NOVPUB
Chapter 332: Chapter 322 is about to explode
Wang Guifen put on an act of difficulty for a while, seeing that Qiu Shuping was extremely anxious, she finally said, "Big sister, asking to borrow two hundred bucks right off the bat is really too much..."
"Don’t worry, when my second son comes back, he will definitely repay you," Qiu Shuping assured her quickly, thinking that Guifen was afraid of not being repaid. 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝘤𝘰𝑚
"Look at what you’re saying, big sister. How could I ever doubt Captain Li’s integrity? It’s not that I’m afraid Captain Li won’t repay, it’s just that I can’t come up with so much money all at once." Wang Guifen never really considered the possibility that Li Hongjun and his wife might not repay the loan, as long as Li Hongjun remained in the army, she had nothing to fear.
"Then how much do you have?" Qiu Shuping asked anxiously.
Wang Guifen thought it over for a moment before responding, "Big sister, let’s not talk about that first. I heard that when your daughter-in-law moved here, she brought along the quails she was raising back home, quite a few cages, right? Ah, big sister, you can enjoy the good life now, marrying a daughter-in-law who knows how to run a household like that. Ah, it’s just a pity for me, at my age, I’ve never even tasted a quail egg or eaten a quail. Always hearing people say how delicious quails are, I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to try one. I was even thinking about asking your daughter-in-law when she comes back on how to raise them, so I could also raise a couple of them to satisfy my craving." Wang Guifen finished speaking and looked at Qiu Shuping with a half-smile.
Originally, she had planned to be more subtle, but through the brief conversation, she realized that Li Hongjun’s mother didn’t seem to grasp things very well. Thus, she spoke more bluntly afterward.
Indeed, Qiu Shuping understood her words and felt a hint of hesitation at first. Qiu Shuping, although a bit muddled, was very protective of her possessions. She would rather let her own goods rot than give even a little bit to someone else. Even though she didn’t think highly of Shen Yunfang, anything belonging to her household was still her second son’s, and her instinct was to refuse anyone who wanted it.
However, she then thought that if she didn’t agree, she might not be able to borrow the money, and she hesitated.
"Big sister, don’t take it to heart; I was just saying. Ah, look, it’s almost noon, and I need to get home to cook for the kids. I’ll be taking off then. Let’s catch up when we have time," Wang Guifen said as she turned and sashayed away, counting under her breath.
As expected, before she could count to ten, Qiu Shuping called out to her from behind.
"Oh, big sister, don’t go."
Wang Guifen’s mouth twisted in irritation. Did this woman have no brains, calling her "big sister" at a time like this?
"Big sister, you wanted to eat quails, right? My son’s family has them. Look at you being so polite. If you want to eat, just go to the house and catch a couple, and that’s that," Qiu Shuping said, eagerly pulling her back with a smile.
When Wang Guifen heard her miserly offer, her expression turned displeased. "Big sister, look at the condition of my household; it’s not that well-off. But, for Captain Li’s sake, if you urgently need it, I can lend you ten bucks."
Qiu Shuping became anxious upon hearing this. Ten bucks was hardly enough for anything, not even to cover the cost of her and her husband’s bus fares. As she observed Wang Guifen’s expression, she suddenly understood.
"Big sister, I just heard you have several children. Why don’t you go and catch a few more quails from my house later?" Qiu Shuping gritted her teeth. "I’ll give you ten."
"Hehe, now that I remember, my husband Lao Gong still has over ten bucks left from this month’s salary. Big sister, if you really need it, you can have all of it," Wang Guifen said, her eyes revealing a greedy glint. However, she maintained a calm facade, knowing the more aloof she appeared, the more she would gain in the end.
The two women stood on the road, haggling back and forth, and in the end, Wang Guifen agreed to lend Qiu Shuping one hundred bucks, and Qiu Shuping agreed to give Wang Guifen fifty quails.
Of course, when Wang Guifen went to Li Hongjun’s house to catch quails, she also took the opportunity to turn over the vegetable garden in the backyard, taking away a large basket of vegetables along with the quails. Even the few watermelons Shen Yunfang had planted were taken away by her, two in total.
