Ning Wanju suddenly said, "Third Sister, can you lend me 10,000 yuan? I want to buy a tractor. You know our family doesn't have one, and it's inconvenient to work in the fields without it."
Youngest Aunt's sudden request for money at the dinner table took everyone by surprise.
Ning Wanqiu was also very surprised.
She looked at Ning Wanju, and saw the pleading look in her younger sister's eyes.
She couldn't bear to refuse.
But she also knew she couldn't agree immediately.
Her elder sister, second sister, brother, and sister-in-law were all present.
If she agreed to lend money to her youngest sister, what would she do if others asked to borrow money too?
Her son had reminded her many times not to easily lend money to relatives.
So Ning Wanqiu was clear about her son's stance.
Facing her younger sister's request, she hesitated for a moment but eventually softened.
She decided to lend her the money privately after the meal.
And she planned to use her own savings, not her son's money.
Ning Wanqiu was usually very frugal and had saved a considerable amount over the years to help her son buy a house and get married. But now, Xu Xiuwen was making good money on his own and didn't need her savings.
So Ning Wanqiu decided to lend from her personal savings.
As the saying goes, a mother knows her child best.
The reverse is also true.
Xu Xiuwen understood his mother's character very well.
So he directly said, "Aunt, we can discuss the loan, but let's be clear about the terms: how long will you borrow it for, when will you repay it, and what if you can't repay? And let me be clear, we must write a promissory note."
The room fell silent.
Youngest Aunt opened her mouth but said nothing.
Grandfather suddenly said, "Alright, let's discuss this after the meal. Let's focus on eating for now."
Everyone continued eating quietly with their own thoughts.
After lunch.
Ning Wanqiu pulled Xu Xiuwen aside.
She asked, "What are you thinking? You agree to lend money to your aunt?"
Xu Xiuwen smiled wryly, "I don't agree, but it would be difficult for you if I refused, right? We can lend her the money, but everything must be clearly written down."
Ning Wanqiu frowned and said, "You know your aunt's situation. She definitely can't repay it soon."
Xu Xiuwen nodded, "I know Aunt's situation isn't great. The amount she's borrowing isn't much. I think we can lend it to her, but we can't keep lending repeatedly. Having a promissory note will make her reluctant to borrow again, saving us from having to refuse repeatedly."
Ning Wanqiu then understood his reasoning.
She thought it over and found her son's approach quite good.
She didn't mind lending a little to her younger sister. After all, they grew up together and shared a bond.
But just as her son said, if her younger sister couldn't repay, having a promissory note would make her hesitant to borrow again.
"Alright, let's do it your way."
Ning Wanqiu agreed with her son's idea.
Meanwhile, Youngest Aunt and her husband were also discussing it.
Youngest Aunt still felt her nephew was a bit heartless. After all, they were family. Did he really think they wouldn't repay?
She didn't realize Xu Xiuwen's deeper intentions.
Her husband, however, thought it was quite reasonable.
He explained to her that buying a tractor would be a real help to their family.
If they really couldn't repay soon, would Ning Wanqiu force them to sell their house or tractor to repay?
Most importantly, there was no interest.
The couple deliberated and concluded that borrowing the money with a promissory note had no downsides.
So Youngest Aunt approached Ning Wanqiu and agreed to write a promissory note.
Having discussed with Xu Xiuwen, Ning Wanqiu readily agreed to lend her 15,000 yuan, interest-free, with a three-year repayment term.
The promissory note was written in front of their grandparents.
After writing it, Xu Xiuwen even insisted Youngest Aunt press her fingerprint on it.
While Youngest Aunt was writing the note, the elder sister, second sister, and sister-in-law were present, their eyes flickering.
Despite not liking the three of them, Xu Xiuwen still offered, "If you have difficulties and want to borrow money, I can agree, but you must write a promissory note like Aunt, clearly stating the repayment time."
After hearing what Xu Xiuwen had to say, the eldest aunt, the second aunt, and the uncle's wife all privately discussed it with their husbands.
In the end, the eldest aunt's family borrowed 20,000 yuan, claiming they needed it to buy a minivan to run transportation services locally.
Here's some context to explain. In their rural area, many people often called minivans to go to other towns or markets.
A few years ago, three-wheeled vehicles were more common, but with economic development, minivans started to increase.
