Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 774 Borrowing Money

Once inside, the place was still a mess. Running a shop these days was different from later generations; people didn't pay much attention to cleanliness, and nobody cared.

There's no one in the shop in front, and no one's stealing anything right now. If someone comes, they'll shout.

Upon reaching the back, cotton curtains hung over the large doors separating the front and back entrances. Lifting them aside, a warm feeling immediately enveloped them; the fireplace was burning brightly. An inner door opened, and a man peeked out: "Mom. Xiaoxiao's here? Come in. What brings you back today?"

Xia Maosheng nodded to him and called him brother-in-law. He didn't introduce him to Xiaowei and Chen Hui. Xia's mother handed him the tied-up chicken, saying, "Put this somewhere first. It's for you to eat during the New Year. We sold all the chickens at home, so we only kept one for your family."

The eldest brother-in-law came out of the house, took the chicken from Xia's mother, carried it to the back to get a basket and cover it, while Xia's mother and Xia Maosheng went into the inner room.

The inner room had been tidied up again, and it was very warm. Xia's father sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and Xia's eldest sister stood beside him. An old lady sat with two men in the inner room.

"Our in-laws are here! Come and sit down, warm yourself up." The old lady stood up and greeted Xia's mother.

Xia's mother looked around and asked, "What's this? How did you all get here?"

Xiao Wei and Chen Hui greeted Xia's father; they had met Xia Maosheng and Geng Hui when they got married.

The old lady, who was the eldest brother-in-law's mother, looked a little awkward for a moment. She coughed, forced a smile, and said, "Well, it's almost Chinese New Year, so I came to visit my second son and pick up some New Year's goods. As for my fourth son, I was thinking of buying a bicycle to make it more convenient for him to come and go."

Xia Maosheng called out to the old lady, looked around the house, and said, "Let's go then. It's perfect timing. The old lady and the others went shopping for New Year's goods. Let's go now, or it will be dark by the time we get there."

Xia's father asked, "Leaving today?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Yes, I came back specifically to pick you up. The house is all packed, and everything is in the car. Is there anything else?"

Xia's father shook his head: "It's alright, let's go once we're all packed up."

Xia Maosheng turned to his older sister and asked, "Sister, are you done packing?"

Sister Xia smoothed her hair and said, "There's not much to tidy up. Just close the door. I'll go get the child and change her clothes." She turned to leave, and just then her husband came in. Sister Xia said, "I'll go get the child," and went out.

Brother-in-law Xia came into the house, rubbed his hands together, looked around, and said to his fourth brother, "There's not much money in the family right now. The eldest and third brothers both have bicycles. You haven't separated the family yet, so just ride whatever you need. Why do you insist on buying another one? Each one costs several hundred yuan."

The fourth brother looked displeased and turned his face away, saying, "That's not mine. Who doesn't have one these days? It's so convenient, it's only three hundred yuan."

The old lady said, "If he wants one, just buy him one. It will be more convenient for him to go out and do whatever he wants, and he won't have to fight with the eldest and third sons for it."

Xia's father said, "Then just buy it. Why ask Qingsheng for help? What do you need Qingsheng's approval for? Everyone is living their own lives now. Qingsheng has been living on his own since he married my eldest son. What has your family ever helped with? When we were building this house, we asked your third and fourth sons to come and help. They came, ate a meal, and then ran away. Now you remember?"

Have you no shame? Over the years, Qingsheng and the eldest brother have made a fortune. Look at yourselves, look at this luggage, look at this room—does it look like you've made money? Where did all the money go? This is almost enough for the two of you to support your whole family! How can you be so shameless? Fourth brother, how old are you? Twenty-four or twenty-five, right? How much do you earn in a year?

Want to be fashionable, dress well, eat well, buy a bicycle—do you have no hands or feet? You're getting married soon, aren't you? I remember last year building the house and celebrating your birthday, all that work, how much did you spend? Is that what you owe? All these years, time and again, I've been too lazy to say a word. Yesterday, my eldest son went home and lay on the kang (heated brick bed) crying. After all these years in business, he has no savings at all. Who would believe that?

