Chapter 24: Borrowing Money

“Don’t worry, I’ll ask the boss for a day off later. Your uncle doesn’t come around often; I’ll just chat with him,” Fenglan quietly consoled her daughter.

She hurriedly poured water for her younger brother and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Her second brother, third brother, and younger sister were all raised by Fenglan since childhood. Wu Zhiqiu was working, and Fenglan had been looking after her brothers since she was a young girl.

When they were younger, the brothers relied on their older sister even more than their mother.

But people always change!

The third son was here for a reason and didn’t want to beat around the bush with his sister.

“Eldest sister, can you lend me some money?”

Yuan Manman had a sarcastic smile at the corner of her mouth; she knew it would be like this! Grandma was absolutely right—when it came to asking for money, it was usually the brothers first.

“Sure!” Fenglan thought her younger brother had run out of pocket money and pulled out five dollars from her pocket to give him.

“Here, don’t waste it. The family isn’t wealthy, so you should care for Mom and Dad!” Recently, Li Mancang and Wu Zhiqiu had been busy dealing with family matters, and Fenglan felt heartbroken seeing her parents’ frail figures. She hoped her brothers could be more understanding and relieve some of their parents’ burdens.

The third son did not take the money from Fenglan’s hand.

“Eldest sister, I’m asking to borrow money because I want to get married. This amount isn’t enough!”

“Get married? Why haven’t I heard Mom and Dad mention this?” Fenglan asked in surprise.

“Mom and Dad don’t care about me anymore and want to force me to separate!” The third son wore a bitter smile.

“Impossible! Mom and Dad would never stop caring about you!” Fenglan still understood how much their mother cherished her youngest son.

In their family, the eldest son was the most favored, then this youngest son!

If it were the second brother saying this, Fenglan would believe him, but hearing it from the youngest brother, she wouldn’t believe it at all.

“Really, Mom told me to hand over my salary, and if I don’t, they’ll kick me out!” The third son lamented to his sister.

“Then just hand it over,” Fenglan thought it was only natural to submit his salary.

The third son almost choked in disbelief; his silly sister! It was pointless to explain to her.

“Come on, Mom and Dad aren’t taking care of me anymore. You can’t abandon me; after all, I was raised by you! I’m the one closest to you!”

Yuan Manman truly couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Uncle, do you know my dad is gone?”

Fenglan was half moved and almost wanted to offer her heart to her younger brother, but with just one sentence from Yuan Manman, her heart was back in place.

What Mom said was right; during the hardest times in her life, only Mom and Dad helped her! It was her daughter who stayed by her side!

As for everyone else…

The third son felt awkward being questioned. He knew about this; anyway, he was busy picking Meina up and dropping her off from work, so he didn’t have time to come over. Besides, with Mom and Dad around, there wasn’t much he could do anyway.

“Yes, I know. I’m sorry, big sister Manman. I’ve been really busy these past few days, and I thought I couldn’t help much with Mom and Dad’s situation. I was too upset to come! In the future, if you guys need anything, just let me know. I’m always at your service!” The third son hurried to pull the conversation back, fearing his sister would distance herself from him.

The distance wasn’t that important; what mattered most was that she wouldn’t lend him money!

With a smile on her face, Yuan Manman didn’t say anything.

The sarcasm in the young girl’s eyes was clear to the third son!

He shifted his gaze and continued talking to his sister.

“Big sister, I need eight hundred dollars for the bride price, and I can’t do without furniture. You know the situation at home; it’s not that Mom and Dad don’t care about me, but the eldest brother has emptied the family finances! I can’t bear to see Mom and Dad struggling to borrow money for me, so I thought about borrowing a bit from you. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely pay you back once I start earning money!”

The third son spoke eagerly, looking like he was considering the family’s welfare.

Manman was no longer a child; her uncle’s words suggested that without two thousand dollars, it wouldn’t be possible! Her dad had a total of three thousand dollars in pension money, and her uncle wanted to take three thousand right away—what a thick skin!

Fenglan looked troubled. “Little brother, I really don’t have any money right now!”

“Big sister, if you don’t want to help me, just say so!” The third son stared at his sister, his eyes filled with hope.

“I really don’t have any money left; I used your brother-in-law’s pension to buy a house! Right now, I’m collecting rent, and later, it will be Manman’s dowry!”

The third son…

“Big sister, you have such a big house; why buy another one? How much did that house cost you?” When he heard there was no money left, he became agitated.

Fenglan was clever and didn’t mention that it was their mother who helped her buy the house; she didn’t want to cause trouble for her mother.

“Three thousand!” Before Fenglan could speak, Manman answered.

Fenglan shot her daughter a glare. How could she lie like that? However, she didn’t say anything; she had no plans to take the remaining money anyway, considering it a gesture of filial piety to her parents.

“Big sister, were you scammed? What kind of house could be worth three thousand dollars? You must have been fooled!” The third son was as anxious as a jumping monkey.

“Scammed? The house is just in the alley behind our home; it’s a separate courtyard, really nice!”

“That’s still not worth three thousand! Besides, if you already have a house, why buy another one? Manman is just a young girl; she can get married directly without needing a dowry!” The third son, in his urgency, let his true feelings spill out.

Manman’s face darkened. The money her dad left her should be used to buy a house for her dowry!

Fenglan was also a bit upset; she only had this one daughter, so why couldn’t she give her a dowry?

The third son realized he had misspoken.

“Big sister, I didn’t mean it that way. Manman is still young; there’s no need to spend all the money on a house! It’s better to save the money! Can that house be returned? Trust me, big sister; don’t buy the house, keep the money in hand!”

“It can’t be returned; we’ve already rented this house out, and we’ll be moving in this weekend!” Fenglan explained, suppressing her displeasure.

The third son felt like thunder was rolling overhead. He had thought for several days to come up with this plan, only to find out…

He should have come earlier! If he had come earlier, his sister wouldn’t have bought the house, and the money would have definitely ended up in his pocket!

“Then, big sister, how much do you have left? Even a little would be fine; I can borrow from others!” The third son was still not giving up; surely his sister had some savings.

Fenglan did have a bit of savings, but it had all been taken by their mother a few days ago, who said she needed to buy a house for her.

Wu Zhiqiu was worried that these kids were eyeing the money in their eldest daughter’s hands. The eldest daughter was soft-hearted; as soon as her brothers said nice things, she would almost give her heart away! So besides living expenses, all the money in Fenglan’s family was kept with her!

Fenglan didn’t want her younger brother to cause trouble for their mother, who had said to be cautious of her brothers coming to borrow money.

“Your brother-in-law’s funeral cost a lot, and after borrowing money from the family, I really don’t have any extra cash left,” Fenglan said with a troubled expression. If the money were in her hands, she would definitely give her younger brother a few hundred.

Manman smiled, knowing that her grandmother understood her uncles well and had cut off her mother’s escape route in advance.

“Then, big sister, can I borrow that house for my wedding?” The third son suddenly had an idea; if he couldn’t borrow money