Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire-Chapter 121 - 114 Humanity
Chapter 121 -114 Humanity
Lu Jiaxin immediately got up and went to the yard, where she saw Xiao Qiu busy in the kitchen, and she asked in surprise, “Why are you cooking? Where’s Xue Mao?”
Xiao Qiu replied, “Fifth Sister-in-law went to pick up Qiangqiang and Xiao Feng. Brother Mao and Miss Xiaoxiao went to get the steaming baskets.”
The pancakes and fried dough that Xue Mao made were delicious, and the buns, steamed buns, and wontons that Xiao Qiu made tasted good. Some people in the back alley didn’t want to make breakfast, so they’d simply go to their stall to eat or buy it to take home. The only problem was that they wanted to make more but couldn’t due to the limited cookware.
“Didn’t I tell you not to make so much, to avoid getting too tired?” Lu Jiaxin said.
Earning money didn’t make Xiao Qiu feel tired at all, “Cousin, now that the weather is cold, the food keeps well. We prepare the dumplings and wontons at night and then just need to boil them the next day.”
Lu Jiaxin didn’t want them to work so hard, but she couldn’t forcibly stop their determination, “I don’t oppose you wanting to earn more money, but you must meet my requirements.”
Xiao Qiu had finished middle school but her handwriting was poor, so Lu Jiaxin demanded that she practice writing every day. Xue Mao and Qian Xiaoxiao were even less educated, one having only finished primary school, and the other never having entered school and only recognizing a few characters. Even those few characters were learned because Lu Jiaxin had insisted on teaching them.
“Don’t worry, cousin. We practice reading and writing every day,” Xiao Qiu assured.
After dinner that evening, Ma Lili said, “Jiaxin, my children and I have been staying here for such a long time, and people in the alley have started gossiping. I’ve already cleaned up the place over there, so I’ll move in this weekend.”
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Lu Jiaxin guessed she wanted to leave because of the afternoon’s events but knew she couldn’t ask her to stay after what had happened. However, she still politely asked, “Once you move there, you’ll be working. Who will pick up the kids then?”
Ma Lili said she could take them in the morning, and if she couldn’t make it after school, she’d ask a colleague to help pick them up.
“It’s good as long as someone can pick them up,” Lu Jiaxin responded.
The next day, after taking her medicine, Lu Jiaxin went to the store to call Lu Jiaguang. Hearing that he was at the unit and not busy, she took a bus to go there.
Lu Jiaguang poured her a glass of water. After sitting down, he asked, “What’s the matter that couldn’t be discussed over the phone and needed a trip to the unit?”
Lu Jiaxin told him about the Ma family’s situation. After finishing, she furrowed her eyebrows and said, “Big brother, I always feel something’s not right about this. I remember Fifth Brother once mentioned that Fifth Sister-in-law’s uncles coveted their family’s assets, especially her eldest uncle who wanted his son to take over her father’s job. This caused a poor relationship among the three brothers. Under these circumstances, would they really lend so much money to their nephew for business?”
It seemed unlikely, unless they wanted to adopt a child, but to do so, there was no need to wait until now. Besides, both Big Sister Ma and her husband had relaxed their vigilance, which made the possibility even slimmer.
Lu Jiaguang’s expression instantly turned grim, “Has she gone mad to actually come to you to borrow money to fill the holes in her own family’s finances?”
“I refused,” said Lu Jiaxin.
She paused, then added, “I suspect Fifth Brother might have told her. She knows the exact amount I earn and thinks three thousand isn’t much for me to lend her.”
Making twenty thousand pairs of shoes, after deducting all costs, the average profit per pair was around thirty yuan. Although the full payment for the bulk orders would be received after delivery, there was already a deposit of twenty thousand yuan in hand. In comparison, three thousand yuan was a small amount of money for her.
Lu Jiaguang, quite angry, said, “Three thousand isn’t much? They’ve only managed to save just over two thousand in seven years of marriage.”
After a pause, he said, “Even if Fifth Brother asks, you can’t lend it. Otherwise, they’ll turn to you for every issue in the future.”
Jiajie had short on cash when buying a house, and Jiaxin had offered to lend him the money. It was a good thing to help out among siblings if one had the means. But why should Xinxin help to fill the holes of the Ma family?
Lu Jiaxin smiled and said, “Fifth Brother isn’t stupid. How could he just take on a debt of three thousand out of the blue? Big brother, can you see if you can find someone to inquire about it, to see if the money was really lent out or if it’s all just a setup?”
Lu Jiaguang also suspected that this was just their excuse to ask Lu Jiaxin for money. Even if she hadn’t mentioned it, he would have had someone look into it himself.
