Chapter 13

Gu Zhiguo didn’t want to quarrel, but after being pointed at and scolded, he got angry and said with his neck stiff, “What are you yelling about? Do you want others to laugh at you? Besides, what did I say wrong? Don’t you know the situation at my parents’ house? How can I open my mouth to speak!”

“If you can’t open your mouth, then you’ll just starve to death! No one in the family wants to eat, so just starve to death at home!”

“Fu Xiujun, you are simply, simply crazy!”

“You still have the nerve to yell at me? Gu Zhiguo, you are really capable! You have the nerve to go home and yell at your wife and children. Why don’t you earn more and make me proud!”

The two of them were arguing fiercely, their faces were red and their necks were thick. Gu Zhenxi was dumbfounded. What were they arguing about at this time? Didn’t they think it was chaotic enough?

The door was not closed tightly, and through the gap one could see some curious people eavesdropping outside.

Gu Zhenxi didn’t want to be laughed at, so she hurried to persuade her parents, and finally managed to pull her mother away.

“Stop arguing, stop arguing. We’ve already reported the case to the police. Maybe we can get our things back soon.”

To be honest, Gu Zhenxi didn’t want to go back to his grandparents’ house. It was dirty and run-down and simply uninhabitable. They lived in the countryside all year round, so even if they saved money, how much could they save?

Besides, if I ask them to borrow money now, what if something happens to the old couple later and I have to ask their family for help, that would be too troublesome.

“Mom, don’t we still have a passbook at home? How much money is in the passbook? Isn’t your passbook stuffed under your pillow? The thief shouldn’t have stolen it, right?” Gu Zhenxi asked.

When she asked this question, Fu Xiujun and Gu Zhiguo suddenly remembered that their family had a passbook!

At that moment, the couple ran back to the room, and Gu Zhenxi followed quickly.

The couple took out the passbook from under the pillow and looked at the final balance, which showed that there was only more than 30 yuan left.

“How come there are only more than 30 yuan?” Gu Zhiguo asked in surprise: “Shouldn’t we have 100 yuan in our savings?”

Fu Xiujun got angry when she talked about this, and said, “It’s all your fault. It was not you who said that National Day was coming soon and you wanted to send some money to your parents. You asked me to take out thirty yuan to give them, and I took the money out and put it in the small room. And Zhenxi was going to attend a friend’s wedding in a few days, and she said she had to dress nicely, and even ordered a set of clothes and jewelry.”

“It costs ten yuan to cherish that outfit, and I have to give a gift. It’s embarrassing to say that the gift is too little. Anyway, she can get the gift back when she gets married. She said she wants 28.8 yuan, so there is no money in the passbook!”

The faces of Gu Zhiguo and Gu Zhenxi, father and daughter, darkened. How could they be robbed at such a perfect time?

Now, all the cash that I withdrew in advance was stolen by the thief, and the clothes and jewelry I just bought were also stolen.

Although more than 30 yuan is a lot of money in that era, their house has been emptied out now!

Pots, pans, firewood, rice, oil, salt, paper towels, etc. are all necessities of life and must be replenished. And clothes. The three of them only have pajamas left. Don’t they have to buy two decent sets of clothes to change into when they go to work?

At this moment, Gu Zhiguo was extremely grateful that he was old and his wife was not in good health, so they had not had sex for a long time.

Otherwise, if they had taken off all their clothes and went to sleep after doing the job yesterday, the thief would have stolen all their underwear and pajamas. If they wanted to call the police today, they would have to wait until their daughter bought them two sets of clothes before they could do so.

Do you think you can call the police while still naked?

“What should I do now? How much will be left after buying the necessities of the house with more than 30 yuan?”

Gu Zhenxi suddenly thought of something, and her eyes lit up. She quickly said, “Mom, didn’t my second aunt and cousin come to get something yesterday? Since my cousin is getting married, her family must have received a betrothal gift. Why don’t we go to her house and borrow some first?”

Fu Xiujun took a deep breath and thought about it carefully. This was indeed a solution.

Didn’t Fu Shiting tell her yesterday when she brought Bai Ruanruan here that her marriage partner is older and is the head of a group, which is a high position and means he will get a high salary, so the betrothal gift must be quite a lot.

Although Bai Ruanruan is not in good health, she is pretty and graceful. How can the man not be moved when seeing her? The betrothal gift must be quite a lot!

Fu Xiujun clapped her hands and said, “Okay, cherish it, let’s go, let’s go to your aunt’s house now.”

After saying that, Fu Xiujun took her daughter away.

Gu Zhiguo didn’t say anything. He washed his face again, took out his passbook and prepared to withdraw money. He had to buy some clothes first and then go to work.

At eight o’clock, Fu Xiuyun and Gu Zhenxi, both wearing pajamas, attracted countless onlookers around them, and the two went straight to the Bai family.

Fu Shiting still had an hour before she had to go to work. She had just finished her meal and was washing the dishes.

At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the door, and it became louder and louder, until the iron door outside was slammed loudly.

“Who is it?”

