"Save the mother, or the child?"

Aunt Niu turned her head, her cloudy eyes staring at Zhang An.

"This girl truly has no strength left to have more children. You need to make a decision quickly, which one to save? If this drags on any longer, it could result in the death of both mother and child!"

"This, this!" Zhang An was so anxious that tears were almost falling.

"Save the child!" The old woman's eyes flashed with ruthlessness as she spoke each word slowly and deliberately, her voice sounding as if it were being squeezed out from between her teeth.

"Go get the hemp rope!" Aunt Niu didn't hesitate. If they delayed any longer, both adults and children would be ruined.

"I'll go get it!" The old woman shoved the baby girl in her arms into Zhang An's hands and turned to run to the outer room.

Blood, there was blood everywhere on the bed.

Er Ya felt like she was about to die; the excruciating pain felt like countless knives were cutting into her flesh.

Second Uncle… At this moment, she was filled with remorse. She should have listened to her second uncle and gone to the county hospital to give birth.

Having decided to protect the child, Aunt Niu no longer hesitated and directly reached inside.

At the same time, the old woman took a thick, stiff cow rope and wrapped it around Er Ya's neck.

"It hurts!" Er Ya felt suffocated and struggled violently.

Aunt Niu gritted her teeth and hissed, "Strangle her!"

A resolute glint flashed in the old woman's eyes, and she tightened the hemp rope with both hands.

The intense feeling of suffocation triggered Er Ya's survival instinct, causing her to struggle desperately.

As she moved, Aunt Niu felt a strong squeezing force. She grabbed the baby's arm and pulled it outward with all her might.

"It's out! It's out!" Zhang An's face was pale, but when he saw Aunt Niu pull the baby out, he couldn't help but shout excitedly.

He saw clearly; it was a guy with a penis!

"Why aren't you crying?" My mother's voice was strained.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!" Aunt Niu slapped the baby's bottom hard a few times.

After patting the baby more than a dozen times, the baby remained silent.

"Dead!" Aunt Niu put her finger into the baby's philtrum to check, and then touched the chest. There was no breath or heartbeat.

"Ah—!" The old woman let out a piercing wail.

"My God! My Zhang family has been longing for our grandson for so long, how could he just be gone like this!"

Aunt Niu sighed silently and began to tidy up Er Ya.

Er Ya was barely breathing, but hadn't died yet. Her eyes were empty as she stared at the motionless dead infant placed beside the bed.

"It's all Zhang Ergou's fault! He's the one who cursed my son!" Zhang An's eyes were bloodshot and his face was contorted with rage.

Outside, Old Zhang listened to the commotion inside, his whole body trembling like a leaf, his face ashen, and he collapsed to the ground.

My grandson... is gone? God, why did this happen?

...

Funing County, Guesthouse.

Zhang Cheng lay on the hard wooden bed, flipping through old newspapers he had taken from the police station.

These days, newspapers contain many ways to make money.

The central government is paying increasing attention to the development of special economic zones. In the second half of the year, that old man will head south, and the spring breeze of reform will soon sweep across the land.

For an economy to take off, it inevitably encounters both good and bad, and some bizarre and outlandish things.

He needs to hurry up and accumulate initial capital, and then find some safe projects to invest in.

As for venturing into big cities, he has no intention of doing so for the time being.

In his past life, he was a soldier and knew nothing about business.

The only reason I've managed to make a name for myself in this life is because I seized the opportunity early.

The herbal gift box incident was risky enough; if it weren't for good luck, they would have been labeled as speculators long ago.

He had only heard of the stock market and Bitcoin, but he was completely clueless about how to operate them.

It's too early to befriend those future bigwigs.

If you accidentally flap your butterfly wings and change someone's trajectory, then things could get really interesting.

Just like the deaths of Li Houcheng and the old blind man...

Thinking about these things, he gradually fell asleep.

Zhang Cheng was woken up early the next morning by knocking on the door.

He put on his cotton-padded coat, slipped on his cotton-padded shoes, opened the door, and found the outside packed with people.

The old village chief, leaning on his cane, frowned deeply: "Er Gouzi, what's your plan for bringing everyone all this way to the county?"

"loan!"

The moment those two words were uttered, a buzzing sound filled the courtyard.

"I called my fellow villagers here because I wanted to ask them for a favor: to take out a loan in my own name."

The term is six months; upon maturity, I will repay the principal plus 10% interest.

Upon hearing this, the villagers' expressions changed.

"Er Gouzi, how much do you need to borrow? If it's not much, we can help you out."

"Yeah, Er Gouzi, owing the country money is no joke. If you can't pay it back, you'll go to jail, and you might even get shot!"

An auntie lowered her voice, her face full of fear.

"Ergouzi, your aunt believes you are capable, but this loan... your aunt is really not sure about it."

Don't overthink it, it's not that your aunt doesn't trust you..."

Zhang Cheng had anticipated this reaction, and he smiled:

"It was indeed my oversight that led to this. Uncles and aunts, please don't be embarrassed or afraid I'll get angry. If you don't trust me, just consider it a visit to the county town. I, Zhang Cheng, will provide food and lodging. If you're willing to trust me, Zhang Cheng, and help me out, you'll receive your principal and interest in full six months!"

The old village chief coughed heavily: "Er Gouzi is right. I trust him, I'll help him out!"

Uncle Mancang also stepped forward:

"Er Gouzi, you saved my life. Don't even mention the loan, I'd give you my life if you wanted it!"

"That's right, Er Gouzi, your uncle will help you too!"

Zhang Cheng cupped his hands in thanks: "Then I thank you all in advance."

I've already ordered breakfast next door; everyone should go grab something to eat first.

After breakfast, the old village chief counted the number of people willing to help with the loan, and found that there were a total of seventy-three people.

Zhang Cheng was neither surprised nor angry. He couldn't force people to understand his feelings.

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