Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 346

Zhao Chunqin thought Cheng Jinxiang was shameless. She couldn't understand how Cheng Jinxiang had the nerve to ask her for 10,000 yuan. She didn't have 10,000 yuan on hand, and could only come up with 8,000 yuan at most. She didn't even want Cheng Jinxiang to come up with 10,000 yuan. She couldn't even come up with a few thousand yuan for Cheng Jinxiang's family.

Zhao Tiesheng, who was listening nearby, was also surprised. He leaned over to Cheng Jinxiang and whispered, "Jinxiang, are we asking for too much money? How about we ask for less first, just a few thousand yuan? I don't think Chunqin can come up with ten thousand yuan."

Zhao Tiesheng's plan was to ask for a few thousand yuan first to solve the problems of building materials and hiring workers. If he needed more money later, he could ask Zhao Chunqin for it. By then, Zhao Chunqin would definitely have money after receiving her salary.

Cheng Jinxiang glared at Zhao Tiesheng, "Didn't you say you'd listen to me before we came? Why are you going back on your word now?"

Zhao Tiesheng immediately shut his mouth and looked at Cheng Jinxiang with a tearful expression. He didn't want to upset his wife by not speaking.

“If you can’t come up with 10,000 yuan, then you have to give us at least 7,000 yuan today. Otherwise, we’ll keep dragging this out until everyone in your unit can judge whether you should give us this money or not.”

Zhao Chunqin clenched her fists, clearly furious. "Seven thousand yuan? I don't have that much money on me, I only have two hundred yuan. Take it or leave it!"

Zhao Chunqin didn't want to indulge this family. If she really gave them that much money, Cheng Jinxiang would definitely press her for more. Besides, she didn't necessarily have to give them the money now. She gave them two hundred yuan to make them quiet down and stop causing trouble at her workplace. Since they were unwilling, she didn't need to show them any mercy.

Before leaving, Zhao Chunqin said to Zhao Tiesheng with disappointment, "Second brother, you've changed."

Zhao Chunqin thought Zhao Tiesheng would feel guilty, but Zhao Tiesheng only had eyes for Cheng Jinxiang and didn't even notice her. Zhao Chunqin was furious.

Ignoring Zhao Tiesheng's family, she turned and left. When she encountered her superior, Li Qingfeng, Zhao Chunqin put on a sweet smile and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, sir, you must be embarrassed. These are my relatives who came to borrow money from me. They asked for 10,000 yuan right away, but I only had a few hundred yuan on hand. I told them to go back first and give it to me when I had the money, but they refused and kept bothering me for so long."

This was the first time Li Qingfeng had encountered such a relative. He frowned and said disapprovingly, "Xiao Zhao, if you don't have any money on you, you don't need to lend so much to your relatives. It's easy to lend money but hard to repay it. Moreover, the more you lend, the more they will demand an exorbitant amount. You can just ignore them."

Zhao Chunqin's face turned somewhat pale; it felt as if this was directed at her...

Zhao Chunqin said awkwardly, "Boss, you're right. The more we indulge these relatives, the more outrageous their demands will become. But I can't do anything about it. After all, he's my second brother. I can't just refuse to lend him a single penny. Since they can't get the money from me, they come here and slander me, saying that I borrowed 40,000 yuan from them. Now everyone in the office knows about it. I'm in a difficult position. My colleagues are all talking about it, and I can't even do my job today."

Li Qingfeng was shocked for a long time after hearing this. What kind of relatives are these? They slander each other because they can't get money from each other. This is too shameless.

Li Qingfeng believed Zhao Chunqin without hesitation. One reason was that Zhao Chunqin had been his colleague for several years, and Li Qingfeng trusted people he knew well more. Another reason was that Zhao Chunqin was a civil servant and didn't seem to be short of money, so why would she ask someone to borrow money?

Seeing Zhao Chunqin being harassed by this family of relatives, Li Qingfeng couldn't bear it any longer. He said, "Xiao Zhao, let me have a good talk with your relatives. Didn't they consider your reputation when they slandered you?"

Seeing Li Qingfeng heading towards Zhao Tiesheng's family, Zhao Chunqin immediately stopped them and said, "Leader, leader, calm down. Don't argue with my ignorant relatives. What do they know? They just want to borrow money. I'll lend them some more when I get my salary this month."

Zhao Chunqin exaggerated her difficult situation in an attempt to gain the sympathy of her superiors and get them to speak on her behalf. This way, she could use this as a reason to defend herself if someone reported her, ensuring that she was in the right.

