Chapter 261: The Unreliable Uncle

Bai Wei had never told her mother about her getting rich, only saying that a friend was investing in the Farm to expand it and build a Vegetable Base.

She was guarding against her mother having a lapse in judgment and, upon feeling that she had money, making her hand the Farm over to her grandmother's family.

Therefore, Li Hong only knew that her daughter had earned money, but as for how much money Bai Wei had, she was not clear.

But Li Hong was her biological mother after all, so Bai Wei would also send her some money every now and then.

However, Bai Wei also knew that this matter could not be hidden for long; the whole village knew she had struck it rich, and she was building a Vegetable Base and a school... Her mother would surely know about her great fortune very soon, so she could only deal with it when the time came.

As soon as Li Hong saw Bai Wei, she hurriedly spoke up.

"Xiao Wei, I've come to tell you that I plan to go to the provincial capital in a few days."

"Go to the provincial capital?" Bai Wei was taken aback. "Mom, aren't you working at the supermarket in town? Why are you suddenly going to the provincial capital? Are you quitting your job at the supermarket?"

"I've resigned." Li Hong shook her head. "Your uncle's family is in the provincial capital. Recently, your uncle called to say he opened a fruit shop there and is too busy to handle it, so he wants me to go help."

"What?" Bai Wei was stunned. "Mom, you're going to the provincial capital?"

The provincial capital is very far from Qingshan County; it takes a whole day and night by train.

If her mother went to the provincial capital, it would not be easy to return home, and there would be fewer opportunities to see each other in the future.

"Yes." Li Hong also revealed a worried expression. "I didn't want to go either, but your uncle is really too busy over there. He runs a small business and has been calling to complain to me. Your uncle has to support your aunt and two children; it's really not easy for him."

Hearing this, Bai Wei could not help but pull a long face.

She knew a little bit about this uncle who opened a shop in the provincial capital.

Her uncle had always been unreliable; in the past, whenever he had no money, he would ask Li Hong, his older sister, for it. Now that he was asking her mother to go watch the shop, wasn't he just looking for free labor?

"Mom, how much of a salary does Uncle plan to give you for helping him watch the shop?"

"Sigh, we're all family, what's this about money?" Li Hong chided. "That's your uncle, not an outsider. What's wrong with helping him a little?"

Bai Wei sneered.

"Mom, Uncle earns money to support his wife and son; does he support you? Asking you to go over is just for you to work for free! For so many years, how many times has Uncle asked you for money, and when has he ever paid it back?"

Li Hong was left speechless by this series of questions.

After a long while, she stammered out a response.

"I am his sister; how can family mention money?"

Bai Wei drew out her tone, "Oh." "Since we are family, how come when Uncle has benefits, he didn't think of you, his older sister?"

Li Hong could not answer.

She became anxious and reached out to hit Bai Wei.

"How can you talk about your uncle like that? In the future, if you have any trouble, you'll still need to ask your uncle for help."

Bai Wei sneered, "I won't be asking him for help; I just hope he doesn't come looking for me."

Li Hong glared at Bai Wei and suddenly coughed twice, feeling uncomfortable.

"Xiao Wei, I heard from people in the village that you've earned quite a lot of money?"

Bai Wei's nerves immediately became alert.

Her mother had come to pry into her finances.

She feigned calmness and spoke dismissively, "Mom, it's a friend investing in me; I haven't earned much."

"How can that be?" Li Hong frowned and looked her up and down. "That's not right. I saw the news on the internet saying you went to Yanjing for an Antique Exhibition, and what you were wearing and carrying were all treasures worth a fortune."

"And, you invested in building a school for the village; that must have cost at least tens of millions, right?"

"The Vegetable Base in the village was also built by you, right? That must have cost a lot of money too. Tell Mom the truth, how much money do you actually have, and where did this money come from?"

Facing her mother's barrage of questions, Bai Wei simply refused to admit it.

"Mom, the school was invested in by someone else. They did a good deed but didn't want to show their face, so they just borrowed my name."

"The Vegetable Base was also an investment; I'm just helping to manage it."

"As for the Antique Exhibition I attended in Yanjing, what I wore and carried were all replicas. The real items are in the Provincial Museum. Who would wear billions in antiques on their body for no reason? Aren't they afraid of being robbed?"

Li Hong was half-believing. "But I heard from people in the village that you really have become a big millionaire..."

"People in the village, people in the village!" Bai Wei feigned anger. "You've lived in the village for so many years, don't you know that people in the village love to spread rumors? If I had really become a big millionaire, would I still need to live on this small Farm?"

Li Hong raised her head and looked at the courtyard behind Bai Wei.

In the courtyard, the Warehouse was being expanded, and the ground was piled full of construction materials.

Bai Wei hurriedly explained, "This is a friend who wants to invest in my Farm; he spent the money to expand it."

"Who is this friend?"

"His name is..." Bai Wei's eyes darted around. "His name is Zhou Yuchuan, and he is from an auction company in Yanjing."

Li Hong probed for a long time, but Bai Wei just refused to budge. Unable to get any useful information, she could only remain half-convinced.

"Xiao Wei, your uncle is opening a shop in the provincial capital and is still a bit short on funds. Mom just wanted to ask if you have any spare money to lend to your uncle for his shop."

Bai Wei felt certain.

The main event had arrived after all.

The way her mother had been questioning her earlier—asking about her Farm, asking about her Vegetable Base—was actually just to find out how much property she had so she could lend it to her uncle to open his shop.

She remained calm. "Mom, Uncle asked you to come and borrow this, right? How much does he want to borrow?"

Li Hong rubbed her hands together. "Your uncle said that since you've struck it rich now, he wants to borrow two million from you."

"Two million?" Bai Wei was almost laughed to anger.

What kind of small fruit shop needs two million in startup capital? Wasn't it obvious that he found out about her from the internet, thought she had gotten rich, and came to fleece her!

She had hidden her true financial situation precisely to guard against these relatives.

"Xiao Wei, how much do you have now?" Li Hong tried to ask.

Bai Wei was crisp and decisive. "Mom, the Farm still has a lot of things to buy right now. I don't have any money on hand; I really don't have any extra money to lend to Uncle."

Li Hong was surprised. "Not even a cent?"

"No." Bai Wei shook her head without hesitation, her eyes darting, "However, if Uncle is short on money, I can give him an idea."

Li Hong's eyes lit up, "What idea? Are you going to borrow money from friends?"

"Mom, look here." Bai Wei opened her phone and tapped on a series of lending apps, "If you have Uncle log into these pieces of software, he can have as much money as he wants; borrowing a few million is no problem at all."

Li Hong was left speechless.

The interest rates on these online loans were all sky-high; how could she let her younger brother go and take out online loans?

"In short, I don't have any money." Bai Wei said, settling the matter once and for all, "I don't have any now, and I'm afraid it will be a long time before I do."

Seeing that Bai Wei's mouth was tighter than a clam shell, Li Hong was helpless, speaking with a mix of resentment and resignation.

"Fine, if you don't have money to lend, there's nothing I can do."

"However, I am definitely going to the provincial capital to help your uncle."

Bai Wei shook her head inwardly.

She knew her mother's personality; although kind, she was weak, incompetent, and unable to distinguish right from wrong.

She would definitely not let her mother know that she had money in her hands.