Chapter 2: The Month-End Spender 2
In fact, besides borrowing money from colleagues, there were other options, but they wouldn’t work for Zhao Qianqian.
For example, withdrawing cash using a credit card—she didn’t have a credit card.
Another option was online loans. As long as a user applied, the website would immediately disburse 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. She had been classified as an eligible user before and had the qualification for fast disbursement. Later, fearing her account might be compromised or she could incur debt without realizing it, she specifically closed this feature. So, this route was blocked.
Another possibility was to ask relatives or friends for help. However, besides her mother, she didn’t have any other relatives. As for friends, the only ones she was familiar with were Liang Yan and her colleagues. Right now, either she couldn’t reach them, or they had their own problems.
Zhao Qianqian thought about everyone she knew and eventually realized there was no one she could turn to!
After going over the options, she felt a faint sense of despair deep inside.
What drove her crazy even more was that if she hadn’t given away 5,000 yuan as a wedding gift, if she had returned immediately after the wedding, or hadn’t indulged in eating and drinking and buying things, she wouldn’t be in this dire situation now.
“Host, you are about to go bankrupt. I’m here to help…”
Suddenly, Zhao Qianqian remembered the words the little figure had said. Her heart jolted, and she immediately called out in her mind, “Yun Luo, are you still there?”
Yun Luo: “Yes.”
Zhao Qianqian felt like someone drowning, grasping at the last piece of driftwood. She hurriedly said, “You said you would help me? Please, tell me what to do!”
As she asked, she held her breath, anxiously waiting, fearing the little figure might ignore her because of her earlier rude attitude.
Yun Luo: “The host has no assets and only 101.5 yuan in cash. Getting money quickly is a bit difficult.”
Zhao Qianqian’s face flushed with embarrassment at the blunt truth. But she was well aware of her own situation, so she steeled herself and pressed on, “It’s just difficult, not impossible, right? Do you have any suggestions?”
Yun Luo replied, “Explain the situation to the company and ask for an advance on next month’s salary.”
Zhao Qianqian paused for a moment, then quickly took out her phone and called the company’s finance department.
A moment later, she put down her phone with a sense of relief. “The finance department agreed. She said that tomorrow, when I go to work, they will transfer my basic salary for next month.”
Salespeople’s monthly income is divided into two parts: a fixed basic salary and a commission. The basic salary is fixed, while the commission depends on the performance of the month. The finance department said they would transfer her basic salary, which meant 3,500 yuan in cash.
As for the doctor’s demand for payment today, how to delay it until tomorrow… Zhao Qianqian gritted her teeth. If she swallowed her pride and begged a little, she should be able to get some flexibility.
But asking for help in such a humble way really didn’t feel good.
For the first time in her life, Zhao Qianqian felt that it was essential not to be without money.
Lost in her thoughts, Yun Luo spoke again, “You don’t have money, what about your mom?”
Zhao Qianqian was jolted awake, and immediately, a mix of surprise and excitement filled her. She exclaimed, “My mom has 20,000 yuan in her bank account!”
She thought she was about to be saved and couldn’t help but smile. But then, as if struck by a thought, her smile froze. “…But I don’t know the password.”
Her money was hers to control, and her parents’ money was theirs to control. She had never considered asking her relatives for their bank card passwords, just in case.
“Try her birthday, the last digits of her ID, and any commonly used numbers one by one,” Yun Luo reminded her. “Also, check her wallet, there might be cash inside.”
Zhao Qianqian nodded quickly, eager to follow the advice.
There’s always a way out.
After searching for a while, Zhao Qianqian finally found five 100-yuan bills in her mother’s wallet and used them to settle the hospital fee.
After paying the bill, she slumped into the chair by the hospital bed, feeling utterly drained.
“Do you know?” Zhao Qianqian’s voice was faint, “Just now, in order to scrape together the money, I even considered buying accident insurance for 100 yuan and setting my mom as the beneficiary.”
If she had heard this from someone else, she would have laughed at how foolish they were. But when it came to herself, she had actually considered it seriously.
Yun Luo: “Buying accident insurance is useless. Suicide isn’t covered.”
Zhao Qianqian: “……”
She suddenly started to question whether she had graduated from a reputable university or if her degree was bought. Her intelligence was so disappointing, she almost cried.
—
The next morning, Wang Yan woke up from her coma.
“Mom, do you feel better?” Zhao Qianqian had stayed by her side all night. Seeing her mother wake up, she quickly helped her sit up. “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?”
“I… you… how…” Wang Yan was still dazed from just waking up.
“You fainted. The hospital arranged for you to be admitted, and they notified me to come take care of you,” Zhao Qianqian repeated the doctor’s diagnosis. Then, with frustration and worry, she added, “Why didn’t you tell me when you got sick? Do you know how worried I was when I got that phone call?”
Wang Yan mumbled, “You’re always so busy with work. I didn’t want to trouble you…”
Zhao Qianqian: My own mother needs surgery, and you’re still thinking about work?
She didn’t want to take her anger out on her newly awakened mother, so she just muttered, “No matter what, you should’ve told me. Now that I know, I can help with the surgery costs.”
“No, no need,” Wang Yan quickly waved her hand. “I can handle the surgery costs. You should save your money for yourself.”
Zhao Qianqian didn’t believe it. “You only get two to three thousand yuan in retirement pay each month. How are you going to manage? I heard the doctor say that the surgery and hospital fees together will cost fifty to sixty thousand!”
“It’s fine, I can manage,” Wang Yan turned her head away, not daring to look at her daughter. “I found a cleaning job through someone. I work five days a week and make 2,500 yuan a month.”
