CHAPTER 737: CHAPTER 712 DIFFICULT

Fan Jianguo looked at the accounts in front of him.

He sighed deeply; the store couldn’t continue operating now.

Because Liu Huili gave birth prematurely, the money at home was spent during the time she and the baby were in the hospital.

And because Fan Jianguo was busy taking care of the baby and his wife at the hospital during that time, he had no time to manage the store.

He had no idea that his mother-in-law and brother-in-law took away a lot of the store’s working capital.

The rent was due soon, and the store had missed the peak seasons of the Mid-Autumn Festival and New Year.

The store’s accounts were now a complete mess, riddled with gaps like a sieve.

Because he had no time to manage the store, the staff took the opportunity to pocket money, and now the store was in utter chaos.

Fan Jianguo sighed; the bank account had no money, the store’s accounts had no money, and he couldn’t pay the rent, so the store couldn’t keep running.

Fan Jianguo didn’t understand how he could suddenly be back to square one.

The business he had worked hard to build over four or five years collapsed overnight.

He heard the baby crying.

Their daughter, Xiu Xiu, had been weak since birth, almost going to the hospital every few days. Worrying about her exhausted Fan Jianguo.

The elderly woman next door coughed as she went out.

Fan Jianguo stood up and went outside, "Mom, go rest; I’ll check on the baby."

Old Mrs. Fan had been coughing endlessly recently. Seeing her son’s worried expression, she knew there were too many troubles at home lately.

Not wanting her son to be troubled, she went straight back to her room.

Old Mrs. Fan looked at the photograph of her late husband on the table and gently sighed.

"The old man, why are the days so tough in the past couple of years? Xiao Xiao’s two sons went missing for so long; they were just found, yet Jianguo’s life is still hard.

At my old age, I can’t help them, but rather become a burden."

The old man smiled at her from the photograph, but there was nothing he could say.

Fan Jianguo entered the room where Liu Huili was holding the baby, trying to soothe her.

"Xiu Xiu, be good, don’t cry."

Seeing her husband come in, she hurriedly placed the baby on the bed and went to prepare milk.

Fan Jianguo picked up Xiu Xiu, and the child, sensing familiar comfort, finally cried less and less.

"This child, who does she resemble, crying all the time?"

Liu Huili complained with dissatisfaction. Since having the baby, she hadn’t rested well and felt uncertain about what debt she owed the child from a past life.

Fan Jianguo took over the bottle.

As he fed her, Xiu Xiu finally stopped crying.

She swallowed large mouthfuls.

Fan Jianguo frowned, "When was the last time you fed her?"

Liu Huili shook her head, "Around 9 o’clock, I think."

"Didn’t I tell you to feed her every three hours? Now it’s past 2 PM; how can she not cry?"

Fan Jianguo felt sorry that his daughter was starving.

Liu Huili’s anger flared at Fan Jianguo’s rising voice.

"Three hours? Three hours? Do you even know this baby cries daily, especially at night? She cries so much that I can’t sleep; only in the morning does she stop crying, drink milk, and fall asleep."

I thought, why not lie down with her for a quick nap? Your mother could have fed her at noon; do you know how tired I am? It’s just because I didn’t give birth to a boy, so my mother-in-law doesn’t care about me, isn’t it?"

When Liu Huili brought this up, she was full of resentment.

Fan Jianguo’s anger surged suddenly.

"You dare talk? Sure, the baby cries at night, but my mom helps you hold the baby in the first half of the night. In the second half, whenever I return home, I help care for the baby too. Is that how a daughter-in-law behaves? My mom coughs so much, her health’s not good, she needs rest.

From when you were in the hospital to now, hasn’t my mom cared for you well enough? Isn’t she attentive with your meals and drinks? What else do you expect from her? You’re out of your postpartum confinement, yet you don’t want to wash the baby’s diapers or cook.

My mom and I are doing everything; what on earth do you do all day long?"

Fan Jianguo’s words quieted Liu Huili considerably, "Why are you being so harsh? You know if women don’t recuperate well, they’ll have lasting postpartum issues. My mom also says a woman should rest for 100 days.

You don’t want me to fall sick often in the future, do you?"

Fan Jianguo saw the child had eaten her fill, burped, and finally closed her eyes to sleep.

"Tomorrow, come with me to find Fang Xiaohui and get the money back."

Getting the money back was long overdue, but with Liu Huili and the baby in the hospital, Fan Jianguo hadn’t had the time. When the baby was discharged, he found the store in chaos.

The mention of this topic brought spirit back to Liu Huili.

"Alright, tomorrow we’ll go find Fang Xiaohui and get the money back. Based on the timeline, it’s been well over three months. This 60,000 yuan should at least earn us back 30,000 or 40,000 yuan more. When we turn it over, it’ll be 100,000 yuan."

Liu Huili considered this her achievement.

"Don’t talk nonsense; the store needs to pay rent soon, so hurry and get the money to pay the rent. Otherwise, we won’t be able to keep the store open and the whole family will be without food!"

Fan Jianguo wasn’t hopeful about making that much profit; he always felt something was wrong with this situation.

"Why haven’t we earned any money in these months? How come there’s not even enough for rent?"

Liu Huili found it odd.

Fan Jianguo’s face darkened, "Do you even dare ask? When you and the baby were in the hospital, I was too busy to manage the store, and you insisted on letting your mom and brother watch over it. They took all the store’s cash flow during these months.

They said your brother’s getting married, and the family needs to buy a house. Did you know they took thousands from the store? Now the store can’t even maintain basic operations, and if we don’t ask Fang Xiaohui for the money back.

Our store will close, and we don’t even have money to restock, let alone pay rent."

Discussing this made Fan Jianguo furious; his mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law were all money-hungry, and he blamed himself for blindly listening to his wife’s suggestion.

His mother-in-law had control of the store’s money and took it away; getting it back would be difficult.

As a son-in-law, there’s not much he can do about his mother-in-law, making it a troubling issue he can’t easily resolve.

Liu Huili also felt guilty, aware of her mom and brother’s actions.

Of course, she had seen her brother showing off recently.

The family not only had a TV and fridge, but he also bought gold and silver jewelry for his fiancée.

He was reportedly getting married soon, with a new house purchased. Just decorating the place cost several thousand yuan.

Liu Huili knew their family couldn’t afford it without taking from the store.

But it was her mom and brother who took it, so she wasn’t going to complain.

After all, they were all family.

"That’s my mom and brother. Anyway, we made several thousand yuan from Fang Xiaohui, so we can consider it compensation for this loss. Don’t take it too hard."