The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 125 - 124: He Yun Borrows Money

After He Ze left, Little Chen walked up to Mr. He. "Grandpa, we were wrong."

Mr. He patted his shoulder. "Don’t do this kind of thing again. If the villagers find out, they won’t just laugh at your father, they’ll mock you boys too."

Little Chen nodded. "I know, Grandpa."

Mr. He glanced at Gao Cuiyun. "Hurry up and take the children to bed. It’s the middle of the night." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Okay."

After Mr. He went back to his room, Gao Cuiyun asked Little Chen, "Why did you do that?"

Little Chen fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, his eyes filled with hatred. He gritted his teeth and said, "I just felt like they got off too easy. That woman is pregnant now. If I wasn’t thinking about you all, I’d really want to go and kill her."

Gao Cuiyun’s heart leaped in shock. She never imagined Little Chen would harbor such extreme thoughts. She quickly grabbed his hand.

"Little Chen, you can’t think like that. People like them aren’t worth you doing something like this. If you really did that, you’d be hurting yourself, and you’d be hurting us. Your mother and younger brothers are all depending on you now. If anything were to happen to you, how would we survive?!"

Little Chen froze. ’That’s right,’ he thought. ’My mother and brothers need me right now. I can’t let anything happen to me.’

"From now on, we just need to live our own lives well. Don’t listen to anything about what’s going on over there if you can help it. And even if you do hear something, you have to pretend you didn’t. Understand?"

Little Chen nearly ground his molars to dust, but he still nodded. "Mm."

Only then did Gao Cuiyun let out a sigh of relief. Her feelings for He Ze had gone from anger and dissatisfaction to heartbreak and helplessness. Now, all that remained was a bone-deep chill and the desire to stay far away from him.

But she couldn’t let anything happen to her children.

When He Ze returned, Gu Yuwei asked him if he saw who did it. He Ze paused for a few seconds before deciding not to reveal it was Little Chen and Xiao Yang. "I didn’t get a clear look. They ran off."

Gu Yuwei said angrily, "Who could be so wicked? I curse their whole family to die a horrible death."

"COUGH, COUGH—" He Ze choked on his own saliva, nearly choking to death.

Gu Yuwei sat up and patted his back. "Are you okay?"

He Ze waved his hand. "Cough—I’m fine, I’m fine. Let’s sleep."

After they both lay down, Gu Yuwei fell asleep in no time, but He Ze couldn’t sleep a wink. He thought about the attitude Little Chen and Xiao Yang had toward him, and the hatred in Little Chen’s eyes. He couldn’t help but shiver. ’I don’t know how Gao Cuiyun is raising those kids. They have no respect for me, their own father. And I still have to give them child support every month. So ungrateful. Gao Cuiyun must have put them up to it.’

’Sigh, leaving the kids with Gao Cuiyun has ruined them. I don’t know what my dad is thinking, either. Why won’t he side with his own son instead of an outsider? Well, at least I’m about to be a father again.’ He turned to look at Gu Yuwei’s belly, feeling a great sense of relief. ’I have to raise this child myself, no matter what. I can’t let this one be ruined too.’

The days passed just like that. Then, toward the end of the year, He Yun suddenly returned on an ox-cart.

It had been several years since He Yun’s last visit. Back then, because Erya had been sold and Daya had been mistreated, Mrs. He had cursed her out. They were just angry words at the time, but they never expected that He Yun truly wouldn’t come back to see them for years.

It was already late in the twelfth lunar month, with the New Year just around the corner. When He Yun suddenly returned alone, Mrs. He’s eyelid started twitching—she knew this couldn’t be good.

Sure enough, the moment He Yun opened her mouth, it was to borrow money.

"Dad, Mom, your daughter has no other choice. Please, lend me some money. Otherwise, we won’t be able to make it through the New Year."

Mrs. He gave her a cold look. "You haven’t been back to see us in years, and now you show up just to borrow money?"

He Yun’s eyes darted around. She glanced guiltily at her mother, then slowly walked over and took Mrs. He’s hand. "Mom, your daughter was ignorant. Please don’t hold it against me."

Mrs. He didn’t push her away, but just stared at her. "How much does Jian Country make at the factory each month? How is it that you can’t even get through the New Year now?"

He Yun froze at her words, and then tears started to fall.

"Mom, Jian Country got fired from the factory. He’s just at home now. Our family of four has completely lost its income. We’re going to starve."

Mrs. He was stunned. "What happened?"

Only then did He Yun explain the whole story to Mr. and Mrs. He. It turned out that the Liu family’s father and son had been caught red-handed stealing and selling things from the factory, and then they were fired.

"Both the father and son were fired?"

He Yun nodded.

Mrs. He slapped her thigh. "How foolish! Such a good job, why did they have to go and steal things? Now look. The whole big family was depending on that father and son, and now they’re both laid off. What are you all going to eat and drink?"

He Yun said in a low voice, "This all happened in the first half of the year. Last month, his mother sold Jian Country’s bicycle. Jianwei also got married a couple of years ago. Now the whole extended family is out of work, just freeloading at home. The New Year is almost here, and I can’t scrape together a single penny. Mom, please, have pity on your daughter. Give me some grain and money. You can’t just watch us starve, can you? Forget about us adults, what about Jinbao?"

As she spoke, He Yun started wiping her tears again.

Seeing this, Mrs. He looked toward Mr. He to see what he thought.

Mr. He took a drag from his cigarette, exhaled, and then finally asked He Yun, "Did you come back for money on your own, or was it the Liu Family’s idea?"

He Yun’s crying stopped for a moment, her expression stiffening. "Dad, it... it was my idea."

Mr. and Mrs. He knew their daughter all too well. She’d never had a mind of her own. A single look was all it took for them to understand everything.

Mrs. He said irritably, "Just because I cursed you out a bit in a fit of anger, you don’t come back to see your father and me for years? Didn’t you want to know if we were even still alive? You haven’t mentioned a single thing about how the family’s changed in all these years. From the moment you walked in, your mouth has been full of how hard things are for your new family, how you can’t go on. Do you even know what’s going on with our family?"

He Yun was a little dazed. "What’s happened to our family?"

"Your eldest brother got divorced. Your second brother also got divorced and then remarried. Have you asked about that even once?"

He Yun’s eyes widened in astonishment. "Huh? How could that be?"

Mrs. He sighed. "You haven’t been back for years, so of course you don’t know any of this. You say your life is hard, but whose life is easy? The Liu Family really planned this well, sending you back here to ask us for money and things. Things aren’t like they were a few years ago. Back then, our big family hadn’t split up. I was in charge of the grain, so if I gave you some, your brothers wouldn’t say anything. But now? Your eldest brother is raising two children on his own; his life is tough. Your second sister-in-law is raising three children, which is even harder. And don’t even get me started on your father and me. We’re old now. It’s already good enough that we can support ourselves without being a burden to you all. Where would we find spare grain and money to give you."