Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Seeing that the security guard didn't believe him, Zhao Tiesheng just sighed, "I'm not lying. I'm from Dongtaizi Village in Quanshui Town, the same village as my younger sister. We even share the same surname, Zhao. Look at my appearance, don't I look a lot like Chunqin? I, as her second brother, paid for most of her college expenses."

Speaking of appearance, the security guard took a closer look at Zhao Tiesheng's eyebrows and eyes, and they did indeed resemble Zhao Chunqin somewhat. It seemed that the two of them were indeed siblings.

But the security guard became interested. He laughed and said, "But I don't believe that Xiao Zhao borrowed 40,000 yuan from you. Xiao Zhao and her husband both work here as civil servants. Their combined annual salary is over 10,000 yuan, which is much more than the average person. They probably don't have many expenses. Their employers subsidize their housing and food. Over the years, they've accumulated tens of thousands of yuan in savings. How could they possibly borrow money from you? Do they look like the type to be short of money?"

The security guard was basically describing the current situation at the company. After working here for a few years, who doesn't have savings? Nobody is short of money. They either borrow money from relatives or friends. I've never heard of anyone borrowing money from relatives in the countryside.

Zhao Tiesheng quickly explained, "What are you saying? Although I'm from the countryside, my wife and I are hardworking. We've been working in the fields for almost ten years and have managed to save up some money, which adds up to tens of thousands of yuan. How could my younger sister possibly borrow money from me? But I won't reveal the reason or excuse for borrowing money. If my younger sister does, and everyone finds out, she might lose her job."

The security guard's eyes widened in disbelief. What was the reason for borrowing money? Why would he risk losing his job? The guard was filled with doubt, but Zhao Tiesheng's words only fueled his curiosity.

He looked around and, seeing no other strangers, couldn't help but ask, "What's the reason? There's no one around. Why don't you just tell me? I'm feeling uneasy if you don't tell me."

The security guard wondered to himself, "Could there be some secret involved? Like, maybe Xiao Zhao got into some trouble outside and needs to spend a lot of money to settle things?"

The security guard grew increasingly curious, wishing he could know the answer right now. But Zhao Tiesheng wouldn't say anything. "Uncle, I'd better not tell you. Why don't you ask Chunqin if she's willing to tell you?"

Once he no longer had any romantic feelings for his younger sister, Zhao Tiesheng stopped worrying about this or that, or whether it would cause Zhao Chunqin any trouble.

To hell with all that trouble, all he wanted was his 40,000 yuan back.

On Cheng Jinxiang's back was Zhao Xiaojuan, a few months old, wrapped in cotton cloth. Originally, Cheng Jinxiang didn't want to bring Zhao Xiaojuan on this long trip. The journey was already tiring enough, and taking care of a child would be even more exhausting. Cheng Jinxiang had planned to leave Xiaojuan with Jinxiao, but Zhao Da'e said that bringing Xiaojuan might help them get the money faster, so Cheng Jinxiang brought Xiaojuan along.

The family of three stood at the doorway, and anyone who entered was grabbed by one of them and asked, "Have you seen Zhao Chunqin?"

Zhao Da'e asked pitifully, "Brother and sister, have you seen my aunt Zhao Chunqin?"

Some people were curious about why Zhao Tiesheng and his family came to see Zhao Chunqin. Without thinking, Zhao Tiesheng replied, "Zhao Chunqin is my younger sister. I came to see her to get back the money she owes me."

"If you ask me how much money she owes, she owes me 40,000 yuan."

While coaxing the child, Cheng Jinxiang said, "We really have no money left at home, so we came to this sister-in-law to ask for the money back. Otherwise, my eldest daughter wouldn't even have money for school this year."

Today, the family of three was wearing their old clothes. Although simple, they were clean, but there were many loose threads from patching on the cuffs, which showed that they lived a very hard life.

After a while, everyone in the workplace knew that Zhao Tiesheng and his family had come to see Zhao Chunqin.

An honest man said, "Are you looking for Zhao Chunqin? I saw her at work today. What's wrong? Didn't you see her today?"

Cheng Jinxiang feigned shock and said incredulously, "My sister-in-law is at work? How is that possible? The security guard just said that my sister-in-law is not at work and has left on business. But I really don't know where to look for her, so I thought I'd ask everyone to find out where she is."

Of course, this story spread and became the rumor that Zhao Chunqin owed money to Zhao Tiesheng's family, and that Zhao Tiesheng had paid for Zhao Chunqin's schooling. As a result, Zhao Chunqin became ungrateful after she became successful and refused to repay the money. She even lied to the other party, saying that she was not at work, in an attempt to avoid repaying the money.

