Hua Qingqing had just returned to the Hua family residence. As she was about to head to her room, Granny Lin called out to her.
She turned around and sized up Granny Lin, who was sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, staring at her with an inexplicable look of excitement and smugness on her face.
"You're doing business with someone?"
"Don't pretend. I saw it all. You're doing business with others, selling bags."
"How much do these things cost? You must be making quite a bit of money. Five yuan each, right?"
"No wonder you're my granddaughter. You're quite good at doing business. But you're still young after all. It's not safe for you to keep so much money by yourself."
Hua Qingqing wasn't stupid. She could clearly tell what Granny Lin really meant. This old woman was asking her to hand over all the money.
Bah, how shameless!
Wasn't it enough for her to have embezzled the original owner's living expenses for thirteen years?
Maybe she had been too gentle these days, giving Granny Lin the illusion that she was easy to talk to.
Hua Qingqing's bright eyes were as calm as an ancient well at this moment.
She sized up Granny Lin, making the old woman's back tingle.
"What are you looking at?"
Hua Qingqing replied, "I'm looking to see if you have any shame."
It took Granny Lin a while to figure out what this meant. She immediately turned red in the face with anger.
"You're scolding me? I'm your grandma!"
"Yo, so you remember I'm your granddaughter now?"
Hua Qingqing felt like laughing but her face instantly turned cold. "You secretly embezzled your granddaughter's living expenses every month? Is this what a grandma should do?!"
How... How did you know?
Granny Lin looked stunned. Her face turned pale and she nervously tried to cover it up.
"What are you talking about? There's no such thing. I sent you money every month."
"Yes, yes, yes. You're right. You did send me money every month. But over the past thirteen years, you reduced my living expenses every few years. For the first three years, it was twenty yuan a month. Then for the next two years, it was fifteen yuan a month. And for the last eight years, it was only five yuan a month. If it had been twenty yuan a month, you would have embezzled at least a thousand yuan in living expenses over these thirteen years."
Hua Qingqing suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh, and over these thirteen years, my dad must have increased my living expenses. Maybe it was thirty yuan a month. If that's the case, the amount you embezzled would be more than a thousand. It would be over two thousand. Grandma, my dear grandma, your appetite is really big!"
"Did you ever think about how miserable I was living on just five yuan a month in the countryside? I've never seen such a greedy grandma like you!"
No, I have. Granny Fang and Grandpa Yu are just as bad as this one.
Granny Lin was completely stunned.
She only cared about secretly embezzling the money. She never thought about how to deal with the aftermath because in her plan, she never imagined that Hua Qingqing would find out about this!
"You... you..."
"What are you stuttering about! Grandma, are you scared? You've done something wrong. If Dad finds out about this, you might lose your position as the family's financial manager, right?"
Granny Lin immediately panicked. She stood up and waved her hands.
"Don't say it! Don't say it! I know you're selling things with others outside. If you say it, I'll tell your dad about it!"
"Whatever. It's not something shameful. The country is in a period of great development. I'm just following the national policy."
Hua Qingqing shrugged. "But you're embezzling money for your own gain. That's illegal, Grandma. You should know the consequences. Why should I, the one who had over two thousand yuan embezzled from me, suffer this loss?"
You can't say it!
If she did, her son would definitely stop her from managing the family finances and give the money to her daughter - in - law. In the future, if she wanted to buy something, she would have to ask her daughter - in - law for money. Most importantly, her status in this family would plummet!
Her son wasn't even raised by her. They weren't very close. If she lost the right to manage the family finances, what would she do in the future?
A flood of fear came over her.
Granny Lin was on the verge of tears. She deeply regretted provoking this "devil". Hua Qingqing had been quiet for over a month without saying a word. Maybe she still cared about the grandmother - granddaughter relationship. But today, she had angered Hua Qingqing, and the girl deliberately exposed this matter.
The more Granny Lin thought about it, the more she regretted it.
Hua Qingqing had no idea how complicated Granny Lin's thoughts were.
She didn't expose this matter at first because she knew that holding someone's weakness should be used at the right time. If she revealed it too early, the other person would find a way to solve it. Then the weakness she held wouldn't be a weakness but just a threatening secret.
Today was a perfect opportunity.
When she saw Granny Lin at the crossroads, she didn't feel nervous at all. She even felt a little excited.
Granny Lin was here to give her money.
She really needed the money to start the factory.
She had to get that two - thousand - yuan back!
"Qingqing, you can't tell your dad about this. If you do, your grandma will be finished!"
Granny Lin wiped her tears with her dry old hands, crying and trying to play the pitiful card, hoping to talk about the grandmother - granddaughter relationship with Hua Qingqing. But Hua Qingqing didn't have the time for this.
"Grandma, crying to me won't help. Over the past thirteen years, I've been deeply hurt by your actions. I'm no longer the soft - hearted girl I used to be!"
"If you want me not to tell my dad, it's okay. But you have to return the money to me, the over two - thousand - yuan living expenses you embezzled from me over these thirteen years."
Return the money?
Granny Lin stopped crying.
Just thinking about returning the money made her heart ache. Thinking about having to return over two thousand yuan made her feel as if she was being cut into a thousand pieces.
She just couldn't bear it!
"Grandma doesn't have the money..."
"Grandma, did you spend it all? It can't be. There was so much money. Besides embezzling my living expenses, you must have embezzled a lot from the daily household expenses too. And you spent it all? Where did you spend it, Grandma? Were you scammed? Or did you do something illegal?! No, I have to report it to the police! I have to get the money back!"
Before Granny Lin could finish speaking.
Hua Qingqing interrupted her directly, looking at her in disbelief as if she had really done something illegal.
Granny Lin: "..."
"No, no. I can still scrape up the money..."
Granny Lin wiped her tears and walked back to her room to get the money. She walked unsteadily as if she had been severely hit.
Seeing this, Hua Qingqing walked up to her. "Grandma, you're not very steady. How about I help you look for the money?"
"No, no. I don't need your help!"
Granny Lin quickly rushed back to her room and closed the door.
Hua Qingqing clicked her tongue twice.
Her legs are still quite good.
Hua Qingqing advanced her return date to Nan County by a few days. She planned to go back and get the factory up and running as soon as possible before school started.
Three days before she was about to leave the capital, Wu Yunhua helped Hua Miaomiao find a school that was willing to accept her. She could directly enter the first grade.
It turned out that Hua Miaomiao wasn't stupid. She just took a little longer than ordinary kids to think about problems.
Hua Qingqing also went to see the Guang siblings. She finalized the quantity of fabric and the essential zippers needed. They would be directly delivered to Nan County later.
The siblings were very excited about the new factory and planned to go to Nan County after it was set up.
Hua Qingqing left with the investment money from the siblings. Then she went to Chuantangxiang to maintain her connections.