Chapter 008: Want to Borrow Money? Dream On!

Upon seeing her uncle’s family, who hadn’t yet met their tragic end, Jing Shu let out a sigh of relief. Her impression of her Uncle Su Yiyang’s family was that she often went to their house to play when she was young, and her Aunt Wang Fang would cook dishes that Jing Shu loved.

After her maternal grandparents passed away, although they lived in the same city, they rarely met, only gathering for a New Year’s Eve dinner during the holidays.

In the third year after the apocalypse, a global earthquake occurred.

Wucheng, situated in a basin, experienced quakes every three or four days, generally not exceeding magnitude six. Unlike Sichuan, where tremors happened twice daily, and every one or two months, a major quake would occur. The people of Sichuan joked that the earth was their bed that year.

Despite this, the Wucheng government still required citizens to sleep in squares, shelters, or open fields at night and even distributed supplies.

Jing Shu remembered clearly that her aunt said that night, “Sleeping in the square is too smelly; people grind their teeth, fart, and snore—everything happens. We’ve just had minor quakes these past two days; there won’t be another. The Li family goes home to sleep every day without any issues. Besides, Su Long can’t stand this cold weather; let’s go home for the night.”

Su Long was her uncle’s son, five years younger than Jing Shu—a precious child born late to his parents.

Her uncle’s family went home to sleep, and that night, a magnitude six earthquake struck, with the epicenter right in their area. The surrounding residential buildings collapsed.

There were no search dogs dispatched for rescue, no firefighters to search and save people, not even news reports or investigations into how many died in this earthquake.

Because it was the apocalypse—people died every day.

More people went to scavenge for supplies. Without sunlight, the crops that could be grown were too few; there was no cotton for clothes or quilts—everything was lacking. Many people came to the ruins to pick up things, occasionally uncovering a few corpses and even stripping off their clothes.

Jing’s mother cried, wanting to search for the bodies with her younger sister. Her aunt wept and said she was scared, so Jing’s mother pulled her father to search. They eventually found them, but the sight was too horrible to bear.

Jing Shu felt that her mother’s indulgence of her aunt, always wanting to give her everything, was partly because of the tragic death of her uncle’s family.

In this life, Jing Shu didn’t want to give her mother any reason to spoil her aunt, nor did she want her mother’s own brother to die again.

Her aunt, Su Mei Mei, loved beauty but wasn’t beautiful herself. Her daughter, Zhang Hanhan, was 20 years old, and their mother-daughter relationship wasn’t good.

Because her aunt’s husband, Zhang Zhongyong, came from a family that favored sons over daughters. In 2002, during the strict enforcement of the one-child policy, Zhang Zhongyong was a government employee aiming for promotion, so he couldn’t have a second child. From that time on, their marriage likely started to deteriorate.

Zhang Zhongyong kept a mistress and even had a son. A few years into the apocalypse, he openly acknowledged this relationship. Under pressure, her aunt had to accept sharing her husband with another woman.

But it wasn’t until just before her death that Jing Shu learned that Uncle Sun and her aunt had been entangled for a long time. Uncle Sun lacked courage; while her aunt’s husband dared to be open about his affairs, Uncle Sun only dared to act secretly.

Without her father’s love or her mother’s care, Zhang Hanhan grew up selfish and self-centered, hostile toward everyone.

As for Su Mei Mei, who repaid kindness with ingratitude, Jing’s mother couldn’t bear to see her die, and Jing Shu also couldn’t bring herself to let her die. She felt compelled to push her to the brink of a deep abyss, then kindly pull her back, only to push her again…

*Gurgle~ Gurgle~*

Just as Jing Shu was reminiscing about past events, her stomach growled uncontrollably, and at this awkward moment, it was particularly loud.

“You little rascal, where have you been messing around again? Today, we’ve invited your uncle and aunt, and your aunt and uncle-in-law over for dinner to discuss your situation.” Jing’s mother came rushing out of the kitchen holding a kitchen knife… and handed Jing Shu a piece of over-fried… fish.

“Eat this to tide you over and chat with your uncle and the others.”

… Emmm

That scared me to death.

Seeing the burnt fish, her aunt stood up. “Let me help you, sister.”

Su Mei Mei had eaten enough of Jing’s mother’s cooking since childhood. At first, she thought her sister did it on purpose, but later realized she genuinely had poor coordination. Su Mei Mei had even felt smug, thinking her sister wouldn’t find a good husband. Who knew?