Fu Shiting wiped her hands and walked over to open the door.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the door opened, Fu Xiujun rushed in crying: “Sister, our family is in trouble, you must help us this time!”

“Aunt, you must help our family. You are the only one who can help us now.” Gu Zhenxi also rushed in and closed the door.

Fu Shiting looked at the mother and daughter, both of whom were wearing pajamas, and was completely confused. She could only let them come in and sit down first.

Fu Xiujun wiped her tears while secretly glancing at Fu Shiting. She seemed to be crying so hard that she couldn’t speak, so Gu Zhenxi started to play the victim.

“Aunt, our house was robbed last night. Everything in our house was stolen. Except for the bed in our room, everything else is gone. Now, there is not even a grain of rice left in the house.”

Gu Zhenxi took two pieces of paper from the table, pretended to wipe the non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes, and said, “Aunt, I have always treated you as my mother, and my mother treats my cousin as her own daughter. Now that something has happened to our family, you must help us!”

Fu Xiujun said, “Yes, sister, we just reported the case this morning. The police said that it might take a while for the things and money to be found, so they just told us to wait. But we don’t even have food at home now. If we keep waiting, we will starve to death!”

Fu Shiting didn’t expect that her sister’s house was robbed last night, but when she heard their voices, Fu Shiting didn’t feel any emotion at all, and even felt a little disgusted.

In the past, Fu Xiujun would occasionally come to complain about her poverty and ask Fu Shiting for help or to borrow money, and Fu Shiting almost never refused.

But now, when she saw the mother and daughter, she thought of what her daughter had said to her yesterday, and all she felt was resentment.

Her daughter was soft, her precious daughter who was born after ten months of pregnancy. She and Bai Gaohan spoiled her like a jewel in their palms and did not dare to let her do any heavy work.

But as for Gu Zhenxi, Fu Shiting believed that she had never treated her niece badly.

Whenever Gu Zhenxi came to their house to play, if Bai Ruanruan had a portion of food and other things, she would have one. Sometimes there was not enough food, and Bai Ruanruan would not eat it herself, but would give it to Gu Zhenxi.

Fu Shiting never thought about how much Gu Zhenxi would remember their love, but no matter what, he shouldn’t repay kindness with hatred.

The educated youth who went to the countryside were all there to build the motherland. Except for some with special skills who did not have to work in the fields, ordinary college students or educated youth all had to go to farms or ranches.

Given her daughter’s small body, Fu Shiting didn’t dare to think that she could survive a few days in the countryside.

Gu Zhenxi framed her daughter Ruanruan just for the sake of a man and almost sent her to the countryside.

Since her fiancé was clearly engaged to her but kept staring at her daughter, could he be a good person?

For the sake of such a man, she would harm her own cousin.

Now her daughter has to find someone to marry in a hurry to avoid going to the countryside. All this is caused by Gu Zhenxi.

No matter how good-tempered Fu Shiting is, or how much she loves her sister’s family, she would never go past her own daughter.

It’s a pity that there is no evidence for these things now. Even if it is laid out in the open, there is nothing we can do if they don’t admit it.

It seems that God has eyes. They have done too many bad things, and their house was robbed!

Fu Shiting looked at them quietly without saying anything, but seeing them made people feel nervous.

Gu Zhenxi felt a little uneasy and couldn’t help but said, “Aunt? Aunt! What are you thinking? You don’t say anything. Are you not willing to help us? We are family! You can’t be so cruel, Aunt!”

“It’s not that I don’t want to help you, it’s just that our family is in a very difficult situation right now.”

Fu Shiting suddenly sighed and said, “You also know that my daughter Ruanruan was suddenly notified to go to the countryside for some unknown reason. With Ruanruan’s physical condition, asking her to go to the countryside would be like asking her to die!”

“It’s hard to find a job now. Even if I ask her father for help, I still can’t find a job. I have no choice but to ask a matchmaker for help. I hope to find a good marriage for Ruanruan as soon as possible. It would be best if she can get married soon.”

“But it’s hard to find a partner these days. I spent a lot of money and consulted many people before I finally found a partner for Ruanruan.”

Seeing that her niece wanted to ask more questions, Fu Shiting sighed even louder, “Alas, all the things we brought back yesterday will be used as Ruanruan’s dowry. Moreover, we have already discussed with the man’s family that in addition to the jewelry, the dowry will also require a lot of money, electrical appliances, etc., which her father and I will also have to buy and send over as dowry!”

“Sister, I really can’t come up with any money right now.”

After Fu Shiting finished speaking, she covered her chest, seeming to be in great pain.

Fu Xiuyun and Gu Zhenxi were stunned after hearing these words.

Jewelry, money and electrical appliances, all have to be paid for by the woman?

This isn’t just marrying off a daughter, this is all compensation and gifts, even if you are a family with an income of a thousand yuan, you can’t stand such abuse!

Gu Zhenxi and Fu Xiujun looked at each other and saw the shock in each other’s eyes.

It turns out that Bai Ruanruan was able to find a marriage partner in such a short time because she was paying for it! The Bai family’s fortune was almost gone, no wonder they were able to find a marriage partner in such a short time!