"I will not agree to whatever you're up to today. Time is almost up, Grandma, if you haven't decided whether to hang yourself, take your time. I'm heading home to cook." Chen Lishu said, turning and walking out of the courtyard gate to go home.
Chen Laotai opened her mouth. Seeing that everyone had already left, who was there to throw a tantrum for? In the end, she could only vent her anger on Chen Mantun before reluctantly returning home with Zhang Chunhua.
However, she was still harboring a resentment. On the evening of her return, she felt unwell and quickly called the village doctor. He diagnosed it as an acute internal heat, administered an IV drip, and prescribed medication, which finally settled the matter.
After all, she was old, especially in the middle of winter. Chen Laotai cherished her life very much. She was truly afraid that if she caused any trouble, she might just pass away. She dared not go out and stir up trouble anymore and stayed obediently at home until the Lunar New Year.
Without Chen Laotai's backing, Chen Baozhu also became completely honest. After much persuasion, he begged Hu Si'er and obediently followed everyone else to the mountains to chisel earth and repair the road.
...
"You're not young anymore. After the New Year, you'll be twenty-eight. Your father and I are waiting to hold our grandchild."
Nan Haitao looked up from the newspaper in his hand. "Don't you and Dad like my older sister Le Le very much?"
"How is that the same?"
Nan Mu put down the sweater she was knitting onto the coffee table beside her, leaned forward, and probed curiously, "Son, do you have someone you like in your heart?"
This time, Nan Haitao didn't even look up. "No, don't spend all day thinking nonsense."
"I think your Uncle Zhou's daughter is quite good. She works at the county hospital. Why don't I arrange for her to meet you?"
"I've met that girl. She's not my type at all. Mom, please stop worrying about it." Nan Haitao said as he got up. "I just remembered I have some things to do at the company. Mom, I'm leaving now."
"I didn't have feelings for your father before we got married either, but we got along well. And the girl's family has good conditions in all aspects..."
Nan Mu's words weren't finished before Nan Haitao's figure had already disappeared through the doorway.
...
With only a month left before they needed to purchase seedlings, various matters needed to be put on the agenda. However, after deducting bonuses and the filial money for both sets of parents, Chen Lishu didn't even have a hundred yuan left in her hands.
The pilot personal loan business for the four major state-owned banks would not open for another two years, so Chen Lishu could not get a loan at all.
She roughly estimated that the initial investment alone would be at least thirty to forty thousand yuan, which was not a small sum. After much thought, Chen Lishu decided to ask Nan Haitao. If it didn't work out, she could only postpone it and invest slowly after earning money.
After breakfast this day, Chen Lishu informed her family and headed straight to the department store in town.
When Chen Lishu arrived, Nan Haitao was in the warehouse checking inventory. After waiting for nearly half an hour, she saw him come upstairs.
"Why do you have time to visit today?" Seeing her waiting at the office door, Nan Haitao quickened his steps and took out his keys to open the door.
Chen Lishu smiled. "I don't visit without a reason. I need your help with something." Da Feng Novel Network
Nan Haitao raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then I'll have to see how important it is."
As they spoke, they entered the office together. Nan Haitao picked up the thermos on the desk and poured her a cup of plain water.
"Thank you." Chen Lishu took it and took a sip. The warm water added a bit of warmth to her whole body.
"I've contracted the mountain in our village."
Nan Haitao glanced sideways, not expecting her to have accomplished such a big thing without him knowing.
"Contracting mountain land must require quite a bit of money, right?"
Chen Lishu gave a wry smile. "Indeed. All the money I've saved over the years has been put into this. There will be a lot of subsequent investment needed, and I'm out of money. I came here today to ask if you could lend me some."
"I won't borrow it for free. I'll write you an IOU, and I'll pay you more interest than the bank."
"Heh." Seeing her anxious look, Nan Haitao couldn't help but chuckle and tease, "Of course I won't lend it to you without an IOU."
Chen Lishu blinked her eyes. "You agree to lend me the money?"
"It's even higher than the bank's interest. With such attractive terms, how could I disagree?" Nan Haitao smiled and pushed up the glasses on his nose. "How much do you need?"
"Forty thousand." Chen Lishu said, then hesitated. "If you don't have that much, thirty thousand would also be fine."
Nan Haitao nodded. "Then it's forty thousand."
Since large withdrawals required prior arrangement with the bank, and they agreed to pick up the money the next day, Chen Lishu got up to leave.
Zhou Xiaoqun had the day off from the hospital today. Nan Haitao was busy at the end of the year. They had arranged to meet once before, but he had postponed it. This time, she decided to take the initiative and go to the company to find him.
As soon as she reached the door and before she could knock, she saw the office door open, and a young, beautiful girl in her twenties came out. Zhou Xiaoqun's expression changed.
Chen Lishu also saw Zhou Xiaoqun and thought she was there to handle business with Nan Haitao. She turned and asked, "When will you be free tomorrow? I'll come find you."
"I'm at the company all day. You can come anytime."
Chen Lishu nodded, not wanting to disturb their business, and walked past Zhou Xiaoqun downstairs.
It wasn't until he watched Chen Lishu disappear around the corner that Nan Haitao withdrew his gaze and turned to Zhou Xiaoqun. "Dr. Zhou, why do you have time to visit today?"
Zhou Xiaoqun smiled. "Won't you invite me in for a sit?"
Nan Haitao gestured for her to enter, and soon they went inside and sat down.
"Who was that girl just now? She doesn't look like she's from your company?" Zhou Xiaoqun couldn't help but ask.
Nan Haitao didn't want to elaborate. "A friend."
"Do you have time after work? I'll treat you to a movie."
Nan Haitao looked at her smiling face and suddenly said seriously, "Zhou Xiaoqun, I don't think we're very suitable, and I don't want to waste your time. So, let's forget about the movie."
A crack finally appeared on Zhou Xiaoqun's smiling face. "Is it because of that girl just now?"
"Don't guess wildly. She's just a friend of mine. I don't plan to get married yet, and I don't want to waste your time."
Zhou Xiaoqun forced a smile. "It's okay, we can be friends first." Fearing that Nan Haitao would refuse again, Zhou Xiaoqun hurriedly got up. "Um, I suddenly remembered I have something to do at the hospital, so I'll be leaving now."
Watching her almost flee, Nan Haitao took off his glasses and pinched his temples in frustration.
...
The next day, Chen Lishu went to the department store as promised. After going to the bank with Nan Haitao to withdraw the money, Chen Lishu handed him the IOU she had written in advance, and then deposited the money into her passbook.
However, she didn't deposit all of it. She kept two thousand yuan and ordered twenty thousand sea buckthorn seedlings from the nursery, as well as five thousand fruit tree seedlings and other medicinal seeds, agreeing to pay the remaining balance upon pickup after the New Year.