Ten years ago, when I returned the loan of 50,000 yuan and the interest of 750 yuan to my elder brother with a smile, when I walked out of their house, I was crying. At that moment, we became strangers. .
I asked my eldest brother to borrow money for only one week, and he returned it with interest. I went to a technical secondary school back then. It was difficult to find a job after graduation, so I went to work in Guangzhou. After getting acquainted with several fellow villagers, I found that the fruit wholesale business was good, and our area was rich in apples, which were of good quality and very sweet. After communicating with a familiar boss, he was very interested and asked if we could ship it over. He was responsible for selling it to various wholesale markets.
Since the acquisition of Apple required start-up capital, I was strapped for cash. After returning home, I decided to borrow some money from my elder brother’s house.
After my eldest brother and sister-in-law heard what I wanted to borrow the money for, they hesitated and still lent me 50,000 yuan, laughing and saying it was only 3 cents of interest. At that time, I thought that if I earned more, I would definitely give more to my elder brother and sister-in-law.
After collecting the money to buy apples with some friends, we started looking for vehicles and went to surrounding villages to buy apples. But after a busy week, my eldest brother called me and said that there was an emergency at home. Can I pay him back the money I borrowed? Soon my sister-in-law also called and said she needed money urgently.
I hurried back that night and returned the 50,000 yuan to my elder brother. Seeing how they hesitated to speak, I thought they wanted to ask me to borrow money, but I was about to ask. In the end, my sister-in-law said that she lent you 50,000 yuan, with an interest rate of 3 cents per month as agreed at the time. Now that it’s less than a month, you can give me 700 yuan.
At that moment I thought this was my biological elder brother? I had the borrowed 50,000 yuan for less than a week, but I didn’t say anything because I still had the coin bag for collecting apples, so I counted out 750 yuan and handed the pile of change to my sister-in-law. When my sister-in-law refused, I put on a smile and said, this is what I should do. When they wanted to keep me for dinner, I knew it was time to see off guests, so I left their house on the pretext of collecting apples.
That was the first time I felt family affection. Being so vulnerable in front of money made me cry like a mess. Later I found out that they wanted money back because lending was popular at the time and they wanted to get higher income.
Lending money is a favor, so I must repay it immediately. The first pot of gold I made was selling apples with my friends. After three years of continuous work, due to the development of logistics, the profit of selling alone was not high. I used the money I earned to pay a down payment, bought a front house in the county town, and opened a small restaurant.
Although the hotel's business is good, after taking into account employees, daily expenses, and the monthly payment for buying a house, life is still tight. I was usually busy in the store and rarely went home. One time my parents came over to visit me. Before leaving, my mother’s words completely chilled me.
My mother told me to remember to thank my elder brother and his family for their help. I didn't understand. After questioning, my mother came to tell me that my sister-in-law told everyone that the restaurant I opened now was opened by borrowing money from them. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today.
Afraid of upsetting my parents, I didn’t tell them about the previous loan. I simply said I understood. I didn't expect this sentence to cause me a lot of trouble in the future.
In those few years, fundraising and lending were common. This kind of fake thing would eventually be broken. My eldest brother and his family should have been involved in it a lot. This is what my mother told me later. Since I open a restaurant and do business, although this kind of thing will have a big impact in our small county, it is indeed a good opportunity for me.
Because some people are short of funds and eager to sell real estate, I have taken a fancy to a good location for opening a restaurant. After taking stock of the funds in hand, I can just buy it. While I was busy decorating the new hotel, my mother called me and asked me to go back.
After arriving in the village, I found that my elder brother and sister-in-law were also there. The family was sitting together and chatting. My wife called me to remind me and I was busy buying decoration materials. When I was about to get up and leave, my elder brother and sister-in-law stopped me.
Only then did I understand the theme of their return. They wanted to buy a house in the county. The down payment required 400,000 yuan, and they wanted to ask me to borrow some money. I have invested all my money in decoration, and I only have 70,000 to 80,000 yuan in cash. I told my elder brother that I only have 50,000 yuan now.
I clearly remember my sister-in-law’s facial expressions and words, and I have forgotten who helped you before. I was so excited at the time that I had the money, but it was only two cents interest, so I could borrow it for a week or two. The two of them just froze there.
My parents were present at the time and were very angry after hearing this and scolded me. I didn't say anything, turned around and left. Later, my wife contacted my mother and asked my mother to hand over 50,000 yuan to my eldest brother. I also told my mother about the money I borrowed at that time. The parents sighed and didn't mention it.
After that, my eldest brother and I basically stopped moving around our house. As for the 50,000 yuan we borrowed, it was transferred from my mother. Later, my sister-in-law only said that borrowing money from her mother-in-law had nothing to do with us. . In the end, even my wife’s intention to ease our relationship as brothers completely gave up.
In family relationships, money is always a stumbling block. Because among brothers, when they become a family, everyone has his own family. Life is not easy for everyone. Only by understanding each other can the family relationship go further. If you care about gains and losses and are too calculating about money, family love will be as weak as water.