Upon hearing these words, Ma Dahua’s face turned ashen, yet she couldn’t find a way to refute them. Suppressing her anger, she forced a smile and said, “I was just joking with you. There’s no need to bother Director Guan with such a trivial matter. We wouldn’t want to waste her time.”
Having spent years obsessively trying to have a son, Ma Dahua had long since resigned from the factory. Now, her family relied solely on her husband’s income.
She still hoped to return to work at the factory once her son was a bit older. Given her current physical condition, however, she couldn’t possibly go back to the workshop. If she were to return, she’d likely be assigned to the logistics department—the cafeteria, for instance, would be a good fit. And since that would fall under Director Guan’s jurisdiction, she couldn’t afford to offend her.
“Oh, so you were just joking with me? I thought you were really acting like a director and starting to enforce discipline among the workers. I almost misunderstood. Not to criticize, but Aunt Ma, you should be careful with jokes like that in the future—they’re easily misunderstood. If word got back to Director Guan, she might think you’re overstepping and trying to take her position as director!” Hah, who doesn’t know how to throw accusations?
He Yingying thought to herself that indeed, like attracts like. This Aunt Ma was no different from her husband—neither of them had good intentions. Fortunately, Aunt Ma hadn’t openly criticized her daughter like her husband had, or else He Yingying wouldn’t have just subtly retorted; she would have outright cursed at her.
At that moment, Qiao Jiajia just wanted to applaud her mother. That string of sarcastic remarks was absolutely perfect. Even without seeing Aunt Ma’s expression, she knew it couldn’t be pleasant.
Only then did Ma Dahua realize that He Yingying was not someone to be trifled with. Feeling somewhat intimidated and afraid of being accused further, she quickly said, “I’m taking my son out now. I won’t keep you from work any longer.”
With that, she hurried away. And where she was headed was none other than her daughter’s home. Her precious son was the only male heir of the Hu family, so shouldn’t her two daughters, Daya and Erya, as his older sisters, contribute some money to buy him nutritional supplements?
Watching Ma Dahua scurry away in disgrace, He Yingying felt a bit better. Initially, she had felt uneasy about making Ma Dahua suffer alongside her husband when seeking revenge on the Hu family, thinking Ma Dahua had it hard too—forced to bear a son, taking all sorts of medicines that ruined her health. But now it seemed her sympathy had been premature. After all, birds of a feather flock together.
The next afternoon, as soon as Master Hu returned home from work, he found a crowd of people blocking his doorway—all of them were those he had borrowed money from. From a distance, he could hear his son crying inside the house, and in a panic, he rushed toward the entrance.
Seeing her husband return, Ma Dahua quickly cried out in grievance, “Husband, look! They’ve all crowded our doorstep and scared our Dabao into tears!”
As soon as the crowd saw Master Hu return, they stopped blocking the door and swarmed around him instead.
The leader of the group angrily shouted, “Hu Wenjun, pay back the money you owe me now! It’s been a whole year since you borrowed it! When I came to collect before, you said your family was struggling, life was hard, and you didn’t even have enough money to raise your son.”
Who doesn’t face hard times? Who doesn’t have children? Because of this, we took pity on you and didn’t force you to repay the money. But look at the result! You said your family was struggling, yet your son is being raised so well—I’ve never seen such a chubby child. At just one year old, he’s bigger than my one-and-a-half-year-old, with arms so thick they look like rolls of dough.
My own son hasn’t even had the luxury of drinking milk powder, yet your family—oh, using the money you borrowed from us—feeds your son milk powder every day! And all those baby clothes drying outside are brand new, pure cotton, not a single old piece among them. Is this what you call a hard life?
If that’s the case, then our family is the one truly struggling! My son hasn’t worn new clothes since he was born! Pay back the money—I want to buy new clothes for my son too.”
Someone nearby chimed in, “That’s right, pay up! We live frugally, reluctant to buy this or that, yet you spend the money you borrowed from us without a second thought. I just saw high-end biscuits in your house. Hmph, I’ll take those biscuits later to offset part of the debt. My son has never even tasted biscuits before!”
Others who had come to demand repayment added, “Just tell us when you can pay back the money! It’s been over three years since you borrowed from me. If you don’t repay, we’ll go to the factory director. You earn over forty yuan a month—we’ll ask the director to deduct thirty yuan from your salary to repay us first. The remaining ten or so yuan should be enough for your family of three to live on. Don’t say we’re forcing you into hardship!”
Few could tolerate such a gap—claiming to be struggling while borrowing money, yet living better than the lenders themselves!
If the Hu family were truly in dire straits, it would be one thing. They weren’t heartless people; everyone faces times when life is too tough to repay debts. Who knows, they might find themselves in such a situation someday.
But the key issue was that the Hu family’s situation had nothing to do with hardship. Their son was being raised so well, with no shortage of food, clothing, or necessities. How could that be called a hard life?
What nonsense! There’s no logic in enjoying life while owing money and refusing to repay. Ten or twenty yuan wasn’t a small amount—saved carefully, it could support a family for a month or two.
At first, when they heard people talking about the Hu family’s situation, they didn’t quite believe it. How could a family struggling to make ends meet, who almost couldn’t afford to go to the hospital when their child was born, suddenly have the money to raise their son like this? Milk powder, biscuits, new clothes—who among them would dare to raise a child so lavishly?
But when they visited the Hu family half-doubtingly, their suspicions turned into anger. The Hu family was nothing like the pitiful image Hu Wenjun had painted. The couple simply had money but refused to repay!
