"Sister Deng, what's all this?" As next-door neighbors for nearly twenty years, they were naturally very familiar with each other. So when Lin Ling saw her carrying gifts and an assortment of fish and meat, a look of surprise immediately appeared on her face as she asked in confusion.

"I just so happened to see Xiaofei on his way back, and I thought, since it's been so many years, I should come over to say hello and catch up," Aunt Deng said with a somewhat unnatural smile.

"Sister Lin, hello," the fashionable woman beside her said, offering a greeting with a hint of guilt and an awkward smile.

She couldn't help it! Back in the day, she wouldn't have been so polite, but now she had seen Chen Fei's million-yuan luxury car with her own eyes. She knew this family was no longer the same; they had struck it rich. How could she dare to be so presumptuous?

"Oh, Sister Deng, you really shouldn't have. If you wanted to see Xiaofei, you could have just come over. Why buy all these things?" Lin Ling didn't know whether to laugh or cry. They had been next-door neighbors for over a decade; there was no need for such formality.

"Nonsense, Little Lin. This is necessary. Here, let me help you." Aunt Deng said earnestly, tying on an apron and busying herself in the kitchen with Lin Ling.

After all, she was here to ask Chen Fei for a loan. How could she possibly come empty-handed?

"Mom, Aunt Deng, it's been so long since I've had your cooking. Here, let me toast you both for all your hard work." As soon as a table full of fragrant and delicious-looking food was served, Chen Fei immediately raised his drink to toast Aunt Deng and his mother.

"It was no trouble, no trouble at all," Aunt Deng said, hastily clinking glasses with him.

She couldn't afford not to be modest! Although she was an elder and had a good relationship with Chen Fei's mother, Lin Ling, the problem was that she was here today to ask Chen Fei for a loan. That's just how things are these days. Everything's fine until money gets involved. The moment it does, things get complicated. Even blood relatives can turn on each other, let alone neighbors. So, deep down, she felt very insecure!

"Sister Deng, you have something on your mind, don't you? If there's an issue, just say it. It's alright," Lin Ling suddenly said. She wasn't a fool. Of course, she could tell Aunt Deng was acting strangely, so she decided to address it directly to save them the trouble of beating around the bush.

"Um, well, Little Lin! I..." When Lin Ling laid it all out, Aunt Deng became flustered and embarrassed, stammering for a long while without forming a complete sentence, making the fashionable woman beside her grow anxious.

The next moment, unable to stand it any longer, the fashionable woman interrupted Aunt Deng, speaking for her, "Sister Lin, it's like this. We came today to ask if we could borrow some money from your son."

"Borrow money?"

Chen Fei and Lin Ling were both taken aback. They exchanged a glance, each seeing the confusion in the other's eyes.

"That's right, Little Lin, and you too, Xiaofei! Aunt Deng really has no other choice but to turn to you. For the sake of our many years as neighbors, could you please do me this favor?" Hearing her cousin had spilled the beans, Aunt Deng gritted her teeth and blurted it out.

"Sister Deng, please don't be anxious. Take your time and tell us what happened. Why do you need to borrow money?" Lin Ling said immediately, giving her son a meaningful look.

"That's right, Aunt Deng, don't worry. What's going on? Tell us slowly. As long as it's something I, Chen Fei, can help with, I absolutely will," Chen Fei quickly added. Money was no object to him now, so he was more concerned about what had actually happened.

In his memory, Aunt Deng's family couldn't be called wealthy, but they were definitely comfortably well-off. So what on earth could have happened? What could be so serious that she'd have to come to him to borrow money? Did something happen to her family?

"Sigh, it's a long story..." Hearing what Lin Ling and Chen Fei said, Aunt Deng let out a huge sigh of relief and began to recount her troubles with a grimace.

It turned out that Aunt Deng's family ran a construction crew that was quite famous throughout Chengyang County, known for their excellent work. Typically, if a company or a boss took on a construction project and needed extra hands, they would directly hire their crew.

Not long ago, Aunt Deng's construction crew took on a job helping a developer build a housing development. At the time, her family and the workers were thrilled, as a job like that usually meant a hefty payday.

The problem arose after they had worked enthusiastically together to complete the developer's project in six months. When Aunt Deng's son, Yi Shu, went to the person in charge at the real estate developer to settle the payment on behalf of the crew, they refused to pay the wages.

"Aunt Deng, didn't you report this to the relevant authorities?" Chen Fei asked, his expression turning grim. Withholding a construction crew's wages was a really scummy thing to do.

