OBS Chapter 8: Even bringing my mother here won't help.
Chapter 8: Even bringing my mother here won't help.
Qin Yanxiang and Liu Shengjie took the money home and packed their things overnight to prepare to go back to the city to work.
This is why Deng Xiuzhen didn't recognize them even though they lived at the east end of the street. They worked away from home most of the year and only came back for the New Year or special occasions. This time, they came back because Qin Yanxiang's mother had fallen seriously ill with cancer. At first, they were afraid she wouldn't survive, so they called them all back. But later, it turned out to be a misdiagnosis.
Qin Yanxiang and Song Yuanxiang used to be close, always saying they were closer than sisters. So she took the opportunity to visit her when she came back, but who knew that this would happen? This fake sisterhood was ruined.
She had to run quickly, lest Song Yuanxiang come looking for her tomorrow. She wasn't afraid of Song Yuanxiang, but she didn't want to argue in front of everyone.
Rather than confronting each other and causing a huge argument, it's better to let Song Yuanxiang suffer in silence and feel better about herself.
When Deng Xiuzhen returned home, Qin Yanlin was still sorting through the goods. Their goods were of good quality and reasonably priced, as those who had bought from them knew.
Hearing that they were going to sell their goods, several groups of people came over wanting to take them over. Among them were former employees of the supply and marketing cooperative, presumably the ones who wanted to take over their shop. Qin Yanlin directly rejected the former employees, and after some further selection, finally agreed to transfer the goods to someone who had recently opened a shop on the front street. The other party told them to take inventory, calculate the price according to their purchase order, and come back the next day to take inventory and then transport the goods away.
"How so?" Qin Yanlin asked while working.
"After signing the settlement agreement, they gave me another five hundred yuan," Deng Xiuzhen said as she helped.
“Five hundred yuan? Didn’t they say they wanted ten thousand? How could they agree to five hundred? Is it related to your sister-in-law?” Qin Yanlin stopped and asked in confusion.
"I guess my sister-in-law is in cahoots with them. After hearing what I said at the beginning, that Qin Yanxiu was afraid that she wouldn't get the money and didn't want to be bedridden for a long time, so she got up and came to me to get the money and run away."
"Won't your sister-in-law be furious tomorrow?" Qin Yanlin couldn't help but laugh.
“She deserved it!” Deng Xiuzhen laughed as well.
This incident cost them a total of 1,100 yuan: 400 yuan to the hospital, 200 yuan to Liu Shengjie for living expenses and caregiving fees, and another 500 yuan today. They didn't care whether the hospital money was used up or not, and just let Qin Yanxiu and the others settle the bill themselves.
In an era when wages were only a couple hundred yuan, this was equivalent to most people's income for more than half a year. It's true that they felt no pain, but thinking that the matter was finally over and that the phrase "paying to avoid trouble" didn't make them too unhappy.
Especially Deng Xiuzhen, seeing that Qin Yanlin was perfectly fine and uninjured, felt it was all worth it. Money can be earned again, but health is rare.
In a good mood, I was energetic and focused. The children came back and helped out. We managed to take inventory of all the items and settle the accounts before 10 p.m.
The next morning, as soon as the child left the house, Qin Yanlin called the man to come and check the goods.
He was a straightforward man, and he brought his wife along. Qin Yanlin and Deng Xiuzhen moved things, the man loaded them onto the truck, and his wife counted them according to the ledger. They worked efficiently and finished loading everything in the morning.
The two were cleaning when Song Yuanxiang arrived, accompanied not only by Deng Chunlin, but also by Deng Xiuzhen's mother, He Taoxiu.
"You stupid woman, how could you do such a foolish thing!" He Taoxiu pointed at Deng Xiuzhen and cursed as soon as she came in.
Deng Xiuzhen watched quietly. She didn't understand why she didn't feel that her mother was biased in her previous life. Instead, she wholeheartedly believed that her mother scolded her to educate her and made her support her brother so that she would have someone to rely on. She felt that everything her mother did was for her own good.
"Why aren't you getting Mom a glass of water yet!" Deng Chunlin said sternly.