Xu Xiuwen knew that in his previous life, until a few years before his rebirth, there were still people running minivans for transporting passengers. Though it wasn't a way to make big money, earning some extra cash was feasible.
The second aunt's family also borrowed 20,000 yuan, planning to open a small shop in town. This was also a decent way to make a living. Despite the poverty in rural areas, there were still many necessities that people needed to buy.
Currently, there was only one small shop in the market, and in the surrounding villages, some had small shops, while others didn't.
Even those that did had limited items, and most small shops sourced their goods from the town's shop. If the second aunt opened another small shop, making a bit of money shouldn't be an issue.
Xu Xiuwen remembered that in his previous life, later on, there were several sizable shops in the market, indicating that there were enough people from the nearby villages to support multiple small shops.
The uncle borrowed 30,000 yuan, intending to open a repair shop.
The uncle was skilled in repairing electric tricycles and motorcycles but didn't have a proper place to showcase his skills.
He was currently doing carpentry and occasionally taking on repair jobs at home.
He wanted to open a repair shop in the market and had already scouted a location but lacked the funds.
The uncle asked for 30,000 yuan, but Xu Xiuwen offered an additional 20,000 yuan, lending him a total of 50,000 yuan.
Xu Xiuwen didn't have enough money on him, so he made a special trip to the town in the afternoon to withdraw some.
In the end, each sibling borrowed some money, with the least being the youngest aunt, Ning Wanju, who borrowed 15,000 yuan, and the most being the uncle, who borrowed 50,000 yuan.
Xu Xiuwen lent out a total of 105,000 yuan.
Those who borrowed the money were naturally overjoyed.
Although the grandparents didn't say anything, they were relieved. They knew that if Ning Wanqiu hadn't lent the money, the siblings might not have said anything openly, but they would certainly have felt unhappy.
Now that the money was lent, everyone was happy.
Xu Xiuwen smiled faintly. He never intended to get that 100,000 yuan back.
Of course, if the aunts and uncle wanted to repay it, he would be happy, but if not, it was no big deal.
It was worth it to avoid future requests for money, and it made his mother feel more comfortable.
After dinner, the eldest aunt, second aunt, youngest aunt and their families left one after another, and the uncle and his wife also took the money home.
The once lively old house became much quieter. Ning Jiali still didn't go home with her parents and stayed behind.
That night, Xu Xiuwen didn't sleep in his cousin's bed again.
The grandparents and Ning Wanqiu continued to sleep in the small back room, while Xu Xiuwen slept alone in the large front room.
That night, the Jiangsu TV station aired two more episodes of "Boys Over Flowers."
All five of them, including the grandparents, sat on the bed and watched the two episodes.
After watching, Ning Jiali couldn't help but say, "Cousin, your acting is really good. It's hard to imagine that Daoming Si is actually played by you."
Everyone laughed because the character Daoming Si in the drama was arrogant and domineering, whereas the real Xu Xiuwen was not like that.
Ning Wanqiu chuckled and said, "I really like this girl Shan Cai. She's sensible and hardworking, and she can keep her boyfriend in line. She'd make a good daughter-in-law."
Xu Xiuwen rolled his eyes at his mother, feeling helpless.
Ning Jiali laughed and said, "Third Aunt is right. My cousin, this bad boy, needs someone to keep him in check."
Ning Wanqiu looked at Xu Xiuwen and asked, "You know this girl, right? Does she like you?"
Xu Xiuwen replied helplessly, "Mom, can you not jump to conclusions? This is just acting."
Ning Wanqiu nodded and then said, "I know it's acting. I just wanted to tell you that at your age, if you meet a girl you like, it's okay to start dating. I'm open-minded and won't say anything."
Xu Xiuwen considered telling his mother that he had a girlfriend but felt it wasn't the right time, so he remained silent.
At this point, the grandmother suddenly made a shocking remark. She said, "Xiuwen, you and Lili are cousins, so you can't date each other."
Her words startled everyone. Even the usually silent grandfather couldn't help but say, "You old woman, stop talking nonsense!"
Ning Wanqiu laughed when she heard this.
Xu Xiuwen was stunned.
Ning Jiali blushed and lowered her head, playing the ostrich.
Grandma glanced at Ning Jiali and then at Xu Xiuwen, saying, "I know you've liked Lili since you were little, but you've seen your aunt's personality. If you two get together, it'll be hard to get past her."
