Wealthy Beauty in the 60s-Chapter 567 - 569: Two Choices

Someone said, "You have so much money, what’s the harm in giving a little more?"

Xia Xiao swept his gaze over the crowd around him. These were mostly members of the Guangming Team and also from the Gao Family. He understood that it wasn’t just Gao Guofu’s family who harbored such thoughts, and if today’s issues weren’t resolved well, similar incidents would happen again in the future.

Thereupon, Xia Xiao retorted, "What about you then? Gao Guofu is also of your clan. How much would you lend to him if he got cancer?"

Once he said this, the air instantly chilled. If it were them, they certainly wouldn’t want to lend money to Gao Guofu.

A clan member said, "Gao Guofu isn’t our own brother."

Xia Xiao nodded, "You’re right, he’s not your brother. Why should you help? The road to the county was built with our family’s money, and we’re preparing to fund the construction of Guangming Primary School, as you all know. So why do you feel entitled to our family’s money for this and that? When my dad was the production brigade leader, he contributed a lot to the brigade and brought honor to the Guangming Team. But do you remember any of his good deeds now?

Do we owe you anything? We have money, and we live well, but what does that have to do with you? We study hard, go to university, join the workforce, and work hard to earn money so our families can live a better life. Gao Jiaxing served in the military, went to battle, and earned his honors through his own effort. You haven’t done anything for our family. Why should we help you unconditionally?"

"It costs so much to build a road, so much to establish a school, and yet you’re not satisfied. May I ask what have you done for the Guangming Team, for our clan? Oh, you don’t have the ability, you don’t strive to be capable, so is that your reason? No, that’s an excuse. You only do as much as you’re capable of, and wear a hat as big as your head. If you’re not striving for advancement and not finding ways to better yourselves, then don’t blame people for looking down on you or not helping you."

"The Red Star Team has a Hope Primary School. Our family had planned to build a school within the Guangming Team so that the children of the Guangming Team could have better conditions for their education. But now I’m starting to doubt whether what I’m doing is right. It seems you take what we do for granted, thinking our money should naturally be distributed among you all, and if we don’t, it’s a transgression. But our family is not in a position to help you, nor are we your providers. If you wish to live well and prosper, you have to rely on yourselves. As for the school construction, perhaps we should just forget about it. We don’t have the resilience to endure the resentment of those who receive benefits but remain ungrateful."

Xia Xiao suddenly spoke at length, leaving the crowd speechless. Everyone also noticed Xia Xiao’s firm stance, even Gao Guoqiang, Zheng Xianghong, and Gao Jiaxing seemed to be heeding Xia Xiao’s words. Suddenly there was silence.

Lin Xuebi hurriedly said, "We were talking about Gao Guofu’s cancer."

This was a reminder to everyone to focus on the matter of Gao Guofu’s cancer, but at this moment, the members of the Guangming Team were not in the mood to think about Gao Guofu’s issues.

Their minds were filled with Xia Xiao’s words, and with the school construction now canceled, who would care about Gao Guofu’s family? They all responded one after another.

Gao Guoqing’s wife said, "Xia Xiao, don’t be angry. Don’t bother with these people. It’s very good that the Guangming Team could have a school. We all appreciate what you have done for the Guangming Team and for creating a good learning environment for the children."

"Yeah, what Guoqing’s wife said is right."

Upon hearing that Xia Xiao wasn’t going to build the school anymore, everyone became worried. The closest primary school to the Guangming Team right now was the Red Star Team’s Hope Primary School.

But the relationship between the Guangming Team and the Red Star Team was delicate. If the Guangming Team could have its own school, it would be better, and deep down, the Guangming Team did not want to be outdone by the Red Star Team.

Now everyone was talking, criticizing Gao Guofu’s family, recounting deeds done in the past, including mistreatment of Old Lady Gao.

Old Lady Gao’s later years were very bleak, not only talked about by people of the Guangming Team but also gossiped about by those from the Red Star Team.

In fact, there were not a few wealthy people in the Guangming Team nowadays, though there were still many poor. At least their conditions were much better than before. Everyone had food and clothing and no longer worried about hunger, nor did they have to work from dawn till dusk in the brigade like before.

In this world, there are many who love leisure and despise work. Particularly after Bright Ali opened several convenience stores and mahjong parlors, a lot of people would spend their whole day there playing cards.

A little gambling can be entertaining; even Xia Xiao and his family would play occasionally, which had nothing to do with Xia Xiao.

However, now that his family had money, some people always wanted to hold them to the highest moral standards, like when repairing the clan hall and every household had to donate money.

Xia Xiao’s family contributed the most, but some still thought it was too little, always feeling that with so much money, they should cover the expenses for fixing the clan hall.

But these were just idle remarks behind their backs, they never said anything to their faces. Yet with Gao Guofu’s cancer, some conflicts had surfaced.

Before long, Yang Hua’s younger son came with the report.

Li Min looked over the report closely and then said, "Indeed, it’s mid-stage lung cancer."

"Right? We didn’t deceive you, did we?" Yang Hua said.

Xia Xiao said, "There are two options. The first is for you, Gao Guofu, to take 100,000 yuan and leave, with the severance of relationship document, which we’ll keep. There’s no need for you to write another one. However, if you take this 100,000 yuan and leave, we naturally require a written statement, signed with your name, with your thumbprint, declaring whether your cancer is cured or not, it’s no longer any of our business."

"What’s the second option?" Lin Xuebi was not very satisfied. Although 100,000 yuan was a lot for them, Gao Jiaxing only offered 100,000 yuan, and Lin Xuebi was not content.

"The second is, we lend you 200,000 yuan. This 200,000 yuan would be split among every member of your family, with a written agreement as proof, and your houses and land would be mortgaged. If you can’t repay the 200,000 yuan within ten years, I’ll sue you in court. If you can’t repay the money, the law will deal with you naturally, and of course, your houses and land would belong to me."

"You’re too harsh," Lin Xuebi glared.

"You can also choose to leave our house with nothing, and this is considering that Gao Guofu is my father’s brother. Otherwise, since our relationship has been severed, why should we care about your fate? Our family has already invested a lot of money in building a zoo, and right now, we only have these 200,000 yuan, which was supposed to be for the school construction. Although Gao Guofu has cancer, we won’t just stand by and watch. If you wish, we’ll lend it to you."

As Xia Xiao finished speaking, murmurs spread through the crowd.

"You’re not afraid we’ll go to the reporters and talk about you?" Yang Hua felt that Xia Xiao’s family, being prominent people, should care about their reputation.