NOVPUB
Chapter 337: Chapter 327 Turning Against Each Other
Shen Yunfang certainly had no time to stand in the yard discussing with Wang Guifen how much money the men were making. After stating once again that she had no money to repay the debt, she apologetically said she had to go back to Sister Wu’s to help with cooking and really couldn’t entertain Wang Guifen. She urged her to hurry home for a meal as well.
As for the matter of the money, it wasn’t urgent. It was just a matter of waiting for a letter from back home, and she would save up here as well. When the time came, she would definitely be able to pay back a portion first.
Having said that, Shen Yunfang turned around and went back to Wu Guoqiang’s home, leaving Wang Guifen standing on the road, fuming with anger. She couldn’t hold back anymore and called out, "Wait a minute."
Shen Yunfang stopped in her tracks and turned around, her gaze inquiring if there was anything else.
"I see, you just want to bail on the debt, don’t you? Have you thought this through?" Wang Guifen narrowed her eyes dangerously. If this Shen Yunfang wouldn’t pay back the debt even after a good talk, then she wouldn’t blame Wang for being impolite. She wasn’t someone to take things lying down. 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
"Look at what Sister is saying, if I had the money, how could I not pay it back? I really don’t have any money," Shen Yunfang replied, not getting angry, but firmly insisting that she was penniless.
"Fine, fine, fine, just you wait," said Wang Guifen. After spitting out in disgust, she turned her head and walked away.
Shen Yunfang stretched her neck to watch her leave, then huffed. Was this a complete falling out then? Who was afraid of whom? She turned around and went back to Sister Wu’s house, where her meal was only half-finished.
"Yunfang, can you really keep dragging this out? If necessary, I still have a little, you can take it to deal with the emergency, pay back Wang Guifen a bit first?" Sister Wu looked worriedly at Shen Yunfang, "You haven’t lived here long, so you don’t know Wang Guifen’s temperament. She’s no pushover." What Sister Wu didn’t say was that Wang Guifen was notorious in the military community. It didn’t matter who it was; if they had to deal with her, she was never the one at a loss.
Occasionally, everyone got to know what kind of person she was, and gradually they all kept their distance. If they couldn’t beat her, they’d avoid her. Who would have expected that this time Wang Guifen took the initiative to stir things up, getting involved in Li Hongjun’s family affairs.
But now that Yunfang was up against Wang Guifen, Sister Wu didn’t have faith in Yunfang’s fighting capacity. She thought it better to calm things down and pay back some money first, just enough to placate her, to avoid her causing any trouble.
Shen Yunfang laughed upon hearing this, "Sister, no need for that. I can’t pay back anyone I borrow from right now, why bother going through the trouble twice, robbing Peter to pay Paul. If Wang Guifen is tough, so be it. I simply have no money; what could she do to me?" This was the rationale of debtors who swaggered about everywhere in later generations, "I just don’t have the money, what can you do to me?" Are you mad? Sue me if you want, it’s even better if I go to jail; I’ll have a place to eat for free, and even better, I won’t have to repay the borrowed money.
Clearly, Sister Wu couldn’t appreciate the genius of this approach and was still worried for Shen Yunfang. But her own family wasn’t well-off either. She couldn’t pull out a hundred yuan just like that. Moreover, Yunfang’s problem wouldn’t be solved with merely a hundred yuan. After this hundred, there would definitely be another creditor with a hundred yuan waiting behind. Li Hongjun’s mother-in-law had left borrowing two hundred yuan.
Shen Yunfang was determined; she simply wouldn’t repay the money. You insisted on lending money to Qiu Shuping, right? Then have the nerve to go find her to collect it. You counted on it, didn’t you? That because the old lady borrowed the money, as her daughter-in-law I’d have to help repay it no matter what, otherwise it would be unfilial. The stigma of being unfilial, if pinned on me and Li Hongjun, you could just imagine what reputation we would have in this courtyard later. Hmph! Since she harbored such malicious thoughts, she had to bear the consequences. Let her daughter-in-law repay the old lady’s debt? Fine, let her wait. I’ll repay, but when I repay, that’s up to me.
Wang Guifen’s actions were indeed swift; the next day she took the matter straight to the troops. She was from the first battalion, and Li Hongjun belonged to the second, so she didn’t know who to turn to for help. Fortunately, she went directly to the organization department’s personnel, crying and complaining, accusing Li Hongjun’s wife of bullying and not repaying debts, among several other serious grievances.
Actually, the military generally doesn’t get involved in the trivial matters among the soldiers’ wives in the residential area, but when someone comes specifically to report issues and seek their help, they have to receive and handle it with the proper attitude. After all, if the home front remains undisturbed with no issues, the soldiers can focus on protecting the country without worries.
After understanding the situation, the leaders of the organization department called Shen Yunfang over in the afternoon.
Shen Yunfang confidently pushed open the door to the office, sat down on the sofa, and smiled at the three leaders.
The three men exchanged looks; this military spouse seemed a bit different. In terms of her demeanor, she looked to have more grace than those military spouses from the city.
Of course, they were there to mediate the situation, so the leading one coughed into his fist, and then said, "You must be Xiaoshen, Li Hongjun’s wife. You’ve moved here quite a while ago, but we haven’t met, let me introduce myself first..."
Shen Yunfang greeted the three leaders cordially and chatted with them about family matters before getting to the main topic.
"Xiaoshen, I heard that your in-laws came over a few days ago, just when you and Li Hongjun were both not at home, is that correct?"
Shen Yunfang nodded. "That’s right, Li Hongjun was out on a mission, and I felt a bit scared being home alone, so I took the child and went back to my parents’ place for a couple of days. I thought that when I came back, Li Hongjun would be almost home, but I didn’t expect that I would be away for two months and he still hadn’t returned." There was a slight hint of complaint in her tone.
The life of a soldier is such that everything must follow organizational arrangements, and without a doubt, when it comes to the choice between the smaller family and the larger one, the priority is always to defend the larger family.
"Ahem, Li Hongjun is indeed a good comrade," the leading official commented approvingly.
"Hehe, I also know that as a soldier, he must be at the forefront when it comes to defending our home and country. Li Hongjun loves being a soldier, so I support him," Shen Yunfang said with a smile.
Hehe, my man is currently out there for months, fighting to defend our home and country and can’t return. I myself am a good military spouse who supports and loves the military, so if you still wish to trouble me after knowing this, that would be too unkind.
However, leaders are leaders, and they quickly found the angle to address the problem, revealing that Wang Guifen had already sought help from the military. If the military didn’t resolve this, her family was at the point of not being able to make ends meet, and she would have no choice but to throw herself into the river with her child.
Of course, the organizational department’s leaders were very indifferent to Wang Guifen’s verbal threats, but as soldiers, they cannot ignore the difficulties of the masses, so they had to bring Shen Yunfang in to try and mediate, in the hopes of resolving the matter satisfactorily.
Shen Yunfang listened attentively to the leaders’ words, nodding in agreement. She felt the same way; if the organization could help, that would be great.
