Chapter 18: Collect Interest
This is a large courtyard with two entrances, where six families live.
Entering the inner courtyard, there were either sheds built or clothes and quilts hung out to dry. It looked very messy. The family lived in the west wing.
When the three arrived at Ji Zong's house, only his mother was at home. When she saw her son coming back with a boy and a girl, she was about to ask what was going on when Ji Zong pulled her into the bedroom.
The two of them whispered for a long time, and then the old lady came out with a calm expression, "Xiao Qiao, you and Yuanyuan are good friends, right? Why did you suddenly bring up the money and tickets today? You know, my aunt's family is not well off, and you have been helping Yuanyuan since she was a child. Yuanyuan has always said that you are her best friend.
After she went to the countryside, her family couldn't help her. She suffered so much there, and she couldn't tell us, so she had no choice but to turn to you, her good friend. You're such a good person, you've helped her a lot. Isn't it true that good friends lend a hand when their friends are in trouble? Didn't you take the initiative to remit the money and notes to her? We didn't ask to borrow from you, did we?
Qiao Qinglu couldn't control her anger and wanted to lose her temper, but was held back by Xiao Qinyun. He just sneered and said calmly to her mother, "Auntie, so you knew that my boyfriend has been helping Yuanyuan since they were young. I thought you would just push it off and say it didn't happen.
My girlfriend is kind-hearted, but that's no reason for you to bully her. I told Ji Zong a while ago that we don't want anything that Yuanyuan has eaten, drunk, or used over the years. We'll just treat it as dog food. But the 560 yuan I sent her to the countryside, the 560 yuan for the remittance, and the 152 yuan worth of bills must be returned to us, or we'll call the police."
He then said to Ji Zong, "Do you think that Qinglu gave you the money and bills voluntarily? Even if we go to the police station, we can't ask you to pay it back. I can tell you clearly that Yuanyuan made it very clear in the letter that the money and bills she sent were borrowed, and she also said that she would repay it many times in the future.
If you still think this matter has nothing to do with you, then don't waste everyone's time and go directly to the police station. By then, the amount may be more than 700 yuan. We can calculate how much she owes Qinglu based on the bank deposit interest rate!"
When Ji Zong heard this, he got furious and said quickly, "Don't worry, it's just a loan from a friend, why do we have to pay the bank interest rate? Don't argue with my mom, we'll pay it back, right away."
After saying that, he pulled his mother into the bedroom again, and when he came out he took out a pile of banknotes. After counting, the total amount was 465.76 cents, including 2 5-jin food coupons, 3 1-jin food coupons, 2 1-jin flour coupons, 1 sugar coupon, 1 2-meter cloth coupon, and 1 1-meter cloth coupon. There was still a lot left.
Mutou and Jizong went around the neighborhood to borrow money and finally gathered enough money and notes. They paid back Qiao Qinglu a total of 690 yuan and 5 cents, in addition to 2 5-jin grain coupons, 7 1-jin grain coupons, 4 1-jin flour coupons, 1 sugar coupon, 3 2-meter cloth coupons, and 5 1-meter cloth coupons.
With the money and bills, Qiao Qinglu readily gave all the remittance receipts to her mother-in-law and also wrote a receipt.
The mother-in-law wanted Qiao Qinglu to hand over all the letters, but Xiao Qinyun directly retorted, "We have already given you the remittance voucher and receipt. We will not pursue this matter any further. We have nothing to do with each other from now on. The letters are personal belongings and involve personal privacy. I cannot give them to you."
If you insist on pestering me, I'll give you the money and tickets, and return the receipt and remittance slip. We'll just pretend we never came today and go to the police station to report it. Then we'll let the people from the factory and the neighbors come and see what kind of daughter you've raised. You're ungrateful and you're a scoundrel."
The mother was very angry, but helpless. She was dragged back to the bedroom by Ji Zong and never came out again.
Ji Zong said to Xiao Qinyun and Qiao Qinglu, "Okay, the matter has been settled. You two can go now. I won't see you off."
But after the two left, Xiao Mu and Xiao Ji Zong went to the post office and called Xiao Yuanyuan, scolded her and asked her to remit the more than 700 yuan back immediately.
If she didn't send the money, the mother and daughter would take a bus to her brigade and tell her a story about how a girl who went to the countryside to work in the fields borrowed money and didn't pay it back, and even asked her mother and brother to pay off her debts.
When Yuanyuan heard Qiao Qinglu asking her family for money, she suspected that something had happened to Li Hongzhi and he had exposed her. No wonder she hadn't received any letters or remittances from them recently.
But she couldn't talk about this matter, nor could she find out the details, so when her mother-in-law asked her why their relationship broke down, she could only give vague answers to cover it up. She bargained with her mother-in-law about the amount of the remittance and finally agreed to send back 500 yuan.
How heartbroken Yuanyuan was after hanging up the phone, and how she cursed Qiao Qinglu, her mother, and Ji Zong, is another story.
After walking out of the courtyard of the Qiao family, Xiao Qinyun and Qiao Qinglu smiled at each other, then got on their bikes and headed towards Heilongjiang.
Qiao Qinglu: "How come everything becomes so simple when it comes to you? I originally thought that coming to the towel factory today was just a formality to inquire about the situation, but how come I suddenly got my money and tickets back?"
Xiao Qinyun: "You can just praise me directly, such as being smart, resourceful, eloquent, handsome..."
Qiao Qinglu chuckled, "Yes, yes, you are extremely smart and dignified."
Xiao Qinyun didn't understand the deeper meaning behind Qiao Qinglu's words. He just waved his hand and said, "Alright, wife, I know I'm very good. Let's not flirt with each other in the street. The 'red armband' aunties will pay special attention to us soon."
Qiao Qinglu: "I'm not going to waste my time on you. Tell me what happened today. Why did Ji Zong just obediently take out the money?"
Xiao Qinyun said, "To put it bluntly, this is actually very simple. My family can't afford to lose face with this person. We want to save face and don't want people to point fingers at us. When I heard the security guard call Ji Zong 'Team Leader', I knew that today's plan would be halfway successful, so I said I would call the police to scare him. His expression at the time was very subtle, indicating that he knew his sister was capable of such a thing, but he thought we had no evidence and that it had little to do with him, so he was very stubborn.
Later, when he heard I'd called the police with evidence and mentioned promoting them at the towel factory and his home, he panicked. You know, these days, people are really concerned about family background. As the saying goes, "A dragon's son is a dragon, a phoenix's son is a phoenix, and a rat's son will dig holes." If the factory knew his sister had defaulted on her debt and been taken to the police station, his position as team leader would be in jeopardy. The factory staff and his neighbors would also point fingers at him and his family.
Don't think this is nothing. If this were true, his parents, wife, and children would all be affected. How many people have been driven to death by rumors? This is much more serious than the rumor-mongering incident involving Li Hongzhi, because that was a rumor. This incident has evidence and is true, and they have no way to argue with it."
Qiao Qinglu thought for a moment and asked again, "If that's the case, then why didn't we call the police? I do have evidence, why would we let them go?"
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