Seeing how sensible Zhao Chunqin was, Li Qingfeng felt a bit disappointed in her. "Little Zhao, you're just too kind, that's why your relatives bully you. If you lend them this month's salary, they'll just ask you for money again next time. I don't think you should lend them money. A little kindness is appreciated, but a lot breeds resentment. The more you lend, the more money you end up with, and in the end, you'll never get it back."

Zhao Chunqin: ...I always feel that the leader is subtly criticizing me.

Finally, Li Qingfeng sighed and said, "Never mind them, Xiao Zhao. Tell the security guards not to let them in. I'll explain to everyone else. You just go back to your workstations and start working."

Zhao Chunqin smiled upon hearing this. She hadn't expected that a casual lie would yield such a result. It was good that the leader was willing to help her explain to everyone, which would clear her name and prevent her from being suspected.

After all, she borrowed 40,000 yuan from Zhao Tiesheng to buy tea. The money was spent on purchasing the tea in the name of her work unit, which allowed her to buy it at a lower price. She planned to resell it later and profit from the price difference, which could earn her tens of thousands of yuan. Moreover, the tea she bought was a rare Lingyun Baihao tea, a specialty of the south. In the north, this tea was even rarer. If it were to be sold to a wealthy tea lover, the price of Lingyun Baihao tea could be even higher, since rarity increases value.

She just couldn't let her workplace know what she had secretly done, otherwise not only would her future be in jeopardy, but she might also lose her job. That's why she was so nervous when Zhao Tiesheng and his group came to her workplace to cause trouble. But now it's good that her superiors misunderstand her, and she doesn't have to worry so much.

But Zhao Chunqin couldn't appear too happy on the surface. She pretended to breathe a sigh of relief and said, "Boss, as long as they don't interfere with my work, it's fine. This is a family matter. I'll go home and resolve it in a few days."

I'll tell my parents all I want then. This isn't over yet. If it affects my job, my parents definitely won't let my second brother off the hook.

Li Qingfeng told Zhao Chunqin to go back to her workplace and rest for a while, and then come back to work after she had rested and adjusted her mood. He then reminded the security guard, "Don't let those three people outside into the workplace. They are relatives who came to ask Zhao for money and are here to cause trouble for her."

The security guard was a little confused when he heard Li Qingfeng's explanation. He said "Ah" and scratched his head, "Relatives who want money back from Xiao Zhao? No, boss. I heard them say that Xiao Zhao borrowed money from them, and they just want to get the money back from Xiao Zhao."

Li Qingfeng looked as if he had just expected it. This was exactly as Xiao Zhao had said. They really were a bunch of bloodsucking relatives. If they couldn't get money from him, they would slander him for borrowing money.

Li Qingfeng shook his head and explained, "Do you believe what they say? Xiao Zhao and her husband are both civil servants working here. Their combined salary is 10,000 yuan a year. How could they possibly ask others for money?"

The question Li Qingfeng raised was also the one that puzzled the security guard at first. The guard felt something was off. Li Qingfeng was already planning to leave, after all, he had things to take care of.

Before leaving, he told the security guard, "Alright, if these people cause trouble here again, kick them out. If they keep causing trouble, it will damage the company's reputation."

Since Li Qingfeng had already said that, the security guard couldn't really refute it, after all, he was the leader.

After the two left, Zhao Tiesheng and his group came out. At this moment, the security guard blocked their way and said with a complicated expression, "Gentlemen, you should go back. Don't linger here. This is not good for the company's image."

Cheng Jinxiang didn't understand. Just a moment ago, the security guard was letting them stand at the door. How come the security guard's attitude towards her group changed so quickly?

“We were just standing here at the entrance asking some questions, it wasn’t a problem, so why did it suddenly…” Before Cheng Jinxiang could finish her question, the security guard interrupted her, “Gentlemen, let me be frank, my supervisor just said that you came here to cause trouble for Xiao Zhao, and that you were the ones who borrowed money from Xiao Zhao, but you turned around and said that Xiao Zhao borrowed money from you. I’m not saying that you’re lying, this is what my supervisor said.”

The security guard was embarrassed to say anything in front of everyone; anyway, that's what the leader said and arranged, and he just told them.

Zhao Tiesheng's expression changed. He knew very well that his family had not communicated with that leader at all, except for Zhao Chunqin, who had just chatted with that leader for a while.

Without a doubt, the leader said that because he listened to the nonsense Zhao Chunqin had spouted.

