RGL – Chapter 76

“He borrowed four thousand yuan, said it was for the down payment on a house. He promised to pay it back as soon as possible. Now that he and Shao Yun are both working, they make over two hundred yuan a month combined. It shouldn’t take long to repay.”

“No down payment and already thinking of buying a house? And later they’ll have to raise kids and make monthly payments too. He really has some nerve.” The more Sun Qiufang spoke, the angrier she got. Her grievances with Su Changgui could be chalked up to brotherly disputes, but Shao Yun had once tried to seduce her husband. Whether she succeeded or how far it went, she found it disgusting either way. And now, her own husband had lent them money to buy a house—they must think their seduction scheme had worked!

Su Changrong spoke weakly, “Qiufang, it wasn’t a lot of money, and you were over in B City, I couldn’t reach you at the time… so I lent it. Don’t be mad, alright?”

“Hmph, don’t make excuses. I was gone for a few days, not a year or two. Su Changrong, you’ve become pretty slick-tongued since coming to the city, huh? Well, I’m not buying it. I’m not letting this go.”

Sun Qiufang said this and stormed into her daughter’s room.

Seeing her mother this angry, Su Min turned to Su Changrong. “Dad, why didn’t you talk to Mom first? She’s not stingy. If you’d just talked to her properly, do you think she’d say no?”

Su Changrong realized he’d made a mistake. The money at home was earned by both him and his wife. Spending such a sum without informing her was wrong. He was afraid she’d be mad, so he kept it from her. And now it had made things worse—Qiufang was even more upset.

“Minzi, go talk to your mom. Tell her I know I was wrong. Ask her not to be angry.”

Su Min stood up, “I’m not getting involved in your grown-up business. If you have something to say, say it yourself. I’m going to bed. You should rest early too.”

With that, she went into her room.

This really was her dad’s fault, and she wasn’t about to take his side. Sometimes people become spoiled when you indulge them too much.

Once in her room, Su Min saw her mother sitting on the bed, still stewing in anger.

“Mom, don’t be mad. It’s not worth harming your health over it.”

“Did your dad send you to smooth things over?”

“He did ask, but I didn’t agree. I just don’t want you getting too upset. When you think about it, it’s not that big a deal. Family and friends lend each other money all the time—this time just happens to be our turn.”

“Hmph, if it were your dad who needed to borrow money, let’s see if they’d lend it to us. Your third uncle used to look down on us for collecting scrap. Now he’s borrowing money from us?”

Su Min saw her getting angrier and said bluntly, “Mom, the money’s already lent. What are you planning to do? You can’t keep fighting with Dad forever.”

“I’m not fighting. I just want him to learn a lesson. Otherwise, he’ll think we’re pushovers and get worse next time. Starting tomorrow, I’m taking your dad to your third uncle’s house. He’s so proud, he probably didn’t even ask for an IOU. I’ll make sure he gets one.”

Sun Qiufang didn’t return to the bedroom that night. The next morning, Su Changrong had already made breakfast.

“Qiufang, breakfast is ready. Come eat,” he said with a fawning smile.

Sun Qiufang gave him a glance, sat at the table with a cold expression, and began eating. Su Min, seeing how things were, grabbed a bun and went to eat it on the sofa while watching TV.

Seeing his wife and daughter at least willing to eat, Su Changrong let out a sigh of relief and sat down to eat with Qiufang.

After a few bites, Sun Qiufang brought up the IOU. As expected, Su Changrong’s expression turned guilty the moment she mentioned it.

Sun Qiufang threw down her chopsticks. “Four thousand yuan—is that a small amount? And you didn’t even get an IOU? Unbelievable.”

Su Changrong said awkwardly, “Qiufang, Changgui said he’d pay it back in two years. With their current salaries, that should be enough time.”

“How can you be sure that’s true? Even with your own brother, accounts should be clear. Why are you treating it like a fuzzy favor? Even if I believe Su Changgui, I don’t believe Shao Yun. After the dirty stuff she pulled—trying to seduce you—just thinking about it makes me sick.”

Su Changrong hurried to explain, “Nothing happened. I’m not that kind of person.”

“If anything had happened, I’d skin you both alive.” Sun Qiufang pressed her lips together. “At noon we’re going to Changgui’s place and getting an IOU. Four thousand isn’t nothing. You’re making money now and forgetting what it was like when we were poor. Back then even a hundred yuan was precious. Now you lend out four thousand just like that. What do you think people back home will say if they find out? Remember when Changfu came asking to borrow just two hundred, and we didn’t give it to him? But you handed over four thousand to the third brother just like that. What on earth were you thinking?”

Hearing all this, Su Changrong suddenly realized the seriousness and got anxious. “Then what should we do?”