Su Lanzhi, who couldn’t cook or do any chores, found a good man who loved her, pampered her, and entrusted her with the family’s finances; their daughter was cherished like a treasure!

Su Mei Mei, who could cook and do everything, ended up with a husband who only despised her, required his approval for every purchase, and was a male chauvinist; their daughter was treated like a burden!

Why was that?! Su Mei Mei clenched her palms, suppressing her emotions.

Tonight, they want to borrow money? Dream on!

Jing Shu placed the mineral water in her bedroom and discovered that the boxes of medicines she bought today had been piled into her room, making the space already filled with seasonings even smaller. Fortunately, her aunt and the others probably hadn’t noticed; otherwise, it would be troublesome if they came to borrow medicines during the apocalypse.

She came out to chat with her uncle and the others for a while before her father returned home. For the honest Jing’s father to ask to borrow money, a hint of difficulty appeared on his face.

Dinner was ready soon. It had to be said that her aunt’s cooking skills were appreciated by everyone at the table. Jing’s father filled the glasses for her uncle and uncle-in-law. After two drinks, he got to the point.

“Jing Shu’s dream has always been to become a star and a streamer. As her father, I’m very happy that she has found a career she loves, and of course, I will fully support her! Now the opportunity has come; an entertainment company has sent a contract. As long as we pay a sum of money, they can make her famous, and she will be able to earn money herself in the future. I’m very proud of her! Isn’t it just 1.5 million yuan? I’ll get it together for her!”

As Jing’s father spoke, he raised his glass and drank it in one gulp. Her uncle and uncle-in-law also followed suit. Her aunt and aunt-in-law silently ate their food.

Jing Shu’s eyes suddenly turned red. She didn’t know why, but deceiving her naive father into lowering himself to borrow money—was she doing the wrong thing?

No, it was to let them reevaluate her aunt! At the same time, to see how her uncle’s family would interact in the future.

Don’t test human nature casually! Because it can’t withstand scrutiny!

Why did Jing Shu want to borrow money? First, to let her parents know who helped them in times of trouble, so they would have an idea in their hearts.

Second, borrowing money now to buy various supplies was actually to help those who lent them money to avoid the disasters of the apocalypse. After the apocalypse, money would become worthless, and supplies would be valuable. They could repay with supplies then, helping them survive better in the apocalypse.

Jing Shu wouldn’t forget those who helped her and would treat them well—that was the reason for borrowing money.

But if no one lent her a penny, should Jing Shu still give supplies after the apocalypse and support ungrateful people?

“The shop is profitable, but it can’t compare to the money Jing Shu can earn herself. We sold it today for 600,000 yuan; the money has already arrived.”

“We’ll sell the car and the house! Old Sun still owes me 100,000 yuan and said he’d return it in a few days. But we need to pay an 800,000 yuan deposit for the contract tomorrow. The car is hard to sell quickly. The reason we invited everyone today is to borrow some money from you. We’ll repay you when we’ve sold our assets.”

For his daughter’s future, Jing’s father, despite his reluctance, spoke up. He looked at everyone nervously and expectantly. In Jing’s father and mother’s minds, they would repay the money in a few days; it was just a matter of turning it over. Everyone was close family; they should agree, right?

If the roles were reversed, Jing’s father and mother would support without a second thought if their relatives had difficulties.

“Old Sun will repay the money? Tsk tsk, so naive. Old Sun’s money is with me.” There’s a saying: if you don’t spend money on your wife, someone else will spend money on her for you. Su Mei Mei thought smugly, glancing at the man metaphorically “wearing a green hat” (being cheated on), and found that Zhang Zhongyong was leisurely drinking, completely indifferent. It seemed he wouldn’t express any opinions, leaving her to handle everything.

Su Mei Mei gritted her teeth, her nails digging into her palms. Clearly, he wanted her to be the bad guy, to turn them down!

“What entertainment company is it? Don’t get scammed; there are too many frauds nowadays,” her aunt-in-law focused on a different point.

“It’s introduced and guaranteed by the son of an old colleague of mine for over twenty years. Jing Shu, bring the contract for everyone to see.” Jing’s father trusted Zhu Zhengqi greatly.

Jing Shu’s heart skipped a beat. As a lawyer, would her aunt-in-law discover something?