"Of course we did! Government officials came, but they claimed the contract we signed with them was a fake, so it couldn't constitute an employment relationship. Then the people from the real estate company wined and dined the officials, and the whole thing was dropped," Aunt Deng said, her eyes welling up as she spoke.

What did they mean, the contract they signed was a forgery? Anyone with eyes could see that their crew built those houses. How could they just refuse to pay what was owed?

"Cousin, say no more. It's all because the boss of Sheng'an Real Estate Company is the brother-in-law of our Chengyang County's Party Secretary! Otherwise, would those scoundrels dare to be so reckless? They even got Yi Shu locked up in the police station! There's no justice!" the fashionable woman couldn't help but interject indignantly.

"What? Brother Yi Shu is locked up in the police station? Did he do something illegal?" Chen Fei's expression changed instantly. Although he hadn't been back for a long time, he was still as close with Brother Yi Shu as ever. He never expected to hear he'd been thrown in a police station.

"Something illegal? Xiaofei, you and Yi Shu basically grew up together. With his personality, do you think he would ever do anything illegal?" Aunt Deng asked, her face etched with sorrow.

"Then what exactly happened? Aunt Deng, don't worry, just tell me slowly. As long as they're the ones in the wrong, I don't care if the company's boss is the County Party Secretary's brother-in-law. I'll make sure he faces the full force of the law, I promise!" Chen Fei declared, filled with righteous indignation.

Indeed, from what he knew of Brother Yi Shu, it was impossible for him to do anything illegal. If that's the case, then the other party must be the ones playing dirty, right? A chill flickered in Chen Fei's eyes.

"Sigh, Xiaofei, you may have made a lot of money in the city, but you're still young. You don't understand how complicated this world is." Aunt Deng sighed, taking Chen Fei's "big talk" as a sign of his youth and inexperience.

The other party was the brother-in-law of the County Party Secretary, Liu Guangrong! And what kind of status did a County Party Secretary have? He was the top official in charge of hundreds of thousands of citizens. Could you really go and punish someone like that just by saying so?

"Sister Deng, my son may have spoken a bit too boldly, but even if he's the County Party Secretary's brother-in-law, that's no reason to act so lawlessly, is it? They withheld your crew's wages and had Yi Shu arrested?" Lin Ling suddenly said with a frown, her demeanor subtly different from that of a typical housewife, as if she now possessed a certain authority.

"Sigh, Little Lin, while you're right in principle, they have the County Party Secretary as their backer. How can we ordinary folk possibly fight against that?" Aunt Deng shook her head helplessly and continued with what happened next. "As for this matter, even though the developer owed our crew money, we couldn't withhold the workers' wages. So we decided to sell our new house to pay them off first. Yi Shu was so furious about the injustice that he went to their company to raise a fuss and demand the payment. He ended up getting into a conflict with them and accidentally pushed the boss of Sheng'an Real Estate Company, and then... and then..."

"And they used that as an excuse to arrest Brother Yi Shu?" Chen Fei interjected.

"Exactly! And not only that, those bastards colluded with the hospital to get a fake injury report and are demanding my cousin pay them two hundred thousand in compensation. Otherwise, they'll keep Yi Shu locked up in the police station!" Aunt Deng didn't get to finish before the stylish woman, Little Mei, spoke up loudly.

"How preposterous!" Hearing something so unreasonable, even someone with Lin Ling's gentle, water-like temperament couldn't help but get angry, frowning as she spoke.

"Sigh, that's just how society is. So, Xiaofei, could you lend Aunt Deng eighty thousand yuan? I want to go to the police station to bail your Brother Yi Shu out. Of course, you can rest assured, Aunt Deng will find a way to pay you back as soon as possible," Aunt Deng sighed once more, finally stating her purpose.

Sister Deng... Although Lin Ling found it a bit strange that they were asking her son for the eighty thousand yuan instead of her, she never considered refusing. What they had done was simply too outrageous, wasn't it?

But just then, Chen Fei unexpectedly shook his head and refused, "Aunt Deng, I'm afraid I can't lend you this eighty thousand yuan."

"Xiaofei, you..."

Aunt Deng was stunned, and Lin Ling also frowned at her son.

"Look here, young man, isn't this a bit out of line? You can drive a million-yuan luxury car, but you can't spare a mere eighty thousand to lend my cousin? Don't forget, when you were little, my cousin was very good to you. Have you forgotten all that?" the fashionable woman snapped, her expression changing instantly.

He can afford a million-yuan luxury car, but he can't lend my cousin a measly eighty thousand? And this is money to bail someone out, no less! Do people really become so ungrateful and forget their roots once they get rich?

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