Chapter 43 Chocolate Beans: Enjoying the show and watching the drama unfold is only human nature. ...
Before going upstairs, Qin Xiang took one last look at the old woman pretending to be lame.
She couldn't remember many details of the dream, but she could recall the image of the old lady jumping up in fright when she saw the cobra. She had a deeper impression of the cobra, but she didn't realize that the old lady lived in the west building.
In my dream, she lived in the east building. Although it was the same building, we went up different stairs and didn't interact much.
Li Jianzhi noticed Qin Xiangxiang's strange look. Carrying his things, he didn't ask any questions, but instead prepared to go home to enjoy the more pleasant gossip.
It's only human nature to enjoy watching the drama unfold.
The family of three went up to the second floor. As soon as they stepped off the stairs, the door of the neighboring apartment was open. A beautiful woman dressed in a fashionable red dress saw them and immediately exclaimed with delight, "Is this Comrade Li? Is this the family member who just moved in? You are so beautiful. You are indeed a girl from a big city. We people from small places can't compare to you."
Qin Xiangxiang: "!"
She remembered the woman in red standing before her! Qin Xiangxiang felt an overwhelming rage! This woman owed her twenty yuan in her dream and hadn't paid it back yet.
"My name is Zhou Lu, and my husband's surname is Xue."
Li Jian knew: "This must be Deputy Political Commissar Xue's wife."
"Oh, hello, hello, I'm Qin Xiangxiang, and he's my man." Qin Xiangxiang wasn't in a good mood when she saw Zhou Lu.
Zhou Lu's face was full of smiles as she said gently and kindly, "This is your child. You've raised him so well. No wonder he's from a big city. He's so different from the children from ordinary families like ours."
"I have some chocolate chips here, I'll give some to the kids."
Chubby boy: "Wow, what a generous auntie!"
Chocolate beans are not cheap now; they cost two yuan per pound. Regular sugar costs only four or five mao per pound, while better quality sugar costs eight mao to one and a half yuan. Only chocolate beans sell for two yuan per pound.
Even in Shanghai, this is considered a high-end candy.
Zhou Lu took out a bag of chocolate beans from the house. It weighed about half a pound. She deliberately opened the bag to reveal the colorful chocolate beans inside, preparing to let the children grab a handful.
At this moment, Qin Xiangxiang took the whole bag of chocolate beans from her hand and said in a very smug tone, "We'll take this bag of chocolate beans, thank you, Little Fatty, quickly thank your auntie."
The chubby boy immediately said, "Thank you, Auntie!"
"No need to be so polite." Zhou Lu's smile froze. She looked at the man next to Qin Xiangxiang. The man was tall and had a cold face. Zhou Lu waited for a while, but the man did not react.
He said, "Thank you, Comrade Zhou, thank you for your welcome. Now, son, we're going home."
Qin Xiangxiang gave the chocolate beans to the child, smiled at Zhou Lu, and walked past the door and windows of the middle unit with her cold-faced husband and child. When they arrived at their own door, she took out her key and opened the door.
Zhou Lu, who remained where he was, looked like he was about to crack open.
Two small hands were peeking out of the window of the middle unit. A woman looked out, and the sounds from outside drifted into the room. Before she could finish her sigh, her expression turned to astonishment.
Once inside, the chubby boy immediately grabbed a handful of chocolate beans and started munching on them. Qin Xiangxiang confiscated the beans from him, saying, "You can't eat too many, Mommy needs some too."
Li Jianzhi stood aside, feeling heartbroken.
Qin Xiangxiang pulled him into the room. "What, do you think I'm being impolite?"
“I find this chocolate awful; it tastes like eating wax.” Li Jianzhi felt heartbroken because even cheap cocoa butter substitute chocolates these days tempted his wife and children.
Nowadays, domestically produced chocolates all have a waxy taste and are not really delicious, but for people at that time, they were considered luxury candies.
