The Red Era: Starting from a Truck Driver

Chapter 134: Borrowed in the City

Zhou Lingying took a bus back to Changcheng Bus Station in the afternoon. It might be because her husband worked at the bus station. Even though it was a transportation station behind the passenger station, she felt a sense of familiarity with him.

After returning home, she put away the clothes and fed the chickens. After thinking for a long time while feeding the chickens, Zhou Lingying decided that even if her man was not around, she would indulge herself.

I fried an egg with lard and cooked a pot of rice. When everything was done, I brought the pot directly into the room.

After the door was closed, Zhou Lingying came out about ten minutes later with the pots and bowls and washed them in the sink.

There were not many bowls in a pot of rice, after all, the cooking pot was not very big, and the whole pot was not full. The feeling of eating rice in big mouthfuls was so refreshing for Zhou Lingying that she felt a little unsatisfied after finishing the whole pot of rice.

"Zhou Lingying~."

"Sister Liu, what can I do for you?"

When Zhou Lingying washed the pots and dishes and was about to go back to the side room to put them away, she was stopped by Liu Cui'e in the backyard.

Zhou Lingying had chatted with her several times. When they first met, they were watching a show in the backyard, watching her quarrel with her husband. It was the time when her husband Chen Xiangdong liked to play cards and they quarreled. However, when Zhou Lingying and Wang Yuzhen went to the backyard, they did not see the fight.

Liu Cui'e also stayed in the yard almost all day long. Because she was very familiar with someone from the Women's Federation, she sometimes went out to do temporary cleaning for some units to earn some money to supplement the family income.

This woman has no job, she stays at home to take care of the kids, and basically likes gossiping. Liu Cui'e also likes to tell everyone about her husband's debts from playing cards, and everyone likes to hear this. Everyone hopes that their neighbors live well, but not better than themselves.

All the women in the yard liked to chat with Liu Cui'e, and so did Zhou Lingying, who would show off her men from time to time.

"There's no one at home, right? Can we talk inside?" Liu Cui'e said to Zhou Lingying in a low voice.

"Sister Liu, I'm the only one at home today. I'll put down what I'm doing for a moment. If you have anything to say, come inside and talk." Zhou Lingying said.

This made Liu Cui'e go into the house to talk, but Zhou Lingying was a little worried, feeling that nothing good would happen. After Zhou Lingying moved in, the only people she could really confide in were Zhu Lan in the backyard and Chen Li.

Although Chen Li is Li Meihong's daughter-in-law, she seems to be a nice person. Xiao Li, the neighbor across the street, is also okay, but her children are teenagers, so it's hard to talk to her.

Zhou Lingying was naturally a little puzzled when Liu Cui'e suddenly came to see her. If they were just chatting, she wouldn't be like this.

After Zhou Lingying put her things in the side room, she took Liu Cui'e into the main room where she lived.

When Liu Cui'e entered the room, she was envious of Zhou Lingying's newly-made furniture. There was a desk and a dressing table, especially a few books placed on the desk, which made people feel that she was a very stylish person.

But Liu Cui'e has been with her man for more than ten years and has three children. Her home is not much different from when she first got married.

"Zhou Lingying, can you help me? My husband is playing cards and owes money to others. Can you lend me five yuan? I will pay you back when he gets his salary." Liu Cui'e asked a little embarrassedly. "Sister Liu, you know, I came here from another place to work in the countryside. What I eat and use now is all from my husband. I don't earn a penny~~." Zhou Lingying said embarrassedly.

Zhou Lingying said this, but in fact she was reluctant to lend it to him. She was not really familiar with Liu Cui'e. Liu Cui'e lived in the backyard, and they had only chatted a few times.

Zhou Lingying had basically gone out with the people in the front yard to buy groceries, washed clothes together, and had many topics to talk about. With Liu Cui'e, she basically talked about her man, and Zhou Lingying occasionally showed off her man.

Maybe Zhou Lingying was just showing off too much. She told others that although she was not in charge of the money at home, her husband would give her dozens of yuan at a time. Unlike some unemployed people in the yard, when they asked their husbands for living expenses, they would only give a few cents at a time. The most they would give was one yuan at a time.

Of course, I can't give much. Every month, I get more than 30 yuan, and I immediately buy food, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and daily necessities. Then there is not much left. I save a few yuan every month, and I have to save it for my children's tuition and improve their meals during the holidays.

Besides, you have to buy clothes and save some money for the New Year.

It's not that men are stingy. After deducting the necessary expenses from the salary, there is not much money left. If a woman doesn't have a job, a few cents or a dollar at a time is enough.

If Liu Cui'e wanted to borrow from other people in the yard, they had to be able to afford it. Besides, her husband liked to play cards, so even if he paid back the money once, he would come back the second time.

People in the courtyard had lent money to Liu Cui'e's family before. After all, they were neighbors in the same courtyard, so they would help if they could.

"Zhou Lingying, next month's salary payment is only ten days away. I know this puts you in a difficult position, but I really have no other choice." Liu Cui'e said.

Because she had a man who loved playing cards, she had borrowed money from all the relatives she could, and some of her relatives had paid her back. But Chen Xiangdong's brother and Liu Cui'e's family still had money to pay back. Relatives had stopped lending money to them a long time ago.

After hearing what Liu Cui'e said, Zhou Lingying still hesitated. Then Liu Cui'e acted pitiful in front of her for a long time, saying how bad her man was and how she would have left him if she didn't have three children. She praised her man in front of Zhou Lingying and said how much priority he had.

Praising Zhou Lingying's man was a flattery that hit the spot for Zhou Lingying. Zhou Lingying couldn't help herself and lent her five yuan, asking Liu Cui'e to write an IOU.

After Liu Cui'e borrowed the money, she thanked him and left, leaving Zhou Lingying in the room feeling a little irritated and sitting in front of the mirror on the dressing table.

She felt very strange. When she was in the Youth Corps, people always asked her to borrow money and food coupons. Now that she was married and living in the city, why did people still ask her to borrow money? Looking at herself in the mirror, did she look like someone who could easily borrow things from her?

~~
The next day, 5:30, Jiujiang Guesthouse.

Jiang Cheng and Feng Hua returned the keys to the staff here and left.

In this era, you don't need to pay a deposit to stay in a guesthouse, but your work ID will be registered. If there is anything damaged in the room you stay in, your unit will be called and you may be criticized by the unit.

There is no deposit, so check-out is very simple. In some TV dramas in later generations, we often see police staying in guesthouses when handling cases. Once they find something wrong, they all leave immediately. If you don’t see anyone at the service desk, you can just throw the key into a box specially for keys.

(End of this chapter)