At this time, Qiu Shuping didn’t feel any regret, because she had realized that although these things belonged to her son, she could only enjoy them while she was there. Once she left, wouldn’t they just be left for that woman, Shen Yunfang? It would be better to use them to curry favor and borrow more money.
After the incident with Wang Guifen, it seemed as if a new door had opened in front of Qiu Shuping. She used the quails raised by Shen Yunfang and the vegetable garden in the backyard to build relationships with the neighbors around her.
There’s a saying that one who takes from another becomes short on gratitude, and that was exactly the case. In the end, Qiu Shuping actually managed to scrape together two hundred yuan from various sources.
Old Man Li had initially disagreed and even had a big fight with Qiu Shuping, nearly coming to blows. In the end, she was taken down by Qiu Shuping’s combined tactics of crying and wailing, calling for Hongqi to intervene. He simply washed his hands of the matter and let her meddle as she pleased.
After living alone at their second son’s home for two weeks, Old Man Li and Qiu Shuping finally left with the money, satisfied.
Upon hearing the somewhat concealed words of Sister Wu, Shen Yunfang felt like she was about to explode with anger. Good, she just had to be too easy to bully, right? The Li Family still wasn’t finished taking advantage of people, it seemed. With her and Li Hongjun absent, the old couple from the Li Family dared to borrow money in their name, causing them to face a famine. If they didn’t handle this situation well, would they always have to be ready to pay off the debts of that undisciplined old couple?
She included Old Man Li in her blame. She used to think that her father-in-law, having seen the world, had some redeeming qualities in his conduct with others; she had given him a significant amount of face in the Li Family. But now, seeing how the mother-in-law could be so unruly at her age, Old Man Li had to share some responsibility. Without his indulgence, Qiu Shuping would not have had the audacity to do these things.
Dealing with the old couple from the Li Family could wait for later; the main issue now was to manage the situation in the residential compound properly.
Shen Yunfang didn’t speak for a while as she pondered the situation.
Whether it was Sister Wu’s personal bias in her words or not, after listening, Shen Yunfang felt that someone was deliberately sabotaging her and her husband.
Consider the circumstances at the time: the military had outright refused Qiu Shuping’s request. With both her and her husband away from home, the most likely course of action for Qiu Shuping in the absence of other options would be to stay put until Shen Yunfang returned to demand money from her.
Although she had readily given money the two previous times there had been issues with the Li Family, those were legitimate issues. Even if the old Li couple hadn’t come forward, as the second brother and sister-in-law, they were obliged to contribute (They were also unaware of what kind of person Li Hongqi was then; had they known, Shen Yunfang wouldn’t have parted with a dime). She had more spendable cash on hand and wanted to support Li Hongjun’s brothers and sisters, so she gave a little more. But she had her principles and limits; it wasn’t like anyone could just come to her to ask for money any time they had problems.
People say you save a person in an emergency, not a person in poverty. If the old Li couple now wanted to visit Li Hongqi, they just had to ask for the fare; what’s next, if Li Hongqi’s family has a baby, wouldn’t they also come asking them for the funds for baby formula?
Besides, there was absolutely no need for the old Li couple to go south to see Li Hongqi. He wasn’t dead or disabled; what was there to see? If the old couple had their own money, they could spend it however they wished, and nobody could say anything about it. However, the situation was that they didn’t have any money and yet wanted to act like big shots.
Earning just enough to barely make ends meet over a year, why did the two of them feel so entitled to ask for two hundred yuan at the drop of a hat, and to squander such money visiting their younger son in the south? They clearly thought she was too ignorant to know the value of money, that they could simply disregard her and her husband.
Shen Yunfang’s assessment of the old Li couple was that they were without principles. Therefore, she definitely couldn’t let this matter be glossed over, and she also needed to show certain people in the compound that money wasn’t so easy to borrow and that their revelry couldn’t last forever.
