1052 Emergency Funds
“But…” Xia Wen said with a troubled expression.
“What if it’s Third Aunt-in-law’s younger brother who did something? It might not be Eldest Sister-in-law.” Xia He had the same opinion as Qiao Mei. In Xia He’s impression, Tan Jing seemed to only care about the matter of having children. She did not think that Tan Jing would go so far as to steal money.
“It was our grandfather’s chauffeur who sent the money to me. Do you think it’s him? At my house, Tan Jing was the only one who touched the money. After the money was sent to me, she and I were the only two people who touched it,” Xia Wen said calmly.
Qiao Mei and Xia He fell silent. They both knew very well that the chauffeur would never covet the money. Even if he was threatened with death, he would not do anything to betray the Xia family. They had no idea how to deal with this matter, but Qiao Mei knew that if she said she was willing to turn a blind eye, it would embarrass Xia Wen even more.
Xia Wen thought for a moment and said, “I’ll count the money again later and I’ll make up for the shortfall. I’ll have to write you an IOU first and bring the money from home another time.”
Qiao Mei quickly said, “Actually, there’s no need to go through so much trouble. My plan is to split this money into two portions and for you and Xia He to each take half. Once you’re ready, you can buy a house and live nearby. Consider it a gift from Xia Zhe and me.”
Ever since Qiao Mei married into the Xia family, Xia Wen and Xia He had been busy helping her with her issues. In order to take care of her, Xia He was living a life like a housewife. Actually, Qiao Mei knew very well that if not for the fact that she needed someone to take care of her now, Xia He would definitely go forth to pursue her own dreams.
As for Xia Wen, he was always there for Qiao Mei to help her settle all her problems so that she need not worry about anything.
“No! We definitely won’t take this money. You have to take it back,” Xia He said firmly. Xia Wen also rejected Qiao Mei’s good intentions.
“Didn’t I promise to buy you a house a few days ago? Not that I’m really buying it for you, why are you rejecting it now?” Qiao Mei asked with a laugh.
“I was just joking with you. How can I really take a house from you? When I become a famous actress in the future, I will be able to buy a big house on my own! In addition, eldest brother will be promoted higher and higher up the ranks in the future and the workplace will allocate a house to him. You should save up this money for your children,” Xia He said.
“That’s right, Qiao Mei. My current job is different from my father and my other relatives. I manage trade and business in the capital . If my residence is too ostentatious, people will file a report against me. My current place is not too bad and it suits me very well,” Xia Wen said laughingly.
Seeing that Xia He and Xia Wen were so determined, Qiao Mei did not say anything else. It seemed to her that she had to think of another way since this method did not work.
“Alright, I’ll put it in my savings then. Treat it as an emergency fund that you park with me. Let me know if you need it in the future,” Qiao Mei said.
“This is everyone’s emergency fund. You must save it properly. When I have children in the future, you have to make a big gold lock for them! You have to treat my children well!” Xia He said as she pouted.
Xia Wen laughed as he stood at the side. Xia He had always liked these materialistic things. Traditionally, when a child turned one year old, people would hold a ceremony for the child to “draw lots”. It was a symbolic ceremony for good luck.
Everyone would place items related to many different professions on a big red cloth and arrange them in a circle. Then, they would let the child sit in the middle and see which item the child was most interested in, so as to predict the profession the child might choose in the future.
For Xia He, she grabbed a gold ingot at first, then she swapped it for a pair of dancing shoes. It was such an accurate representation of her up to this point in time.
They all went to the backyard for dinner. Xia Wen was still a little distracted. He kept thinking about how much money Tan Jing had taken from the sum of money meant for Qiao Mei and where she had kept it.
He wondered how Tan Jing became like this or if she had always been such a person.
Qiao Mei wanted to stop Xia Wen from counting the money, but Xia Wen was determined to do it. He said that if Qiao Mei did not let him do a recount, he would give her another 50,000 dollars.
Seeing how stubborn Xia Wen was, Qiao Mei allowed him to do what he wanted. After a long while, Xia Wen finally finished counting all the money. There was a total of 3,000 dollars missing, which far exceeded Xia Wen’s expectations.