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"No need to bother, I'm not thirsty. Is there anything I can help you with?" Zhang Hongmei had always wanted to repay the favor, but she had never had the chance.
"Hehe, I don't need your help with anything. You're still in school. Why would I bother you with such trivial matters? It's not something to be proud of. Hongmei, you came back for something, right?"
"Yes, I just came to say goodbye. I'm going abroad. I'll go home, see my family, and say hello again."
“Going abroad? You are very knowledgeable and know a lot. We don’t know these things. If you think it’s good, then go ahead and do it. I support you. People have to be ambitious in life.”
"Yes, I think that studying abroad will allow me to make a greater contribution to the country, so I went abroad to study."
"Hehe, that's how it should be, well done." Li Juying smiled with satisfaction.
“Aunt Li, you can really talk to me if you have any problems. Dividing the family property is just about dividing the assets. If it's about money, don't worry, I have some money on hand that I can lend to you.”
"Hehe, how can I lend you money? You'll need a lot of money to go abroad."
"Hehe, we don't have to spend our own money; the government subsidizes us."
"There's really such a good thing?"
"Yes, the country has put a lot of effort into cultivating talent, so we should study even harder so that we can serve our country in the future."
"Yes, that's how it should be."
"So, Aunt Li, you don't need to worry about the money. Here's two hundred yuan, I don't know if that's enough?"
"Hongmei, it's really not necessary. No matter how difficult things are, they will pass."
Zhang Hongmei stuffed two hundred yuan into Li Juying's hand. "Aunt Li, just take it. You can pay it back when you have the money. If you don't need it, you don't have to pay it back."
Li Juying held the two hundred yuan in her hand, struggling internally. If she accepted it, her family could escape that den of wolves. But this money was a thorn in her side.
This child is an orphan. Who knows how he managed to save up those two hundred yuan? If he takes the money he saved by tightening his belt and spends it, what kind of behavior is that?
“Aunt Li, don’t feel guilty. Money is just an external thing. I don’t have any other expenses right now, so please take this to tide me over.”
"Well, Hongmei, I'll tell you the truth. When we separated from the family, we left with nothing. Even our own clothes were taken from us."
However, all our wages are handed over to the government, and we have no money in our hands. So where are we supposed to live?
Right now, the four of us are crammed into one room at my mom's house, but this isn't a long-term solution, as I also have an older brother, sister-in-law, and younger brother and sister-in-law.
"We're penniless, where are we going?" Li Juying's voice was trembling with tears. Yes, she was over forty years old, and now she was being left with nothing.
"Aunt Li, take this money and try to buy a house in town. Your children are older than me, right? It's not convenient for us to always be crammed together."
"Here's the money, take it. If it's not enough, I'll go to the county to get more. I haven't received a pension for several years."
“That’s enough. One hundred and seventy or one ... is enough to buy a house in town. I just don’t have the face to take this money. You are still a child and still in school. If I take your money, I feel like I’m not even human.”
“Aunt Li, how can you think like that? This money is just for emergencies. Calm down and hurry up and buy a house. Only then will you have a place to stay and a home.”
Li Juying gritted her teeth after hearing Zhang Hongmei's words. "Hongmei, then Aunt Li will accept it for now. I'm shameless, but don't worry, I will definitely pay you back as soon as possible."
"Okay, Aunt Li, you go ahead with your work. I have to go back now. Take care of yourself."
"Fine, you can go now. Aunt Li can't even afford to feed you a meal anymore," Li Juying said with a hint of sadness.
"It's alright. My family must be getting impatient, so I'll leave now. Take care, Aunt Li. Also, I still have cotton and coarse cloth at home. I'll have someone deliver them to you tomorrow. A family can't be without bedding. While the weather is still warm, let's get the quilts and cotton clothes ready. We also have bowls, chopsticks, and an iron pot at home. Please let me finish. You can use them now, but I don't need them right now. Don't refuse."
“Yes, I won’t refuse, I’ll accept it.” Li Juying patted Zhang Hongmei’s hand with tears in her eyes. Her kindness back then had earned her a life-saving grace today.
Zhang Hongmei declined Li Juying's offer to see her off and left the township government compound on her own.
Zhang Shouyi noticed that the girl seemed to be in a bad mood. "Hongmei, what's wrong? What happened?"
"No, it's just that life is really tough, it's all because of poverty." Zhang Hongmei's mood was somewhat affected.
Zhang Shouyi also sighed, "Yes, it's all because of poverty. Because of poverty, we are ostracized by others everywhere."
"Brother Zhang, you must do your best to improve our economy. Especially for ordinary people, who are facing even greater difficulties."
"I know, don't worry. I will try my best, and you should try your best too."
"I know, I will do my best. It hurts me to see everyone living in poverty. We must stand up, become strong, and become wealthy. We must enable the vast majority of people to live a moderately prosperous life."
"A comfortable life?"
"Yes, it means having surplus grain at home, meat and vegetables on the table, extra money in hand, and new clothes for everyone."
"Then we'll have to work together."
"I know that, to put it bluntly, farming alone is not enough to achieve the goal of having enough food at home. We still need to vigorously develop the economy."
"Yes, I understand, and I'm working on it now."
"Now that I think about it, I feel like a sinner for always complaining about this and that. I can't do that anymore."
"Hehe, it's alright, I can support you. If I can't even do that, how can we talk about developing the economy? Hongmei, don't wrong yourself."
"Hehe, how could I possibly wrong myself? I eat well, dress well, and live a better life than 90% of people. I'm very content," Zhang Hongmei said with a wry smile.
"Hehe, so you're content with what you have?"
"Yes, that's right. I am content, but I won't be satisfied. I will work harder and harder."
"That's ambitious. If everyone does their best, why worry about our economy not developing? Then we'll be able to achieve the moderately prosperous life you've described."
"Yes, our goal is to enable everyone to live a good life."
Hearing these words, Zhang Shouyi breathed a sigh of relief. He really didn't want to see the girl looking so listless; she was best suited to being energetic and lively.
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