Reborn as Tycoon's Wife in the Countryside
Chapter 152 I’ll work like an ox or a horse for you (first update)

Chapter 152: 152 I’ll work like an ox or a horse for you (first update)

Gang member listened to his words and sneered, "Yeah, I’m just a dog by your side, been following you for so many years, it’s about time I became the top dog and you turned into the little brother."

"If you like being the head dog, then be it. I’ve already grown tired of this life and wanted to leave this place for a while, try my luck elsewhere. This is just perfect, from now on I have no ties to you, you walk your sunny paths and I walk my narrow bridge. My life and death have nothing to do with you, and I don’t want to meddle in your affairs anymore. This is goodbye."

His mother was in a life-and-death situation at the hospital, yet he didn’t have a penny to his name.

If it hadn’t been for Su Xiaofeng lending him three hundred yuan yesterday, his mother probably wouldn’t have even been able to stay in the hospital. With life turned out this way, whom could he blame but himself? If he hadn’t wasted years as a gangster, achieving nothing, how would he have ended up in this situation?

Thinking, he curled up in a corner, hugging his head and sobbing bitterly.

The total sum of money he had was not even close to a fraction of the surgery costs. Without the surgery fee, his mother could only wait to die in the hospital.

He was an orphan, picked up and raised by his mother, whose husband had died on the battlefield. She never remarried, and she was his only family.

Fate was cruel, the heavens had his mother save him, yet now he was about to let her die alone in the cold hospital.

No, he couldn’t accept it, he did not want his mother to leave him just yet. He hoped she could live for a few more years, to see him get married and have children. He didn’t want her to leave this world so lonely.

An unrealistic idea popped into his head, and in desperation, he decided to give it a shot. If this method didn’t work, he would resort to robbery to gather the surgery fee for his mother.

If he couldn’t even repay the kindness of being raised, then what was the point of living.

With that thought, he went back to his place, grabbed a dagger and slipped it into his shoe, then headed towards the food factory.

It was already dark, and the workers had gone home. Only Zhang Keke and Xiaofeng could be heard organizing paperwork in the factory.

"Keke, you can go back first. I’ll lock up in a bit," Xiaofeng checked the time; it was already past seven.

"You should go back soon too." Since it was her first day at work, Keke was particularly conscientious, "Even though you’re the boss, you don’t have to push yourself so hard."

"Wait for me, we’ll go together in a bit," Xiaofeng stood up, taking the keys, "Where are you staying, is it far from here?"

"It’s not too far, about ten minutes by bike," Keke picked up her flashlight, "What about you, where do you live?"

"Not too far either, also about ten minutes away." Xiaofeng and Keke walked out and were about to lock the door when a figure stood at the entrance, silent as the grave.

Keke turned around and saw the person quietly standing there, nearly scaring her out of her wits.

Keke hadn’t been at home during the day and hadn’t met Liao Xianghe. Right now, seeing a shadowy figure in front of her, she instinctively clutched Xiaofeng’s hand, and exclaimed, "You... who are you? What do you want?"

Liao Xianghe didn’t even glance at Keke; his eyes were fixed on Xiaofeng, his voice chillingly determined, "Su Xiaofeng, I came here today because there’s something I want to ask of you."

He had borrowed from every possible place and tried all methods, but he still couldn’t raise ten thousand yuan.

A corner of Su Xiaofeng’s eye twitched as she looked at his desolate and lonely silhouette in the darkness, "Your mother needs surgery money?"

The look in his eyes and his facial expression told her that he must be in trouble. He was arrogant and proud in the morning, but now he was completely changed, so there had to be something going on.

Liao Xianghe gazed at Su Xiaofeng, a woman who wasn’t old but had a sharp insight, "How could you tell?"

Only now did he realize how much time he had wasted, and when his mother needed him the most, he was out of options.

"How much is your mother’s surgery short of?" she asked, seeing a rebellious son with filial piety, not entirely beyond redemption.

"I’ve scraped together two thousand; I’m still short of eight thousand." Liao Xianghe looked down at his own shadow, "Don’t worry, I won’t borrow money from you for nothing. If you’re willing to lend me the money, I’ll be indebted to you from now on. You ask me to toil like an ox, or like a horse, and I won’t complain."

As long as he could save his mother, he’d do anything.

Keke, listening to their conversation, felt confused, not entirely understanding the situation. She chose to remain silent, quietly watching how Xiaofeng would handle it.

But deep down, she was pondering how much Xiaofeng seemed to have changed. Back in school, Xiaofeng appeared to be a very shy girl, her relationship with classmates neither close nor distant. She didn’t seem to have any close friends and was always alone.

