Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire
Chapter 349 - Chapter 349 Chapter 338 Increase Living Expenses

Chapter 349: Chapter 338: Increase Living Expenses Chapter 349: Chapter 338: Increase Living Expenses Seeing that she couldn’t remain, the caregiver approached Lu Jiaxin to ask for her wages.

Lu Jiaxin couldn’t possibly skip out on paying her wages, as it would sound bad if it got out. However, she wouldn’t pay out of her own pocket–the affairs of the Guh Residence were entrusted to Aunt Mei. Still, Jiaxin checked the accounts every month to see where the money was going.

Aunt Hong said with her head bowed, “Sister Mei caught a cold and was worried about infecting Old Lady Guh, so she went home. These past two days, it has been me taking care of Old Lady Guh with her.”

“How much do we owe her?”

Aunt Hong was very familiar with the affairs of the Guh Residence. Without even thinking, she replied, “She just got paid three days ago, and her daily wage is one hundred and fifty, so four hundred and fifty should be enough.”

After sending off the caregiver, Lu Jiaxin looked at Aunt Hong and asked, “You haven’t received a salary either, so why insist on staying rather than finding another job?”

Although she hadn’t returned often in the past few months, she was aware of everything regarding the Guh Residence. Even without a salary, Aunt Hong still diligently took care of Old Lady Guh.

Lowering her head, Aunt Hong said, “If it weren’t for Old Lady Guh, I would have been sold into a brothel long ago and likely would be buried in yellow earth by now. I have sworn before Buddha that I would serve Old Lady Guh like an ox or a horse for this lifetime as a way to repay her kindness.”

Although Jiaxin wasn’t fond of her, she couldn’t deny that Aunt Hong was indeed looking after Old Lady Guh with great care and effort. The two caregivers they found were unsatisfactory, so it might be better to let Aunt Hong stay. After all, she didn’t visit more than a few times a month, it was bearable.

Jiaxin said, “Aunt Mei’s salary is six thousand a month, and from now on, you will get five thousand. You are getting on in years and can’t handle staying up nights, so we’ll hire another caregiver. This time, you two will choose. Also, the wage for the previous months–I’ll have Aunt Mei make it up to you.”

They lived at the Guh Residence and received uniforms every quarter. There wasn’t much to spend money on while working there, so both she and Aunt Mei were able to save nearly all of their wages, which was why the two of them had purchased two units each.

This was an unexpected delight for Aunt Hong.

Jiaxin went to find Guh Xiuxiu, but unfortunately, she didn’t recognize her this time and was unwilling to speak to her, her eyes filled with wariness.

Not wanting to frighten her, Jiaxin returned to the living room and said to Aunt Hong who had followed, “The fruits on the table don’t look very fresh. From now on, buy fresh fruits every day for Aunt. Right, and make sure to buy organic and fresh ingredients for cooking.”

The expenses of the Guh Residence were actually quite significant. The wages for Aunt Mei, Aunt Hong, and others amounted to thirty or forty thousand a month. With so many people eating, plus the costs of coal, electricity, water, gas, and the need for Guh Xiuxiu to have tonics and fruits, the one hundred thousand pieces budgeted for living expenses seemed a bit tight.

Thinking of this, Jiaxin said, “Tell Aunt Mei that the monthly living expense will increase to one hundred and fifty thousand, not including the medical expenses. If Aunt wants to eat something, as long as the doctor allows it, buy it for her. If the living expenses aren’t enough, let me know.”

Aunt Hong and Aunt Mei had both been worried that the living expenses would be reduced after a year, but to their surprise, it had actually increased by fifty thousand, and the medical bills were excluded as well, “That’s plenty, Miss Cousin, I’ll thank you on behalf of Old Lady Guh.”

Having seen the precedent set by the He Family, both were anxious, fearing that Jiaxin would also abandon them and leave Old Lady Guh in a dire situation.

Jiaxin said, “You don’t need to thank me. Aunt has been good to me, and I promised I would ensure her comfort in her old age–I won’t go back on my word.”

That very evening, Aunt Mei returned, and Aunt Hong told her about the increase of fifty thousand for living expenses, “Sister Mei, the fifteen thousand doesn’t even include medical expenses. Sister Mei, let’s continue as before, purchasing ingredients once every morning!”

