“So what’s the situation at home now?” Qiao Mei asked with a frown.
Liu Fen knew that even if she took out all her family’s savings, it would not help much with this debt created by Zhou Hua.
Liu Fen took her bag and prepared to go back to her parents’ house to borrow money. As she packed her things, she said, “There’s also nothing much you can do about this matter. It’s such a big sum to repay! I’ll go back and think of a way now. You must stay at home and don’t wander around.”
Xia Yao’s career had been thriving. When they first got married, they were so poor that they could not even afford to eat, and they had needed financial help from the Xia family. Now that Xia Yao’s salary was more than 100 dollars a month, she stayed at home to take care of the family. Occasionally, she would return to Xia Jun’s house to demonstrate filial piety on behalf of Xia Yao. At home, she had a small courtyard where she could grow vegetables so she did not need to buy any. Over the years, she had managed to save up some money for her two sons to get married.
Everyone already knew that Qiao Mei’s family was from the countryside. Even if Qiao Mei wanted to help, she only had the 2,000 dollars that Xia Zhe had given her and it was most likely that she had already spent most of it. She did not think that Qiao Mei would be able to help out right now.
Qiao Mei quickly stopped Liu Fen and said, “Second Aunt-in-law, don’t be in such a hurry to go back. Tell me more as I have ginseng that I can sell!”
Liu Fen felt more at ease when she heard that. Ginseng was a rare commodity. If a well-to-do family wanted to buy it, it could be worth more than 10,000.
“Second Aunt-in-law, don’t be anxious. Come back and tell me slowly what’s going on?” Qiao Mei slowly pulled Liu Fen back into the house.
The moment Qiao Mei mentioned the matter, Liu Fen almost went crazy with anger. What Zhou Hua did was equivalent to pushing the entire family into a fire pit!
“Your Third Aunt-in-law! It’s all her fault! They called to say that they just found out that Zhou Hua took 50,000 dollars from the He family and that Eldest Brother had managed to grab hold of her on the train. However, she refuses to admit that she has taken the money and refuses to hand it over. They’ve searched the entire house but they still can’t find where she hid the money,” Liu Fen said angrily.
If Zhou Hua refused to say anything, they would definitely not be able to find the money within a short period of time. She must have hidden the money somewhere. Her ancestors were tomb raiders, so she definitely knew of places where others could not think of.
“The most important thing now is to quickly pool the money to return to the He family. Otherwise, the He family won’t let this matter rest. If there is any delay, He Ning will definitely make an issue out of this matter. By then, the Xia family will be finished! Your second uncle will also be finished!” The more Liu Fen said, the more she felt that the task was impossible and she started crying.
It was an amount of 50,000 dollars! Even if they sold the house, they still might not be able to pool together this 50,000 dollars. Moreover, no one was allowed to buy or sell anything now, so she had no idea how they could get the money.
Besides, Xia Yao had written to her a few days ago to say that his superior was happy with his performance and that he might be promoted soon. If anything went wrong at this critical moment, it would be all ruined!
Qiao Mei was a little puzzled. The Xia family and the He family were both among the most prominent families in the capital. The Xia family had to mobilize the entire family to pool together a sum of 50,000 dollars, but He Ning could take out so much money so easily. How was it that he was not afraid of being investigated for taking out so much money so openly?
“Where did the He family get so much money?” Qiao Mei asked, feeling confused.
“I’m not too sure about this either. The old master was the one who called me. Since that’s what he said, then it must be He Ning who did it. Where’s that ginseng of yours? Sigh, even if you take it out, there might not be anyone willing to take the risk to buy it. Besides, what if He Ning turns around and takes a fancy to this ginseng now?” Liu Fen said with a sigh.
Qiao Mei was a little surprised. She did not expect Second Aunt-in-law to be so smart as to be able to guess what He Ning might be thinking.
She did still have ginseng with her. It was a 20-year-old ginseng. However, even if she found a buyer now, it was very likely to be someone sent by He Ning. In the end, even if she got money for it, she would still have to return it to He Ning. That would be like giving He Ning a ginseng for nothing.
“Qiao Mei, Second Aunt-in-law knows that you’re being kind, but the situation is tense now. I think I should go back and think of a way. You must stay at home. The whole family is in such a mess now. If anything should happen to you as well, it would be a disaster.” Liu Fen picked up her bag and rushed out of the door.
By the time Qiao Mei reacted, Liu Fen had already disappeared.
“Second Aunt-in-law can actually run so fast…” Qiao Mei looked at Liu Fen’s back in a daze and sighed.
At this moment, Qiao Mei suddenly remembered that she still had more than 10,000 dollars in her bag that she kept aside for emergencies. In the end, she had forgotten to tell Liu Fen.