"Mom, you're here? Come, have some tea." Qin Yanlin smiled and handed the teacup to He Taoxiu, then went to pour tea for Deng Chunlin and Song Yuanxiang.
“Yanlin, Xiuzhen is so immature. I've spoiled her. Please be more understanding. This has already happened, so you should deal with it quickly. Don't let outsiders gossip. It's not good for the children's reputation.” He Taoxiu took a sip of tea and continued, “Xiuzhen, don't be stubborn. Pay the compensation as soon as possible. Don't ruin the Deng family's reputation and make it difficult for your older and younger brothers. If something happens, where will you find someone to help you? A woman needs a good family to rely on for support.”
Deng Xiuzhen remained silent, recalling some of the things her mother had done in her past life. Those things were all bad to her, but good to her eldest brother and youngest brother. Even on her deathbed, her mother forced her to hand over tens of thousands of yuan, saying that if she didn't, she would disown her as her daughter. At that time, she was raising three children alone, struggling to make ends meet.
She desperately wanted to know if her mother knew that her older brother and sister-in-law had conspired with outsiders to extort money from her.
"Are you deaf? Didn't you hear what Mom said?!" Deng Chunlin scolded.
"Don't say that to Xiuzhen. She must be a little nervous after this happened. Don't scare her any further!" As usual, Song Yuanxiang spoke to Deng Chunsheng while trying to help Deng Xiuzhen up.
In the past, Deng Xiuzhen would gratefully lean on her side at this time, but not this time.
Deng Xiuzhen not only didn't approach her, but instead walked to the side.
Song Yuanxiang felt somewhat embarrassed and flustered; she had a feeling that Deng Xiuzhen had become strange. But that was secondary. The main thing was that if she couldn't appease Deng Xiuzhen and get the money, she would get a beating from Deng Chunlin when she got home.
"Mom, don't worry, I will communicate with them and resolve the matter so that your and my brother's reputations are not damaged," Deng Xiuzhen said after thinking for a moment.
Qin Yanlin was slightly taken aback, but said nothing.
"Don't just talk the talk. Quickly get ten thousand yuan and let Chunlin take it. We'll go to the hospital to apologize to them. You wretched woman, how did you get yourself into such a mess?!" He Taoxiu said as she got up, waiting for Qin Yanlin and the others to bring the money so they could go to the hospital together.
In her mind, once she arrived and said those words, Deng Xiuzhen would definitely take out money.
Even though Qin Yanlin was reluctant, she still had to give it up in the end. She was confident that her daughter, whom she had raised, had to be willing to sacrifice for her family.
"Mom, we'll handle this ourselves, you..." Deng Xiuzhen paused for a moment and then continued, "Don't worry, we'll take care of it. We'll definitely take care of it today, and no one will gossip. Don't worry." He Taoxiu's words made Deng Xiuzhen basically certain that her mother knew about this matter, and knew very well that Deng Chunlin was trying to extort money from them.
She felt more bitter than bitter herbs in her heart. How could her own mother conspire with others to harm her?
But she didn't want to ruin things; after all, this was her mother. She could do without her brother, she could do without her sister-in-law, but she couldn't do without her mother.
"I'm at ease? How can I be at ease? Don't say anything more, just give the money to Chunlin, and we'll settle this matter face to face. Only then will I feel at ease!" He Taoxiu said, slamming her hand heavily on the table.
"Mom, why do you insist that I give the money to my brother?" Deng Xiuzhen's eyes were already filled with tears.
He Taoxiu's eyes flickered as she said, "Your brother is capable and can solve the problem. If you don't want to give it to your brother, you can take it yourself."
"Mom, we can handle this ourselves. If we can't handle it today, I'll listen to whatever you say tomorrow." Deng Xiuzhen felt heartbroken, and her voice choked with sobs.
But she still didn't want to embarrass her mother in front of her. She thought that if Song Yuanxiang went to the hospital later and found that Qin Yanxiu had already run away, her mother wouldn't pressure her anymore.
"You damned woman, you've gone too far! You won't listen to a word I say!" He Taoxiu said, picking up a broom from the corner and slapping it at Deng Xiuzhen.