Abnormal Food Article

Chapter 179 Blackmail Beast (2)

Gong Liang's family lived in Tongzilou. The house was not big. Qin Huai visually estimated that it was only about 30 to 40 square meters, and it was divided into three areas.

The living room, Gong Liang’s room and Gong Liang’s parents’ bedroom.

Qin Huai took a brief look and found that Gong Liang's room was relatively large, with a bed, two cabinets, and an iron fan. It could be seen that Gong Liang was still very favored as the only son in the family.

Gong Liang's parents' bedroom was relatively small, with only a bed, a cabinet and some sundries.

Gong Liang's father was lying on the bed with his eyes closed and seemed to be asleep. Gong Liang's mother was not at home. After Gong Liang returned home, he first went to the bedroom to check on his father's condition, then skillfully took out the coal stove from the corner of the living room, lit the briquettes, and opened the lunch box.

The lunch box was stuffed eighty percent full with quail eggs and roasted pork. There was more meat and less eggs. The skin of the quail eggs is fried, and some of the quail eggs are buried in the meat and are squeezed. They look fluffy and don't look good, but everyone who has eaten them knows that this is how they taste.

The dish has cooled down, and the oil has solidified on the surface. There is no aroma, but you can see that the color of the braised pork is very beautiful, with rich oil and red sauce, and the chef has carefully fried it to a sugary color. The large pieces of pork belly are nicely fat and lean, and they look delicious.

Gong Liang took out another iron lunch box that had all four corners smashed and had many pits. He put a small half of a quail egg into it and roasted the meat. He closed the lid and put the lunch box on the coal stove to heat it.

Gong Liang squatted beside the coal stove, in a daze.

As time went by, the roasted pork with quail eggs in the lunch box gradually began to smell fragrant. Even Gong Liang, who was in a daze, could smell it and began to salivate unconsciously.

Watching Gong Liang squatting beside the stove, he was in a daze while swallowing his saliva honestly. Qin Huai couldn't laugh or cry for a moment, feeling that this scene was a bit too funny.

Soon, the cry of a child was heard next door.

"Mom, I want to eat meat too! Fragrant meat!"

"Don't make any noise. I'll give you meat tickets during the Chinese New Year so you can eat as much as you like!"

"Mom, meat..."

"Don't make any noise to Uncle Gong's house next door. Uncle Gong has been in poor health recently and needs to eat meat to supplement his nutrition. Mom will give it to you when you need to supplement your nutrition..."

Even though the voice next door had been lowered, Qin Huai still heard the first few sentences. This is one of the disadvantages of the Tongzi Building. The slightest noise can easily be heard by the neighbors next door, and the sound insulation effect is very poor.

The lunch box was still heating on the coal stove, and Gong Liang was still in a daze, when there was a knock on the door.

Gong Liang stood up sluggishly and opened the door. Outside the door was a lean woman with a yellowish complexion due to malnutrition.

Seeing Gong Liang open the door, the woman forced out a smile: "Xiao Liang, I still have some flour at home. I made noodles at noon today and there is still enough for a bowl. You were not here at noon. Your mother confiscated the noodles when I brought them over. Now you can take advantage of the situation." Mom went out to do the laundry, so take this noodle to your dad."

"In his current situation, it would be most useful to eat some noodles made of refined white flour and lay an egg on top."

"You also know the conditions of my family. The silk weaving factory has not paid last month's salary yet. My Lao Xia is an ordinary worker and really has no money to lend to your family. This bowl of noodles is just my aunt's wish."

"Thank you Aunt Xia." Gong Liang took the bowl.

"Hey." Aunt Xia smiled, quietly glanced into the room, smiled bitterly, shook her head, and left.

Gong Liang put the noodles on the table and continued to be in a daze.

Qin Huai felt a little strange. He stared at Gong Liang's face, wondering whether he was so distracted by life that he was so absent-minded no matter where he was. Or was he actually thinking about something, and because he was thinking too seriously, he seemed absent-minded.

After the quail eggs and meat were heated up on the coal stove, Gong Liang used iron tongs to clamp down the lunch box. Without turning off the stove, he opened the medicine bag, put the Chinese medicine into the medicine boiling pot, poured water, and continued to boil the medicine on the stove.

The time to boil the medicine is very long.

Gong Liang continued to squat in a daze. After an unknown amount of time, the door opened.

A thin, pale, middle-aged woman with bloodless lips came in, holding a basin, but her cheeks had a sickly blush caused by fatigue.

"Mom, if you're not feeling well, don't go downstairs to wash your clothes. I told you to leave your clothes at home and I'll come back to wash them after get off work." Gong Liang took the basin.

