Sweet Nostalgia of the 80s-Chapter 1311: Back to Square One Overnight

Xiaoliu had safely delivered An Hao to her home and then bade her farewell.

As the siblings walked toward the house, An Ping said, "Sister! This time, our An Family is really finished! The little money we’ve managed to earn in these few years will probably all get swallowed up, and it might not even be enough to fill this bottomless pit."

"It’s not that serious," An Hao replied. "At worst, we’re just back to where we started."

"To think that our family has worked so hard for several years, only to be ruined by that scoundrel Qin Fen, and then this torrential rain..." Mentioning it made An Ping’s chest ache.

An Hao was of course heartbroken too, but there was no remedy for heartbreak. She stopped, looked at An Ping, and said, "It’s alright! Those who aim to achieve great things must endure hardships. It’s impossible to succeed easily without experiencing trials and tribulations. Treat this as a test!"

"Sister, you talk as if this is easy..." Who wouldn’t feel pained to see their hard-earned money draining away?

And what if we can’t climb back up after this test?

"So what do you suggest we do? I can’t be like Dad, too worried to eat or drink, can I? What’s the use of worrying? If it were useful, I’d hire a bunch of people to worry on our family’s behalf!" An Hao said.

An Ping admired An Hao’s courage.

Thinking about it, he realized he was an adult too. He should be capable of shouldering his own burdens rather than leaving them all to his sister!

He suddenly felt quite ashamed.

"Sister, you’re right! We can’t let difficulties defeat us; I must make a comeback." An Ping clenched his fists tightly.

"That’s the spirit," An Hao said, very relieved to hear An Ping’s words.

When the siblings returned to the north room, An Shuchao was lying on the kang bed with a high fever.

A cool towel was placed on his head, and an IV bottle hung by his side.

An Hao approached and removed the cool towel, checking the medicine in the IV bottle—it was all fever-reducing medication.

It seemed that their father’s illness was just a fever brought on by excessive anxiety and nothing else.

"Dad, how are you feeling now?" An Hao walked to the edge of the kang and slowly sat down.

Hearing his daughter’s voice, An Shuchao slowly opened his eyes: "My good daughter is back! I didn’t want to trouble you initially, but... I really had no choice..."

"Dad, what are you talking about? We’re family, there’s no need for such formalities!" An Hao comforted him, "I already have a rough idea of the situation at home! I’ll discuss with An Ping the issues we’re facing. Don’t worry about these things; just focus on recovering."

"You’ve worked hard, child!" An Shuchao gripped An Hao’s hand tightly. "You must find a way to save our family!"

"Don’t worry!" An Hao patted her father’s hand. "Rest now."

Leaving the inner room, the siblings sat down around the table.

"Let’s tally up our losses now! Then, we’ll see how much we’ve lost in total and how much we need to pay in penalties."

"Sister." An Ping pondered and scratched his head. "This time, we signed contracts worth almost twenty thousand yuan! If we can’t supply the goods on time, we’ll have to pay triple the amount in compensation."

Just like that, the An Family’s entire savings could be wiped clean, and it still wouldn’t be enough.

"Our family’s savings..."

"Will all be compensated, to the last penny, and we’ll still need to borrow money!"

In the past two years, the An Family had expanded their operations and invested heavily, so most of their money was tied up in the vegetable fields. The family’s savings amounted to just a few tens of thousands of yuan.

"In this case, we really are back to square one..." An Hao worriedly thought.