Chapter 17

The gate of the house was open. Xu Ning and He Wanjiao locked the door when they left. It seemed that Hu Xianglan had returned.

I don’t know if she has asked Qian Sanhong to return the money. Xu Ning hopes to get it back. It was agreed that it was the betrothal money, and she will always find a way to get it into her hands.

Two hundred yuan was a huge sum of money for her, whose total assets were only more than thirty yuan, and she was very envious.

Hu Xianglan was indeed at home, currently heating up some food in the kitchen. She was tired, thirsty and hungry after wandering around for the whole afternoon.

Not only did Qian Sanhong not find her, she also discovered that her daughter-in-law might have been sold by human traffickers. This was a bolt from the blue for her, who only wanted to have a grandchild.

As soon as He Wanjiao entered the yard, she shouted into the house: “Mom~”

It seems to be the habit of most people to call mom as soon as they enter the door. Xu Ning used to be envious, but later she let it go.

At least she is better than an orphan. When she mentions me to others, she won’t say that I have no mother.

“In the kitchen.” Hu Xianglan answered from the kitchen. If she didn’t agree, the silly girl would keep shouting.

He Beian didn’t go to the kitchen, he walked back to the house without stopping.

Xu Ning looked at He Beian, then at the kitchen, wanting to go to both.

He Beian must have gone back to the house to get the money for her, and going to the kitchen could help him find out whether the two hundred yuan had been returned.

After hesitating for half a second, Xu Ning followed He Beian back. They would still have time to go to the kitchen after getting the ten yuan.

Just as she expected, He Beian went back to the house to get money. When she entered the room, he was holding a few bills in his hand.

Seeing her come in, He Beian asked her: “How much did you spend on this shirt?”

“Ten dollars and eighty cents. Just give me ten dollars.” Xu Ning answered decisively and considerately rounded off the difference.

It’s great to have another big unity soon!

He Beian didn’t accept the rounding off, and generously took out eleven yuan and handed it to Xu Ning, “The extra money is for the travel expenses to the state-owned store and the running expenses.”

A bus ride costs five cents, a round trip costs ten cents, and the remaining ten cents is the hard work fee for her to make another trip.

Is it really necessary to be so caring? Xu Ning didn’t plan to buy it.

Just rub it with detergent and soap later and it should be washable.

Xu Ning took the eleven dollars, folded it up and put it in his pocket, then gave the rich man a grateful smile and said, “I’m going to the kitchen to talk to my mother for a while.”

After saying that, she turned around and quickened her pace to the kitchen. If she went early, she might be able to hear her mother-in-law and sister-in-law talking about this.

Xu Ning was indeed wrong about this. Hu Xianglan dared not tell anyone now, for fear that people would know that her daughter-in-law was sold by human traffickers.

Especially since He Wanjiao had just told her yesterday that human trafficking was illegal.

At this time, mother and son were eating in the kitchen.

Hu Xianglan used the leftover bone soup from lunch to soak the dry biscuits. The biscuits were freshly baked and cut into small pieces of the same size. They were soaked in the bones, and the biscuits tasted particularly delicious after absorbing the soup.

Originally, Hu Xianglan was the only one eating. He Wanjiao couldn’t resist the temptation and the meat bones wore away her will to lose weight.

Seeing her sister-in-law come in, He Wanjiao smiled at her embarrassedly, her little face turning red. It was she who had ambitiously told her sister-in-law that she wanted to lose weight, but it was also she who gave up after just a short while.

Xu Ning didn’t notice her appearance, her focus was on Hu Xianglan.

Hu Xianglan was feeling guilty when she heard Xu Ning’s footsteps entering the kitchen. She greeted her without even turning her head: “Did you have enough tonight? There’s still rice in the pot.”

Such a good attitude? Something is not right.

Although they had not been together for a long time, Xu Ning thought she had a good grasp of her mother-in-law’s personality and that she was not so easy to talk to.

“I’m full and bored now, so I’ll sit down and chat with you guys.” After saying that, Xu Ning pulled a small stool and sat down at the table, and asked Hu Xianglan directly: “Mom, did you go to see Aunt Qian? What did she say to you?”

There are only two possible outcomes: one, Qian Sanhong refuses to admit the debt; two, Hu Xianglan demands the 200 yuan back;

“I’m not looking for her. Why would I look for her?” Hu Xianglan picked up a piece of meat and put it into her mouth and chewed it fiercely. She felt that the delicious big bone she had eaten at noon now tasted bitter.

I have been hunting eagles all my life, but in the end, I was pecked in the eye by an eagle. The more I think about it, the angrier I get.

No matter what the result is, she shouldn’t be in this state. Xu Ning couldn’t guess.

Either he was scolding Qian Sanhong or he was proud of himself. He definitely shouldn’t have been secretive.

If you can’t guess, just ask directly, Xu Ning: “What about the betrothal money…”

Hu Xianglan couldn’t swallow the food at all. She didn’t want to admit that she still owed Xu Ning 200 yuan for the betrothal money, for fear that Xu Ning would ask her for it.

But she told Xu Ning herself that she gave 300 yuan as a betrothal gift and even complained that she didn’t have a dowry.

“When I have time one day, I will go ask Qian Sanhong and we’ll talk about it after I ask.” Hu Xianglan could only deal with it casually, taking it one day at a time. Maybe in a couple of days she would be able to find that old man Qian Sanhong and get the two hundred yuan back.

