The beloved but ungrateful girl is reborn: This time she has truly changed.

Chen Hongxia sighed:

"Weiwei, if you had listened to your mother back then and taken over the job at the supply and marketing cooperative yourself, you wouldn't be in such a passive position today."

You gave the job to your sister-in-law, and although she gives you half of her salary every month, it's still a matter of her asking for more money.

"Weiwei, if you still want to work, Mom will try to find someone..."

Qi Weiwei teared up again.

She lied.

Tang Tiantian didn't give her half of her salary every month.

All these years, she has never seen a single penny.

However, in order to maintain Tang Tiantian's image in front of her mother, she lied.

Before her tears could fall, Qi Weiwei carefully placed the small bundle on her shoulder onto the bed and used the movement to wipe away her tears with her sleeve.

Then, she untied the bundle.

When the huge pile of banknotes was revealed, Chen Hongxia's eyes widened suddenly. She covered her mouth and gasped.

Ten-yuan notes, several thick stacks of them.

Various coupons: grain coupons, cloth coupons, oil coupons, industrial coupons... and that dark blue savings book.

"Weiwei!" Chen Hongxia's voice trembled as she grabbed her daughter's wrist with surprising strength. "What have you done?! Where did this come from? Tell me!"

Her face was deathly pale, and her lips were trembling.

"Silly girl, why are you doing something foolish again! Did you...did you do something for the Tang family again? Or...did you take public funds?"

Before Qi Weiwei could answer, she hurriedly said:

"However, no matter whose money you took, when they come looking for you, Mom will say it was Mom who took it!"

Do you understand?

Mom said that she went to visit someone and took it when no one was home!

My mother is just an old lady; it wouldn't matter if she went in.

"We can't let Vivi's future be ruined!"

She spoke quickly and urgently, tears welling up and streaming down her cheeks.

The fear and determination in those eyes tore at Qi Weiwei's heart.

This is her mother.

Even if they think their daughter has made a terrible mistake, their first reaction is not to blame her, but to think about how to take the blame for her.

Qi Weiwei laughed self-deprecatingly.

future?

At this point, what future does she have?

An unemployed woman, a foolish woman treated like a maid by her husband and in-laws.

But that's just how my mother is; she favors her without any reason.

In her mother's eyes, she will always be the little daughter who needs protection, and always the best.

Qi Weiwei pressed down on her mother's trembling hands and clenched them tightly in her palms.

My mother's hands were very cold and were trembling.

"Mom," she said, emphasizing each word, "this money is mine. To be precise, it's what I deserve from my damn marriage."

Chen Hongxia was stunned, tears streaming down her face, staring blankly at her.

Qi Weiwei continued, "Haven't you always wanted to know how I ended up owing such a huge sum of three thousand yuan? Why am I refusing to tell you, no matter what?"

Chen Hongxia's lips moved, but she didn't make a sound; she just nodded vigorously.

This matter has been like a thorn in her heart for six years.

The daughter suddenly incurred a huge debt of 3,000 yuan, forcing the family to empty their savings and incur a mountain of debt. To this day, more than 1,100 yuan is still owed.

No matter how she asked, her daughter wouldn't give a reason, only saying, "It's my fault, I admit it."

To pay off this debt, the elderly couple scrimped and saved, working from dawn till dusk, their lives turning from over fifty years old into the exhaustion of someone in their sixties.

But they never blamed their daughter; they only felt sorry for her—if she wouldn't tell them, she must have suffered a great injustice.

Qi Weiwei looked into her mother's eyes and slowly said, "More than a year ago, Tang Tiantian had an affair with the director of the supply and marketing cooperative in the warehouse in the middle of the night, and was caught red-handed by the director's wife."

Chen Hongxia's eyes widened suddenly: "What does this have to do with you?"

"Tang Aijun brought me here overnight." Qi Weiwei's voice was calm, eerily calm. "Tang Aijun knelt down before the director's wife and said, 'My sister is still young, she doesn't understand! Please don't call the police!'"

Chen Hongxia nodded: "This kind of thing is punishable by law. It could easily be considered hooliganism, with a minimum sentence of ten years."

Qi Weiwei continued, "Looking back now, the director's wife knew his character—he was incorrigible. She had long given up, and after hearing Tang Aijun's words, she stretched out her hand and said, 'Want to settle this privately? Give me three thousand yuan!'"

Chen Hongxia covered her mouth.

Three thousand dollars for at least ten years in prison is not much.

Qi Weiwei paused for a moment.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, all that remained in her eyes was an utterly cold clarity.

"I can't remember how I ended up with this three thousand yuan IOU."

All I remember is that Tang Aijun held my hand, knelt in front of me, and had red eyes.

He said, "Weiwei, Tiantian is my sister, I can't watch her die."

Don't worry, we'll pay this money back together. I'll definitely treat you well in the future.

I work in the publicity department, and I have a bright future ahead of me. I cannot sign an IOU.

Weiwei, please, if you sign this, you'll become a benefactor to my Tang family...

I promise to be good to you for the rest of my life…

"I believed it."

"I signed the IOU and put my fingerprint on it."

Chen Hongxia was stunned, frozen in place as if struck by lightning.

Then, the wife of the supply and marketing cooperative director came to their house with a group of people, looking arrogant and demanding payment from Qi Chou.

After a long pause, Chen Hongxia asked in a trembling voice, "Then...then Tang Tiantian now..."

"Just like you saw, Mom, she's still working as a sales clerk under the director of the supply and marketing cooperative."

Qi Weiwei sneered.

"Moreover, I'm now even wondering if all of this is a trap?"

"A trap?" Chen Hongxia's voice was trembling.

"Mom, please think about it."

Qi Weiwei looked at her mother,

"How come Tang Tiantian was caught having an affair with the director?"

How did the director's wife happen to be stuck in the warehouse?

Furthermore, why wasn't Tang Tiantian fired or dismissed after this incident?

In this whole affair, the only ones who suffered losses were me and my family.

The others were completely unharmed.

Also, three thousand yuan—that's exactly the amount our family could scrape together by selling everything we own and borrowing from all our relatives and friends.

Moreover, before this incident, Tang Aijun had subtly inquired about my family's savings on several occasions.

Chen Hongxia's expression changed little by little.

She is not stupid.

Having worked in purchasing at the supply and marketing cooperative for twenty years, what kind of people haven't I seen?

What haven't happened?

Over the years, he has been overwhelmed by his daughter's debts and has always been protective of her, so he has never thought about it too deeply.

But now that her daughter is so small, she suddenly realized.

"You mean..." her voice trembled, "They...they did it on purpose? Just to..."

"Just to empty our family's pockets."

Qi Weiwei continued her sentence,

"Mom, think about it, why would Tang Tiantian want to be with that director?"

The director was over fifty, fat and bald, while Tang Tiantian was only in her early twenties and not bad looking either.

What's the point?

"Tu...Tu will take care of me at work?" Chen Hongxia murmured.

Not entirely.

Qi Weiwei shook her head. "Tang Aijun's father is the director of the Revolutionary Committee, and his mother is the deputy director of the Women's Federation. Arranging a job for Tang Tiantian wouldn't be difficult. Which unit would dare refuse? Her taking over your job at the supply and marketing cooperative might be a conspiracy from head to toe!"