Chapter 33: Incident
  The eldest aunt quickly laughed it off. "No, it's nothing. The factory is a bit strapped for cash with a batch of goods, and we'd like to borrow some from you to help out. I'll send you the money as soon as they pay."

  But Grandma didn't seem to believe her and insisted she tell the truth. Just when Fang Qing thought Grandma simply didn't want to lend him the money, the eldest aunt suddenly changed her story.

  "Well, then, I'll tell you the truth! It's Shoucai. He's recently become obsessed with the stock market. A friend of his in the securities industry tipped him off. There's a stock that's guaranteed to hit its daily limit. You know what a daily limit is? It's a ten-yuan increase by one yuan every day. So the two of us are planning to invest tens of thousands of yuan. If it stays at the daily limit for a few days, we'll make at least ten thousand yuan!"

  Ten thousand yuan was undoubtedly a huge sum in that era. Fang Qing suddenly understood the gambler's mentality of stock traders, because if this happened, it would indeed make people rich overnight.

  But as his aunt's tone grew increasingly excited, Fang Qing frowned slightly from outside the door.

  Although she had never played the stock market, she had read a lot of financial books before and had some understanding of the stock market. Although inside information was indeed reliable in many cases, how could her aunt's family be so sure that the person who leaked the information was telling the truth?

  Moreover, the stock market was always dominated by the dealers. These ordinary stockholders could only make a small profit from time to time, and they needed to keep a clear head at all times. Once they got deeply involved, they would suffer heavy losses.

  Fang Qing was a little worried. It was not a good thing that her aunt's family was so keen on stock trading. But if she dissuaded them rashly, she would not only not believe it, but might even doubt herself...

  Just as Fang Qing was struggling outside the door and wondering how to persuade her aunt's family, Fang Cuiping in the house was still trying to persuade her mother, but no matter how she tried to persuade her, Old Lady Fang remained unmoved.

  "If your factory is in trouble, I'd lend you some, but if you want to use it to speculate on drums, I absolutely don't agree. You should be honest and make money steadily. Dreaming of getting rich overnight like you do will only lead to disaster!"

  The eldest aunt wanted to persuade her again, but her mother interrupted her. "Go home! Don't dwell on these unrealistic things. It's more important for you two to live a good life. I'm tired, you should go to bed early too..."

  Fang Qing, who was outside the door, quickly got up and scurried into the kitchen. After the eldest aunt returned to her room, she patted her chest, calming her nervous heart from eavesdropping, and quietly returned to her own room.

  The next morning, the eldest aunt didn't even have breakfast before she took her cousin home.

  Fang Qing knew from looking at her eldest aunt's long face that her grandmother hadn't lent her any money.

  She agreed with her grandmother's sentiments. After all, the Fang family was just an ordinary family. It was hard enough to make ends meet, so how could they have the extra money and energy to play with the stock market?
  Since her grandmother hadn't lent her the money, Fang Qing felt relieved. She also hoped that her family would get along better and that there would be no more estrangement.

  Life returned to normal. Fang Qing spent the mornings doing homework and reading, and in the afternoons, she and Wen Ling went to Teacher Qiu's house for painting lessons.

  Fang Qing had given Teacher Qiu some of her last earnings, claiming it was tuition. Teacher Qiu refused, but Fang Qing, believing that painting required a large amount of paper, pens, and paint, kept some for the studio.

  This in turn made Teacher Qiu even more fond of Fang Qing, and he began to train her wholeheartedly, treating her like his own child. The relationship between teacher and student grew stronger.

  After the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, her father and eldest brother had returned to work, and Fang Qing would be returning to school the following month. She was discussing with her mother about disassembling and washing the pillows she had used last year when there was a sudden, forceful knock on the door.

  Fang Qing opened it and saw it was her eldest aunt.

  "Aunt? What's wrong?"

  Her aunt, panicked, pushed Fang Qing aside and rushed back into the house, only to burst out again the next moment.

  "Qingqing, where's your grandma?"

  Seeing her elder sister's distraught appearance, Fang's mother knew something serious was amiss and rushed forward to support her. "Sister, what's wrong with you? What happened? Mom went next door to play cards with Aunt Wei and the others. Sit down first, we'll call her back."

  Fang Qing caught her mother's eye and immediately ran out, soon helping Grandma Fang back inside.

  "Oh, Ping, what's wrong with you? How did you get into this state?"

  "Mom! Mom, help me! Something's really happened at the factory this time. I'm at my wit's end. Please help me, help me get through this..."

  The usually aloof and superior aunt was now clutching Grandma's legs, sobbing breathlessly, her hair disheveled and her expression panicked, a complete loss of her usual composure.

  Grandma's face was filled with anxiety. After a moment's thought, she asked Fang's mother to help her into her room. They closed the door and whispered to each other.

  Just as Fang Qing was about to go over to eavesdrop, his mother grabbed his collar and took him away. "This is an adult matter, don't meddle in it, little kid. Go and take apart the pillow yourself."

  But before Fang's mother finished her words, a scream came from inside the house.

  "Mom, Mom, don't worry! What's wrong with you?"

  Fang Qing and his mother immediately rushed in, helped the old lady who was leaning on the chair up, pinched her Ren Zhong acupoint, called for help, and brought medicine. After a while, the old lady's eyelids moved and she woke up.

  Fang's mother and Fang Cuiping carried the old lady to the kang and let her lean on the pillow. After a long time, the old lady spoke with a sallow face.

  "Chunxia, you...you go and call everyone back. I...I have something...to discuss with them..."

  Fang's mother did not suspect anything and immediately changed her clothes and went out. She also told Fang Qing to clean up the house at home.

  Fang Qing stood aside, her hand tightly grasped by her grandmother's. She could sense her grandmother's anxiety and anger from her trembling palm. She clasped her hands back, leaning down and whispering in her grandmother's ear.

  "Grandma, don't worry. We're here for you..."

  Grandma Fang looked at her intently for a long time, as if meeting her for the first time. A flicker of relief flashed in her eyes, and then she closed her eyes and waited for her children and grandchildren to return.

  During this period of waiting, the eldest aunt seemed to have lost her soul, sitting blankly on the stool, not saying a word. Fang Qing didn't know what had happened to the eldest aunt's family, so she could only support her mentally. She found a blanket for the eldest aunt to cover her with, and heated up the stove in the house. After she had cleaned up the house, the whole family finally returned.

  Seeing Grandma Fang lying motionless on the kang, the children immediately rushed forward to check on their mother. Even the usually timid and honest uncle lay at the head of the kang, his eyes red with anxiety.

  Just as the atmosphere in the room was becoming somewhat depressed and sad, the eldest aunt burst into tears, "Mom, what's wrong with you? It's only been a few days since we last saw each other, how could you become like this... Second sister-in-law, is this how you take care of Mom? I've only given her a few days! And you've made her like this? What are you thinking..."

  (End of this chapter)