Jiang Tao spoke with an incredibly sincere tone.
Others didn’t know Zhang Chao’s true identity, but Jiang Tao did.
He really wasn’t afraid that Zhang Chao wouldn’t pay back the small amount of money in the future.
If he didn’t repay the money, Jiang Tao would just go to Xia Hualiangzi every day and have a free meal while putting it on his tab.
Of course, this was just a joke.
Jiang Tao couldn’t even afford to feed the little greedy cat at home, let alone look for a stray cat.
"Brother Jiang..."
Zhang Chao looked at Jiang Tao with gratitude, feeling genuinely touched.
He had no relation to Brother Jiang, yet Brother Jiang volunteered to lend him money.
And it wasn’t just ten or twenty thousand, it was a hundred thousand or eighty thousand!
These days, even real brothers might not lend you a hundred thousand or eighty thousand!
Although Zhang Chao didn’t need to borrow money, he sincerely appreciated Jiang Tao’s goodwill and kept it in his heart.
In his mind, Jiang Tao seemed even more dignified now.
"How much do you need? I’ll transfer it to you."
As Jiang Tao spoke, he reached into his pocket for his phone to transfer money to Zhang Chao.
"No need, no need, Brother Jiang, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not here to complain about being poor or to borrow money from you."
"Though, the issue did originate from money."
Zhang Chao quickly waved his hands, indicating he didn’t need to borrow money.
Jiang Tao jokingly scolded him: "So what’s the matter? Stop dragging it out, we’ve finished a whole bottle of wine and you still haven’t gotten to the point."
"Sigh! This afternoon, my mom called me again, asking me to come up with eighty thousand yuan to buy a house in Ping County for my younger brother."
"Don’t laugh at me, Brother Jiang, but over these years, although I’ve earned some money outside, I’ve developed a habit of spending lavishly and haven’t saved much annually."
"I really don’t have eighty thousand yuan on hand, but my mom doesn’t believe me; she scolded me thoroughly over the phone, saying they raised me for nothing, calling me an ungrateful wretch."
"Brother Jiang, I’m already 28 this year, about to turn 30."
Zhang Chao patted his own chest, speaking with emotion:
"Even if we’re brothers, why should the money I’ve worked so hard for be used to buy my brother a house, to fund his marriage?"
"Who has ever considered me or taken care of me even a little?"
"Am I really not worthy of dating, marrying, or having my own family?"
As Zhang Chao said this, tears of grievance welled up, making him look like a big kid.
"In this matter, your parents’ actions are indeed not very reasonable..."
Jiang Tao frowned slightly, not quite agreeing with how Zhang Chao’s parents were handling things.
Also coming from a rural background, Jiang Tao had some understanding of the current marriage market in rural areas.
Car, house, bride price, without five or six hundred thousand, it’s hard to manage.
For families like Zhang Chao’s, bluntly speaking, it’s already good enough if they can muster the support of the entire family to find a wife for one son.
Their behavior seemed to indicate that they had given up on him and left the task of continuing the family line to his younger brother.
As for why it was his brother and not him, well, who said he wasn’t their biological child?
With the family’s poor condition and minimal support available, whether the two brothers could start their own families depended on their own abilities.
Draining one to supplement the other doesn’t seem justified.
"You didn’t hear how harshly my mom scolded me."
"She ranted at me over the phone for half an hour without repeating insults, even more vigorously than when she’s cursing in the village."
"Heh, my brother called to blame me for upsetting my mom, claiming I’m an unworthy son, heh, heh..."
"Since it’s not his money being spent to buy me a house, he sure talks easily!"
"My dad also called and said they’d disown me, telling me to die outside and never come home."
"These are my parents, my brother!"
"This time, I’ve really had a falling out with my family; I honestly don’t want to go back if I can avoid it."
"Brother Jiang, I genuinely envy you."
"Having such good parents, a nice wife, and a daughter who’s so lively and adorable."
Zhang Chao’s smile was filled with bitterness, as he jokingly and self-mockingly said:
"Brother Jiang, do you think I might have been picked up from a trash can by my parents? Or perhaps adopted from someone else’s family?"