Going home for the Chinese New Year with a year-end bonus of 100 million

My cousin Yang Hao is quite honest, and I don't know how Yang Lei managed to get this information out of him.

On the evening of the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, at Yang Lei's house.

"Dad, Mom, come and sit down. I have something to discuss with you." Yang Lei returned from outside, looking somewhat excited.

Yang Jianye and Zhou Guifang were watching TV when they noticed their son acting mysteriously, so they went over to him.

"Lei Zi, what's up? Why are you being so mysterious?" Zhou Guifang asked.

Yang Lei rubbed his hands together and lowered his voice: "Mom, Dad, I heard—Yang Fan lent 200,000 yuan to Uncle's family!"

"Two hundred thousand?" Zhou Guifang jumped up, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Really? Two hundred thousand?!"

Yang Jianye was also stunned, forgetting to smoke the cigarette in his hand.

"Absolutely true!" Yang Lei said. "I asked Haozi, and he confirmed it himself. The money has already been deposited into the account!"

Zhou Guifang paced around the room twice, muttering to herself:

"Two hundred thousand... he just lends it out like that... how much money does Yang Fan actually make?"

"Given the third brother's family's circumstances, do you think they can afford to pay it back? Isn't this just throwing money down the drain?"

She suddenly stopped and looked at her son: "Lei Zi, why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

Yang Lei's eyes darted around.

Of course, he wouldn't tell the truth—that he owed 300,000 yuan from betting on football and that his credit cards were almost maxed out.

That Cadillac was bought with the down payment from my parents.

He needs to find a pretext.

"Dad, Mom, this is what I'm thinking." Yang Lei cleared his throat:

"I've been discussing with my friends about starting a company after the New Year and doing some legitimate business."

"These days, there's no future in working for someone else; you have to be your own boss."

He paused, observing his parents' reactions:

"It's just... we're still a bit short on start-up capital. I was thinking, Yang Fan has money now, lending me 300,000 shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Isn't our family better off than Uncle's?"

"He could lend my third uncle 200,000 yuan, so lending us 300,000 yuan isn't unreasonable, is it?"

Zhou Guifang's eyes lit up.

No matter what the son borrows money for, being able to borrow it at all is a skill.

If the third brother's family can borrow 200,000 yuan, why can't her family?

"I think it's a good idea!" Zhou Guifang slapped her thigh.

"If the third brother can lend money, why can't we? We're all brothers, why should we be divided into different classes?"

She looked at her husband: "Jianye, say something! Why aren't you saying anything? Your nephew has made it big; isn't it only right that he take care of his uncle's family?"

Yang Jianye remained silent and took a drag on his cigarette.

After a long pause, he finally spoke: "This money... is hard to lend."

"Difficult to borrow? Why is it difficult to borrow?" Zhou Guifang protested.

"All the things our family has done over the years..." Yang Jianye sighed. "Although my second son doesn't say it, he must have some resentment. Whether we can borrow this money is really hard to say."

He's the boss, he knows it.

Over the years, he, as the eldest brother, hasn't helped his two younger brothers much.

He didn't lend a hand when his second son's family was in trouble.

Needless to say, he looked down on the third brother's family.

Should I borrow money now?

I can't save face.

Zhou Guifang was furious upon hearing this:

"Pah! What kind of talk is that?"

What does "difficult to borrow" mean?

"Aren't we family? Aren't you his uncle? Isn't Lei Zi his cousin?"

"If the third brother's family can lend money, why can't we?"

She got more and more agitated as she spoke: "You're just too concerned about saving face! What's wrong with that?"

"We're family, blood is thicker than water! People respect him usually only because of our family."

"Let's borrow some money, what's there to be embarrassed about?"

Yang Lei quickly chimed in, "That's right, Dad, we might as well lend them the money."

"Yang Fan has money. Even if we don't lend it to him, someone else will."

"Why not just borrow it?"

"Besides, I'm doing something important, so he should support me both morally and logically."

"I also want to look good and make my family proud!"

Yang Jianye looked at his wife and children, his heart filled with inner turmoil.

He really didn't want to go.

But my son said he wants to start a company, which is a serious matter.

My wife is so insistent...

He sighed. "Fine."

Zhou Guifang smiled: "That's right!"

"But—" Yang Jianye added:

"We can't go empty-handed. Lei Zi, why don't you go to town first and buy some gifts, like a carton of milk or something? It'll look more presentable if you bring them."

Yang Lei nodded repeatedly: "Dad, I'll go right away!"

"..."

Ten minutes later, Yang Lei returned, carrying a box of milk.

Zhou Guifang frowned when she saw the packaging: "Why did you buy this? I've never seen this brand before."

"It's cheap," Yang Lei said. "Anyway, it's the idea. Why buy something so expensive?"

