Chapter 13: The Plot Works
Shen Lingning held Fubao in his arms, patting him gently, with a perfect expression of "worry" and "relief" on his face. His voice was neither loud nor low, but it was clearly heard by Aunt Wang, who felt sorry for them:
"Weiguo probably thought, 'You can't write two Lin characters with one stroke,' and couldn't bring himself to mention it, so he kept it in his possession, treating it as a reminder or a proof, and never told me."
Shen Lingning's eyes fell on Fubao in his arms, full of love and determination: "I thought, after Fubao's full moon wine is over, I will ask Uncle Ma and several respected elders to be witnesses, holding this ginseng and this old debt certificate."
She deliberately emphasized the words "old debt certificate": "When the time comes, let's go to the county trust store to get an appraisal. The money we get from selling it will just settle this old debt at the current market price!"
Clean and neat!
This will prevent people from gossiping about this matter in the future, tarnishing the reputation of the martyrs who defended the country, and saying that our martyrs' families are ungrateful!
I can’t afford to wear this hat!”
She paused, and with the tenacity of a mother, she said, "I won't keep a single cent of the remaining money. I'll use it all to buy milk powder and malted milk for Fubao!
Just think of it as the fine food I, as her mother, save for her so that she can grow stronger in the future.
This is the end of this troublesome matter. I have completely made peace with all the bad people and bad things in the past!"
Aunt Wang's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she clapped her thighs and cheered, "You deserve it! You deserve it! Sister Lingning, your idea is great!"
That's what we have to do! Clean and clear! So that the shameless old man won't come back to bother us and make us feel disgusted!
If Weiguo knew about this, he would definitely agree!"
Aunt Wang's voice was already loud, and now, with its excitement of approval, her voice could be heard clearly outside the courtyard gate.
These words, as if with wings, also reached the ears of Lin Sanquan, who was in a shabby house in the village, wearing a tattered cotton jacket, gambling with others and losing money, with sweat on his forehead!
"What? Fifty-fifty-year-old ginseng?! Did you hear that?"
Lin Sanquan's cloudy triangular eyes suddenly burst into a terrifying light, and even his breathing became heavier.
The half-grown child who came to the door to deliver the message nodded while holding the White Rabbit milk candy given to him by Lin Sanquan, and when he saw that Lin Sanquan no longer asked any questions, he ran away.
Lin Sanquan's heart was pounding as he quickly calculated the thick stack of banknotes that the ginseng could be exchanged for.
"It's worth... it's worth a fortune! A trust store?! A government valuation?!"
This is worth at least 300 yuan!
Then he thought of that "IOU," and it was like being stung by a scorpion. "Damn it! If that piece of paper...if that piece of paper fell into the hands of government officials, and the people at the trust store started to make a fuss...where would I, Lin Sanquan, put my face?! How would I survive in the surrounding area?!"
Panic was instantly overwhelmed by even stronger greed: "No! I must get it back! The ginseng is mine! The IOU must be mine too! And I have to make that damned girl cough up some more money!
Three hundred yuan?
No… five hundred dollars! Yes! Five hundred dollars for retirement money! "
Lin Sanquan's mind was buzzing with ginseng, money and Shen Lingning's clear words "settle the old debt" and "buy milk powder for Fubao".
He suddenly remembered the words of the child who delivered the message in the morning, and seemed to hear Shen Lingning's clear and decisive voice echoing in his ears again.
“Bang!”
He threw the few worn cards in his hand onto the greasy card table, making a harsh sound.
This scared the gangster Liu Er, who was holding a cheap cigarette and showing his yellow teeth.
"Shunzi! Take it all! Hahaha! Give me money! Everyone, give me money!"
Lin Sanquan suddenly burst into a triumphant, almost insane laugh, his bloodshot eyes flashing with greed and ferocity, as if ginseng and money were within his reach.
He swept the scattered banknotes and a few cigarettes on the table in front of him.
Liu Er was stunned by his sudden ecstasy. He blew out a puff of cheap smoke and leaned closer to ask flatteringly, "Hey, Brother Sanquan, did you pick up a gold ingot?
Look how happy you are. If you have any good news, why not share it with the brothers and share in the joy?"
Lin Sanquan glanced at him sideways, picked up a card, twisted it between his fingers, and sneered.
The laughter was filled with contempt and a sense of superiority at possessing a vast treasure all to itself: "Share? Humph! Such overwhelming wealth, you useless bastards, are worthy of it?!
Don't ask! You won't be able to enjoy this blessing! I have my own way! "
He grabbed the small change he had won, stuffed it into his pocket, and stood up impatiently, not even caring about the card game. He had only one thought in his mind: he had to go to his daughter, to the Zhou family compound! To get back the "things" that belonged to him!
He seemed to have seen himself holding the priceless old ginseng in his arms, a thick stack of banknotes in his pocket, and the damn "IOU" torn into pieces.
As for Shen Lingning and that little bastard?
Humph, life or death is none of his business!
At the same time, Aunt Wang sighed with heartache as she looked at Shen Lingning, who was still frail but strong during the confinement period, and Fubao, who was adorable in the cradle but had lost his father early.
She found the old branch secretary Ma Zhenshan, smoking a pipe at the foot of the brigade headquarters:
"Secretary Ma, Weiguo... what a good person! Fubao is his only child! This full moon is a big day, we can't leave it alone and let the child suffer from injustice right after birth.
Think about it, how many people did you help when you were defending the country?
He helped the Zhang family repair their collapsed roof in the dead of night, carried firewood and water to Grandma Sun, a five-guarantee household, in the dead of winter, and braved the snow to run over ten miles to the commune to hire a barefoot doctor when Li Tiezhu's wife had a difficult labor...
Every one of them is remembered!
Now that he's gone, we can't let his children and his wife lose face in the village!"
Aunt Wang wiped her eyes and continued, "Speaking of Lingning, although she's a Shanghainese daughter, she's not arrogant at all and is kind-hearted and skillful!
She can read and understands medical knowledge. Wasn't she the one who cured the Zhang family's boy's convulsions, Aunt Li's second daughter's high fever in the middle of the night, and old man Liu's leg pain from chronic rheumatism that made him unable to get out of bed?
She didn't ask us for a penny, and she even went to the mountains to find the medicine herself!
We have to lend a hand to such a good child and celebrate Fubao's full moon with great fanfare! We should also let those black-hearted people see that the people of Majiaji are kind-hearted! "
Ma Zhenshan took the last puff of his cigarette in silence, and the pipe knocked heavily against the sole of his shoe, sending sparks flying.
He raised his wrinkled face, his cloudy but sharp eyes swept over Aunt Wang's eager face, and nodded heavily: "That's right! Weiguo is a good kid, and Fubao is our village's kid! Let the word be spread, and every family should contribute what they can, and give something if they have something!
Don't let anyone poke the spine of our Majiaji!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the response was unexpectedly enthusiastic.
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