The heavens set sail from the courtyard

Chapter 248
After Wang Gang returned home, he found Zhou Zhigang and Li Suhua waiting for him.

"Mom and Dad, are you waiting for me?" Wang Gang asked knowingly.

"What's going on with you and that Tu Zhiqiang?" Li Suhua couldn't hide what was going on, so he pulled his son to sit on the kang and asked.

"Tu Zhiqiang also works in the timber factory. We sometimes meet each other and say hello." Wang Gang said indifferently.

"That Tu Zhiqiang is not a good person, you should have less contact with him." Zhou Zhigang said displeased.

"There's nothing to do. He just heard that I'm getting married tomorrow. Congratulate me."

Li Suhua said: "That Tu Zhiqiang didn't learn well since he was a child, and he did a lot of stealth. If it wasn't for the old Tu who fought for a family member of a martyr for him, he would still be living in it."

"I see." Wang Gang didn't argue, and his parents did it for his own good.

Fortunately, he can still understand the words.

"What happened to the old Zhangtou's house?" Zhou Zhigang asked in a deep voice.

Wang Gang looked at Li Suhua, and found that she was winking, but didn't care, and said:
"Old Zhangtou's grandson is seriously ill. I lent him some money, but he insisted on paying off the debt with the house."

Zhou Zhigang said angrily: "How much money did you borrow, and you want him to use the house to pay for it? Aren't you a usury?"

Li Suhua quickly explained: "His father, don't be angry, it's not Bingkun who wants the house, it's the old Zhangtou who really wants to give it, we can't push it."

"That's not acceptable! If this matter gets out, people will think that we are greedy for the old Zhang's house, and the reputation of the old Zhou family will be lost."

Wang Gang's complexion was also a bit unsightly. Zhou Zhigang's bad temper and the way he disciplined the children made him slightly displeased.

"Dad, if you don't think it's suitable, I don't have to leave the house, but do you think you can pay back the money given the situation in Lao Zhangtou's house?"

Zhou Zhigang said: "Isn't it just a little money? It's fine if he can't pay it back, but can he really ask for it?"

Wang Gang said, "I lent him 700 yuan."

Zhou Zhigang exclaimed in surprise: "How much did you borrow?!"

Wang Gang said calmly: "I borrowed [-] before, but when Zhang Tou arrived at the house, I gave him another [-]."

Li Suhua gasped, never expecting that Wang Gang would lend so much money to Zhang Tou.

700 yuan may not be a big deal after 30 years. Some people don't even have enough money for a meal.

But in this era, 700 yuan is a huge sum of money, and many families cannot save it for seven or eight years.

Zhou's family's financial situation is considered good. Zhou Zhigang used to earn 99 yuan a month to support his family of five, and he could save more than 100 yuan a year by saving money.

But if you want to save 700 yuan, it will take five years.

However, Zhou Zhi has just been promoted to the eighth rank of bricklayer, that is, in the last two years, his salary before was not 99 yuan.

"Old woman, you gave Bingkun all our savings?" Zhou Zhigang looked at Li Suhua and said.

"No! I keep all the wages you sent back, and I haven't moved a penny." Li Suhua took out the passbook from the kang cabinet and showed it to Zhou Zhigang.

"You didn't use the money I sent back, how do you usually live?" Zhou Zhigang asked doubtfully.

"It's all on Bingkun's salary, including buying me medicine, which costs [-] yuan a month." Li Suhua said.

Zhou Zhigang took a deep breath, he was not ignorant, but he was taken aback.

"Where did you get so much money to live on, and still save 700 yuan?" Zhou Zhigang asked Wang Gang.

Zhou Zhigang's questioning attitude was very blunt, approaching the tone of interrogating a prisoner, which made Wang Gang feel very uncomfortable.

"My usual salary is 38 yuan a month, and the cafeteria has some other benefits, plus the monthly manuscript fee from the magazine, I can earn almost 100 yuan a month." Wang Gang said:
"I will go to work in a magazine in a few years, and I have to quit the canteen job in the wood factory, so I won't have so much money."

Zhou Zhigang asked in surprise, "Do you pay so much for your monthly manuscript fee?"

Wang Gang explained: "At the beginning, there were not so many, and the magazine gave me a manuscript fee of three yuan per thousand characters. Later, the stories I wrote became more and more popular, and the manuscript fee also increased to eight yuan per thousand characters.

When I went to work in a magazine, there would be no manuscript fee in the future, and I would get a dead salary, but there would be an establishment. "

Zhou Zhigang probably understood that the magazine was using the editorial fee in exchange for manuscripts. Generally speaking, Wang Gang was not at a disadvantage, but he didn't take advantage of it either.

"It's better to compile it well, and the harvest will be guaranteed in drought and flood. You can't guarantee that what you write will always be popular." Zhou Zhigang took out a cigarette and lit it, and the fire in his heart subsided a little.

Wang Gang didn't care about it in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face.

