Is anyone home?
Huang Ling hurriedly came out of the house and saw a woman carrying a bag. She quickly asked, "Comrade, who are you looking for?"
"I'm the accountant at the design firm. Didn't we agree that we'd give Tu Nan 100,000 yuan in one lump sum and that would be the end of it?"
Huang Ling's expression immediately changed, and she said, "Is this how you do things? We agreed on a one-time compensation, but you can't just let Tu Nan be discharged from the hospital right away! Isn't this going too far?"
"It's like this, Tu Nan's mother, you've misunderstood us. We did ask the hospital, and the doctor said that Tu Nan can rest at home now and doesn't need to stay in the hospital. We just thought it would be more convenient for him to rest at home, so we went through the discharge procedures for him!"
"But Tu Nan has only been in the hospital for two days, aren't you all being a little too anxious?"
"I'm sorry, it was our oversight. I apologize on behalf of the design firm."
"Now that you're back, we'll take good care of Tu Nan. Is there anything else you need?"
"It's like this, Tu Nan's mother, should I transfer the 100,000 yuan to your bank account, or should I give it to you now?"
Huang Ling glanced around and, not seeing anyone else, quickly said, "Give it to me!"
So the accountant took out a piece of paper wrapped in money from her bag and handed it to Huang Ling, saying, "We originally agreed on 100,000, but when our leader went to see Tu Nan yesterday, he said he would give Tu Nan a 10,000 yuan reward, so it's all in here. Count it!"
Huang Ling, of course, wouldn't count the money outside, so she let the accountant into the house and started counting the eleven stacks of hundred-yuan bills inside.
Huang Ling and Zhuang Chaoying counted the money in the room for almost half an hour before they finally finished. Huang Ling then said to the accountant, "We've checked the amount; it's exactly 110,000!"
"Okay, now that the figures are reconciled, I'll head back so I can submit an expense report to the design firm!"
"Okay! Thank you, accountant. It's all our fault for not being hospitable enough; we didn't even offer you a drink of water!"
"It's alright. We've been colleagues with Tu Nan for so long, it's only right that we do this. I'll be going now!"
"No need to see me off. Just put the money away carefully and don't show it. Otherwise, if someone sees it, they might take a liking to it!"
After the accountant finished speaking, she walked outside. Huang Ling didn't want to see her off, but since she had come to deliver money, it would be inappropriate not to.
So she stepped out of the house and saw the accountant out into the yard. When she returned to the house, Zhuang Chaoying had already wrapped the money in paper and said to Huang Ling, "You should put the money away! It's best to put it somewhere you think is the safest place!"
Huang Ling glanced at Zhuang Chaoying and asked, "Is there 100,000 or 110,000 in here?"
"One hundred thousand! I want to use the other ten thousand for emergencies, is that okay? If not, I'll get you another one!"
"No need, it should be taken out. I'm going next door, you stay here and watch over Tu Nan!"
Huang Ling took the bag of money and went to the next room to hide it.
Zhuang Chaoying looked at Zhuang Tunan and said, "With such a big change in your family, have you thought about what to do next?"
Zhuang Chaoying had barely finished speaking, and Zhuang Tunan hadn't even said anything, when they heard someone in the courtyard calling out, "Chaoying, Chaoying!"
Upon hearing her mother's voice, Zhuang Chaoying quickly got up, went to the door, opened it, and said, "Mom, Dad! What brings you two here?"
Besides Zhuang Chaoying's parents, Zhuang Zhennan and Zhuang Zhenbei were also in the courtyard.
Grandma Tu Nan said, "I originally wanted to go to the hospital, but I was afraid of running into Huang Ling. If she didn't say anything nice to me, I knew you would be home, so I came directly to your house!"
Zhuang Chaoying said, "Oh dear, thank goodness you didn't go to the hospital. Tu Nan is back, he's inside! It's cold outside, come on in and it'll be warmer!"
The two elderly people, along with Zhennan and Zhenbei, also went inside.