Now, those who had come to demand repayment were determined to get an answer from Hu Wenjun. Otherwise, they wouldn’t leave today.
As for how these people learned about the Hu family’s situation, it was naturally Qiao Heping and a few close friends who had “tipped them off,” pretending to gossip casually.
Now, with a crowd gathered at the Hu family’s door demanding repayment, He Yingying and Qiao Heping stood happily at their own doorstep, watching the show unfold.
They felt no sympathy at all for the neighbors next door. Nor could anyone accuse them of being petty and vindictive over a minor quarrel. Demanding repayment of debts was only right and proper. By informing those lenders about the Hu family’s true situation, they were actually doing a good deed!
When people lent money back then, it was to help in an emergency. No one’s money grew on trees. The Hu family had the means to repay but chose not to, instead splurging on their precious son. That was simply unreasonable!
Watching the crowd outside blocking the door to demand repayment, Qiao Zhufang suddenly slapped her forehead as if remembering something. She turned to her son and said:
“Hey, Heping, actually our family also lent them ten yuan. At the time, Ma Dahua said she was unwell and had no money for medicine. I felt sorry for her and lent it out. That was a couple of years ago. If not for today’s commotion, I would have forgotten all about it. Had I known they were such people back then, I wouldn’t have lent it.”
Hearing this, Qiao Heping could no longer just stand by and watch the show. He had to get that money back. He stepped forward and chimed in with a smile, “Hey, Master Hu, our family also lent you ten yuan. We lent it back then out of consideration for being neighbors. Though it’s not a huge amount, it’s still nearly half a month’s wages. When you repay, don’t forget about our family.”
Previously, in his quest for a son, Master Hu had tried all sorts of folk remedies over several years. Ma Dahua had also taken many so-called “guaranteed-to-produce-a-son” medicines, which were not cheap at all. Anything advertised with such a promise was clearly designed to fleece people.
In pursuit of a son, Ma Dahua had long since resigned from the factory. Relying solely on Master Hu’s monthly salary of over forty yuan was not enough to cover the medicine costs. Their two daughters had already been squeezed dry, so borrowing money became the only option. Master Hu had borrowed from people living farther away, and the Qiao family, living right next door, naturally hadn’t escaped either.
At the time, the relationship between the two families was still passable, at least on the surface there weren’t so many grievances. Ten yuan—seeing Ma Dahua unwell and looking rather pitiful, plus considering they would be neighbors for many years to come—Qiao Zhufang had a moment of soft-heartedness and lent the money.
It could be said the Hu family was lucky that Qiao Zhufang was home when they borrowed the money. Among the Qiao family members, she had the gentlest disposition. Although their relationship was only ordinary, hearing about others’ difficulties moved her to lend. If Qiao Qiusheng had been home, they wouldn’t have gotten a single cent.
Qiao Qiusheng had experienced poverty in the past. Apart from spending on his own family, not a penny from his hands would go to outsiders.
And now that they were about to turn hostile with the Hu family, why let them keep that ten yuan? Of course, they had to get it back! Ten yuan was no small sum. Although it wasn’t a huge amount for the Qiao family, that ten yuan could still buy quite a few things. With it back, they could go to the non-staple food store and buy a big pack of biscuits and walnut cookies for the family to enjoy!
Seeing Qiao Heping also join in the clamor, Master Hu was furious but could do nothing about him. He still had this whole crowd to deal with!
Over the years, Master Hu had borrowed a total of over two hundred yuan in various amounts—some as little as a few yuan, others as much as twenty or thirty. In an era where the average monthly wage was less than thirty yuan, this was by no means a small sum. No wonder those who knew how comfortably the Hu family lived were so angry that they came to demand repayment.
Master Hu’s monthly salary, including subsidies, was at least forty-eight yuan. With that level of income, repaying the debt should have been no issue at all. He had only one son at home and often squeezed money from his two daughters, living a more comfortable life than most.
Yet he simply refused to repay the money. Having had his precious son at the age of forty, he treated the boy like a little emperor. Seeing the neighbor’s daughter drinking milk powder, eating premium biscuits soaked in milk, and having steamed eggs every few days, he felt compelled to keep up. He thought, if even a worthless girl next door could eat so well, his son, the sole heir of the Hu family, deserved nothing less.
So he fed his son all kinds of fine things. When money ran short, he either borrowed more or squeezed his daughters for funds. Saving up to repay debts was the last thing on his mind—it simply never happened.
But now, faced with a crowd that seemed determined not to leave until he repaid, with two people even brandishing tools and several others already ransacking his house—taking his son’s new clothes and milk powder—Master Hu was heartbroken.
Hearing his son wailing in fear inside the house, Master Hu finally gritted his teeth and vowed, “If you insist on getting the money today, I truly don’t have a single cent. But I promise, from now on, I’ll set aside twenty-five yuan every month to repay you, one by one. Otherwise, no matter how much you pressure me, I still won’t have any money.”
A shrewd listener immediately responded, “Fine, you say you’ll pay twenty-five yuan each month. The factory just issued this month’s wages a couple of days ago—don’t try to tell us you’ve already spent it all. Hand over twenty-five yuan right now. We can each take a yuan or two; even a tiny bit is better than nothing.”
The others agreed and chimed in, “Hurry up, give me two yuan and I’ll leave.”
Qiao Heping added mischievously, “Don’t forget about me, Master Hu. I want two yuan too.”
Author’s Note:
Beep! Update’s here!
Good night~