Chapter 5: Borrowing Money

Hearing this, Hua Xiali couldn't help but applaud her mother in her heart. Once a demand like that was made, anyone would turn around and run without a shred of hesitation.

In her past life, Wang Liang had married her off with a bride price of only three hundred yuan, and he hadn't cherished her at all. Although she stayed at home for two or three years at the beginning, he was either out hanging out with his "fox friends" or going fishing. The two of them had almost no time together. At that time, she only wanted to live a good life and never realized that he didn't actually like her.

After all, he had pursued her so diligently and acted so well in the beginning; no one would have thought that something like "liking someone" could be faked.

Meanwhile, Wang Liang, who was standing on the open ground outside the door holding his bicycle, was completely stunned. Then, he became furious out of shame. To think she had the audacity to ask for a fifty-thousand-yuan bride price! She was just a rural girl; he was willing to marry her, so she should be grateful to him. How could she possibly want fifty thousand yuan?

"Auntie, can you have some shame? Look at your Xiali—does she look like she’s worth fifty thousand yuan? Your family is a bottomless pit right now. I’m kind enough to marry Xiali, and not only are you ungrateful, but you’re actually trying to fleece me? Forget three hundred—even if you paid me three hundred to take her, I wouldn't marry Hua Xiali." After saying this, Wang Liang angrily got on his bicycle and rode away.

Mother Hua and Hua Chunli couldn't help but look at each other; neither of them had expected Wang Liang to be such a person.

"How could Wang Liang be like this?" Mother Hua was furious. "I even advised Xiali to choose him before. I never expected him to be this kind of person. It’s fortunate that Xiali didn't choose anyone. If she had really married into a family like that, wouldn't her life have been miserable?"

"I didn't expect it either. It’s better that he refused," Hua Chunli said, feeling a sense of relief.

She didn't know what right Wang Liang had to look down on Xiali. He hadn't even finished middle school, yet after working away for two years, he started looking down his nose at everyone. If he were really that capable, why didn't he bring a wife back from the city? Why was he chasing Xiali?

"Why bother worrying about what kind of person he is? It has nothing to do with our family anyway." Hua Xiali returned from the backyard with a relaxed expression, then picked up Hua Chunli’s tea mug and handed it to her. "Big Sister, drink some water."

Hua Chunli took the mug and drank slowly. For some reason, she felt that after drinking the water, her mind suddenly felt much clearer.

Just as Mother Hua was planning to go out to the fields, the grandmother who lived in the first house of their row came over with a young boy. The grandmother was carrying an old hen in her hand.

She had come to apologize for her grandson throwing a rock and injuring Hua Xiali’s eye the day before. Hua Xiali didn't stand on ceremony and accepted the hen the woman offered.

They would stew the hen that evening so the whole family could get some nourishment.

After Mother Hua and Hua Chunli left, Hua Xiali went to her father’s room. Seeing her father lying on the bed, unable to move, her heart ached.

Now that she had the spiritual spring water, she could slowly help him recover his health. However, Hua Xiali didn't say anything to give him false hope. She wanted to earn some money first, then take her father to the best hospital in the provincial capital for a re-examination and new prescriptions. Only then would she slowly help him recover. That way, others would only think the doctors in the provincial capital were highly skilled and wouldn't suspect her.

Hua Xiali chatted with her father for a while, and seeing that he didn't need anything, she left the room, locked the door, and went out.

The most important thing right now was the money for Hua Chunli’s studies. After all, there were only two months left until the college entrance exam; they couldn't afford any more delays.

Once outside, Hua Xiali headed toward the brigade office.

Along the way, Hua Xiali was deep in thought, mentally screening which relatives she could borrow money from.

Her father’s side of the family didn't have anyone in good financial standing. Her two aunts who had married out were in average condition, though they had contributed money after her father’s accident.

Therefore, this time, she could only consider her mother’s side of the family.

Her mother’s relatives were all doing relatively well. Her eldest uncle’s family was quite wealthy; not only did they have a house in the countryside, but they had also bought a house in town.

Her second uncle’s family was also well-off because he worked at the mines. Her father had been brought there by him; otherwise, they would have been stuck digging in the mud, and the three sisters probably wouldn't have been able to afford their tuition.

Her third uncle was a primary school teacher who had been teaching for decades, and his salary had increased quite a bit.

Her fourth uncle’s family lived in the mountains and had a tea plantation, along with various fruit trees...

Before she could finish her thoughts, Hua Xiali had already arrived at the brigade office.

The location of their Huazhuang village group was excellent, situated right in the center of Qinglong Village. The school, the clinic, and the brigade office were all located there.

The brigade office was on the side of the road outside the village; even from the very last house in the village, it took less than five minutes to walk there.

Hua Xiali adjusted her emotions, knocked on the door frame, and upon hearing a "come in" from inside, she stepped inside.

In the large office, only the village party secretary, Huo Beixi, was sitting there.

This Huo Beixi wasn't a local. He had only arrived in Qinglong Village last year to serve as the party secretary. Having nowhere to live, he had bought the empty house behind her family’s home, which had belonged to a family with no heirs.

Behind the courtyard of Hua Xiali’s house was the village’s communal well. Ten or twenty years ago, everyone used to line up there to get water. Now that most families had dug their own wells, very few people went there anymore.

The original owner of the house Huo Beixi lived in had passed away years ago and had no well, so he went to the communal well to get water. Hua Xiali often saw him there.

"Secretary Huo, I’m here to make a phone call." Hua Xiali pointed at the phone on the desk, feeling a bit awkward.

Huo Beixi nodded. "Go ahead."

He then lowered his head and continued with his work.

Hua Xiali walked over to the phone and began dialing. After pressing the first few digits, she stopped. She truly didn't know how to bring it up. Over the past three years, not only had they exhausted their family savings, but they also owed six thousand yuan in debt. Asking to borrow another thousand now... she really couldn't bring herself to say it.

Hua Xiali kept her hand on the phone, her head bowed in distress. She wondered how she could phrase it to make it easier for the other party to accept. After all, they hadn't even paid back the previous money, and now they were coming to borrow more. Would people think their family was a bottomless pit?

Things were truly different now. Because she had been reborn and had the experience of a lifetime, she knew how to make money. She was certain she could pay off most of their debts by the end of the year, but no one would believe her if she said that. They would only think she was bragging.