NOVPUB
Chapter 338: 328
"Since you are already aware of the situation, how do you plan to handle the money your mother-in-law borrowed from Comrade Wang Guifen?" the leader asked.
"Leader, it was like this, I didn’t know when my mother-in-law came over, so when she arrived, I was just taking the kids back to my hometown. By the time I returned from my hometown, my mother-in-law had already left. The day after I got back, Sister Guifen came to ask me for money, but I really didn’t know anything about the borrowing of money." Shen Yunfang felt quite innocent.
"Are you questioning the authenticity of the borrowing?" Another leader spoke up. "We’ve already made inquiries in the family quarters, and Wang Guifen did indeed lend your mother-in-law a hundred yuan."
"Oh, so you went to investigate the situation? How did you do it?" Shen Yunfang asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We visited several military spouses, and they all confirmed that it indeed happened," the leader answered.
"That’s not right, though. Sister Guifen told me that when she lent the money to my mother-in-law, they were alone at home, just the two of them. There wasn’t an outsider present. How could those people you asked know about it, do they have X-ray vision? Can they clearly see what happened inside my house?" Shen Yunfang challenged.
"Well... many people said they saw Comrade Wang Guifen leaving your home with a lot of quails, and she herself said it was a token of appreciation for lending a hundred yuan to your mother-in-law." This indirectly indicated that Wang Guifen had indeed lent money to Shen Yunfang’s mother-in-law.
"Leader, I remember that when police handle cases, they emphasize evidence, right? It’s not just taking someone’s word for it, correct? Of course, I’m not referring to you leaders, I’m just questioning this matter. Sister Guifen says she took quails from my house because she lent money to my mother-in-law, and my mother-in-law gave her those out of gratitude. But no one actually witnessed her giving money to my mother-in-law, and why she could walk away with those quails from my house is also puzzling to me. Besides, about this borrowing, there’s neither any written proof nor a witness present. I can’t just take her word for it, right? If she now claims she lent my mother-in-law a thousand or ten thousand yuan, am I supposed to return the money without question?" Shen Yunfang retorted.
Her skepticism was natural; who wouldn’t want to clarify suddenly being saddled with a large debt?
"Besides, leaders, I didn’t say I wouldn’t return the money. I’m not unreasonable. I’ve already written to my in-laws back home, just waiting for them to reply. If they confirm they did borrow money here, and also clarify who they borrowed from and how much, I won’t say another word. Even though we’ve already split the household, I’ll repay the money. I can’t let anyone suffer losses."
The leaders could hear the meaning in her words; it turned out that Shen Yunfang had already separated from her in-laws. No wonder she was reluctant to simply return the money. The leaders understood this situation. After all, two hundred yuan wasn’t a small amount, and for families with a decent salary like theirs, it would take two to three years to save up that much.
The leaders nodded upon hearing her, thinking that Li Hongjun’s wife was fairly sensible. It made sense for her to confirm with her family back home about the borrowing. Like she said, if someone came to her now asking for a thousand or ten thousand yuan, what would she do? So verification was necessary before repaying.
"However, Wang Guifen stated that your mother-in-law and father-in-law have gone to the south, and their return date is uncertain. If you wait for your in-laws to confirm the matter by mail, it would take at least a month or two, right?" another leader asked, frowning.
Indeed, with Qiu Shuping’s temperament and having extorted two hundred yuan from her younger son, she would definitely want to brag about it to her younger son for a few more days. She probably wouldn’t head back without staying a month or so. Shen Yunfang thought to herself.
"I’m not clear about that," Shen Yunfang replied, shaking her head.
The leaders exchanged glances, in a dilemma. What Li Hongjun’s wife said made sense, but they couldn’t delay the difficulties Wang Guifen was expressing either. This was indeed a tricky situation.
"Cough cough, Xiaoshen, the situation is like this: Comrade Wang Guifen’s family is having some financial difficulties..."
"Ah, no way, boss, she was able to pull out a hundred yuan to lend to my mother-in-law just like that, and she’s still having difficulties? Then we must be living in absolute poverty."
"Cough cough, she lent all the money at home to your mother-in-law, and that’s why her family is in such a tricky situation," the leader explained with difficulty.
Shen Yunfang looked at him skeptically, though she said nothing, her face full of disbelief.
Lying without even a draft, who does that, lending all their family’s money to someone they hardly know, to the point where they can’t even afford to cook at home?
"Cough cough cough, the current situation is as it is. How about this, you see how much money you can come up with, and even lending her a little would be okay, you’ve got to let her get by," a leader said.
Shen Yunfang couldn’t disrespect the leader; she thought for a moment and said, "Since the leader has said so, I certainly need to come up with some money. But my family really doesn’t have much, so here’s what I’ll do—I’ll scrape together five yuan to lend to Sister Guifen, but she has to write me an IOU."
The three leaders were taken aback—not that they looked down on her for only being able to come up with five yuan. Everyone’s having a hard time these days, and being able to save five yuan in a month was already the mark of a good household. But making Wang Guifen actually write an IOU in return, was that really okay? They thought about it and were certain Guifen wouldn’t agree.
"I just heard you say your in-laws have gone to the south, to see Li Hongjun’s brother, is that right?" The leader, with a quicker mind, immediately came up with a very good solution.
Shen Yunfang nodded, "Right, my brother-in-law was recommended to a university in the south, and my in-laws are thrilled. If they didn’t have to borrow money to go there despite being broke, would they even bother?" This is what they call being shameless, pockets cleaner than their faces, not sure why they’re putting on such an act, even borrowing money to visit their son in the south.
"Do you know which university your brother-in-law has gone to? If we knew his school, we wouldn’t have to wait for a letter from your in-laws. We could just call the school directly, see if we could find your in-laws, and you could confirm the matter with them over the phone."
"Well, that’s great, if we could really get in touch that would work, and I could spare myself the effort. But I don’t know which university he’s at; I do know that he seems to have gone to W City," Shen Yunfang said nonchalantly, already resigned to the fact that the couple would surely have to pay her back. It was just a matter of whether they paid back sooner or later, and how."
"Knowing which city he’s in makes things easier, just a few phone calls and we should be able to figure it out."
Since Shen Yunfang agreed, the leaders from the organization department immediately started making phone calls.
Shen Yunfang still had children to take care of, and she had been out for quite some time, so she didn’t stay to accompany them on the phone. The leader told her to come back again the next morning, by which time they should have found someone.
Shen Yunfang agreed cheerfully, and as she exited the office, she happened to see Wang Guifen, who was anxiously waiting outside. She even greeted her with a smile, "Sister Guifen has come too, busy as you are, I’ll be leaving first, ah."