Zhao Tiesheng was disgusted by Zhao Chunqin's behavior. This wasn't the first or second time; it was clearly Zhao Chunqin's problem, but she turned around and blamed it on her entire family.

Zhao Tiesheng never imagined that his little sister, who had always been clinging to him since childhood, would one day turn into this.

Zhao Tiesheng was also at a loss for what to do, so he turned his attention to Cheng Jinxiang, whose face also looked much uglier.

At this moment, Zhao Da'e spoke up, "Mom and Dad, let's eat first. We've been standing here for quite a while and haven't eaten yet. We'll come back and continue hanging out with Auntie after we finish eating."

Zhao Da'e was the backbone of this family. After hearing this, Cheng Jinxiang had a general idea. She also felt a little hungry, and since she had brought Zhao Xiaojuan out with her, and now Zhao Xiaojuan was asleep on her back, she was probably a little hungry too.

“Big Goose is right. Let’s eat first, and then deal with these things. Since Zhao Chunqin wants to drag this out, let’s keep going and see who’s more shameless. After we finish eating, we’ll find a place that sells banners, write down the words ‘Zhao Chunqin owes money and won’t pay back’ in big letters, and go to her workplace to complain. If one day isn’t enough, we’ll do it for two days. Let’s see who can outlast whom!”

Cheng Jinxiang didn't care whether this would affect Zhao Chunqin's work; all she cared about now was her money, and she just wanted to get it back as soon as possible.

Since Zhao Chunqin has gone to such extremes, she doesn't need to give Zhao Chunqin any face.

After saying this, Cheng Jinxiang looked at Zhao Tiesheng and said coldly, "Do you have any objections?"

Zhao Tiesheng jolted, instinctively shook his head, and pleaded, "I wouldn't dare to object, wife, you can decide."

Zhao Tiesheng was afraid that if he spoke too late, Cheng Jinxiang would get angry with him. At this point, Zhao Tiesheng had seen clearly who was truly good to him. Zhao Chunqin was an ungrateful wretch.

Seeing that Zhao Tiesheng did not object, Cheng Jinxiang was happy. At least she found Zhao Tiesheng more pleasing to the eye than before. Cheng Jinxiang waved the two hundred yuan in her hand and said, "Now that we have money, let's eat something good and not treat ourselves."

The last time she went out to a restaurant with her daughter, she had a nice meal and she couldn't forget the taste of the food. She felt that since she had money, she shouldn't treat herself badly and should buy herself some food to reward herself sometimes.

Zhao Da'e was the first to agree, excitedly standing up, "Yay, delicious food is coming! I want to eat meat!"

Zhao Tiesheng's first reaction was, "Why eat meat? Meat is very expensive in the city. We can just eat some casually. As for the goose, if you want meat, we'll get it for you when we go back to the countryside." In the countryside, there is also cured meat made during the New Year, which is enough to eat and doesn't cost any money. At least eating in the city costs a lot of money, and Zhao Tiesheng, who is usually frugal, is a little reluctant to spend the money.

After hearing this, Zhao Da'e pouted in grievance and snorted, "Dad is so stingy."

Then, Zhao Da'e looked at Cheng Jinxiang with bright eyes and said, "Mom, I know you won't be as stingy as Dad, right?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Jinxiang laughed and rubbed Zhao Da'e's head, saying, "Eat, eat, eat! We have to have a good meal today. We can't let our goose's stomach suffer."

Zhao Da'e smiled broadly after hearing this, looking quite satisfied.

Hearing that Cheng Jinxiang had decided to spend money, Zhao Tiesheng felt a pang of heartache; eating in the city would cost a lot of money. But the money was in Cheng Jinxiang's hands, and whether or not he spent it wasn't up to him.

Cheng Jinxiang shook her head helplessly. She had recently experienced many things that had changed her a lot. She used to be timid, frugal, and even spoke in a soft voice. But after a brush with death in the hospital, her youngest daughter almost being sent to the hospital, being verbally abused and bullied by her mother-in-law, and having her hard-earned money taken by her sister-in-law, all of this made her realize that if she didn't stand up for herself, she would eventually be bullied to death. Cheng Jinxiang didn't want to live such a miserable life.

Cheng Jinxiang took Zhao Dage's hand and walked into the restaurant. "Come on, Dage, Mom will take you to eat something delicious. We need to eat our fill, we can't go hungry. Mom will definitely get half of the money back today. You can't pay for the building materials all by yourself."

Zhao Da'e was slightly taken aback after hearing this, and looked up at Cheng Jinxiang in surprise.