Yang Jianye glanced at it but didn't say anything.

The family of three left the house and headed towards Yang Fan's home.

……

Yang Fan's home.

The family had just finished eating and were warming themselves around the stove.

Wang Xiuying was knitting a sweater, Yang Jianguo was watching TV, and Yang Fan and Yang Ya were playing on their phones.

The gate to the courtyard rang.

"Who is it?" Yang Jianguo got up to open the door.

When the door opened and Yang Jianguo saw who it was, he was stunned for a moment.

"Big brother, sister-in-law, Lei Zi... you're here." His voice sounded a little unnatural. "Come in and sit down."

Yang Jianye and the other two entered the house.

Yang Fan looked up and saw that it was his uncle's family. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Yang Ya was even more direct, rolling her eyes and looking down to continue playing on her phone.

Wang Xiuying put down the sweater without getting up, and simply said, "You're here."

The scene was somewhat awkward.

Yang Jianguo went to pour tea.

Yang Lei casually placed the carton of milk on the table.

Yang Jianguo paused in his act of pouring tea. He looked at the carton of milk—the packaging was cheap, the brand was unfamiliar, and it was clearly the cheapest kind.

He understood.

Bringing gifts to the door is not like my uncle's family.

Unless... you need something from them.

The tea was poured, and Yang Jianguo sat down without saying a word.

He is waiting.

Wait for the other party to speak first.

The room was eerily quiet.

The only sounds were from the television and the crackling of the fireplace.

Zhou Guifang couldn't hold back any longer.

She forced a smile, but it looked somewhat insincere.

"Oh my, Xiao Fan, you've really made something of yourself this year!"

She looked around: "I've seen people buying cars worth hundreds of thousands of yuan, home appliances, and so many New Year's goods these past few days..."

"You must have made a lot of money, right?"

"Wow, this foundation of ours is truly nurturing! Xiao Fan has really made something of himself!"

Yang Fan didn't reply, and instead looked down at his phone.

Yang Jianguo didn't respond.

Zhou Guifang's smile froze for a moment, but she quickly recovered:

"It's like this... Xiao Fan, look how successful you've become, right? Lei Zi is your brother, after all."

"You, as the older brother, have become successful, so it's only natural for you to help your older brother out."

She paused, then looked at Yang Fan: "Look at your brother, he's planning to start a company after the New Year, but he's short of money."

"Could you lend me some? I'll lend it to your cousin as an investment. If it makes money later, I'll give you a share of the profits!"

Yang Lei quickly chimed in, "Yeah, Xiao Fan, you have to trust me!"

"If you invest in me, I'll not only pay you back your money, but I'll pay you back with interest! My project is very stable!"

After the mother and son finished speaking, they both looked at Yang Fan expectantly.

His eyes looked like those of a hungry wolf eyeing meat.

Yang Fan put down his phone and looked up.

He glanced at his uncle—Yang Jianye, who had his head down and didn't say anything.

I glanced at my aunt—Zhou Guifang had a smile on her face, but that smile was full of calculation.

He glanced at Yang Lei—the greed in his eyes was impossible to hide.

A wave of nausea washed over him.

Borrow money?

Start a company?

That's a lie.

How could he not know what kind of person Yang Lei was?

He had heard rumors that he was gambling and in debt.

Start a company?

I'm afraid it'll be used to fill holes.

Besides, considering what his uncle's family has done over the years, and the way Yang Lei tried to charge him three hundred yuan for the ride that day—

On what grounds could he borrow this money?

Yang Fan smiled faintly: "Um... I won't lend it."

The room fell silent for a moment.

The smile on Zhou Guifang's face froze completely.

Yang Lei panicked: "Xiao Fan, what do you mean?"

"What I mean is, I don't have any money to borrow," Yang Fan said calmly.

"I only had that little money on me, and I lent it all to my third uncle's family."

"There's really nothing we can do right now; we can't help you."

Zhou Guifang suddenly stood up: "Xiao Fan, what are you saying?"

"Do you think we don't know whether you have money or not?"

"You've been buying this and that, and you even borrowed 200,000 yuan from Lao San's family so readily! You don't have the money? Are you kidding me?!"

Her voice sharpened: "No matter what, Lei Zi is your brother! Isn't he?!"

Yang Lei also stood up, his face grim: "Yang Fan, I'm your brother! Lending you 300,000 isn't unreasonable, is it?"

Yang Fan hadn't spoken yet.

Yang Ya, who was next to her, slammed down her phone and stood up.

The little girl's face turned bright red with anger, and her voice trembled:

"You make it sound so easy! What do you mean '300,000 isn't excessive'?"

Do you know how much 300,000 is?

"Where would I get so much money, bro?"

"Do you really think this money comes from thin air?"