is free."
"When is elder sister free? Let's go to her house before we go back. She has bought clothes for my children so many times before. Now that we have more money, we want to take the children to the county town for a stroll and buy some things for them."
Zhao Hongfa was very happy to hear this, as it showed that his third sister and brother-in-law were also people who knew how to repay their gratitude.
But he still said, "It's not like you haven't sent gifts to me and your second sister's family during the holidays. You don't have to be so polite to your family and bring the children to buy things."
Lin Guohao is a businessman after all, and now he is quite good at talking: "How can the New Year and other festivals be the same as usual? You also gave us gifts during the New Year and other festivals. It's a pity that we can't come back during the New Year and other festivals. Brother, you can't disagree with us taking the children out to play."
"You guys should take it easy and give the kids whatever they want."
"Yes, tomorrow is Sunday, and the children can rest. We will take them there tomorrow."
"Tomorrow your second sister will take Xiaoqiu and Xiaoxia to the city to attend interest classes, so she may not be free." Zhao Hongfa paused, thinking that his second sister treated her family differently from outsiders.
When others come to visit, she and her second brother-in-law have to stay at home.
But it's not impossible for the family to go out together instead of in the county town. Zhao Hongfa had heard from Zhao Ruyue before that she and Ning Shaoming sometimes sent their children to interest classes. While the children were in class, they would either wait outside or go out for a walk by themselves. If the business at home was busy, they would come back first and then rush to pick up the children when the get out of class was about to finish.
Zhao Hongfa added: "You ask Ruyuan to call her second sister and ask them to discuss when and where to go shopping. Only girls know these things."
Lin Guohao said: "Then I will go and ask."
He hurried to find Zhao Ruyuan and pulled her to a deserted place to talk.
"I just saw my brother calling my second sister, saying that a relative wanted to visit her home."
Zhao Ruyuan was confused: "What's the matter? Maybe a relative saw that my second sister is now prosperous and wanted to make some connections. Regardless of whether this relationship will be useful in the future, it is still a network of contacts after all."
Lin Guohao was a little anxious: "What if they need my second sister's help right now?"
Zhao Ruyuan didn't take it seriously: "My second sister is not stupid, will she help someone as soon as they ask?"
Lin Guohao reminded her: "Those families are not poor relatives who are begging for money. They are really rich."
"He's rich, so he doesn't need my second sister's help. I heard that rich people value connections. He may just want to have another connection."
"You still don't understand what I mean," Lin Guohao simply said more bluntly, "He is really rich. He may not come to my second sister because he needs her help, but he may also want to attract investment.
Think about it, my second sister and her husband only have a limited amount of money on hand. If someone really comes to attract investment, my second sister and her husband have such good eyesight that they will definitely be able to tell at a glance whether the project is good or bad. What if it is really a good project and my second sister's family has invested in it? Will they have money left to lend to us? ”
"You also said 'if' and 'what if', which may not be true. Even if it is true, if my second sister's family invests money in it, it will be good for her family. Isn't it much better than our wasteland?"
Lin Guohao was choked by her words, but he did not give up: "Don't forget what my boss said before, investment is risky, the greater the return, the greater the risk. Although the provincial capital is not developing in the direction of our land, the land is actually there and we can see the real thing.
Investing in other people is invisible and intangible, and you are not very familiar with them. Even if you come across a good project with returns, if others use some tricks, you may not be able to get the money. Land is the most real thing! ”
Zhao Ruyuan was a little impatient: "Yes, yes, yes, only your piece of land is a treasure, and other people's land is not a good thing, okay?"
"I didn't say that, I just said that other people's things are risky. But no matter how much we say, it's useless. We have to ask my second sister and second brother-in-law what they think first.
I'm also thinking about our small family. Now more and more families in the village are following the trend to raise crayfish. Some of them have more capital than us. Our advantages are getting smaller and smaller. If we are not the only local business and don't think of other ways, our business will only go downhill in the future.
Do you want to go back to the old days when every penny counted? We have three children. We can’t go back to the past. Even if we want to, we can’t break a penny into two halves. We have to break it into three parts.
If we can take over the shop in the provincial capital this time, we won't have to live the same way as before. So, considering the consignee's expression, you have to give me a chance to ask my second sister and brother-in-law, right? ”
After hearing his words, Zhao Ruyuan was a little shaken. The family's money was in her hands, and she had been working with Lin Guohao on the crayfish business throughout the whole process. She knew the specific situation very well.
The family has finally been able to live a good life. If the crayfish business fails and she has to live her previous life again, it will be very difficult for her to accept it. Just thinking about it will make her wake up in the middle of the night if she dreams about it.
Seeing that her attitude was softening, Lin Guohao continued:
"Think about it again. When my second brother-in-law's eldest nephew and his apprentice bought a shop, my second sister and second brother-in-law were very supportive and had long advised them to buy a shop and open a store earlier. Maybe they also support us buying a shop in the provincial capital?
Besides, we have our own supply of goods and land as collateral, so our current situation is much better than theirs. ”
He talked a lot, and his mouth was almost dry. Zhao Ruyuan finally gave in: "Okay, I'll go ask my second sister."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