“Together with my pension, I can earn 5,000 a month. If I save a little and cut back on spending, I’ll have enough in a year.”
Zhao Qianqian’s face drained of color, and her lips trembled, “The doctor said the tumor is pressing on the visual nerve, causing vision problems. And you still want to go out and work?”
“What if you overexert yourself and faint again?”
“Didn’t you say your back hurt and you couldn’t do physical labor anymore? Why are you going back on your word and looking for a job after retirement?”
Wang Yan defended herself, “The cleaning job isn’t hard, it’s very light… It won’t affect my health.”
“Anyway, I’m just staying at home all day with nothing to do. It’s good to get out and move around.”
“You just keep doing what you always do—eat some good food, buy some nice clothes, and live happily. Don’t worry about anything else, I’ll handle it.”
Zhao Qianqian was on the verge of tears, her voice breaking as she screamed, “The doctor said a benign tumor could turn into a malignant one. How can I be at ease?”
Wang Yan whispered, “Once I get two salaries, it won’t take long to save up… It’ll be fine, just delay it for a year.”
Zhao Qianqian couldn’t hold back anymore, and tears fell with a soft “plop.”
Doesn’t she know it’s exhausting to work after retirement?
She can’t even see properly and still has to work five days a week—how can her body handle it?
Delaying for another year means another year of risk—doesn’t her mother realize this?
In the end, it all comes down to not having enough money.
They needed money for medical expenses, and with only 20,000 yuan in her mom’s bank account, they had to find any way possible to gather the rest.
When compared to life, all the hardship seemed insignificant.
The only problem was, she hadn’t been careful with money. After graduation, she’d spent recklessly and hadn’t saved a single penny. If she could just come up with 50,000 or even 100,000 yuan, her mother wouldn’t have to put herself through this!
“You child, why are you still crying?” Wang Yan fumbled to wipe her daughter’s tears.
“Mom, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry!” Zhao Qianqian sobbed uncontrollably.
“Why are you apologizing to me?” Wang Yan waved it off. “It’s normal for the body to have problems when you get older. We couldn’t have known about it before it happened.”
“Once the illness is discovered, just get it treated. What’s the big deal?”
Although Wang Yan kept using a calm tone, Zhao Qianqian still couldn’t stop feeling guilty.
She couldn’t become her mother’s support, so her mother had to rely on herself—this realization burned into her heart like a hot iron.
She felt chest tightness, shortness of breath, and exhaustion, but there was nothing she could do. When there’s no money, there’s simply no money. When it’s needed, there’s no way to conjure it out of thin air.
Zhao Qianqian hugged her mother tightly and choked out, “I won’t be wasteful anymore, spending everything every month. I promise!”
Wang Yan lovingly hugged her daughter back. “Qianqian has grown up and knows how to save money now. I’m so happy.”
Zhao Qianqian added, “Once I get my salary, I’m going to save all of it! Then I’ll save up quickly and get you the surgery.”
“Good, good, good,” Wang Yan smiled with satisfaction.
—
The mother and daughter talked for a long time. Zhao Qianqian wiped her tears and began preparing breakfast.
After the meal, Wang Yan felt tired and lay back down to rest.
Zhao Qianqian looked at her swollen eyes in the mirror and twisted the towel to apply a cold compress.
At this moment, her phone buzzed with a text message: “Your account has been credited with 3,100 yuan.”
Zhao Qianqian glanced at it and frowned. “The basic salary is 3,500, so why is it 3,100? Could they have made a mistake?”
“It’s 3,100, no mistake,” the suited little figure appeared abruptly on her shoulder.
Zhao Qianqian jumped in shock, almost screaming out loud. She calmed down when she saw it was Yun Luo.
“Why?” she asked silently.
Yun Luo replied, “Did you forget? You took personal leave for the wedding, so they deducted the salary for the days you were absent. There are 26 workdays in a month, and after deducting 3 days of leave, you actually worked 23 days. So, this month’s base salary is 3,500/26 * 23 = 3,096. The payment is correct, and they even rounded it up.”
Zhao Qianqian, “…”
Just when she desperately needed money, her monthly income was reduced by 400 yuan, and her heart ached.
She didn’t want to look at the disappointing number anymore. She turned her gaze away and sighed, “Fine, I’ll take it as a lesson for the future.”
Yun Luo swung his feet lazily. “Are you upset over 400 yuan? You spent 4,000 during those 3 days—eating, drinking, and shopping for souvenirs. If you include the travel expenses, that’s 5,000 gone.”
Zhao Qianqian: Please don’t remind me.
She was afraid she might strangle her own reckless self.
“If I had listened to you and come back sooner,” Zhao Qianqian lamented, “I could have saved a bit more.”
Just as she twisted the towel dry, an idea suddenly flashed in her mind. She looked at Yun Luo with hope. “The surgery costs 60,000 yuan, and we only have 20,000 in savings. Do you have any way to help me raise the rest quickly?”
Yun Luo replied, “Since your mother can receive her pension, it means she’s paid into social insurance in her younger years. In addition to the pension, the social insurance also covers medical expenses. Tumor removal surgery is a reimbursable item, so it can be reimbursed.”
“Although the reimbursement amount varies depending on the region, hospital, and medication, reimbursing 70% should be no problem.”
“In other words, for the 60,000 yuan surgery, you only need to pay 18,000 yuan.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qianqian was stunned.
She couldn’t help but feel like the version of herself who had just cried with such raw emotion was almost… a living fool.