The old lady sighed and said, "My second son has indeed helped the family a lot over the years, so please don't be angry, in-law. It's just that there's nothing we can do. It's hard to find work these days, and it's hard to earn money. As for my fourth son, he's young and not very settled. I know all of that. I remember all the money my second son contributed before, and I'll have my third and fourth sons pay it back when they earn money."

Mr. Xia said, "Where can't you make money? Are people all starving? What doesn't make money these days? I'm an outsider, and your family's affairs are none of my business, but think about it yourself, is it appropriate to spoil your children like this? How old are they? The third son is at least better than before, he has his own child now, so he can at least earn a little something each year. But what has the fourth son done all year besides eating, drinking, and having fun? Just lying on the bed waiting for money to fall from the sky?"

The fourth brother turned around and said, "Why am I lying on the kang waiting for money to fall? I haven't been able to find suitable work yet!"

Mr. Xia said, "Let's not talk about the distant past. Last year, I helped you find work on a construction site. How many days did you work there? Didn't you earn any money?"

The fourth brother curled his lip: "What kind of work is that? It's exhausting, you're covered in dirt and sludge, and you don't earn much money. I'm not doing it."

Mr. Xia stared at his fourth son for a few seconds and said, "You're not my son. If you were, I would have broken your legs long ago. You don't do anything productive, you just loaf around all day, asking the family for money, and you want to buy everything. Aren't you ashamed to spend other people's hard-earned money on eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring?"

The fourth brother stood up abruptly and said to Xia's brother-in-law, "Just give me the money or not. If you don't, I'm leaving. What kind of work am I doing here, getting yelled at? How much did it cost you? I'll pay you back double when I have the money. What's the big deal? It's just money, what's the big deal?"

Xia Maosheng looked the fourth brother up and down a few times, then turned to his eldest sister and said, "You have an account book, right? An account book of the money you've given to your brother-in-law's family over the years."

Sister Xia nodded slightly.

Xia Maosheng said, "Give it to me."

Sister Xia looked up at her younger brother, looking a little embarrassed.

Xia Maosheng reached out and said, "Give it to me. Brother-in-law, I'm not angry at you, but sit down for a while. You can't be so confused about things; you have to figure things out."

The old lady stood up and said, "Oh dear, what a mess today. Never mind, I'll go back with them first and think of a solution later."

Xia Maosheng said, "Auntie, please sit down for a while. Since we've already talked about it, let's be frank so that everyone can understand the situation." Sister Xia went to the side and took out the account book from the box.

In this era, every household kept an account book. They would record even the smallest expenses, calculating every penny spent and planning their purchases.

Xia Maosheng took the book, flipped through it, found the "Qingsheng Family" page, looked at it, laughed, shook the ledger and said, "Your family, hehe, there's really nothing to say. Ever since my eldest sister married into the family, she's never gotten anything good. I remember when she got married, my family paid for most of the wedding, and this house was also built with my salary."

So what happened? How much has my older sister earned since she started this shop? Over 44,000 yuan. That certainly doesn't include the small change she slips in for shopping trips. Auntie, didn't you keep track? Is this number correct? Is this considered a loan or a demand? Fourth brother, when are you going to pay back the double amount?"

The fourth brother retorted, "It wasn't me who spent it. Didn't the eldest and third brothers spend it? If my mom borrowed it, go to my mom. What does it have to do with me?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Last year you built a house, which cost over ten thousand yuan. Wasn't that yours? And the TV and the tape recorder—did you spend those? The tape recorder cost fourteen thousand yuan, and you borrowed threeteen thousand from my sister. You bought a tape recorder for a mere one hundred yuan! I've never seen anyone other than your family do something like that. When are you going to pay it back?"

After glancing at the fourth son, Xia Maosheng said to the aunt, "Your family, repairing the old house, the third son building a house, the fourth son building a house, buying furniture and appliances, buying clothes, having children, buying bicycles—what isn't all paid for by my sister? Did my sister marry into your family to pay off a debt? Did she owe you something in her past life? Look at the way they live, can you bear it? Isn't my eldest sister's husband your son?"

(End of this chapter)