Gong's mother sat on the chair and panted. She waited for a few seconds before speaking: "How can you wash it clean? I'm already tired from going to work. I can still do this little work at home."

After saying that, Mother Gong saw the lunch box and noodles that had been heated on the table.

"The noodles were sent by Aunt Xia, and there was braised pork in the lunch box. Zheng Da gave it to me on the way back." After saying that, Gong Liang dug into his pocket, "He just paid his salary today and gave it to me."

"I've noted it all."

"Mom, I won't go to Jinling next week. The section chief said that there is a high probability that the order for Jinling will not be negotiated, and if the order cannot be negotiated, the reimbursement will not be issued for a while, so he will go for me."

Gong's mother didn't say anything. She silently walked to the door and closed the door of their room tighter, as if this way the sound would not be transmitted.

Mother Gong sat back, as if she had made up her mind. Her lips trembled slightly, and she clenched her right hand unconsciously until her knuckles turned white and her nails dug into her flesh.

"Xiao Liang, after you went out this morning...your dad said, or we can just stop the treatment." After speaking, Gong's mother took a deep breath, as if she had exhausted all her strength, her lips turned white, and she did not dare to look at Gong. good.

Seeing that Gong Liang didn't respond, Gong's mother continued.

"Although your father came back from the rescue this time, he is still disabled. It is still unclear whether the reimbursement of medical expenses will be paid. Last year, Lao Zhang's medical expenses were not reimbursed. Now that the factory is in such a slump, everyone is thinking Find a way to transfer it to other factories.”

"It's impossible to cure your dad's situation, and the cost of medicine is bottomless. Originally, it was already a heavy burden to have me as a drag on the family, but now your dad is like this too. The factory sees that our family is in trouble and extra money is needed." The money you received has been spent long ago, even the money for your wedding..."

"Xiao Guo is a very nice child, and her parents also like her very much, but it is normal for people to have hesitations and concerns. Originally, our family's situation was not particularly good, but now there is such a burden. She is fine. Who is willing to serve two patients as soon as she marries into our family?"

"I have helped my neighbors as much as they can, and I have borrowed all the money my relatives and friends can borrow. Your uncle and aunt are all in the country, and your uncle... forget it, it is normal not to borrow money that is destined to be repaid."

"You have been distracted for the past two months, and your parents have seen it. Although your dad is lying on the bed, he feels uncomfortable in his heart. He has been talking about it at home when you were not here. If he had known, today's result would not be as good as It’ll just kill you, you won’t need any treatment and you’ll save some money.”

"I know you are definitely not willing, and mom wouldn't be willing either if there was really no other way. How about this? Just finish the remaining Chinese medicine and forget about it. I will take care of your dad for the rest of the time and at least let him go away with dignity. ”

Mother Gong said, quietly wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingers.

Gong Liang said in a hoarse voice: "Mom, I asked the doctors, and they said that Dad's condition is not the worst. If he recovers well and is lucky, he may not necessarily be paralyzed for the rest of his life."

Mother Gong forced out a bitter smile that was uglier than crying: "But your father doesn't want to waste your whole life."

Gong Liang remained silent.

"Xiao Liang..." Gong's mother wanted to say something more, but Gong Liang no longer wanted to hear it and opened the door and ran out.

Gong's mother wanted to chase him out. As soon as Qin Huai followed him to the door, he heard a deep voice coming from the room: "Let him be alone." Gong Liang ran downstairs and squatted at the base of a wall blocked by a big tree. Sadness, no anger, just numbness holding the soil on the ground.

Just like that from day to night.

Qin Huai watched quietly from the side as he dug out a small hole in the ground.

Finally, a person found Gong Liang.

"Why are you squatting here digging in the dirt?"

Looking towards the source of the sound, Qin Huai saw a tall, muscular middle-aged man with a ferocious face under the moonlight, but his facial features made him feel amiable.

There was a hideous scar on the man's face, which looked like it was scratched by a sharp weapon. It was a crooked scar from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth. It was a vicious scar that could scare a child into tears if he walked by.

But the man's expression was unexpectedly gentle, like an elder who carefully taught an ignorant child. His smile reached his eyes, and his tone was as playful as teasing a child.

What makes Qin Huai feel strange is that he feels that this man looks a little familiar, as if he has seen someone who looks somewhat similar to him somewhere.

The man’s identity is already revealed—

Jing Lixiang, Jing Master.

"Master Jing." Gong Liang stood up obediently. It could be seen that Master Jing was still very prestigious among the younger generation.

"You ran away from home and haven't been seen for several hours. Your mother is almost going crazy. She has asked for help from me, a fifty-year-old lame old man. I guessed that you were here. Why, there is another order. Didn't the deal come to fruition?" Jing Lixiang said with a smile.