Xiaofeng smiled as she heard Liao Xianghe’s words, like the morning dawn: "So you’re selling yourself to me? Whether I want to ’buy’ you is another question."

Liao Xianghe’s expression changed upon hearing her words: "You won’t agree?"

A hand reached into a pocket, as if to pull something out.

"It’s not that I disagree," Xiaofeng said, seemingly oblivious to his actions: "I can lend you the money, but I don’t need you. However, I do want your labor. If you’re willing, work in the factory for three years, earn the money to repay me there. That’s not too much to ask, is it?"

She didn’t want a man; what use was a man to her? But the factory lacked outstanding individuals who could command a presence, which made some business dealings difficult.

Upon hearing this, Liao Xianghe wasn’t sure if Xiaofeng was serious or if it was all a dream: "Is what you’re saying true? You’ll lend me eight thousand, and I’ll work in the factory for three years?"

Xiaofeng nodded: "Of course, I’ll only give you a small living allowance each month. The majority of your wage I will deduct. Think it over for yourself."

"Never mind three years, as long as you can save my mother, I’d be willing to do it for ten years, or even twenty," Liao Xianghe hadn’t expected Xiaofeng to not only lend him money but also to have him work in the factory.

"A grown man reduced to this; I won’t say more. But if you think you can’t make eight thousand on your own and insist on working with me for ten or twenty years, I’m fine with that," Xiaofeng said as the other party stood there, dumbfounded. "I don’t have that much on hand right now. Tell me, which room is your aunt in? I’ll get the money from home and bring it to you."

Liao Xianghe became wary again upon hearing her words. She was going back home to get the money; was she planning to trick him? "Are you deceiving me?"

"Why would I trick you? You don’t look easy to deceive," Xiaofeng said without looking at him any longer. "However, I must remind you, you can be with me, but you’ll have to cut ties with those messy people you were involved with before. If I find out you’re slacking off here, I will kick you out immediately."

"Don’t worry, starting today, I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf and start anew," he thought to himself.

"Xiaofeng, I’m going back now," Keke had listened for a while before realizing that Xiaofeng was planning to keep a hooligan in the factory. What Xiaofeng wanted to keep in the factory wasn’t her concern.

"Okay, be careful on the road," Xiaofeng waved to her.

Liao Xianghe looked at Su Xiaofeng and hesitated: "How about I go back with you, so you don’t have to come to the hospital."

"Liao Xianghe, if I want to lend to you, you don’t have to follow me; I would lend it anyway. And if I don’t want to lend, even if you follow me, I wouldn’t lend," she had decided to help Liao Xianghe, not because he was a filial son, but because she saw in his eyes a desire to break away from his past.

So, she decided to give him a chance. Whether he could improve himself was up to him.

After getting the money from home, He Ximei saw her about to leave and called out: "Xiaofeng, are you going out? It’s almost nine o’clock."

"Auntie, I was just about to ask you. Do you have time right now? Could you come with me?" This era wasn’t like the modern day; at nine o’clock, the night’s prelude was just beginning. In this era, nine o’clock was already considered quite late. Except for those working night shifts, most people would be home preparing to sleep.

Aside from night markets, not many people would be seen on the streets.

"Where are you going?" He Ximei couldn’t figure out what Xiaofeng needed at this hour.

"A friend’s mother is hospitalized. They’re short for the surgery fees, and I’m taking over some money," Xiaofeng didn’t say who it was.

"Alright, wait for me; I’ll go with you." Matters of life and death obviously couldn’t wait.

—

"Xianghe." Liao’s mother lay in bed, with a bandage wrapped around her head and an oxygen tube in her nose, watching Liao Xianghe peel an apple for her, her dry lips parted with difficulty: "I know my own body, don’t bother with all that. Listen to mom, after I’m gone, don’t continue like you are now. Make something of yourself... swiftly bring a daughter-in-law home for me to see," she said.

Liao Xianghe kept his head down, focused on the task in his hands.

The apple peel didn’t break in his skillful hands; it twisted in his grip like a long serpent.

Hearing the old lady’s words, he whispered, "Mom, the doctor said you’re fine, nothing to worry about. Besides, I’ll need you to approve any future wife I might have. What if I bring home a troublemaker?"

The old lady gave him a helpless look: "Once my eyes are closed, I won’t care if it’s some kind of ’spirit,’ as long as it’s not a demon."

"Well, that’s not certain," Liao Xianghe took a spoon, scraped some apple juice with it, and brought it to the old lady’s lips: "Mom, you’re my only kin; I don’t want you to leave me behind."

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