After Qiao Nan took the money, she followed the doctor’s earlier instructions and paid a thousand yuan. She initially wanted to keep the remaining sum of money with her. However, at the thought of her mother’s character, she gritted her teeth and decided to look for the group of Qiao Dongliang’s former comrades who came earlier.
These people really seemed to be in need of money. They did not leave Ping Cheng as they had not gotten back their money. Instead, they paid for two nights of accommodation at one of the hotels in Ping Cheng.
Fortunately, they were all old buddies and knew one another well. They also stayed under the same roof when they were in the army.
Hence, the few grown-up men only rented one room to share in order to save money.
When Qiao Nan found them with the address they had given to her earlier, she felt a little sad too.
She used to think that her mother was only unreasonable to her family members. Now, it seemed that she treated others similarly. She could only bully honest people!
“I’m so sorry. My mom had caused you much trouble.” Qiao Nan took out the money and returned it to each and every one of them according to the list of debts Ding Jiayi owed them.
At that juncture, tears welled up in the eyes of the few men when they received the money. They felt a little hesitant and guilty. “How is Old Qiao doing now?”
“I don’t know yet. But I believe my dad will be fine.” Qiao Nan shook her head forthrightly. When she received the money from Brother Zhai, she dared not look for her mother at all.
Given the family’s current situation, even if her father was fine, her mother would think of all means to grab hold of whatever money available as a precautionary measure.
“Why don’t…” Someone gritted his teeth and wanted to give the money he just received back to Qiao Nan.
They were having difficulties, but it was worse for Old Qiao.
At the thought of Qiao Dongliang, who was lying on the hospital bed and just being pushed into the operating theater, the few comrades did not feel good.
The comrades were most concerned about how Old Qiao’s younger daughter managed to come up with such a large sum of money within such a short time. The sister-in-law obviously said the family had no money, and they definitely needed a lot of money for Old Qiao’s surgery.
“There is no need. I have already paid my dad’s surgery fees. I know uncles are on very good terms with my dad. If you are not in need of money, you will not come and ask us to pay you back. It’s only right to return what we owe. Don’t worry. Although I am very young, my dad was a soldier. The money came from decent sources. There is no problem.”
“Aye…” One of the uncles gave a faint sigh. “Since you said this, we will keep the money.”
“Younger daughter, how is sister-in-law?” When one of the comrades recalled the unreasonable behavior of Ding Jiayi earlier, he felt extremely bad.
In the past—when Old Qiao was still in contact with them—their first impression, when they met Ding Jiayi, was that she was a quiet, educated and civilized person. They were so envious that Old Qiao could marry such a good wife.
Just how many years had it been since then? Sister-in-law had changed from an educated, cultured and quiet lady to be someone no different from an uncivilized village woman.
Even the younger daughter knew that they came to ask for the money since they had no other means. How could sister-in-law be so unreasonable?
Although sister-in-law had lived to this age, she was not as understanding as her younger daughter. She had really wasted her life.
“Uncle, I am really sorry. I apologize to you on behalf of my mom. She was most probably too nervous and lost her senses because my dad suddenly met with such an accident.” Qiao Nan took a deep breath as she tried to find an excuse for Ding Jiayi.
“Younger daughter, we won’t say too much.” They were not idiots. Whether Ding Jiayi’s earlier behavior was due to being cornered or a display of her true self, everyone was able to tell.
Nevertheless, they pitied Qiao Nan. Ding Jiayi was the biological mother of Qiao Nan. Qiao Nan had to put in a few good words for her mother and could not possibly join them in scolding her own mother.
“Uncle must be in a hurry. I will not stay for too long.” Knowing that these people were really in need of money, Qiao Nan did not want them to waste money on accommodation expense.
If they canceled the room now, the rent for the second night of accommodation onward could at least be refunded.
Qiao Nan’s considerate nature was hard to come by; these people also did not need to put up a false front. True enough, they canceled the room and took back the money for the next two nights. With the money in hand, they transferred it home as soon as possible.
After settling this matter, Qiao Nan rushed back to the hospital immediately. “How… how’s my dad’s surgery?”
“Where have you been? You’re so late!” Ding Jiayi was like a furious lioness. The hair on her body stood up and she could not wait to rush up to Qiao Nan and slap her face despite it was already swollen on one side.
“Sister-in-law!” The colleague had widened his horizons today. He never thought that Old Qiao would have such an unreasonable wife.
Was the younger daughter picked up from the streets, or did Old Qiao give birth to her with another woman? Why was she treating Qiao Nan with such an attitude?
Wasn’t Qiao Nan the top student in the middle school examination? She also ranked first in the whole province!
“Qiao Nan, you’re still a child. Your dad’s surgery fees could not be rushed. We will just cough up as much as we can now.” The colleague had not forgotten that Qiao Nan had left earlier to gather money for Qiao Dongliang’s surgery expenses.
At the thought of this, the colleague was totally speechless.
As an adult, Ding Jiayi could not even cough up a thousand yuan for Qiao Dongliang’s surgery. How much capability did Qiao Nan, who was only a child, have?
For the sake of Qiao Dongliang, Qiao Nan had been so busy. She was such a filial child, but Ding Jiayi seemed to blind to all these. Besides being blind, was she also heartless?
“Thank you, Uncle. I have paid my dad’s surgery fees.” Qiao Nan glanced at Ding Jiayi coldly, and then looked at the colleague with much gratitude.
“Paid? Is it already paid for? That’s a thousand yuan!” The colleague was shocked. Qiao Nan really managed to get a thousand yuan. That’s impossible!
“That’s great! There is hope for Dad!” When Qiao Zijin heard that, she happily revealed a smile. Qiao Nan’s eyes turned solemn at the sight of this.
Even an outsider expressed their worries when they heard she managed to get a thousand yuan all of a sudden. Only her mother and Qiao Zijin were happily laughing.
The colleague was utterly disappointed with this hopeless sister-in-law. So, he pulled Qiao Nan to one side. “The one thousand yuan… Where did you get it from? Is it alright? Your dad is already injured; he can’t afford to take any more blows. Money is lifeless, people are alive. There will always be solutions to a problem. Your mom is out of line, but you also should not take on this burden alone and do anything foolish.”
A thousand yuan… It would not be easy to borrow this amount even if he tried to do so himself.
“Uncle, rest assured. The money came from decent sources. I borrowed from someone.” Qiao Nan’s heart warmed a little, and her expression was more relaxed.
“Whom did you borrow it from? Is the source reliable? Some money can be borrowed, some money shouldn’t.”
“Uncle, all of my family belongings are in the hands of my mom. Do you think I will be able to borrow the money that shouldn’t be borrowed?” Even if she borrowed from loan sharks, they would also request for collateral.