"No." Gong Liang whispered.

"I know even if you don't tell me." Jing Lixiang smiled, "It doesn't matter if you don't want to go home. I'll chat with you here for a while."

With that said, Jing Lixiang took out a Zheng Da-style cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to Gong Liang.

"This is Shengli's salary for this month. He heard that Zheng Da paid 10 yuan to his family and kept 5 yuan for himself. He didn't keep a penny for himself this month. Except for the 10 yuan he gave to his family, the rest is here. "Jing Lixiang shook his head helplessly, "This is even better. Sometimes I really can't do anything to them."

"I can probably guess what your parents are thinking now, and I can also guess what you are thinking. We outsiders have no right to interfere with your family affairs, but we have been neighbors for so many years, and I have never had any children in my life. I have saved some money, and if the medicine money is really not enough, I can borrow some more.”

Gong Liang whispered: "Master Jing, we can't borrow any more. My family has already borrowed a lot of money. If you borrow more, I won't be able to repay it in my lifetime."

"It's still a long life. When I was your age, I never thought that one day I would leave my hometown and come to Suzhou. When I was 10 years older than you, I didn't want to live for a while. I thought what was the point of living? , it would be better to die a hundred times, but it is still not alive to this day.”

"Xiao Liang, you are also capable. When you first joined the silk weaving factory, didn't your Section Chief Chen always praise you for being a good salesperson?"

"In the early years when the silk weaving factory was very profitable, there were a lot of wages, annual bonuses, and subsidies. Although this happens one by one, the road is made by people. How can you conclude that you will be the best in this life? What if it doesn’t work?”

Gong Liang said nothing.

"Don't you like hearing such empty lies?" Jing Lixiang asked with a smile.

"No." Gong Liang shook his head quickly.

"That means you can't listen. It's normal and understandable. It's already very late and it's cold in the late autumn night. Don't stay outside and go back. Your mother will be really anxious if you don't go back."

Gong Liang knew that Jing Lixiang was right, so he stood up and helped Jing Lixiang back.

Jing Lixiang waved his hand and said no. He had been lame for so many years and had no problem walking on his own. But he couldn't walk if someone helped him.

The two walked away slowly.

"By the way, Xiaoliang, I remember hearing from your parents last year that you had negotiated a few small orders for peripheral products. Why, after a trip to the Magic City at the beginning of this year, there was no news. I heard that the quality of silk at the silk weaving factory this year was... Not bad.”

"The order from the Magic City was lost." Gong Liang said disappointedly, "Chief Chen led the team. I was originally asked to take charge of the negotiation, but I was temporarily frightened and did not perform well, so I lost it."

"The section chief didn't blame me. He said he was too impatient and shouldn't have let a young man like me, who had just become a full-time employee, deal with such a big deal."

"It's my problem."

"You don't look like someone who has stage fright. You have been the most slippery among these kids since you were a kid, and you always talk the same thing."

"I...I'm just afraid." Gong Liang frowned, rarely expressing his true feelings, "I'm afraid of big occasions like this. I get flustered when I see people. I forget all the words I prepared in advance as soon as they come to my mouth."

"Everyone said it was a pity that the factory lost its quota for the exhibition this year. I also know that it is a pity, but I am actually a little lucky in my heart."

"I'm afraid that when the trade fair comes, Section Chief Chen will entrust me with the heavy responsibility, and I will get stage fright and even run away. This year's sales volume will be as dismal as last year, and our sales department will lose the face of the silk weaving factory again."

"I knew that the trade fair was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If I went there and negotiated a big deal, my father's medical expenses would be saved. As long as the factory's efficiency was good and the reimbursement of medical expenses could be reduced, my father would be able to Go to the provincial hospital for treatment.”

"But at the same time, I'm very afraid of **** up the fair. I'm even glad that there are no quotas this year. If I can't go, I won't screw up."

"Master Jing, I think I am a coward and a deserter. I don't want my dad to lie on the bed waiting to die, but I know there is a way to save him and I don't want to try it."

"Everyone said that I was helpless during this period because something happened at home. No, I was..."

"I hate myself."

“I hate that there are things I want to do, and there are things I can do, but I don’t dare to do them.”

Jing Lixiang listened quietly.

After Gong Liang finished talking, Jing Lixiang asked nonchalantly: "You're not going on a business trip these days, right?"

Gong Liang nodded.

"Can you tell your section chief to take half a day off tomorrow afternoon and come to a state-owned hotel?"

Gong Liang was a little confused, but still nodded: "It should be okay."

Jing Lixiang smiled and said, "Then I'll wait for you at the state-owned hotel tomorrow afternoon."

"If you feel bad, eat something good to feel better."

(End of chapter)