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Chapter 223: Chapter 216: Borrowing Money
Actually, the reason was quite simple: Qian Xinxue’s grandson had fallen ill. After being seen by the village’s barefoot doctor, who said he couldn’t cure him, they were told that if they wanted to save the child’s life, they had to get him to a hospital as soon as possible.
But in the eyes of rural people, a hospital wasn’t a place they could go to easily. Not to mention having to get a referral letter before being treated, the cost of medical care was also beyond what ordinary people could afford. The hospital was seen as a place that burned through money, and ordinary folks didn’t have the courage to even contemplate going there.
Qian Xinxue couldn’t bear to watch her hard-raised grandson just wait to die at home, so she went from house to house, begging and borrowing, scraping together some money. However, the borrowed sum was still far from enough for the medical expenses. She was out of options, so she came to Shen Yunfang’s place to see if she could borrow some money for the emergency. Qian Xinxue promised that as soon as she had the money, she’d definitely pay Shen Yunfang back first.
Shen Yunfang listened with a furrowed brow, feeling more like Qian Xinxue was telling a story than recounting real events.
And Shen Yunfang was right in her suspicions; not everything Qian Xinxue had said was true. The child being sick was real, and the need for a hospital was also true, but these events had actually happened several months ago, and it wasn’t as serious as she had described. The team had issued a referral letter, and upon arriving at the city hospital, the doctors gave the child injections for two days and prescribed a few pills before sending them back home. The child’s illness gradually improved after returning home, and now he was running and jumping around, completely fine.
This time, Qian Xinxue had come specifically because she’d heard that her niece’s family had raised a lot of chickens, with the intention of swindling some money. Upon seeing that Shen Yunfang was pregnant, she’d come up with this deceitful excuse to borrow money on the spot.
Pregnant women are soft-hearted, all possess a motherly kindness, and that’s why Qian Xinxue had chosen this particular excuse.
"That serious, huh? Well, in a bit I’ll go back with you to take a look. If it’s really necessary to send him to the hospital, I’ll come back to our village to help you borrow some money. We can’t just ignore a sick child," Shen Yunfang said tentatively.
"Oh no, no need for that. You’ve got such a big belly already, making you walk all that way back and forth. If something happened on the road, I’d never forgive myself," Qian Xinxue quickly stopped her, knowing that her little grandson was currently running around the village all day long. If Yunfang really went back with her, she’d see right through the ruse.
When Shen Yunfang heard that Qian Xinxue was preventing her from going, she became even more convinced that she was being deceived.
"That’s fine, but Auntie, I could help you borrow some money, only you’d have to sign a promissory note for it."
The moment Qian Xinxue heard she’d have to sign a promissory note, she wasn’t pleased. Signing a note meant that she’d definitely have to repay the money. "Yunfang, I don’t know anyone from your village, even if I signed a promissory note they wouldn’t trust it. How about this, you sign the note for them..." Qian Xinxue had just gotten this far when she saw Shen Yunfang’s displeased expression and quickly added, "Then I’ll sign one for you, that way everyone can feel assured, right?"
"You’re at ease, but I’m not," Shen Yunfang muttered to herself, "There’s nothing dubious about it. My father is quite aware of which village you’re from; he’s even visited, hasn’t he? If anyone is distrustful, let him have a word with them. After all, your family is there, and you can’t run away even if you wanted to. What’s there to distrust?"
Shen Yunfang could already foresee that if she were to help Qian Xinxue write an IOU, she’d end up being ostracized by both sides. If Qian Xinxue later failed to repay the debt, people would surely come after her with the IOU she wrote, and saying that she didn’t take the money herself would do no good.
Qian Xinxue, her head bowed, seemed lost in thought before finally speaking languidly, "Yunfang, you know how your uncle is—so prideful. He didn’t even want me to come here, finding borrowing money shameful. If he knew I was going behind his back to write an IOU, who knows how angry he’d be. He’s getting old and his health isn’t good; if he gets so angry that something happens to him, what would we do as a family?" She started sobbing as she spoke.
Shen Yunfang sighed, "Auntie, we need to prioritize our issues. I know my uncle is temperamental, but with the child being so ill, how could you still let his temperament dictate things? What’s more important, pride or the child’s life? If you’re really afraid of upsetting him, then don’t mention borrowing money when you go back. First, find a way to treat the child’s illness, and once the child gets better, you can find an opportunity to talk to him about it slowly. My uncle isn’t heartless; he loves his grandson no less than you do. By then, he definitely won’t be able to stay mad."
Qian Xinxue looked at Shen Yunfang’s furrowed brow, realizing that her own words weren’t believed. That’s why she was being pressed so much; but since the words were already out, she couldn’t back down now, even if Yunfang didn’t believe her—she had to go on.
"Yunfang, it’s not right, begging outsiders for help in a famine. Borrowing from strangers isn’t as reassuring as from one’s own family. Yunfang, my family’s situation is truly urgent. You’re a mother too, so you must understand this feeling. Let’s put ourselves in each other’s shoes. If your child in your belly needed money to save their life, your aunt would give as much as she could spare. Right now, you can’t just watch your cousin’s child lose their life, can you?" She touched Shen Yunfang’s belly as she spoke, indicating that they were both mothers who cared deeply for their children. "Your aunt knows times are tough for everyone, and I don’t want to borrow much. Just see if you have fifty yuan. Lend it to your aunt for an emergency. Once I have money, I will surely pay you back. I always keep my word."
Shen Yunfang nearly lost her composure upon hearing this; fifty yuan was not a small amount, considering it could last a regular family for half a year. What’s more, why did everyone seem to think she had fifty yuan to lend? As if she were some sort of cash machine.
"Auntie, I won’t lie to you; I really don’t have that much money. If I did, I wouldn’t tell others to lend it to you when you first asked. It’s not just fifty yuan—you could ask for five yuan right now, and I wouldn’t be able to produce it," Shen Yunfang sighed, "I actually did have some money, left to me by Hongjun for emergencies, but recently my mother-in-law took it all claiming my younger uncle needed it for university. This morning, my elder uncle’s family even came asking for money. I can’t just print money; I rely on earning work points in the collective, how much can I save in a year? So I had no money for them, and now I’ve upset them too. I truly don’t have any money, Auntie." 𝔫𝔬𝖛𝖕𝔲𝖇.𝖈𝖔𝖒
Qian Xinxue frowned upon hearing this. She knew that Yunfang’s mother-in-law had visited recently — how else would she know their house had so many chickens? But she didn’t expect that the old scrooge had actually gone as far as to take all of Yunfang’s money. It seemed she had come too late.
But lack of money wasn’t the end of the world — there were still many chickens at home.
"Ah, times are hard for everyone, and your aunt understands," Qian Xinxue said, patting Yunfang’s hand, "but you see, your aunt really needs the money to save a life. How about this, if you have no money, could I take a few chickens? I won’t trouble you; I’ll catch them myself. I can just sell the chickens at the purchase station, and that’s plain money, isn’t it?"
