Wealthy Beauty in the 60s-Chapter 568 - 570: Human Greed is Insatiable as a Snake Swallowing an Elephant
"So neither of you chooses either option," Xia Xiao said blandly, not taking Yang Hua’s threat seriously.
At the Guangming Team, the news had exploded. The two hundred thousand yuan was meant for the construction of the school for the Guangming team, but now it was supposed to go to the Gao Guofu family.
No one could remain calm at this point. The Gao Guofu family had already left the Guangming Team and in their eyes, they had become outsiders. Some people were helping the Gao Guofu family today only because they wanted Xia Xiao and the others to contribute money. As long as Xia Xiao and the others were willing to pay for Gao Guofu’s treatment, they could then borrow from the Gao Guoqiang family if they faced difficulties in the future.
Even some had made up their minds to borrow money from Xia Xiao and the others. It was not the first time, but Xia Xiao and the others did not return each year for the New Year, and even when they did come back, they would leave hurriedly after a couple of days.
Today was the third day of the New Year, if the Gao Guofu family hadn’t come over, Xia Xiao and the others would have left early tomorrow morning.
Now, without Xia Xiao and the others saying anything, some people were already criticizing Lin Xuebi and Yang Hua.
Gao Guoqiang and Zheng Xianghong watched this scene with great discomfort. To them, the Guangming team was their home; that’s why they asked their son and grandson to come back for the New Year—they feared that the younger generations would one day forget this place.
They were willing to donate money for road construction, willing to build schools, willing to do everything for the Guangming Team, simply because they cared about this place—it was their homeland.
But human greed knows no bounds; now they could see some of the family’s true colors, and it left them somewhat disillusioned.
In the end, Gao Guofu made a statement, took the one hundred thousand yuan offered by Feiteng, and Gao Guoqiang looked at Gao Guofu, the two brothers lost for words.
Gao Guoqiang said nothing, while Gao Guofu moved his lips as if to speak, but Gao Guoqiang had already turned and gone back into the house. Gao Guofu stood stunned in place, and at that moment, for some reason, he felt a pang of regret.
"Big brother, I’m sorry," Gao Guofu whispered from his throat, but Gao Guoqiang had already entered the house, and the sound was too soft for Gao Guoqiang to hear.
When it came to brotherhood, it was over at this point. Holding the hundred thousand yuan in his hand, Gao Guofu felt as heavy as the sum, struggling to breathe.
The Gao Guofu family left, and the remaining hundred thousand yuan was donated by Gao Jiaxing to the brigade. Guangming Primary School would have one hundred thousand yuan from their family; whatever happened in the future, they would no longer concern themselves with it.
No one expected that the Gao Jiaxing family would actually have two hundred thousand yuan in cash on hand. But knowing that this money was meant for building their school, and now half of it was given to Gao Guofu, everyone who had supported Gao Guofu speaking out now felt acutely regretful, as if their insides were turning green.
Thankfully, Gao Guofu chose the first option. At least there’s still one hundred thousand yuan for building the school for the Guangming Team. If he’d chosen the second option, the team might have resented the Gao Guofu family to death.
After the crowd dispersed, the Gao family fell silent. Gao Guoqiang and Zheng Xianghong, exhausted, went to rest.
Gao Jiaxing, Xia Xiao, and the children were in the living room, where Feiteng said, "I think Mom gave away the money too easily."
"That money was supposed to be spent; it was already prepared," Xia Xiao explained to her son and daughter-in-law, whether it was the sum for Gao Guofu or for the school construction.
Originally, they planned to donate two hundred thousand yuan for the school construction. However, Gao Guofu’s case was unexpected. Now that Gao Guofu had taken one hundred thousand, the other hundred thousand was given to the brigade for the school construction, which was still within Xia Xiao’s acceptable range.
Although Gao Guofu had cut ties with Gao Guoqiang, they were still real brothers, and Gao Guofu was diagnosed with cancer. If Xia Xiao and the others did not contribute money to help, and Gao Guofu died, Gao Guoqiang might not be able to live with it. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
"Guangming Team is our Gao family’s hometown, and your grandfather, father, including both Feiyang and Feiyue, were all born here. This is the root of the Gao family. Our family has succeeded, and naturally, we should bring honor to our ancestors. The ancestral hall, road construction, school - we will do it when we have the capability. Doing something for our hometown is only right."
As soon as Xia Xiao finished speaking, Feiteng said, "But they are ungrateful. No matter how much our family helps them, they will never be satisfied and will always think we haven’t given enough."
Feiteng felt somewhat discontented, thinking some people didn’t deserve their contributions.
"Feiteng, Mom is right," Feiyang said.
"Right, we’ve done what we should have done, and we don’t need to bother with the rest. At least it lets them know our family isn’t without limits," Gao Jiaxing joined in.
Feiyue laughed, "Now, Gao Guofu left with one hundred thousand, and there must be people in the team who are in pain."
As soon as Feiyue brought it up, Feiteng also laughed, "Yeah, when I handed the money to Gao Guofu, some people’s faces were so grim that they nearly rushed to grab it back."
Xia Xiao looked at Feiteng, "We’re heading back to the Capital early tomorrow morning. While you’re here, just keep an eye on the Gao Guofu family."
"Keep an eye on them for what?" Feiteng asked, puzzled.
"I want to know if Gao Guofu will use the money for treatment."
As soon as Xia Xiao’s words fell, her husband, son, and everyone else turned to look at her. Feiyue said, "Mom, why do you think that Gao Guofu won’t use the money for treatment?"
"It’s not that I think he won’t, he has been diagnosed with mid-stage cancer. Now that we’ve given him one hundred thousand yuan, do you think Gao Jianmin and Yang Hua will allow this sum to be all spent on Gao Guofu? Even Lin Xuebi might not be willing," Xia Xiao said, voicing a harsh reality.
"My uncle doesn’t want to die."
After Gao Jiaxing spoke, Xia Xiao looked at him, "Your uncle was raised single-handedly by your grandmother, and under the influence of Lin Xuebi. Have you forgotten how your grandmother died, how your uncle and Lin Xuebi treated her, you’ve also heard of that. Tell me, how good can the child raised by them be? Yang Hua is no better than Lin Xuebi either. The main point is, your uncle is getting old, and one hundred thousand yuan is such a big temptation to them. I think even if they decide to treat your uncle, it would be a lot if they spend fifty thousand yuan, maybe not even twenty or thirty thousand."
At that moment, Gao Jiaxing fell silent, frowning, "We should’ve given the money directly to the hospital."
"This was their choice; we can’t plan too much for them, and they’re not worth us planning for them," Xia Xiao said.
Gao Jiaxing sighed, "Dad probably isn’t feeling great. Let’s not talk about this anymore, whatever happens to their family from now on is none of our business."
That night, the Gao family soon fell asleep, while some people from the Guangming Team couldn’t sleep at all because of the missing hundred thousand yuan—they were in agony.
But there was nothing they could do. After all, they were the ones who were calling Gao Guofu a dear brother and brother-in-law. It was Gao Guoqiang’s money, used for his own brother’s treatment, what could they say?
Still, they regretted it; this was originally a matter for the Gao Guoqiang family. Why did they make a fuss and offer their opinions? Now, with one hundred thousand yuan less, it wasn’t just a mere ten or twenty thousand yuan.