“What should we do? We go get the IOU and settle this. If word gets out back home, they’ll scramble to return the money just to avoid losing face. I’m not going to suffer just because we lent someone money.”

This time, Su Changrong didn’t object. He nodded in agreement.

Honestly, when Changgui asked him for the money, he hadn’t really wanted to lend it. But Changgui was divorced from Gao Hong and had nothing. No one even knew if this new woman was reliable. Of the three brothers, he really had nothing left. When Changgui talked about his situation, he nearly broke down crying. As the eldest brother, Su Changrong couldn’t bear to watch his brother fall into such despair. He thought it was only four thousand yuan, and with their three stores, they could make that back in a month. He hadn’t considered the people back home at the time. Now, thinking about it, if Changfu found out, or if their parents heard, they’d definitely cause a scene.

Because of this issue, Sun Qiufang didn’t speak to Su Changrong all morning. When they got to work, the employees could tell the atmosphere between the boss and his wife was off. Everyone found it strange. The boss lady had supposedly gone to B City for a vacation—shouldn’t she be happy on her return? Why the long face?

Because of her bad mood, everyone worked more cautiously. The usual chatting and joking quieted down.

Once Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang left at noon, the employees finally relaxed.

When the boss is in a good mood, work goes smoothly.

Su Changgui and Shao Yun were currently living in a single-story house. Their new home was already purchased but not yet renovated, so they couldn’t move in.

When Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong arrived, Shao Yun was cooking, and Su Changgui was lounging on the sofa reading a newspaper. Looking around at how the place was set up, Sun Qiufang thought to herself that Shao Yun really knew how to run a household. Even this small house looked completely different from others. No wonder Gao Hong lost to her.

When Su Changgui saw his brother and sister-in-law arrive, his expression turned a bit awkward. He looked uncomfortable, trying to force a smile.

“Big Brother, Sister-in-law, you’re here.” Su Changgui greeted them, then called into the kitchen for Shao Yun to come out.

Shao Yun had already heard the noise from the kitchen and came out quickly. Seeing that it was Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang visiting, her face lit up with a smile as she greeted them, “Big Brother, Sister-in-law, please have a seat. I’ll go get some water.” As she spoke, she hurried back into the kitchen with teacups.

Seeing how neatly the cups were arranged, Sun Qiufang smiled and said, “You two really know how to run a household.”

Su Changgui felt a hint of pride and replied, “It’s all thanks to Shao Yun managing everything so well.”

Shao Yun came out with the teacups and smiled warmly. “You haven’t eaten yet, have you? We’re cooking now, so please stay for a meal. You don’t visit often, and we didn’t prepare anything fancy, so I hope you won’t mind.” Her enthusiasm made it hard for most people to respond with anything unpleasant.

But Sun Qiufang felt uncomfortable. As a woman, she knew very well why Shao Yun had tried to cozy up to Su Changrong in the past. Naturally, she didn’t have a good impression of her. Especially now that she understood Shao Yun’s character better, she found her every word and action fake.

She didn’t believe for a second that Shao Yun didn’t know why she had come.

“Changrong and I already ate. No need to worry about us. We’re actually here for something else.” Sun Qiufang smiled coldly. “I didn’t even know about your house purchase until after we got back from B City and Changrong told me.”

“Normally, when family buys a house, we should lend a hand. After all, we’re brothers, right? When Changrong and I first came to the city, no one helped us. We know how hard it is without support.”

Hearing this, Su Changgui’s expression changed. He kept his lips tightly pressed, staring at the table.

Shao Yun still maintained her smile. “We know that Big Brother and Sister-in-law’s help means a lot. In the future, if anything comes up, our two families should help each other.”

Sun Qiufang smiled and said, “That’s a nice thought, but over the years, Changrong and I have never had help from anyone. We’re not used to relying on others. This time when Changrong helped you without discussing it with me first, I thought that was inappropriate. I’m not stingy—if a brother’s family is in trouble, of course I won’t stand in the way. I even scolded him over it.”

“I told him, lending money to a brother isn’t a big deal, especially since there’s an IOU—no need to worry about getting it back. Right? But look what happened—this fool forgot the IOU. So I came here today to get it. Just to keep things clear. What if you borrowed 4,000 yuan, and I mistakenly said it was 5,000?”

As soon as she brought up the IOU, Shao Yun’s smile began to falter.

To be honest, she never intended to repay the money. She knew Su Changrong and Sun Qiufang had a strong financial foundation—three stores, one of which was the largest supermarket in the county. She had seen the business herself. It definitely made a lot of money. While 4,000 yuan was a big sum for her and Changgui, for the older couple it was pocket change. Since they were family, she figured it didn’t matter whether they paid it back or not. That’s why she didn’t bring up the IOU at the time.