Qin Xiangxiang: "?"
Is this a question of whether it tastes good or not?
"I'll tell you a secret, the woman living in the corner apartment has some issues, I overheard it today."
Li Jianzhi: "?"
"She liked to borrow money." Recalling how this woman borrowed twenty dollars from her in her dream, she felt very angry because the woman never paid her back until she died, which infuriated her.
"It's like when you first arrive, she's incredibly warm and friendly to you, giving you candy and cookies, making you feel obligated and guilty. Then after a while, she'll say she's short of cash and ask you to lend her money."
Although Zhou Lu borrowed money and didn't repay it, she was very nice to talk to. She said nice things while giving gifts. A simple-minded woman from Hebei Province lent Zhou Lu 500 yuan, which was a huge sum of money. Her family might not be able to save 500 yuan in two years.
This sister-in-law thought Zhou Lu was a particularly good person because Zhou Lu wasn't a good cook, and she was reluctant to spend money on food and clothes, and she was stingy with oil when cooking, which is how she managed to save a lot of money. However, Zhou Lu was particularly "generous" and never skimped on food and drink. She often brought delicious food to this simple-minded sister-in-law's family and invited her and her children over for meals. Even though she was the one who lent money and food coupons, she still felt that she had wronged Zhou Lu.
At first, he said he'd borrow it for a month, then a year, and then he promised to pay it back next year. He even gave the children of the "Iron-Hearted Sister-in-Law" a huge red envelope during the Spring Festival... Every time he said he'd pay it back, he'd call this "Sister-in-Law" from Hebei Province over, cook her a big table of delicious food, and shower her with sweet words. The "Iron-Hearted Sister-in-Law" couldn't say anything harsh, and after eating a meal without getting the money, she went home.
An ordinary person reading this would probably think that Zhou Lu has a bad reputation, right? No, no, no, on the contrary, she is quite popular. After all, she is generous and a good cook. The newcomer borrowed money once and may have suffered a loss, but he felt that he had already eaten her food and would not pursue the matter of that small amount of money. After all, there is an even bigger idiot.
Someone like Ji Sheng's wife, who is incredibly naive, was completely fooled by Zhou Lu. Although she complained a bit behind his back and knew that Zhou Lu owed money and didn't pay it back, she inexplicably believed that Zhou Lu would pay it back in the future. When Zhou Lu was sick and hospitalized, she rushed to deliver fruit to him and helped him with laundry, cooking, and taking care of his children.
That's just how the world is; people like Zhou Lu are doing quite well.
Qin Xiangxiang came to the dream unwillingly, and was unhappy with everything. Zhou Lu was the most enthusiastic and had the most pleasant words to her, so she lent Zhou Lu twenty yuan, in two installments of ten yuan each.
The main reason is that Qin Xiangxiang herself spends all her money every month and has no money left. Being able to lend ten yuan is already a huge sacrifice, and lending twenty yuan is an even bigger sacrifice.
Zhou Lu thought Qin Xiangxiang, coming from a big city, would be rich and powerful, but it turned out she was all show and no substance. Later, Zhou Lu not only borrowed money and didn't pay it back, but also complained behind Qin Xiangxiang's back that she was "poor" and had no money in her pocket.
Qin Xiangxiang was furious!
The man in the dream said, "It's you who wanted to lend her the money."
Thinking of this, Qin Xiangxiang stomped on Li Jianzhi's foot a few times, and the poor comrade Li was innocently caught in the crossfire. "Xiangxiang, wife, what's wrong with you?"
“Someone borrowed money from me before and didn’t pay it back, just like her. I’m so angry about it.”
"You only give me fifty yuan a month, and I don't even have a penny left for myself. I even lent her twenty yuan, and in the end she still complained that I didn't give her enough money!"
Li Jianzhi suppressed a laugh, finding his wife's annoyed expression quite adorable.
