My Youth Began With Him

Huo Mian held up the slip, looking speechless. “It’s clearly written on here.”

Yang Meirong suddenly looked very awkward…

When she returned from the bank, she was hungry and went to cook, leaving the receipt on the coffee table.

She wanted to throw it away later; she wasn’t expecting for Huo Mian’s arrival so she completely forgot about it…

Huo Mian knew that her mother wasn’t very adept in telephone banking or online banking.

The only way for her to transfer money was through the old-fashioned counter at the bank.

In actuality, Huo Mian didn’t mind giving Yang Xiuping money. Despite their distaste for one another, the girl was still her mother’s niece.

They should give her some spending money if it was just a one-time occasion.

Huo Mian remembered her mother telling her that she had given the girl an extra 5,000 yuan on top of her salary before she left.

Her mother was afraid that she didn’t have enough to live comfortably.

Logically speaking, a single girl with 7,000 to 8,000 yuan of spending money shouldn’t be in such a bad state.

Even if her workplace didn’t cover housing or food, a couple of days wouldn’t warrant her to spend all of her money.

Facing Huo Mian’s questions, Yang Meirong felt very embarrassed.

She had no choice but, to tell the truth. “Mian, don’t get mad… Xiuping called this morning. She said that her new job doesn’t cover housing or food. On top of that, they deduct a certain amount of deposit. She spent most of her money. Last night, she got food poisoning and went to the hospital. That’s why she needed the money so urgently. She said she’ll repay me the money once she gets paid.”

Huo Mian felt a bit speechless. “Mom… I’m not saying that you shouldn’t lend Xiuping money, but I don’t know how truthful her words are. You shouldn’t trust her that much. If she’s really in the hospital and is getting treatment, we can give her any amount, but is she really sick? Are you sure she’s not just asking you for money?”

“I don’t think… she would lie to me… right?” In fact, Yang Meirong wasn’t sure either.

Back when her niece was living with her, the girl was truly lazy; she didn’t do much.

Yang Meirong gave her food, a place to live and 3,000 yuan every month. Because Yang Xiuping was her niece, Yang Meirong didn’t think too much about it.

When her niece asked for 10,000 yuan, Yang Meirong gave it to her without a second thought. In retrospect, it was foolish behavior; she didn’t even ask her questions.

“Alright… what’s done is done. If she asks you for money again in the future, tell her that you have no money and direct her to me. If she really needs money, I’ll give it to her; but if she lies, I won’t give her a cent.”

Huo Mian tried to convince her mother…

Yang Meirong nodded, knowing full well that her daughter had a point.

“Has Zhixin called you recently?”

Yang Meirong looked disappointed. “He did call, but he seems really busy. He’s not coming back for Chinese New Year. He said he needs to study.”

“That’s good. It’s a good thing that he’s so motivated. Boys should be this hard working. They need to experience some hardships to grow up.”

Although Huo Mian also missed Zhixin dearly, she knew that it wasn’t his fault; rather, she supported his decision.

She hung around at her mother’s place for a bit, took a nap, and woke up to her mother’s best dish – pork and celery dumplings.

Coincidentally, Qin Chu left work around the same time. He joined them for dinner at 7:30 PM and the two left Sky Blessing Court together.

On their way home, Qin Chu turned his head towards Huo Mian and asked, “What did the fortune teller elder say today?”

“Didn’t Mom tell you?”

“I want to hear it from you…” Qin Chu’s voice was gentle as could be.

Huo Mian looked outside the window shyly. “He said that we will have many children.”

“How many is many? An entire soccer team?”

“What do you think I am? A pig? How could I give birth to an entire soccer team…” Huo Mian hit Qin Chu’s shoulders, giggling.

Then, Mr. Qin asked with all seriousness, “Then, did the elder tell you how many times we should do it every night?”