She had thought Su Changrong, who built such a successful business, would at least have some authority in his family. Even if Sun Qiufang found out, at most it’d cause a minor argument. She didn’t expect Su Changrong to be such a henpecked, spineless man.

Seeing Shao Yun silent, Sun Qiufang smiled, “What’s wrong? Is there an issue with the IOU?”

Su Changgui had been quiet the entire time, but at this point, he couldn’t hold back his frustration. “Sister-in-law, it’s not like we’re not going to pay the money back. Both Shao Yun and I are teachers—we have steady salaries. Are you saying we can’t afford it? Asking for an IOU makes it seem like you don’t trust us.”

“What kind of talk is that? If we didn’t trust you, we wouldn’t have lent the money in the first place.” Sun Qiufang wasn’t happy either. What kind of world was this, where the borrower acted like the one doing the favor?

Shao Yun forced a smile. “Sister-in-law, we’re all family here. Isn’t an IOU a bit too formal?”

Sun Qiufang smiled coldly. “You may think it’s too formal, but Changrong and I don’t. If money matters are kept clear, there won’t be conflicts in the future.” As she finished, she tilted her head and looked at Su Changrong.

Su Changrong also chimed in, “Your sister-in-law’s right. With a record, everything’s clear and fair.”

Seeing the couple insist on the IOU, Shao Yun’s heart sank. She looked at Su Changgui, hoping he’d say something in her favor. But before she could speak, he exploded with anger, “You want an IOU? Fine! I’ll write one right now. And we’ll repay the money as soon as possible. Don’t worry—we won’t default!” With that, he stormed into the room to get paper and a pen. Shao Yun tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Watching him like this, Sun Qiufang felt completely satisfied. She wasn’t afraid of falling out with Su Changgui. It wasn’t the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last. As long as her own family didn’t lose out, it was worth it.

After a while, Su Changgui came back out, fuming. He leaned over the coffee table and quickly wrote out the IOU, then signed it.

Sun Qiufang took a look and smiled. “College graduates really do have nice handwriting. Old Third, now that the IOU is done, everything’s clear between us. I won’t argue with your brother anymore. But this matter cannot be spread back to the family. You know how those relatives think. If they find out, we’ll have to ask for the money back right away. And if you don’t have it, the house will have to cover the debt.”

There was no kindness in her last sentence.

Both Su Changgui and Shao Yun looked incredibly embarrassed.

Su Changrong wanted to step in and say something, but seeing Sun Qiufang’s stance, he didn’t dare.

After all this, Shao Yun didn’t even want to pretend anymore. She coldly watched the couple leave the house.

Turning back to look at Su Changgui, who sat there silently, she couldn’t hold it in any longer. “What’s wrong with you? I never said we had to write an IOU—why did you go and write it?”

Su Changgui was already feeling frustrated and humiliated. Hearing her complaints, he exploded. “You’re blaming me? I said from the beginning not to borrow money from them. But you insisted! And now look—we’ve been humiliated by my brother and his wife!”

“How can you blame me? I wasn’t doing it for myself! I was doing it for this family!” Shao Yun started crying, eyes red. “In the countryside, when brothers build houses, the whole family pitches in. But your family—nothing. And now we even get scolded for borrowing a little money.”

“Enough, enough. Let’s not talk about this anymore.” Su Changgui shut himself in the room in frustration.

He had never imagined this situation before. He was the only one among his brothers to go to college. He used to be the most admired when he returned to the village—head held high. He used to laugh at his eldest brother’s family for picking trash in the city. And now? He was the one borrowing money. It was humiliating. If the money hadn’t already been spent, he would’ve thrown it right back at them.

Lying on the bed, Su Changgui sighed. He thought back to when he was with Gao Hong—though she had a bad temper, at least she could hold her own in public and never expected anything from his family.

Outside, Shao Yun was sitting at the table eating. Li Hao asked softly, “Mom, what’s wrong with Dad?”

“Don’t mind him. Just eat your food.”

Shao Yun picked up a piece of food for her son, then started eating large mouthfuls herself. She had long since realized that she couldn’t rely on a man. In the future, she could only count on her son.

By the time Sun Qiufang and Su Changrong returned to their shop, Sun Qiufang was still fuming.

Su Changrong poured her a cup of tea. “Qiufang, I know I was wrong. Don’t stay angry.”

“Why should I be angry? Look at your Third Brother’s behavior. He comes to us for money, and when we ask for an IOU, he gives us attitude. What did we do to deserve that?”

“I didn’t expect it either.” Su Changrong was also frustrated. Asking for an IOU might’ve made Changgui lose face, but he and Qiufang were his elder brother and sister-in-law, and they’d lent him money to buy a house. Even if he wasn’t grateful, he should’ve at least shown some basic respect. Instead, they were the ones getting attitude.