Back To The 80s-Chapter 476 - 487: Borrowing Money _1

Gu Xiaobei pretended not to understand and said, "What are you talking about? Mom didn’t understand?"

Xiaopang blinked his big eyes, took two steps forward in his shoes, and said loudly, "Mom, eat some oranges. They’re delicious."

"Ah, eating candy, mom’s tooth aches, not eating." Gu Xiaobei covered her face, pretending to be in pain.

Xiaopang approached her and said, "Mom, Xiaopang will blow on it for you, and if you eat a candy it won’t hurt anymore."

Gu Xiaobei laughed and hugged Xiaopang. "My darling girl, how do you always manage to wheedle candy out of me? But today is not the day for eating candy. We have to wait until Sunday."

Xiaopang pondered very seriously. When exactly is Sunday?

The door was knocked. Mo Wang spoke loudly, "Mom, it’s the door."

Gu Xiaobei somewhat wondered, with such heavy snow outside, who could it be?

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Zhao Hongmei leading Erhu standing at the doorway. She said with a smile, "Erhu was restless at home and insisted on getting out. The snow outside is so heavy and he couldn’t go out, so he came to your house to pass the time."

Reluctantly, Gu Xiaobei stepped aside to let Zhao Hongmei lead her child in quickly. The wind in the corridor was quite cold. She couldn’t let the child get cold.

Zhao Hongmei entered the door and saw Xiaopang walking around in high heels. She laughed and said, "This little girl is so vain, it’s not good."

Gu Xiaobei frowned. It was just the child’s curiosity. How could it relate to whether it’s good or not?

Seeing Mo Wang using the alarm clock, Erhu was interested and ran over, reaching out to grab it. Mo Wang acted swiftly, holding the alarm clock in one hand and pushing Erhu away with the other.

"Oh my! Erhu, you’re grabbing other kids’ stuff again. Didn’t Mom say you can’t grab other kids’ stuff?" Zhao Hongmei pretended to scold him sternly.

Gu Xiaobei sat to one side without uttering a sound. Anyway, she would not say something like let Mo Wang give the alarm clock to Erhu to play with.

Erhu probably remembered his knock on the head last time and didn’t make a fuss when Mo Wang refused to hand it over. He stood obediently at the side, watching Mo Wang fiddle with the tin alarm clock in his hands.

Zhao Hongmei looked around the room and then sat down, saying, "Xiaobei, your family’s conditions are not bad, why don’t you buy a TV?"

"With two kids, the pressure is also high. Even if we have money, we don’t dare to spend it recklessly," Gu Xiaobei replied casually.

"Don’t you also buy a tape recorder for your home?" Zhao Hongmei continued to question.

Gu Xiaobei thought a tape recorder might be worth buying. She could record the children’s voices.

"A tape recorder isn’t expensive. It’s a few hundred dollars, I think. Your family should be able to afford it," Zhao Hongmei continued.

Gu Xiaobei laughed and said, "We will have to wait until after the New Year. The New Year is coming, and there are many ways to spend money at home."

Zhao Hongmei nodded, "Isn’t it? It takes a lot of money for the social obligations during the New Year. Although we don’t go back to our hometown, we send a lot of money home every New Year."

"Yeah, New Year is all about spending money. After spending this money, the New Year will be good," Gu Xiaobei said with a smile.

"Isn’t that right? Every New Year, we have to send money to our in-laws’ family and our own family. The money we save from a year of scrimping and saving is quickly used up once the New Year comes. It’s frustrating," Zhao Hongmei sighed.

Gu Xiaobei smiled. That’s just how the New Year is celebrated in every ordinary Chinese family. Earn money for the New Year, and continue to earn money after the New Year.

Zhao Hongmei brought up something else, then asked, "Do you pay for meals every month at your mother-in-law’s?"

Gu Xiaobei didn’t understand why she asked this, and nodded, "Yes, we pay. Our family has four people. Of course, we have to pay."

"Oh, that’s not bad." After Zhao Hongmei said this sentence, she was silent for a while. Then she stammered, "I want to borrow some money. Is it convenient for you?"

Now Gu Xiaobei understood Zhao Hongmei’s purpose. After all that beating around the bush, it turned out she wanted to borrow money. She asked, "How much do you want to borrow?"

Thinking that she was getting somewhere, Zhao Hongmei quickly said, "Two thousand. If not, one thousand is also okay."

Upon hearing that Zhao Hongmei was going to borrow two thousand for the first time, Gu Xiaobei was surprised. Why did she want so much money? Even for the New Year, it’s impossible to send so much money home. She shook her head and said, "We don’t have that much money. Zhanguo’s monthly expenses are used for daily expenses. The small business I’m doing is not doing very well recently, and the money is tied up in the goods. I’m actually putting less money in there than my partner. Money is tight at home these days, and Xiaopang and Mo Wang haven’t eaten apples for several days."

Zhao Hongmei didn’t expect that not only Gu Xiaobei didn’t lend her money, but she also complained about her own financial difficulties. Zhao Hongmei’s face looked upset.

Seeing Zhao Hongmei silent, Gu Xiaobei also didn’t feel like talking. She leaned against the sofa, watching the three children play.

Zhao Hongmei recovered her mood a bit, and forced a laugh, "It’s okay, everyone’s money is tight now. The New Year is coming. There are many places to spend money, and no family has too much to spare."

Gu Xiaobei nodded and echoed, "Yes, and we live in the city. We buy everything we eat. It feels like the money is gone before we’ve bought much."

Zhao Hongmei still sat awhile longer, and then took Erhu back home.

As soon as she entered the door, Zhao Honghe rushed over impatiently, asking, "How is it? Did you borrow the money?"

Zhao Hongmei glared at him resentfully. "They are also out of money. What do you need so much money for?"

Zhao Honghe didn’t believe it and said, "How can they be out of money? Gu Xiaobei made tens of thousands at the Mid-Autumn Festival alone."

"It doesn’t matter how much money they have. I just want to ask you, why do you need so much money? Did you cause any trouble outside?" Zhao Hongmei interrogated.

Zhao Honghe walked around restlessly for a bit before saying, "I have urgent need. Why does it have to be trouble? Sister, when you borrowed money, did you make our situation sound dire? Like our mom has a serious illness and needs money for her life."

Zhao Hongmei let go of Erhu’s hand, slapped Zhao Honghe’s head fiercely, and said angrily, "Are you human or not? Who curses our mom like that? I won’t lend you money. You can figure something out."

Zhao Honghe became anxious, grabbed Zhao Hongmei’s arm, and shouted, "Sis, I don’t care, you have to find a way to help me."

Zhao Hongmei looked at him skeptically and asked, "What on earth happened to you?"

Zhao Honghe grumbled for a long time before finally saying, "I got a girl from the factory pregnant. Her family said, if I don’t give them two thousand, they will accuse me of rape."

Zao Hongmei was shocked and stared at her brother for a long time before she hit Zhao Honghe and said, "You did such a beastly thing. Did the girl mention it to her family? Can’t you find a matchmaker and marry her?"

Zhao Honghe shook his head. "She just wants the money." He didn’t dare to mention that he had encountered a scam. The girl seemed very innocent, but after sleeping with her, she completely changed. A month later, she told him that she was pregnant with his child, and if he didn’t give her the money, she would accuse him of rape. The baby in her belly is the proof.