All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Su Meng Borrows Money

If Han Chunming knew about Cai Xiaoli's ordeal, he would have nothing to say except for a slight sense of regret.

The hardest thing to change about people is their hearts.

The line between good and bad people is never drawn on the surface.

Many seemingly honest people, despite their lifelong sincerity and seemingly lack of presence, may not actually be truly honest.

If an honest person has a chance to change their fate, they might be more ruthless than an average person in achieving their goals.

Therefore, not everyone has a chance to change their destiny in their life.

It's not surprising that Cai Xiaoli chose to take that step; perhaps she thought it was an opportunity to change her fate!

So, as the saying goes, if it's going to rain, it's going to rain; if a mother wants to remarry, she'll just let it be!

After Han Chunming came up with an idea, he began to make some preparations, but he only had a few hundred yuan on him, which he quickly spent. In the end, he had to ask Grandpa Guan and the ragpicker Hou for help and borrowed about 10,000 yuan.

Over the years, the ragpicker has amassed a considerable fortune. He has a keen eye for antiques, often acquiring them at scrap-collecting prices and then easily reselling them for dozens of times their original value.

Besides genuine high-quality items, he also resold a lot of ordinary antiques. Otherwise, how much money could he have made by collecting junk?

So this time, Han Chunming borrowed four thousand yuan from the ragpicker Hou and another five thousand yuan from Grandpa Guan.

In previous years, Grandpa Guan was indeed very poor, but after the reform and opening up, his son abroad got in touch with him and wanted to take him abroad last year, but Grandpa Guan didn't give him a good look.

Moreover, Han Chunming also knew that Grandpa Guan's beautiful granddaughter, Guan Xiaoguan, had come back once last year. At that time, Han Chunming was still in school and only saw her briefly.

Although Guan Xiaoguan, that pretty girl, isn't as stunning as Qi Siqiao overall, her cute and charming appearance has its own unique appeal.

Since Grandpa Guan didn't go abroad, his son and granddaughter naturally had no choice but to leave him a considerable amount of money.

Although it's unclear how much money was left, it should be at least ten or twenty thousand yuan. I've seen that old man, ever since he got the money, now he drinks one or two bottles of wine with every meal; that's become standard practice for him.

Han Chunming didn't ask for much and just lent him five thousand yuan.

Grandpa Guan didn't ask Han Chunming what he needed the money for, and gave it to him readily.

In the old man's mind, this apprentice was much more reliable than his own son.

Over the years, Han Chunming has visited almost every week to buy groceries, oil, and noodles. He had originally planned to hire a caregiver, but the old man Guan refused, so they gave up on that idea!

With money, things became much easier. In previous years, Master Huang had left behind three properties in Yanjing City. Although these properties are now inhabited by elderly people living alone, Master Huang said that the properties would be left to Xiao Qiao in the future.

Just last year, an old man passed away, and the house became vacant. Han Chunming converted the land into a laboratory. Although the equipment and environment were somewhat inadequate, it was more than enough to manufacture that thing.

While Han Chunming was busy, a major incident occurred in the compound.

Su Meng's father, Teacher Su, was hospitalized due to heart problems. After diagnosis, it was found that he needed to undergo coronary artery bypass surgery. The surgery and other treatment costs would be at least 30,000 to 40,000 yuan.

Su Meng's family was considered to be of an upper-middle class in this courtyard house, but even with their better conditions, they couldn't scrape together 40,000 yuan, or even 10,000 yuan, in the early 1980s.

After a week of scraping together money, I finally managed to raise less than 10,000 yuan, even after borrowing from all my relatives and friends, and even the school had already paid for it.

When Su Meng found Han Chunming, it was a rainy day. Su Meng, holding an umbrella, deliberately called out to Han Chunming at an intersection far from the courtyard.

Han Chunming, wearing a raincoat and riding a bicycle, was surprised to hear a woman's voice calling him. He quickly turned around and saw Su Meng calling him with a complicated expression.

Han Chunming was somewhat surprised when Su Meng suddenly called out to him in the pouring rain, since the two hadn't spoken for several years.

