Chapter 116: Borrowing Money to Support Her Maternal Family
Chapter 116: Borrowing Money to Support Her Maternal Family
A couple of days later, Lu Jiaxin was studying English at home when a plump auntie from the small shop came to call her to take a phone call. Upon inquiring, she realized it was Lu Jiajie calling.
Lu Jiajie had been calling her every few days over the past month to discuss production quantities and catch up. Hence, she didn't think much of it. During the call, she even asked about the production status of the second batch of shoes. The first batch of 10,000 pairs had already been delivered in early December, and the remaining 10,000 pairs were being rushed to completion.
With the New Year approaching, the shoes she produced were not on sale in Si Jiucheng, indicating that Su Hexuan shared her idea of stockpiling goods for a one-time sale.
Lu Jiajie said, "We delivered 10,000 pairs of shoes today, and the rest are still in the works. Jiaxin, what did your Fifth Aunt do to make you so angry?"
Lu Jiaxin's heart skipped a beat. Could her older brother have told him? But then she dismissed the thought, knowing her brother wasn't that kind of person. She didn't try to smooth things over either, replying, "You shouldn't be asking me this question. You should ask Fifth Aunt yourself."
"I just called her, and she said she didn't argue with you," Lu Jiajie said. "Jiaxin, what really happened? Don't cover for her."
Lu Jiaxin didn't bother to ask who had informed him and replied, "I have nothing to say about this. Ask Fifth Aunt yourself. I have things to do, so I'll hang up now."
After ending the call, Lu Jiajie, who was very familiar with Lu Jiaxin's temperament, knew that she wouldn't hold a grudge over minor issues and was even more generous when it came to money. Whatever had upset her enough to refuse helping with the move must be serious.
With this in mind, he immediately dialed Lu Jiaguang's number and asked about the conflict between his sister and sister-in-law as soon as the call connected.
Lu Jiaguang saw no point in lying, so he admitted he knew the reason but refused to disclose it, saying, "I promised Jiaxin I wouldn't tell you."
Lu Jiajie was getting anxious. "Big brother, what's going on? Please tell me!"
Of course, Lu Jiaguang wouldn't spill the beans, "Since I promised Jiaxin I wouldn't say anything, I can't go back on my word. Don't you know a lot of people? Ask your friends to find out."
"Find out what?"
Lu Jiaguang snapped, "Can't you use your brain to figure out what to find out? I've told you countless times to think before you speak or act, but you never take my words to heart."
Before Lu Jiajie could respond, he heard the line go dead. The hang-up call only added to his agitation. Even his eldest brother was angry; the situation was more severe than he had anticipated.
After much contemplation, he called A Le, "Call your aunt and ask if your aunt has noticed anything unusual about my wife lately."
The reason he asked A Le to call his mother was that A Le's mother was well-informed. If his wife had done something inappropriate, she would surely have heard about it.
As it turned out, Lu Jiajie's approach was spot-on. A Le's mother revealed that Ma Lilli had borrowed money from someone a few days ago.
A Le's mother said doubtfully, "She said she had spent all her money on buying a house and had no money left for furniture, bedding, and kitchen utensils. But as far as I know, she seems to have borrowed one or two thousand yuan."
It was common for people to deplete their savings when buying a house and then borrow money to furnish it, but they wouldn't need to borrow that much. She had intended to inform her son about this when he called home.
After hanging up, A Le asked curiously, "Ajie, didn't you say that the shortfall for buying a house was lent by your sister? The borrowed money was just enough for furniture and daily necessities. Why is your wife borrowing money again for bedding and other small items?"
Lu Jiajie calculated the family's finances, "Including the money borrowed from Big Brother and Third Uncle, our family has 4,000 yuan in savings. To buy the house, Jiaxin gave her my salary and bonus in advance, and then she borrowed another 2,000 yuan.
After buying the house, we had 400 yuan left. I told my wife that we didn't need to buy any furniture right now, and that 400 yuan would be enough to get by without borrowing from others."
A Le couldn't wrap his head around it. "Then why does your wife still want to borrow money? Could it be that your uncle or older brother is demanding repayment?"
The speaker was careless, but the listener was not.
Lu Jiajie's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. "A Le, please ask Mom to help find out if my in-laws or Yan Fang have had any large expenses recently."
"You mean your wife borrowed money for her parents? That can't be. You borrowed so much money to buy a house, how could she possibly borrow more to help her parents?" A Le exclaimed in surprise.
Lu Jiajie's expression turned gloomy. "Aside from this reason, I can't think of any other reason for her to borrow money and keep it from me."
A Le felt that Ma Lilli wouldn't be so foolish, but he still made the call.
The next day, A Le's mother informed him that Ma Lilli's parents had bought a large house for their newly adopted grandson, which cost them 6,800 yuan.
A Le didn't know how to break the news to Lu Jiajie. It was understandable for family members to help each other out in times of difficulty, but Ma Lilli's actions were excessive. With their existing debt, how could they take on more loans to buy a house for her parents? It was as if they didn't care about their own future.
Upon learning this, Lu Jiajie was furious and wanted to call Ma Lilli to demand an explanation. But remembering Lu Jiaguang's words, he picked up the phone and put it down again.
A Le was perplexed. "Your wife borrowing money to support her parents is wrong, but it doesn't affect Jiaxin or your older brother. Why are they angry?"
Even if Ma Lilli borrowed money, it would be Lu Jiajie who repaid it, and it had nothing to do with them. Unless they were worried about her borrowing from them. But that didn't make sense either, as they had offered to lend him money for the house before!
Lu Jiajie thought for a moment and called Lu Jiaxin. "Jiaxin, did Fifth Aunt borrow money from you a few days ago?"
Lu Jiaxin was surprised. "How did you know?"
Lu Jiajie was about to explode with anger. He couldn't believe she had actually borrowed money from Jiaxin. How could she bring herself to ask? After a long pause, he calmed down and said, "It was A Le who called. His mother said that your Fifth Aunt had been borrowing money everywhere recently. A Le found it strange and told me about it."
Lu Jiaxin remained silent, never expecting that Ma Lilli would ultimately borrow money to support her parents. Her filial piety was commendable. She kept her thoughts to herself and didn't share her opinions with Lu Jiajie. "We've only delivered 10,000 pairs of shoes so far. There's another 10,000 pairs that need to be rushed if we want to finish them before the New Year. If you come back now, there won't be anyone to oversee the production, and we might not be able to deliver on time. In that case, I'll have to compensate for the losses."
Initially, she wanted him to come back to resolve this issue, but now she felt that his return wouldn't make a difference. The money had already been borrowed, and his presence would only hinder her work.
Lu Jiajie said glumly, "Xinxin, why didn't you tell me about something this important as soon as it happened?"
"Why wouldn't I tell you? Don't you have any idea what's going on?" Lu Jiaxin asked.
Lu Jiajie was perplexed. From her tone, it seemed like the problem lay with him, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't pinpoint what he had done wrong.
Lu Jiaxin didn't want to wait any longer. "If you don't know, then think it through. Call me back when you figure it out."
(End of Chapter)
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