Seeing that her complexion had improved quite a bit since she had returned, Lu Jiaguang asked, “I remember you were due for a follow-up appointment yesterday, did you go?”
A radiant smile appeared on Lu Jiaxin’s face. Her elder brother was so busy, yet he still remembered the time of her follow-up appointment; it was really considerate of him. “I went, and I told the doctor that I’m recovering better than expected. I think it must be because I’ve been diligent in practicing the Eight Silk Brocade every day.”
Lu Jiaguang, who was so concerned about her, naturally knew that she had learned the Eight Silk Brocade from Master Qian. However, he had been somewhat doubtful before about its efficacy in strengthening the body. “Is the Eight Silk Brocade really that effective?”
Lu Jiaxin grinned, “Would you like to learn, big brother?”
Lu Jiaguang did indeed want to learn, but he was just too busy and didn’t have the time. Just like now, he had intended to have a good talk with Lu Jiaxin, but a phone call came and he had to go report to his supervisor.
Two days later, Lu Jiaguang called Lu Jiaxin to tell her about this matter. “Your Fifth Sister-in-law’s parents’ nephew did indeed come to borrow money for a business venture, but they were refused.”
Lu Jiaxin couldn’t help but laugh in frustration at their shamelessness, actually scheming against her.
Lu Jiaguang’s voice sounded somewhat somber, “Yan Fang has his eye on a property, and he wants the Ma family to buy it for Yan Jixiang, claiming it’s a safeguard for the child. That property costs six thousand eight, and the couple from the Ma family only has a little more than three thousand on hand. Yan Fang and his wife are not willing to spend their money, so there’s still a long way to go before they can buy the house. At first, they thought of asking your Fifth Sister-in-law to shift the money to them for the house purchase, but they didn’t expect her to be one step ahead. When they heard you made a lot of money, they turned their minds to you.”
He had been very angry when he learned of these things. Many people knew that his sister had savings of twenty to thirty thousand, and he was on guard against anyone approaching Jiaxin to borrow money. She might be too shy to refuse, so he had deliberately let slip that the money was with him! But what he hadn’t expected was that, in the end, it would be Ma Lili who would scheme against her sister.
Lu Jiaxin fell silent for a moment and then said, “Big brother, let’s not tell Fifth Brother about this for now.”
Lu Jiaguang thought he was considering the business on that side and didn’t want Lu Jiajie to get distracted and make a mistake because of family issues. But he felt that if a man couldn’t manage such a small matter without losing his composure, then he’d be too useless. “We have to tell him, or else your Fifth Sister-in-law is going to borrow money from someone else.”
Lu Jiaxin replied, “I just want to see if she’d get into debt for her parents’ family, disregarding Fifth Brother, Qiangqiang, and Xiao Feng.”
Lu Jiaguang disagreed with her approach, “Three thousand isn’t a small amount. If she does go out and borrow it, it will ultimately be your Fifth Brother who has to repay it. Such a large sum of money, it would take him three years to repay. You shouldn’t get involved in this; I’ll handle it.”
Lu Jiaxin fell silent for a moment and then asked, “Big brother, did Fifth Brother tell you how much profit I made from this batch of shoes?”
Lu Jiaguang hummed an affirmative response, “He did, this deal could bring in a profit of around six hundred thousand. You received a deposit of two hundred thousand, and there’s still over five hundred thousand in subsequent payments to come. He’s also worried that Su Heyuan might delay payments, so he’s planning to demand the money when the first batch of goods is delivered.”
“Big brother, did you tell my sister-in-law about this?”
Lu Jiaguang replied, “Your sister-in-law was worried you are young and inexperienced, that you might get cheated. I assured her that you hadn’t been deceived and that you’d even made some money.”
As for how much, he hadn’t said. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his wife, but he felt that the fewer people knew about such a large sum of money, the better.
Lu Jiaxin said, “Fifth Brother must have told Fifth Sister-in-law. She figures I’ve made five or six hundred thousand, so surely I would agree to lend a mere three thousand.”
At this point, she paused, “Last time, he let slip about my owning a large house to Second Uncle and Second Aunt, and they came to the Forty-nine City trying to take over my property. Now they’ve come up with this scheme. I think it’s time to teach him a lesson.”
Lu Jiaguang felt the cost of this lesson might be a bit high.
Lu Jiaxin snorted coldly, “Losing three or five hundred wouldn’t sting, but a large amount like this would really hurt him, and that’s the only way he’ll learn his lesson.”
If even this wouldn’t teach him a lesson, then he’d be nothing but an incorrigible scapegrace. However, with these two incidents in mind, she dared not ask Lu Jiajie for help with anything in the future.