Han Chunming quickly got out of the car and pointed to a roof not far away. The two went under the roof, and Han Chunming took off his wet raincoat hood and asked with a smile.

"Su Meng, what brings you to me? Is something the matter?"

Looking at the still carefree man in front of her, Su Meng felt increasingly uneasy. A thunderstorm struck, splashing raindrops onto her clothes and blurring her vision. The eaves were only so wide, so she tried to stay as far away from Han Chunming as possible.

Seeing Su Meng's actions, Han Chunming quickly squeezed into the eaves and said.

"They've come in a little, don't be nervous!"

Su Meng then carefully held the umbrella horizontally to block the rain, and then moved closer to Han Chunming.

Han Chunming smelled the unique feminine fragrance on Su Meng and couldn't help but sigh silently. Before he could speak, Su Meng finally mustered up the courage to speak.

"Chunming, could you lend me some money?"

Han Chunming has been traveling around lately and doesn't know anything about Su Meng's father.

Su Meng gritted her teeth and looked at Han Chunming pitifully. These days, her family had borrowed from all their relatives and friends, begging and pleading, but in the end they only managed to borrow a small amount, which was still far from enough to cover the cost of the surgery.

Han Chunming was her only hope. She knew he was generous, but she was really embarrassed to ask for such a large sum of money.

Just as Han Chunming was about to speak, he looked up and suddenly saw Su Meng. Seeing her like this, his heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward and asked with some concern.

"What's wrong? Why are you so nervous? Tell me what's wrong, don't be nervous, just tell me what's going on!"

Su Meng looked at Han Chunming with a pitiful expression. Encouraged by Han Chunming, she finally spoke cautiously.

"My dad needs surgery, and I... I'm still short of the surgery fees!"

Upon hearing Su Meng's words, Han Chunming was taken aback, then recalled that there seemed to be a similar scene in the original novel.

In the original novel, Han Chunming took the initiative to raise 30,000 yuan for Su Meng. At that time, Su Meng still asked Cheng Jianjun to help her ask for the money. In the original novel, Han Chunming was Su Meng's sycophant and was willing to lend her money.

But in this world, without Cheng Jianjun's help to speak up, and besides, the two of them didn't have that kind of relationship, the fact that Su Meng took the initiative to ask Han Chunming for money was already the greatest courage she could muster.

After Han Chunming understood why Su Meng wanted to borrow money, he simply smiled and then said...

"How much do you want to borrow?"

Su Meng didn't expect Han Chunming to be so decisive. After thinking for a moment, she said crisply.

"Twenty thousand, twenty thousand!"

Han Chunming knew that Su Meng's father's surgery and other expenses would cost at least 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. Could he really lend 20,000 yuan?

Seeing that Han Chunming did not answer, Su Meng thought she had said too much and quickly explained.

"If you don't have that much, ten thousand or ten thousand will do!"

Han Chunming shook his head and said.

"Is 10,000 enough? How about this, I'll go to the hospital this afternoon to see your dad and talk to the doctor to see how much longer it will take for the surgery. I don't have any money on me right now, but I'll try to find a way to raise the surgery fees for you, okay?"

Su Meng stared wide-eyed at the man before her. He spoke in such a casual tone, yet every word he uttered warmed her heart. At this moment, the emotions that had been suppressed within her for so long began to stir within her once more, causing Su Meng to let her imagination run wild.

Su Meng's eyes were a little red as she stared intently at Han Chunming, as if he were her everything at that moment.

Seeing the silly girl's expression, Han Chunming quickly patted her shoulder and said...

"Hey, hey, Su Meng, don't overthink it. Let's go. The rain's gotten a bit lighter now. You should go home first, and I'll go to the hospital with you this afternoon, okay?"

Upon hearing Han Chunming's words, Su Meng regained her senses, her face flushed, and she quickly nodded, taking two steps back before speaking.

"Okay...okay, I'll look for you this afternoon, Chunming, thank you!"

Han Chunming smiled and said casually.

"Alright, alright, let's go back now, don't get wet!"

Su Meng nodded gently, a rare occurrence for her, and said "Mm".

After saying that, he raised his umbrella, turned around, and left.