Yes, it's infuriating that someone would complain that the twenty yuan they painstakingly saved was too little when they lent it out!
These days, the one who borrows money is the boss, and the creditor has no rights. Why should someone who borrowed the money on their own merits have to pay it back?
"What are you laughing at?" Qin Xiangxiang saw the amusement in the man's eyes and pinched his waist again in anger.
Li Jianzhi clenched his fist and wiped his lips. "I'm not laughing anymore. My wife is so smart."
"A person who is overly enthusiastic upon first meeting you and speaks sweetly in your ear is definitely a swindler. Swindlers don't get up early for nothing."
"Congratulations on identifying a scammer and preventing financial loss for our family. With a wife like you, our family is blessed with wealth."
Qin Xiangxiang poked his waist, her ears felt a little hot, and she turned her head away: "You also have sweet words, you're a liar."
"Anyway, she gave us these chocolate beans on her own initiative, so we can just take them." Qin Xiangxiang's gossipy nature got the better of her, and she couldn't help but share some gossip with him. "A woman from Hebei Province lent her family 500 yuan, and they haven't paid it back in two years. Last year, when Zhou Lu gave birth, this woman even went to take care of Zhou Lu during her postpartum period and helped her take care of the baby and wash diapers."
Li Jianzhi: "?!" Is this Zhou Lu? This is Zhou Bapi, making the creditor act like a dog for the debtor.
"Honey, you should stay away from her." He was afraid that his lovely wife would be deceived. Staying in the family compound meant there was no danger to her life, but she would face "emotional and financial risks."
You really have to be careful when lending money, because there's a lot of mobility in the military. We're still living together now, but if they get transferred, you won't be able to get your money back.
"We'll help in emergencies, not in chronic poverty. From now on, we'll only lend money for life-saving emergencies. For other things, we'll just give a token amount like five or ten yuan..."
Qin Xiangxiang glanced sideways.
Li Jianzhi changed his tune: "One or two yuan."
"It seems that getting to know Sister Gao is really a good thing. The head of the intelligence department lives up to her reputation."
"Let's be nicer to Sister Gao from now on." Li Jianzhi thought Qin Xiangxiang got the information from Sister Gao and helped them avoid a fight.
Qin Xiangxiang didn't explain her husband's misunderstanding. Anyway, Zhou Lu's affair wasn't a secret in the compound, and only newcomers were easily fooled.
Moreover, Zhou Lu's plan was an open scheme. Even if some of the new family members knew that she liked to borrow money and not pay it back, she would still give you candy and the most expensive chocolates as soon as she arrived, and be extremely enthusiastic towards you. How could an ordinary person refuse?
Most people would think, "If she asks me for money, I won't lend it to her. Besides, she's giving me a free gift, so why not take it? I'll be the one who benefits."
However, once you start dating Zhou Lu, and you've received quite a few gifts from her at the beginning, and listened to all sorts of sweet words and flattery from her, it would take a lot of shamelessness to refuse to lend her money. Most people would still lend her ten or twenty yuan.
Later, when Zhou Lu refused to repay the money, he felt that he should offset the cost of the gifts he had received from her. However, even though the chocolates were only two yuan per pound, the accumulated value of all the gifts he had received was far less than the amount he had lent out.
Ordinary people suffer in silence, only regretting that they shouldn't have been greedy for her little thing. Why didn't they listen to the advice of others in the first place? They clearly knew from the beginning that she was the kind of person who wouldn't pay back money she borrowed.
Therefore, trying to persuade the newcomers was practically pointless, and everyone stopped wasting their breath. Those who didn't want to lend money wouldn't lend it to anyone without prior notice; those who were willing to lend money would still lend it to anyone even if they were told about Zhou Lu's character beforehand, and would even think that Zhou Lu was actually... a pretty good person.
Most families wouldn't dare buy candy, chocolate, or other nice things, but at least they got to enjoy it at Zhou Lu's place.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
