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 between you and that Tu Zhiqiang?" Li Suhua couldn't hide the matter in her heart, so she pulled her son to sit on the kang and asked.
"Tu Zhiqiang also works in the lumber factory. We sometimes bump into each other and say hello." Wang Gang said nonchalantly.
"That Tu Zhiqiang is not a good person, you should have less contact with him." Zhou Zhigang said displeased.
"There's not much contact. He just heard that I'm getting married tomorrow and wanted to congratulate me."
Li Suhua said: "That Tu Zhiqiang has never learned well since he was a child. He has done a lot of sneaky things. If Lao Tu hadn't worked hard to win him a martyr's family, he would still be hiding there."
"I understand." Wang Gang did not argue. His parents were doing it for his own good.
He can still understand good words.
"What's going on with Lao Zhangtou's house?" Zhou Zhigang asked in a deep voice.
Wang Gang looked at Li Suhua and found that she was winking, but he didn't pay attention and said:
"Lao Zhangtou's grandson was seriously ill. I lent him some money, but he insisted on using the house to pay off the debt."
Zhou Zhigang said angrily: "How much money did you borrow and you asked him to use his house to pay it off? Aren't you committing loan sharking?"
Li Suhua quickly explained: "His dad, please don't be angry first. It's not Bingkun who wants someone else's house, it's Lao Zhangtou who really wants to give it, and we can't push him away."
"Then we can't have it! This matter will be spread out, and people will think that we are coveting the old Zhangtou's house, and the old Zhou family will lose all reputation."
Wang Gang also looked a little unhappy. Zhou Zhigang's bad temper and the way he disciplined his children made him slightly unhappy.
"Dad, if you think it's not suitable, I don't have to let the house go. But do you think that given the situation at Lao Zhangtou's home, you can pay back the money?"
Zhou Zhigang said: "Isn't it just a little money? If he can't pay it back, can he really ask for it?"
Wang Gang said: "I lent him seven hundred yuan."
Zhou Zhigang shouted in surprise: "How much did you borrow?!"
Wang Gang said calmly: "I borrowed five hundred before, but later when Lao Zhangtou wanted to pay for the house, I gave him another two hundred."
Li Suhua took a breath, and she didn't expect Wang Gang to lend Lao Zhangtou so much money.
Seven hundred yuan may not be a big deal thirty years from now. Some people may not even have enough money for a meal.
But in this era, seven hundred yuan is a huge amount of money, and many families cannot save it for seven or eight years.
The economic situation of the Zhou family is considered good. Zhou Zhigang used to earn 99 yuan a month to support a family of five. He was able to save more than 100 yuan a year by frugally.
But it would take five years to save seven hundred yuan.
However, Zhou Zhigang was promoted to the eighth level bricklayer in the past two years. His salary before was not 99 yuan.
"Old lady, have you given all our family's savings to Bingkun?" Zhou Zhigang looked at Li Suhua and said.
"No! I saved all the wages you sent back and haven't touched a penny." Li Suhua took out the bankbook 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 Bingkun's salary, including buying me medicine, which costs ten yuan a month," Li Suhua said.
Zhou Zhigang took a deep breath, not because he didn't know, but because he was shocked.
"How do you get so much money to live and save 700 yuan?" Zhou Zhigang asked Wang Gang.
Zhou Zhigang's questioning attitude was very rude, almost like interrogating a prisoner, which made Wang Gang feel very uncomfortable.
"My usual monthly salary is 38 yuan, and there are some other benefits in the canteen. Plus the monthly manuscript fee from the magazine, I can earn almost 100 yuan a month." Wang Gang said:
"When I go to work at a magazine in the next year, I have to quit my canteen job in the lumber factory, and I won't have that much money."
Zhou Zhigang said in surprise: "Do you earn that much monthly royalties?"
Wang Gang explained: "It wasn't that much at first, so the magazine gave me a manuscript fee of three yuan per thousand words. Later, the stories I wrote became more and more popular, and the fee increased to eight yuan per thousand words."
When I go to work at a magazine, I won’t get any royalties from now on. I’ll just get a dead salary, but I’ll have a staff.”
Zhou Zhigang probably understood that the magazine was using the editing fee in exchange for manuscript fees. Generally speaking, Wang Gang did not suffer a loss, but he did not take advantage either.
"It's better to compile it well, and the harvest will be guaranteed despite droughts and floods. 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 calmed down a little.