Xu Xiuwen replied helplessly, "Grandma, what are you talking about? I like Lili as a brother likes a sister."
Grandma asked, "Then why did you come out of Lili's room this morning?"
Grandpa: "???"
Ning Wanqiu: "???"
Ning Jiali: "..."
Ning Wanqiu turned to Xu Xiuwen, glaring at him, and demanded, "What's going on? Why did you come out of Lili's room? Did you two...?"
Xu Xiuwen was stunned.
He thought Grandma hadn't seen him coming out of his cousin's room this morning since she hadn't mentioned it earlier.
Now, Grandma brought it up, catching him off guard.
Ning Wanqiu saw him silent and angrily said, "Answer me!"
Xu Xiuwen snapped back to reality.
He hurriedly explained, "Mom, it's not what you think. I did sleep in Lili's room last night, but nothing happened between us."
After he spoke, he noticed his mother still frowning, looking unconvinced.
He remembered Ning Jiali was also there but hadn't spoken.
Xu Xiuwen quickly said to her, "You should explain too."
Ning Jiali, with her head down, softly said, "Cousin is right."
Xu Xiuwen was speechless.
He thought: I asked you to explain, not just agree with me.
Ning Wanqiu understood her son well enough to know he wouldn't do anything inappropriate. So, although she appeared angry, she was mostly trying to remind him not to get carried away.
She deliberately furrowed her pretty brows and coldly asked, "Then why didn't you sleep in your own bed and went to sleep in Lili's bed?"
Xu Xiuwen hurriedly explained, "Last night, second uncle and third uncle were snoring all night, and I couldn't sleep at all. I planned to sleep in the car, but I ran into Lili in the yard, and she let me sleep in her room."
Ning Wanqiu turned to Ning Jiali and asked, "Is that true?"
Ning Jiali nodded.
Now the three of them understood what had happened.
Grandpa said nothing, Grandma sighed in relief.
Ning Wanqiu also felt relieved.
"You two aren't kids anymore. You need to understand the difference between men and women. Don't do this again."
Ning Wanqiu glared at Xu Xiuwen and continued, "Lili is still young and doesn't know better, but you're older. Are you going to follow her lead? You know your aunt and uncle's relationship isn't the best..."
She noticed the awkward looks on her parents' faces and stopped herself in time.
Instead, she said, "Anyway, don't mess around again."
Xu Xiuwen nodded repeatedly, "Got it."
Ning Jiali also nodded.
With that, the matter was settled.
Xu Xiuwen wiped his forehead, almost breaking into a cold sweat.
Ning Wanqiu rolled her eyes at his action.
It was already past nine. Xu Xiuwen, afraid of more shocking revelations, quickly made his escape.
He quickly washed up, soaked his feet in hot water, and then hid in the front room.
Lying in the warm bed, Xu Xiuwen started contacting his girlfriends.
The first was, of course, Cheng Lu.
Xu Xiuwen called Cheng Lu first every day, and their calls lasted the longest.
Next was An Shishi.
Lastly was Tang Weiwei.
It wasn't that he didn't value Tang Weiwei, but they usually chatted via text.
At midnight, Xu Xiuwen reluctantly put down his phone and went to sleep.
Without his uncles' snoring, Xu Xiuwen slept soundly.
The next morning came quickly.
Still dreaming, Xu Xiuwen felt something tickling his face.
He groggily scratched his face.
Still itchy.
"Stop it~"
Xu Xiuwen called out and slowly opened his eyes.
Upon opening them, he saw Ning Jiali sitting by the bed.
She was holding a feather.
Realizing he was awake, Ning Jiali quickly hid her hand behind her back.
Xu Xiuwen said irritably, "No need to hide it, I saw it."
Ning Jiali stuck out her tongue.
She threw away the feather and smiled sweetly, "Cousin, wake up."
"What time is it?"
"Past eight."
"So late? Why didn't I hear the rooster crow?"
Ning Jiali chuckled, "The roosters already finished crowing."
"Really?" Xu Xiuwen said, sitting up and leaning against the headboard, ready to get dressed.
Since he was wearing thermal underwear, there was no need for Ning Jiali to avoid him.
Xu Xiuwen quickly dressed and went to the backyard.