Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 823 - 813 seems a bit familiar.

After dinner, Sun Chengbin offered to help clear the dishes, but Shen Yunfang, of course, could not let him lift a finger. "It’s just a few bowls and plates, I can wash them in a jiffy. You don’t have to get involved. Didn’t you have something to discuss? You should go talk to your second brother in the living room." Shen Yunfang picked up the dishes efficiently, and at the same time, she shouted at the two children who were about to watch TV, "That’s enough, you two. You used up your TV time for today when you came back this afternoon. Now hurry into your room and do your homework."

As a result of the wave of economic reforms and opening up, the "Transformers" comic book series created by Shen Yunfang had transformed into an animated series of the same name that had spread to China. It aired every evening from five-thirty to six, one episode each day, an appointment not to be missed. Kids from other places, he couldn’t say, but within the military compound, come that time of day, you wouldn’t see a soul outside; all had run home to watch TV.

Pangpang and Manman had grown up reading "Transformers" comics since they were little, but they could not resist the allure of the lively action on screen. Every day, when the time came, they would squat by the TV waiting, and homework would have to take a back seat.

Seeing the children so engrossed made Shen Yunfang feel both delighted and relieved. She was delighted because the domestic market was enormous, and her and her partner’s "Transformers" entering China could bring her a considerable amount of wealth. Relieved because she had only drawn one hundred episodes, and with one airing each day, even if the kids were obsessed, it would only last for three months. She figured that after persevering for three months, the kids would likely return to normal.

After being called by their mother, Pangpang and Manman reluctantly went into the room to do their homework.

Now, only Sun Chengbin and Li Hongjun were left in the living room. Sun Chengbin found it hard to broach the subject, but now he had no choice but to speak up.

"Second brother, I didn’t want to trouble you, but..." Ultimately, asking someone for money was embarrassing, and Sun Chengbin still hesitated to speak.

"Just tell me what it is. If I can help, there’s nothing to it. If not, I can’t overextend myself," Li Hongjun said, not liking this brother-in-law of his. To be more accurate, he didn’t like both members of Li Xianghe’s household.

One didn’t understand anything, and the other was too opportunistic. None were good eggs, but even if Li Xianghe was clueless, she still bore the Li surname. As her second brother, Li Hongjun couldn’t utterly neglect her.

"Well, it’s a letter from our hometown," Sun Chengbin sighed, knowing that since he was already here, there was no avoiding the shame of speaking up.

Li Hongjun’s heart sank when he heard that, thinking it was about his own parents who couldn’t find him and had to write to his younger sister.

"My dad accidentally injured his leg while working in the fields, and my mom said it’s gotten to the point where he has to be taken to the hospital. But there’s no money at home, so they wrote to ask me to send some money back for the old man’s treatment."

After hearing Sun Chengbin’s explanation, Li Hongjun breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out to be a matter concerning the Sun Family.

"I asked Xianghe for money after I received the letter today, but Xianghe said there’s none at home." Sun Chengbin swiped his hand over his face, "Second brother, ever since Xianghe came to join the army with Niuniu, I’ve given most of my salary, except for a handful of pocket money, to Xianghe each month. Now that she says there is no money, I’m really at a loss. But we can’t just ignore the elderly, so the only thing I could think of was to come out and borrow some..." He didn’t need to finish the sentence. Saying he came to borrow money, and visiting his second uncle’s home, clearly meant he was here to ask his second uncle for a loan.

Li Hongjun understood and asked directly, "How much?"

"Fifty." Li Hongjun’s directness made Sun Chengbin feel embarrassed.

"Later when your sister-in-law comes out, I’ll have her give it to you."

"What am I supposed to give him?" Just then, Shen Yunfang finished washing the dishes and came out of the kitchen.

Li Hongjun looked up and instructed, "Give Chengbin fifty yuan."

"Oh, okay, wait a second." Shen Yunfang glanced at Sun Chengbin sitting on the sofa and realized he had come over to borrow money that night. Without asking why he needed to borrow, she went straight into her room, opened the drawer, took out five ten-yuan bills, and walked out.

"Brother’s wife, big brother, thank you, I might not be able to pay you back all at once. I’ll pay back a little every month. I will be able to pay it all off eventually." Sun Chengbin took the money from his sister-in-law with both hands, his words sounding pitiful.

"There’s no rush. Just pay it back whenever you have it." Shen Yunfang obviously couldn’t just say, "sure, pay it back monthly," so she politely made a vague reply.

After thanking them a few more times, Sun Chengbin pocketed the money, stood up, and took his leave.

Once the door was closed, Shen Yunfang couldn’t help asking, "What’s going on? Why did he come to borrow money?"

Mainly because Sun Chengbin was also a company commander, and his salary was not low. Fifty yuan was neither a large nor small sum, surely not something he couldn’t afford.

"His dad got hurt back in the countryside and has to go to the hospital. Without any money, he could only write to his son asking for help. I guess Li Xianghe caused some trouble again, just refusing to give him the money, so he had to come out and borrow it himself," Li Hongjun briefly explained the situation in a few words.

Shen Yunfang nodded in understanding, feeling that this was indeed something Li Xianghe could do. She was just like Qiu Shuping; they would rather have money than life itself.

However, Li Xianghe was holding onto the money tight, wasn’t she thinking about the future? "Your sister refused to give Sun Chengbin the money. Isn’t she afraid that one day when Sun Chengbin gets his salary, he won’t hand it over to her?"

"Who knows what’s going on in her head? She can only think about the immediate things," Li Hongjun said, unconcerned with such trifling matters.

Shen Yunfang nodded; Li Xianghe was indeed shortsighted.

"But if Sun Chengbin really does start repaying the money every month, should I accept it or not?" she asked about a hypothetical situation.

"Of course, you should accept it. Why not?" Li Hongjun answered succinctly.

Understanding, Shen Yunfang nodded, then she suddenly thought of another scenario, "Hey, but what if Sun Chengbin doesn’t pay the money back—should I ask for it?"

Li Hongjun glanced at her, thinking she was really bored to the point of mulling over possible and impossible things, "Don’t worry, he will definitely pay it back. That man cares about his pride."

Lying in bed that night, just as she was about to fall asleep, Shen Yunfang suddenly remembered, "Hey, I was wondering why Sun Chengbin’s situation sounded so familiar. Now I remember, it’s so similar to what happened to your family back then. Do you remember when your dad also hurt his leg, and your mom made it sound as though he was on his deathbed? Back then, you were so anxious that you didn’t even have time to send me and the kids to the Capital before you rushed back to the countryside. Turned out your dad was fine, but it ended up saving Jiajia."

Li Hongjun was hugging his wife, listening to her prattle on, occasionally humming an acknowledgment through his nose.

"Looking at it this way, Sun Chengbin is much smarter than you. He simply sends fifty yuan back home. If you were like him, you would’ve had to go back home, probably spending at least five hundred yuan." At that time, aside from money for Jiajia’s treatment, the IV for Li Hongjun’s dad, he had also secretly given his dad some extra cash. When he got home and did the math, wasn’t it nearly five hundred yuan gone?

It was then, Shen Yunfang was already earning money, and not a small amount at that. If it had been anyone else, Li Hongjun’s life would have been difficult. Which wife would tolerate a husband coming back from a trip home five hundred yuan in debt due to famine?

Five hundred yuan is still a significant amount even now, let alone a few years ago.