Of course, she would not give it to Xu Ning if she came back. Her parents were willing to give her the 100 yuan betrothal gift, so why should she give her the remaining 200 yuan?

Xu Ning realized that it was because he didn’t find Qian Sanhong.

When she asked for the address, Qian Sanhong remained silent. Later, under her sugar-coated threats of bringing something in return, she finally told him once.

The authenticity of the address is unclear, so it’s time to test the police.

Xu Ning roughly guessed what was going on from the way Hu Xianglan was hiding things. She was most likely aware that Qian Sanhong was not doing a legitimate business and she had been cheated.

Xu Ning was understanding: “Okay, don’t worry, take care of your own things first.”

Her easy-going demeanor caused Hu Xianglan to look at her sideways. She didn’t quite believe that she was so easy to talk to. The person who had asked her for the remaining 200 yuan in betrothal money in the afternoon actually said that she was not in a hurry?

Regardless of whether she believed it or not, Xu Ning showed her mother-in-law the vegetable soup stains on her body and said, “Mom, I don’t want to talk to you anymore. I’m going back to do the laundry.”

How did your brand new clothes become like this? Does this country girl know how to live? The clothes were not Hu Xianglan’s, but she still felt bad about it because she had just paid for them.

In fact, she only said two words: “Go~”

As long as you don’t chase her for 200 yuan, anything is fine.

As soon as Xu Ning left, He Wanjiao thought of what happened in the machinery factory and told Hu Xianglan about it with great excitement.

Coming out of the kitchen, Xu Ning sighed, it’s not easy to get something with two hundred yuan.

If Hu Xianglan took the two hundred yuan back from Qian Sanhong, she might be able to trick her and get the two hundred yuan back.

But if Hu Xianglan couldn’t get the two hundred yuan back, she would definitely not cut herself off to give her the two hundred yuan.

I hope my mother-in-law can work harder and find Qian Sanhong as soon as possible to get the 200 yuan back.

In the room, He Beian was sitting at the desk writing something, and Xu Ning knocked twice on the door.

He Beian turned around and looked at her. “Except when I’m sleeping, you can come in whenever you want. No need to knock.”

The sturdy man with a rough and fierce appearance was writing seriously with a pen, which was a bit like a tiger sniffing a rose.

Xu Ning nodded, “I’ll take the basin and wash the clothes.”

She walked in lightly, took her own basin of water, and came out in two or three steps, ready to bring the water back to wash clothes.

It was already getting dark outside and the light was not good so she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to wash it clean.

The family’s water came from the well in the yard. When Xu Ning was washing clothes in the afternoon, she found that the bucket next to the well was full of water. She used the water in the bucket to wash clothes.

It wasn’t used up yet, there was still half a bucket left, just enough for washing clothes.

I carried the basin over, but when I got closer I saw that the bucket was empty and there was no water in it.

As far as I can remember, the original owner’s family used to fetch water from the village entrance, so she would draw water from the well.

Xu Ning has never done this, but she has memories of it, and according to her memory, there should be nothing wrong with it.

I put down the basin and tried to pull the stone slab covering the well with both hands, but it didn’t move…

Change pulling to pushing, use all your strength, and nothing will move…

Kick her hard twice, the soles of her shoes are too thin and her feet hurt!

We are talking about whether it is necessary to build such a heavy thing on the well head? Are you afraid that someone will steal the well?

There was no other way, so Xu Ning ran back to the house to find He Beian. If there was anyone who could move the stone, he was probably the only one.

He Beian was writing very seriously. Xu Ning didn’t listen to him and went in directly. Instead, she knocked on the door again, causing him to look back again.

“I can’t move the slabs above the well. I need to fetch water to wash clothes.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.” After covering the pen, He Beian stood up without delay.

Xu Ning stepped back to make some distance, waited for him to come out and followed him. Before leaving, she glanced at the neatly placed notebooks on the desk and the black pen placed vertically in the middle of the notebooks.

The person left without closing the notebook, but He Beian was not worried at all that she would go over and see it.

Curious but sensible, Xu Ning followed him into the upper courtyard.

He Beian walked up to the stone slab and lifted it up with both hands. The stone slab, which was motionless to Xu Ning, was lifted by him in a few moves and leaned against the wall.

The bucket and rope for carrying water were right next to the well. Holding the bucket in one hand and grabbing the end of the rope with the other, he skillfully threw the bucket into the well, shook the rope in his hand left and right, and when he felt it was about right, he began to reel in the rope.

Every movement seemed so easy to him, but the memory of fetching water told Xu Ning that this was not that easy.

A bucket of water was quickly brought up, and He Beian directly picked up the bucket and poured water into her basin. After half of the basin was filled, he asked her, “Is it enough?”

Xu Ning nodded, “Enough.”

He Beian took the bucket to the kitchen and poured the remaining water in the bucket into the empty pot, then came out and picked up another bucket.

After there was water in the basin, Xu Ning carried the basin back to the house.

The other set of clothes was washed in the afternoon and is still wet. The clothes she was wearing also needed to be washed, as she had no spare clothes. Fortunately, she was wearing a vest next to her skin.

This vest is a very conservative style for the modern Xu Ning. It has wide shoulder straps and a high neckline. The only parts that are completely exposed are the arms.

In summer, short-sleeved shirts would expose your arms, so Xu Ning found a stool and sat down to wash clothes wearing a vest.