Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire
Chapter 645 - 628: Seeking a Fight

Chapter 645: Chapter 628: Seeking a Fight

Ma Lili was at work when she got a call from Mother Ma, asking her to come home. Business in the department store had declined significantly, and with the new leadership setting strict rules, Ma Lili didn’t dare leave as freely as before.

"Mom, what’s going on?"

Mother Ma didn’t say what it was about, just insisted she come back.

Ma Lili got the hint: "Mom, I’m at work now! We have rules here, we can’t leave unless it’s something really important, otherwise we’ll get fined. A colleague of mine got fined thirty yuan last month."

Of course, her colleague’s husband could earn money, so losing thirty yuan didn’t matter. Her husband worked in a restaurant doing odd jobs; not only was it tiring, but the pay was also low, and the household expenses still depended on her salary. Although they had some savings, raising a child was expensive, and every penny counted.

"Then come by after work!"

Ma Lili knew it wouldn’t be anything good, but she went home after work anyway. Only then did she find out that Yan Fang lost four thousand yuan gambling, and now the creditor was at the door, threatening to chop off his hands and feet if he didn’t pay up.

Big Sister Ma asked Ma Lili to lend them money, saying she had already gathered nineteen hundred, still short of two thousand two hundred.

Ma Lili wouldn’t lend the money, she said, "Big Sister, when you guys bought a house for Jixiang, I chipped in over two thousand, and later when you said you wanted to start a business, I lent a thousand." "I don’t have money, Ah Dong and I can hardly scrape together enough for a small shop."

The man she later found was named Wang Dong, an honest man. She figured their son was growing and expenses were rising. Relying only on their modest salaries wasn’t sustainable, so she wanted to open a small store to sell some specialty goods. Nowadays, people have money to spend, and it can be profitable.

Of course, she had the capital to open a store, but she was unwilling to pour money into Yan Fang’s bottomless pit, so she feigned poverty. Ever since having her son Ma Chuan, her mindset changed, and she no longer concerned herself with Big Sister Ma’s family, let alone give any money.

No matter how Big Sister Ma pleaded, even with Mother Ma helping to persuade, Ma Lili remained unmoved, eventually getting angry: "Mom, I’m just earning a pittance, and Ah Dong only earns half of what I do. Chuan Chuan is in kindergarten now, and everything costs money. Mom, I know you care about Jixiang, but could you also consider me?"

Having said that, she took her bag and left. Seeing she wouldn’t help, Big Sister Ma called her cold and heartless.

Ma Lili left without stopping in her tracks, numb to those words having heard them so often.

After a few days, Mother Ma called Ma Lili, crying, saying Yan Fang had been beaten, and the person said if they didn’t repay the debt, they’d break his arm.

They couldn’t even dare report to the police, firstly because Yan Fang was involved in gambling himself and couldn’t escape the law, and secondly, because he had other troubles held over him. The only option was to pay the debt.

Ma Lili expressed that she was powerless to help. If they couldn’t repay and feared getting limbs broken, then sell the house. The house bought five years ago for thousands had appreciated to tens of thousands now, so a debt of three thousand was nothing to worry about. However, she only thought these words and didn’t dare say them, not wanting to incur hatred.

That night, Big Sister Ma came to find Ma Lili.

Before Ma Lili could say she didn’t have the money, Big Sister Ma, full of resentment, said, "This time, what happened to your brother-in-law was Lu Jiajie’s doing. He hates us and wants to ruin your brother-in-law and my family."

Despite being quite dutiful, Ma Lili had some sense: "Brother-in-law didn’t just start gambling now, he’s lost a lot of money before."

Yan Fang not only gambled but also fooled around outside. Even when advised to divorce, she wouldn’t, not understanding what was so good about him that made her refuse a divorce.

Big Sister Ma wouldn’t admit, saying the husband only used to fool around with small bets, losing at most a few dozen yuan, never as much as this time. She insisted, "Lu Hongjun’s new wife, one of her sons had his leg broken, another lost an arm, these were all done by Lu family members, your brother-in-law was definitely set up by Lu Jiajie."

Ma Lili was stunned.

This time, Big Sister Ma came to ask Ma Lili to go with her to confront Lu Jiajie. Of course, the confrontation was just a front, the aim was to erase the debt.

Ma Lili wouldn’t agree; Lu Jiajie wasn’t someone with a good temper. Lacking evidence and only having baseless suspicions to confront him would lead to trouble.

Seeing Ma Lili unmoved, Big Sister Ma pleaded Mother Ma to persuade her, but sadly, this approach no longer worked. Ma Lili said, "Mom, she’s already lost her senses for that man, but don’t you have any sense either? Would Lu Jiajie go to great lengths to set such a trap just to make brother-in-law owe a mere four thousand yuan in debt? Is that even possible?"

"Mom, gambling is a bottomless pit, no amount is enough for his losses. You’d better save the little money you have, or you’ll be dragged down as well."

Since having Ma Chuan, Father Ma and Mother Ma had stopped scheming against her like before. Seeing Ma Lili unwilling to help, they didn’t press further.

Ma Lili recalled hearing something in the past and advised, "Mom, you should hide Jixiang’s house deed well, don’t let Yan Fang get his hands on it."

Mother Ma said she wouldn’t, she kept the house deed securely. But after going home, pondering Ma Lili’s words left her uneasy, so she opened the box to check the house deed, but it was gone.

Initially, she comforted herself, thinking she remembered the wrong place, but after turning the whole room upside down and still not finding it, Mother Ma’s heart sank.

Under the questioning from the Ma family members, Yan Fang finally admitted he stole the house deed three months ago and sold the house for sixty thousand yuan. But since he rented it back for six months from the buyer, no one suspected a thing while living there.

Yan Fang had lost the sixty thousand from the house sale gambling, and then accumulated four thousand in gambling debt. Mother Ma fainted, and Big Sister Ma collapsed to the ground.

Ma Lili suggested Big Sister Ma divorce Yan Fang and return home with the child; with parental support, life would be manageable. But Big Sister Ma wouldn’t divorce, believing Yan Fang would change.

At this point, with divorce not an option, Ma Lili washed her hands of the whole affair, not expecting Big Sister Ma would actually go to Lu Jiajie to confront him.

Lu Jiajie had endured a lot from Big Sister Ma in the past, including plots against his house and money when he disappeared. The only reason he hadn’t gone after them was his focus on making money to pay off his sister’s debt. But now, with Big Sister Ma foolishly showing up to curse at him, if he still put up with it, he wouldn’t be a man. He didn’t act personally, but let his followers handle it.

Ma Lili got a call saying Big Sister Ma was in the hospital, so she rushed there, only to find out from Father Ma and Mother Ma that Big Sister Ma had lost six teeth, broken six ribs, and both legs were injured. The only relief was no internal organs were hurt, otherwise, her life would have been in danger.

The Public Security Bureau captured the follower who beat her up and summoned Lu Jiajie for questioning. Of course, Lu Jiajie denied ordering the beating, telling the authorities, "She was outside cursing, it was unpleasant. I just had Xiao Li go out to chase her away."

The follower’s story was that he went out to ask Big Sister Ma to leave, but this foul-mouthed woman not only didn’t go but insulted him, leading to a loss of control and a beating. Afterward, she cursed with obscenities, even greeting his ancestors eighteen generations back, so enraged, he lost his temper.