As Han Chunming watched Su Meng's retreating figure, a sense of melancholy arose within him. Was the influence of his original body still so strong?

He didn't actually have much affection for Su Meng, but Su Meng had a huge impact on him during the first twenty years of his life in this body.

However, this was nothing to worry about, and Han Chunming didn't think much of it.

The matter of borrowing money has little to do with feelings. If we hadn't lent him the money, Su Meng's father definitely wouldn't have lasted much longer. Money can sometimes really save lives.

Therefore, lending money to Su Meng was purely a matter of saving a life, which is considered a great act of merit.

As for where the money came from, it was from selling those little black pills, of course!

Yes, Han Chunming has already successfully completed the initial experiment and produced the first batch of that stuff. It's blackish, and after adding starch and other things, it's diluted to produce several kilograms of raw material.

Han Chunming planned to make small black pills, put them in an antique wooden box, and then sell them to a rich man.

Of course, Han Chunming also conducted experiments to determine the efficacy of the drug.

It all started at the zoo. When no one was looking, I let a few male monkeys eat some of the pills. That day, the zoo was in complete chaos, leaving countless visitors in awe. Many parents with children quickly covered their children's eyes to prevent their young minds from being corrupted.

Some older women will watch with great interest, their eyes practically gleaming with lust.

Seeing that it was effective on animals, Han Chunming naturally had to test its effects on humans as well.

Han Chunming didn't dare to risk himself, and besides, he didn't need that thing.

He went to a small tavern not far away, a tavern he had drunk at a few times before. The tavern was run by a couple in their early fifties.

The owner had a receding hairline and always had a smiling face. He was very lively, and even if it was your first time drinking at his place, he could still chat with you for a while. The reason Han Chunming went to that tavern was because he had his eye on the owner.

The boss had a nickname, "Soft Second Brother," which the patrons had been calling him for many years. You can tell why the boss was called that from his nickname.

Every time Han Chunming went drinking, he sensed a hint of resentment from the proprietress, while the proprietress remained submissive and dared not utter a single word in rebuttal.

Whenever customers joked with the boss using nicknames, he would just smile and never argue back. He would simply sit on his stool afterwards, silently smoke a cigarette, exhale a smoke ring, and have a faint trace of melancholy on his lips, evoking endless sympathy.

So Han Chunming took the opportunity of treating the boss to drinks to slip a small black pill into his drink.

The next day, when Han Chunming went to that tavern again, he sensed something unusual. He saw that the proprietress was radiant, and her eyes were like pools of spring water, intoxicating and like blooming trumpet flowers.

Then there was the boss, whose arrogant expression seemed to have avenged his past humiliations. He walked past his wife with his hands on his hips, looking very smug. Even the boss's wife showed a gentle smile, which made Han Chunming shudder.

They say thirty is like a wolf, forty is like a tiger, what about fifty?

Han Chunming didn't know either. He only knew that his little black pill had indeed been successful. He hadn't yet figured out how to sell it to foreigners. He was thinking of experimenting on the owner of that tavern a few more times to see how long the effects of the little black pill would last.

Han Chunming put his rain hat back on, got on his bicycle, and sped off to the gate of the compound. He arrived at the house even earlier than Su Meng. Without even looking at Su Meng behind him, he pushed his bicycle into the house.

Just as I parked my bicycle, a chattering female voice called out from inside the house.

"Brother Wu, you're back! Come in and have dinner!"

Han Chunming looked into the house and saw that it was Meng Xiaoxing. He immediately smiled and walked into the house.

This little cousin has been coming to the city more and more frequently these past few years, visiting Han Chunming's house every two months. This girl is the same type as Cai Xiaoli; they both have ambitions to climb the social ladder.

However, Cai Xiaoli has the resources and has climbed to a high position through her own efforts, even at the cost of testing drugs on herself.

The girl in front of me, born in the countryside, is not well-educated, has no figure, and no looks. Besides being hardworking, she has no other assets.

She's in her mid-twenties now, considered an old maid in the countryside, but she's not willing to just marry anyone in the village. Naturally, she still wants to marry a city man, and ideally, she can also have a job in the city.

So naturally, she thought of relying on her relatives in the city to see if they could help her find a job.