Wang Gang didn't care in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face.
"When you borrowed 700 yuan from Lao Zhangtou, did you use up all your savings over the past few years?" Zhou Zhigang asked.
"Absolutely." Wang Gang replied.
Zhou Zhigang sighed and said: "What disease does Lao Zhangtou's grandson have? Why do you need so much money?"
Wang Gang explained: "His grandson has meningitis, which is quite serious. If not treated in time, his brain will be burned out even if he does not die. Lao Zhangtou has borrowed it from all his neighbors, but no one is willing to lend it to him."
Zhou Zhigang said: "It's not easy for any company now. They can't afford so much money. I'm very happy that you can lend money to Lao Zhangtou."
Li Suhua said proudly: "The children of my old Zhou family are kind-hearted."
Zhou Zhigang lost his anger and smiled.
"Okay, let's see how proud you are. My son did the right thing this time, but the house at Old Zhangtou's house is not suitable."
Zhou Zhigang also knew that he had misunderstood his son, but as the head of the family, he could not bear to apologize to his son.
"Although Lao Zhangtou is poor, he is also ambitious. He knew that he could not repay the money, so he insisted on giving me the house. I didn't want it, and 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 Lao Zhangtou. I lent him this money. Old lady, after the Chinese New Year, you can give the seven hundred yuan back to Bingkun."
Li Suhua was a little reluctant, mainly because she also liked Lao Zhangtou's house. Her son was married and had 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 and guessed what his wife was thinking.
"My son has the ability now, but he won't be able to buy any house in the future. We can't take advantage of his situation," Zhou Zhigang advised.
"Lao Zhangtou's adobe house is not worth 700 yuan, so we are not taking advantage of others' danger." Wang Gang explained.
"That won't work either. My old Zhou family will never let anyone poke their backs." Zhou Zhigang said firmly.
Wang Gang said disdainfully: "Then you are forcing Lao Zhangtou 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 trying to teach me a lesson?"
Li Suhua saw Zhou Zhigang raising his hand to hit his son again, and quickly stopped him.
"His dad, don't do anything."
Wang Gang also stood up and said to Zhou Zhigang: "Dad, have you ever thought about it, if you don't let Lao Zhangtou use his house to pay off his debts, he will have to work day and night in order to repay you the seven hundred yuan. He will be six this year."
At ten years old, you can still work for a few more years."
Zhou Zhigang said unconvinced: "If you want someone else'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 people's lives!"
Zhou Zhigang raised his hand to hit Wang Gang, but Li Suhua held him tightly.
"This is not about losing a family, this is about finding another way out. Lao Zhangtou can no longer survive in the city. Why do you still have 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 is her own choice. If she can find a good man who is easy to rely on, why are you stopping her?"
Zhou Zhigang said angrily: "You have read a lot now, and you are ready to talk fallacies. I can't convince you. Anyway, my old Zhou family can't do this kind of thing."
Neither father nor son could win over the other, and they were so angry that Li Suhua stood up and persuaded:
"Why are you two father and son arguing over other people's affairs here? Whether Lao Zhangtou sells the house or pays back the money, it all depends on him. What are you worrying about?"
Li Suhua directly pulled Zhou Zhigang away to prevent him from quarreling with his son anymore.
"Bingkun, go get the happy words quickly. If you don't decorate the new house, it will be too late." Li Suhua said to Wang Gang.
Wang Gang didn't want to make things difficult for Li Suhua, so he walked out of the room silently.
"My son has grown up and has his own plans. You can no longer hit or scold him like you did when you were a child." Li Suhua pushed Zhou Zhigang down and warned him.
"This bastard has been fighting with me all day long, but he just refuses to listen to me." Zhou Zhigang cursed.
"The son who is right should listen, but what should he listen to if he is wrong?" Li Suhua said angrily:
"Bingkun is right about Lao Zhangtou. You were not at home at the time, so you didn't know. In order to find someone to borrow money, Lao Zhangtou almost knelt down and kowtowed. If his son hadn't lent the money without saying a word,
I’m afraid Lao Zhangtou’s only grandson is gone now.”
Zhou Zhigang frowned and said, "Is it so dangerous?"
Li Suhua rolled her eyes and said: "Of course, this is a gift of survival, otherwise why would Lao Zhangtou have to use his house to pay off his debts."
Zhou Zhigang's expression changed several times, and finally he stood up and said, "I'm going to talk to Lao Zhangtou."