Some people say that Zhao Chunqin must have borrowed so much money at once to do something shady.

Everyone in the office was looking at Zhao Chunqin with strange eyes, making her feel very uncomfortable. Several people even came to ask her questions out of curiosity, but Zhao Chunqin impatiently chased them away. She was very irritable right now.

Xiao Su couldn't stand it anymore and came over, saying, "Xiao Zhao, there are people outside claiming to be your second brother looking for you. Now the three of them are asking everyone they meet if you're here. I think you should go down and deal with your personal matters. Otherwise, it won't be good for your reputation. Aren't you and your husband running for the position of deputy section chief? If your reputation is bad and someone reports you, then the deputy section chief position might... go to someone else."

These words struck a chord with Zhao Chunqin, which was also the reason for her greatest frustration. She and Qingmin were at a crucial stage in their election for deputy section chief, and her second brother had to cause trouble at this critical juncture.

Having no other choice, Zhao Chunqin picked up her small bag and went out. It contained the cash she had brought with her. She had to trick Zhao Tiesheng and the others into leaving. She absolutely couldn't let him cause trouble at the door and make things difficult for her.

When Zhao Chunqin came down, Zhao Tiesheng was pulling someone aside and asked, "Brother, have you seen my little sister Zhao Chunqin?"

When Zhao Chunqin saw the person Zhao Tiesheng was pulling, her eyes widened in surprise. The reason was simple: the person Zhao Tiesheng was pulling was her superior, Li Qingfeng.

Li Qingfeng is thirty-five years old this year, but he is also a young section chief and Zhao Chunqin's superior. Li Qingfeng asked curiously, "You are Zhao's second brother. What brings you here to see Zhao this time?"

Just as Zhao Tiesheng was about to mention that Zhao Chunqin had borrowed money, Zhao Chunqin, who had rushed over, stopped him.

"Second Brother, I'm over here." Zhao Chunqin shouted anxiously, then rushed over and grabbed Zhao Tiesheng, saying apologetically to Li Qingfeng, "Leader, I'm so sorry, my second brother came here to borrow some money from me, please forgive him."

As she spoke, Zhao Chunqin immediately pulled Zhao Tiesheng away. If Zhao Tiesheng stayed any longer and her superiors noticed something, she would definitely be investigated.

If she were investigated, her abuse of power to buy tea at a low price would be discovered. Being criticized by her superiors would be the least of her worries. If she lost her job because of this, or if she couldn't be elected as deputy section chief because of her bad reputation, that would be a huge loss. She absolutely could not allow such a thing to happen.

This was the first time Zhao Tiesheng had ever seen Zhao Chunqin so cautious around someone. He remembered that Zhao Chunqin was again using the excuse of not being at work to avoid him and prevent him from repaying the money. Zhao Tiesheng wanted to sneer. He had only made a small scene at her workplace, making it widely known, and Zhao Chunqin couldn't resist coming to him. Before, no matter how he tried to find her, she would always make excuses to avoid him, but now…

On the other side, Cheng Jinxiang saw Zhao Chunqin appear and pull Zhao Tiesheng towards a corner. She immediately took Zhao Dage's hand and followed.

Seeing this, Zhao Da'e tugged at Cheng Jinxiang's hand and reminded her, "Mom, Auntie is definitely trying to trick us into going back this time. We absolutely can't listen to what Auntie says. If we really leave and Grandma finds out, she'll definitely come looking for trouble. It might be even more difficult for us to come back to Auntie next time. We might as well ask for more money this time. If Auntie can't give us money, we can make her make up for it with tea leaves."

Cheng Jinxiang felt this made sense, and she wouldn't let it go so easily. She was afraid that Tie Sheng would be soft-hearted and not care, so she had to go and see what Zhao Chunqin would say.

Zhao Chunqin pulled Zhao Tiesheng to a secluded corner. Once they were alone, her good expression immediately fell, and she complained, "Second brother, what are you doing? How could you tell outsiders about me borrowing money from you? Are you trying to make me lose my job?"

Zhao Tiesheng was a little stunned. He didn't expect Zhao Chunqin to start by scolding him. He thought that Zhao Chunqin would at least explain herself, but... he realized that he had thought too highly of Zhao Chunqin.

Zhao Tiesheng didn't give Zhao Chunqin a friendly look either.