The room wasn't spacious to begin with, and with five people coming in, it suddenly felt a bit cramped.
As soon as Zhuang Tunan saw the elderly woman, he said, "Grandpa, Grandma, you've come!"
Zhuang Chaoying asked the two elderly people to sit down and brought them hot water.
Grandma Tu Nan looked at Zhuang Tu Nan and said, "Tu Nan, you've only been in the hospital for two days, why are you back already? Your design firm is so irresponsible!"
Before Zhuang Tunan could speak, Zhuang Chaoying spoke up for him: "It's like this, Mom, the design firm gave us 100,000 yuan in one lump sum and then didn't care about anything else, so they processed our discharge!"
"Oh, so you mean the money was paid?"
Zhuang Chaoying didn't dare to say directly that he had given the money; he simply lowered his head and sat down in another seat.
Upon hearing that the money had been given, Zhuang Zhennan immediately became interested. He plopped down on the edge of Tu Nan's bed and said excitedly to Tu Nan, "Brother, did you get the money? If you don't need it for the time being, could you lend me 20,000 yuan temporarily? I promise to pay it back within two years!"
Grandma Tu Nan said, "Zhen Nan, don't pressure your brother. Whether he lends you the money or not depends on our relationship. Tu Nan treats you like a younger brother, so he will naturally lend it to you, right, Tu Nan?"
Zhuang Tunan forced a smile and said, "Yes, in principle I should lend it, but the money isn't in my possession, so I can't lend it!"
Zhennan then turned his gaze to Zhuang Chaoying, his eyes filled with pity.
When Zhuang Chaoying saw that Zhennan and the old lady were looking at her, she quickly spread her hands and said, "I, I didn't take it either, please don't look at me!"
After hearing Zhuang Chaoying's words, Zhennan and the others naturally knew who had taken the money, and they all looked troubled.
Just then, Huang Ling came in from outside. As soon as she saw the room full of people, she hurriedly said to the two elderly people, "Dad, Mom, you're here!"
The old lady nodded and said, "Yes, let's come and see Tu Nan, to see how his leg is? Does it need any care?"
"I don't need you to take care of me. My after-school care center was reported for not meeting hygiene standards, so they made me stop. It's good that it's stopped, because then I'll have time to take care of Tu Nan. You know, it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, so I'll have plenty of time to take care of him!"
At this moment, Zhuang Zhennan hurriedly said, "Auntie, if you feel uncomfortable, how about I take care of Brother Tu Nan? Anyway, I have nothing to do right now!"
"Thank you, Zhennan! But our house is too small, there's not enough room for us, so maybe we shouldn't stay!"
Zhuang Zhennan laughed and said, "It's alright, I have a place to stay. Isn't the neighbor's place empty? I can sleep on the floor!"
When Zhuang Chaoying heard that he was going to stay in the next room, he knew that Huang Ling had just left the money there. He was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he couldn't help but say, "No, your aunt just left the money in that room. How can you sleep there?"
This sentence startled everyone in the room, especially Huang Ling, who stared at Zhuang Chaoying with eyes that looked like she wanted to devour him. However, there were two elderly people in the room, so she couldn't show her anger too obviously and remained silent.
Fortunately, the old lady seized the opportunity to change the subject, saying, "Alright! Now that Tu Nan is back to recuperate, let him rest well! Grandpa, let's go back!"
Grandpa Tu Nan also said, "Alright, let's go back so that our grandson can rest and recover properly!"
As they spoke, the two elderly people walked towards the door.
At this moment, Zhennan said again, "Grandpa, Grandma, you should go back! I'll stay here and take care of my brother Tunan!"
Huang Ling was also afraid that he might cause some trouble, that he was after her money, so she quickly smiled and said, "Zhennan! Your grandparents are getting old, you should help them walk! It'll be good to have someone to look after them on the way!"
Zhennan pointed at Zhenbei and said, "Isn't Zhenbei still here? He can keep an eye on things! As for me, hehe, I guess I shouldn't go back!"
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