Aunt Mei nodded and said, “The vegetables and fruits that Old Lady Guh eats, we will still buy from the same store as we did before, just like always.”

In fact, their diet was not low-grade either, with eggs and milk in the morning, and one meat, two vegetables, and soup for both lunch and dinner. The work wasn’t tough, the food was decent, and their salary was even slightly higher than the industry standard, so there was no discontent.

“Okay.”

The next day, after school Guh Haifan was doing his homework in the room, Aunt Mei brought in a plate of his favorite strawberries. These strawberries were all bright red and tempting to the eye.

Upon seeing the plate of strawberries, Guh Haifan said, “Aunt Mei, save these strawberries for Aunt. I’ll just have an apple later.”

Aunt Mei smiled and said, “Today I bought one and a half kilograms, Old Lady Guh has already eaten eight and can’t have any more. If Old Lady Guh wants to eat more, I’ll buy them again tomorrow.”

“Young Master Cousin, you don’t have to worry about living expenses anymore. Yesterday, Miss Cousin came and she increased the living expenses to one hundred and fifty thousand. Moreover, Old Lady Guh’s medical expenses are not included in this. Now with the living expenses, there is still surplus after buying fresh vegetables and fruits daily for you and Old Lady Guh.”

Guh Haifan was stunned and asked, “Why did my cousin suddenly increase the living expenses, and by fifty thousand at that? Where did she get so much money?”

In her heart, Aunt Mei thought, Miss Cousin is just low-key, not penniless: “I wasn’t back yet that day. I heard from Aunt Hong that when Miss Cousin came yesterday, her face was full of smiles, so she must have had some good fortune. I presume she must have made a fortune, and thus she could afford to be generous.”

The bird’s nest and donkey-hide gelatin she brought yesterday were all top-quality, worth tens of thousands. She called a few old acquaintances yesterday to inquire and heard that recently, making money through foreign exchange was very profitable. Young Master Nie had returned from abroad and had previously worked as a trading expert in a major securities company, he surely has led Miss Cousin to fortune.

Guh Haifan said, “Aunt Mei, I want to take Grand Aunt to visit Miss Cousin on Sunday.”

Aunt Mei immediately dismissed his idea: “Miss Cousin is currently busy with her studies and still needs to make time to build a relationship with Young Master Nie. Young Master Cousin, what you need to do now is to study hard so that in the future, you can stand up for Miss Cousin. That way the Nie Family won’t dare to look down on Miss Cousin.”

Having stayed in the He Family for over thirty years, she was very clear how hard it was for an ordinary girl to marry into a wealthy family. Fortunately, Miss Cousin was capable herself, and Young Master Nie had moved out to live elsewhere, so she wouldn’t be bullied by the women of the Nie Family. However, after marrying in, blending into the Nie family would still likely cause her some distress.

Guh Haifan nodded emphatically.

Guh Xiuxiu had the habit of eating supper, and this night as she was having her red date bird’s nest porridge, she suddenly said, “Aunt Mei, where did you get this bird’s nest? It’s the same as the one I used to eat.”

Upon hearing this, Aunt Hong knew that she was lucid and said with a smile, “It was sent by Miss Cousin, who brought two large boxes, enough for you to eat for more than half a year.”

Guh Xiuxiu nodded and said, “The child is thoughtful.”

Aunt Hong brought her a jacket to put on and said with a smile, “Old Lady Guh, both Miss Cousin and Young Master Cousin are filial children, you don’t have to worry about your future.”

After eating the bird’s nest, Guh Xiuxiu went to see Guh Haifan. He was still reading and hadn’t gone to sleep, so seeing her alert, he stayed with her to talk. When Guh Xiuxiu got tired and went to sleep, he continued studying.

Aunt Mei felt that bringing Miss Cousin and Young Master Cousin to Hong Kong was the best decision Old Lady Guh had made in her life. Miss Cousin had ensured Old Lady Guh’s living standard in her old age; and Young Master Cousin’s company by her side had given Old Lady Guh the joy of spoiling her grandchild.

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