"You borrowed 700 yuan from Zhangtou, did you use up all the savings in the past few years?" Zhou Zhigang asked.

"Almost." Wang Gang replied.

Zhou Zhigang sighed and said, "What's wrong with Mr. Zhang's grandson? Why do you need so much money?"

Wang Gang explained: "His grandson has meningitis, which is very serious. If he is not treated in time, his brain will burn out even if he does not die. Lao Zhangtou has borrowed all the neighbors around him, and no one is willing to lend him."

Zhou Zhigang said: "It's not easy for any family now, and they can't afford so much money. I'm very happy that you can lend money to Lao Zhangtou."

Li Suhua proudly said: "My old Zhou's children are kind-hearted."

Zhou Zhigang lost his temper and smiled.

"Okay, let's see what you're proud of. My son did the right thing this time, but it's not suitable for old Zhangtou's house."

Zhou Zhigang also knew that he had misunderstood his son, but as the head of the family, he couldn't bear to apologize to his son.

"Although the old Zhangtou is poor, he is also ambitious. He knew that he couldn't pay back the money, so he insisted on giving me the house. I didn't want it at first, but I was worried that he would do something stupid."

Zhou Zhigang took a puff of cigarette and said, "I'll go back and talk to old Zhang. I borrowed the money from him, old lady. After the Chinese New Year, you can bring 700 yuan back to Bingkun."

Li Suhua was a little reluctant, mainly because she also took a fancy to Lao Zhangtou's house, and her son got married and started a family, so it would be more convenient to have a house.

Zhou Zhigang saw that Li Suhua didn't speak for a long time, so he guessed what his wife was thinking.

"My son is capable now, and we can't buy any house in the future. We can't take advantage of others' danger." Zhou Zhigang persuaded.

"Lao Zhangtou's adobe house is not worth 700 yuan, and we are not taking advantage of others." Wang Gang explained.

"That's not okay, my old Zhou family will never poke people's backs." Zhou Zhigang said firmly.

Wang Gang said disdainfully: "Then you are forcing old Zhang to pay back the money. He has no job now. When will he earn 700 yuan by doing odd jobs?"

Zhou Zhigang was furious, stood up and shouted: "Are you teaching me a lesson?"

Seeing that Zhou Zhigang raised his hand and wanted to hit his son again, Li Suhua quickly stopped him.

"His father, don't do it."

Wang Gang also stood up and said to Zhou Zhigang: "Dad, have you ever thought that you will not let Lao Zhangtou use the house to pay off the debt. In order to pay you back the 700 yuan, he has to work day and night. He is going to be 60 years old this year. , can still work for a few years.”

Zhou Zhigang said unconvinced: "If you want someone's house, where can he live?"

Wang Gang said: "Lao Zhangtou still has a house in the countryside, and her daughter-in-law is also planning to remarry with her children."

Zhou Zhigang was furious, and shouted: "You are trying to destroy the family!"

Zhou Zhigang raised his hand to hit Wang Gang, but Li Suhua firmly held him back.

"It's not about family ruin, it's about finding another way out. Old Zhangtou is in the city and can't live anymore. Why do you want him to support him? Why don't you let him go back to the countryside, where there is less consumption and he can always survive.

As for his daughter-in-law's remarriage, that's her own choice. If she can find a good man to rely on, why are you stopping her? "

Zhou Zhigang said angrily: "You have read a lot now, and you just open your mouth to talk about fallacies and heresies. I can't beat you. Anyway, my old Zhou family can't do this kind of thing."

The father and son couldn't argue with each other, their faces were red when they were arguing, and finally Li Suhua stood up and persuaded:
"Why are you two father and son arguing about other people's affairs here? It doesn't matter whether Lao Zhangtou sells the house or pays back the money, it's all up to him. What are you worrying about?"

Li Suhua directly pulled Zhou Zhigang away to prevent him from arguing with his son.

"Bingkun, hurry up and get the happy words, it will be too late if you don't arrange a new house." Li Suhua said to Wang Gang.

Wang Gang didn't want Li Suhua to be difficult, so he walked out of the house silently.

"My son has grown up and has his own plans. You can no longer hit and scold him like you did when you were a child." Li Suhua pushed Zhou Zhigang down, admonishing him.

"This bastard, he's been fighting against me all day long, but he just won't listen to me." Zhou Zhigang cursed.

"If the son is right, he should listen. If he is wrong, what should he listen to?" Li Suhua said angrily:
"Bingkun was right about old Zhangtou. You were not at home at the time, so I didn't know. In order to ask someone to borrow money, old Zhangtou almost knelt down and kowtowed. Lao Zhangtou's only grandson is probably gone now."

Zhou Zhigang frowned and said, "Is it so dangerous?"

Li Suhua rolled his eyes and said: "Of course, this is the grace of life. Otherwise, why would the old man insist on using the house to pay off the debt."

Zhou Zhigang's expression changed a few times, and finally he stood up and said, "I'm going to talk to Old Zhang."

(End of this chapter)