"Zhao Chunqin, do you still acknowledge me as your second brother? Since when have you been lying all the time? You even lied to the security guard that you weren't at work. Did you not come out today if I hadn't asked everyone else where you were and mentioned that you borrowed money from me?" Zhao Tiesheng harbored resentment. He finally understood that it was precisely because of his repeated soft-heartedness and concessions that Zhao Chunqin had taken him for granted time and time again.

When Zhao Chunqin heard Zhao Tiesheng say this, she realized that he was angry. She was speechless for a moment and was thinking of a reason to fool Zhao Tiesheng.

Zhao Chunqin said somewhat awkwardly, "Second brother, I had something to do at work and only just got back. As soon as I got back, I saw you looking for someone at the entrance of my workplace and asking me questions."

Zhao Da'e made a shy face gesture, "Auntie is lying. I asked several uncles, and they all said that you were in the office watching me and my parents downstairs asking where you were. You just don't want to see us."

Seeing that Zhao Dage was arguing with her at such a young age, Zhao Chunqin frowned and scolded, "Shut up! What are you doing, kid, interrupting when adults are talking?"

Zhao Chunqin was annoyed at being exposed, but Cheng Jinxiang shielded Zhao Da'e behind her and said with dissatisfaction, "Da'e is just a child. She was just telling the truth. Why are you scolding the child?"

Zhao Chunqin was too lazy to argue with these people. She took out two hundred yuan from her wallet, which was the cash she had brought with her today. "You just want money, right? Here you go. I don't have any more. Take the money and leave quickly." Don't get in her way.

Zhao Tiesheng looked at the few hundred yuan and smiled bitterly to himself. He had tried to ask Zhao Chunqin for money before, but she always refused. But today, she came to her workplace and made a scene, threatening her future, so she finally gave in and paid him.

Zhao Tiesheng felt that his previous concessions were a joke, and the more he yielded, the more Zhao Chunqin would take advantage of him.

Cheng Jinxiang stepped forward to accept the two hundred yuan for Zhao Tiesheng. Zhao Chunqin immediately became anxious, saying, "Why are you taking this money? This money is for my second brother, not for you."

Zhao Chunqin thought that if she gave the money to Zhao Tiesheng, she could later use her charm to get the money back from her second brother. However, if the money ended up in Cheng Jinxiang's hands, it would be difficult to get it back later.

Zhao Tiesheng hadn't forgotten what Cheng Jinxiang had told him before he came. Today, he could only choose to stand on one side, his younger sister or his wife. Without hesitation, he chose his wife.

Moreover, Zhao Tiesheng was also dissatisfied with Zhao Chunqin's tone towards Cheng Jinxiang, and said sternly, "Chunqin, watch your words. Jinxiang is your sister-in-law. Show her some respect!"

Zhao Chunqin was stunned by the scolding. She looked at Zhao Tiesheng again in disbelief, "Second brother, you scolded me again because of this... Second sister-in-law."

Zhao Chunqin couldn't understand how things had come to this. In the past, her second brother had always been very obedient to her. He would never say anything if she asked him for money, and even if he came to ask for money back, he wouldn't pursue the matter if she gave him a perfunctory answer. But now...

After much thought, Zhao Chunqin felt that the biggest problem was Cheng Jinxiang. If it weren't for her being so calculating, insisting on building a new house, and demanding the money back, she wouldn't be in such a predicament now.

Cheng Jinxiang patted Zhao Tiesheng on the back, telling him to calm down. Then she turned to Zhao Chunqin and said coldly, "Two hundred yuan is not enough. Ten thousand yuan. You have to pay our family at least ten thousand yuan by today, or our whole family will make a scene at your workplace."

Zhao Da'e was somewhat surprised after hearing this. Ten thousand yuan? This was different from what she had expected. Originally, she had planned to get some money from Zhao Chunqin and then have her bring tea to make up for it, but her mother had mentioned ten thousand yuan without mentioning tea.

Moreover, Zhao Da'e felt that Zhao Chunqin might not be able to come up with 10,000 yuan. Asking her to pay back a few thousand yuan first might be the limit of how much she could repay.

No matter what, let's get her to give us a little bit. It's much better than not giving us a single penny.

Zhao Chunqin's eyes widened, wondering if she had misheard. "Ten thousand yuan?! You want me to pay you back ten thousand yuan today?! Cheng Jinxiang, have you lost your mind? Where am I supposed to find ten thousand yuan for you? Impossible! You're dreaming! I don't have ten thousand yuan, don't even think about it!"