On the other side, Chu Wenwen, having wiped away her tears, returned to the group and immediately began asking around about leaving the team, as if she was certain that Chu Zhiqin would soften her heart and take her along.
Taking advantage of her family ties, she shirked her work, which naturally angered the other team members. Now, seeing her openly chatting and slacking off, they were even more furious.
When Chu Wenwen put down her work again and went forward to inquire, the short, plump aunt next to her finally couldn't bear it any longer and started arguing with Chu Wenwen in front of everyone.
Chu Wenwen was engrossed in her fantasy of leaving the organization and moving into Chu Zhiqin's family's RV, and had no time to argue with her. These days, people about to leave their jobs naturally don't put their hearts into their work!
The short, plump aunt was an honest person, and she wasn't as popular as the slick and glib Chu Wenwen. Now, no one was standing up for her.
Chu Wenwen cried a few words about the longing between sisters who were bound by blood, and then insulted the short, fat aunt with utter contempt. Finally, she crossed her legs and sat down to the side, waiting for Chu Zhiqin's arrival with increasing arrogance.
However, even after the team gave up pushing the vehicle and the higher-ups decided to take another day to repair it, Chu Wenwen, watching everyone disperse, still hadn't received a greeting from her sisters.
Chu Wenwen couldn't sit still any longer. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching, she once again quietly slipped away to Xi Xi's family's parking space.
"Wenwen, it's not that we don't want to take you with us, but look at us now, we don't look like we have three bags of rice at all..." Chu Zhiqin's voice was choked with sobs, tears welling up in her eyes. She shook her head helplessly, seemingly feeling utterly hopeless about the situation.
According to the rules of the "Prairie Fire" organization, one must pay three bags of rice to their superiors if they want to leave the organization.
"What's so difficult about three bags of rice?!" Chu Wenwen felt a little anxious upon hearing Chu Zhiqin's words. She thought Chu Zhiqin and the others were exaggerating; it was just three bags of rice!
At this moment, with the RV door half-open, Chu Wenwen couldn't help but peek inside the vehicle.
What I found inside the RV was shocking. It was practically bare, with nothing but a bed and a few basic necessities.
Chu Wenwen frowned deeply, her face showing obvious disgust: "You...you don't even have a spittoon?"
The thought of having to go to the freezing wilderness to relieve herself at night if she joined them sent chills down her spine.
They don't even have a chamber pot, living such a miserable life, they're not even as good as me! The more Chu Wenwen thought about it, the more upset she felt, and she couldn't help but feel deep contempt for Chu Zhiqin and the others' living conditions.
Despite her disdain, Chu Wenwen felt a sense of relief for some reason after seeing that her younger sister wasn't doing much better. At least the arrangement of three people living in a small campervan was reasonable, and one more person wouldn't make a difference, especially since her roommate was a relative she knew well.
“Three bags of rice, if we piece them together, there might still be hope, but…” Chu Zhiqin sighed, “We are an organization, and to join our organization, one person needs six bags of rice as collateral!”
"Six bags?!" Chu Wenwen exclaimed in shock, her face filled with disbelief. "What kind of heartless organization wants so much rice! This... this is blatant robbery!"
Chu Zhiqin, somewhat embarrassed by Chu Wenwen's outburst, touched her nose and explained, "It's an organizational rule, there's nothing we can do about it."
"Nothing we can do?" Chu Wenwen was furious. "Are you just going to let this organization bully you like this?" She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her voice growing louder and louder. "This is simply extortion!"
“You can join us if you want, but you’ll have to figure out a way to get it done, right?” Xi Zhongcang said unhurriedly from the side. “Sigh, it’s all our fault for being incompetent. We really have no other choice.”
Chu Wenwen stomped her feet in anger, inwardly cursing the two of them for being so useless.
Suddenly, her eyes darted around, as if she had come up with a good idea. "There are only nine bags of rice in total, right? I know a loan shark who can pawn three bags of rice per person! There are three of you, so it's easy to come up with a reason to borrow from each of you as a family!"
Xi Xi rolled her eyes inwardly, thinking that this shameless Chu Wenwen was really delusional.
However, she suppressed her dissatisfaction and said calmly, "Auntie, I know about this kind of usury, but it requires collateral, right? Our cars were allocated by the organization, and we really can't come up with anything else to use as collateral."
During their survival journey, gold was practically nonexistent. If it had any real use, then the gold and silver treasures that Xi Xi had casually stolen from the desert would probably have come in very handy long ago.
Xi Xi knew perfectly well that Chu Wenwen was also aware of this, which was why she was so confident in using the gold necklace to play the family card.
"I'll return this gold necklace to you," Chu Zhiqin said with a troubled expression. "I can let go of the money you borrowed before, but you'll have to figure out how to deal with these nine bags of rice yourself."
Although Chu Wenwen was somewhat annoyed by Chu Zhiqin's words, she was helpless. She took back her gold necklace with a huff, muttering that she would find a way, and then turned and left without looking back.
"Will this method really work?" Chu Zhiqin asked her daughter in a low voice as she watched Chu Wenwen's departing figure.
Xi Xi's lips curled up slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile, and she replied in a low voice, "Don't worry, just wait, she will definitely come back again."
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