Zhang the Cripple is a recipient of the Five Guarantees (a government-provided social welfare program for the elderly, disabled, and orphans) in the village. His leg was broken when Chen Feng was old enough to remember, and he has always walked with a limp.
Judging from what I'm hearing today, could it be that his father interrupted him?
“Your dad, with his hoe, along with the guy surnamed Ma, could take on seven men by himself.”
"He broke Zhang the Cripple's leg and broke four of Ma's ribs."
"There was another guy who also had two fingers knocked off by him."
"The most serious case is Zhang Chengbao, the younger brother of Zhang the Cripple. He was almost killed by your father with a pickaxe and has been paralyzed ever since."
"He was also injured and ran all the way home."
Chen Feng was shocked when he heard this. His father was actually so powerful in combat?
“Your dad knew then that things wouldn’t end well. You were only one year old then. He had no choice but to give you a few instructions and then run away.”
“The man surnamed Ma was rich and powerful back then, and these thugs were all his men. When they get arrested, they will definitely be imprisoned for more than ten years.”
"As expected, the guy surnamed Ma is threatening like this. He spread the word that no matter where your father runs, he will still arrest him and make him spend more than ten years in prison."
“Your father is not afraid of going to jail, nor is he afraid of the threats from the man surnamed Ma. What he is afraid of is how we, mother and son, will survive if he goes to jail.”
“The man surnamed Ma was not so kind-hearted. He was extremely angry at the time and even threatened to kill my mother and me, seize all the land we depended on for a living, and let us starve to death at home.”
"Later, the man surnamed Ma received a phone call, and from then on he stopped talking about it and never dared to mention it again."
Chen Feng had a vague idea of who made the call, and he couldn't help but ask, "Was it my dad?"
“Your dad told him directly on the phone that if he dares to lay a finger on us, tomorrow will be the day when his whole family of more than a dozen people are killed in the village office. Let’s see if he dares to do it.”
"Your dad hung up the phone right after he finished speaking."
"From then on, before your father was arrested, the man surnamed Ma never dared to cause trouble for us again."
“At one point, he would even take three or four people with him when he went out, and check the house every day to make sure there was nothing extra, because he was afraid your dad would come back.”
"He's a ruthless guy." Chen Feng sighed upon hearing this. Having a ruthless father is at least better than having a spineless one.
“Your dad has had a really tough time all these years. When he first started running away, he didn’t dare use his ID card, afraid that the police would actually call the police.”
“He could only work in illegal brick kilns, risking his life. He dared not eat or drink every year, saving up a little bit of money, and then sending it back to us, mother and son.”
“I remember that for several years, he didn’t contact his family. He would just send money back every year under various identities.”
“Every time I receive money from him, I feel a little more at ease knowing that he is still alright.”
"Later on, he gradually made some progress outside and realized that no one was pursuing him anymore."
"He felt a little more at ease. I remember it was during the Lunar New Year that year, and he returned home late at night."
“He stayed at home for three hours, and we cried for three whole hours.”
"As he was leaving, he looked at you sleeping, reluctant to part, and in the end, he could only leave before dawn with tears in his eyes."
"After we got cell phones, things got a little better. Occasionally he would secretly call me to let me know he was safe."
“After that, he would come back once every year or two, always during the Chinese New Year. He would stay at home for a few hours, leave the money, and then leave.”
“Otherwise, where do you think the money for your college education came from? With our small plot of land, is it really enough to support your college education?” Liu Ping said, her voice filled with sorrow.
They were a perfectly good family, but in the end, they have to live like this, unable to go home and not even daring to meet.
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Chen Feng sighed softly.
"Do you think I'd tell you that you were drinking heavily every day back then, and you had a terrible temper? If I told you that, wouldn't you be grabbing a knife and going after that guy surnamed Ma?"
“Your father has already suffered so much. If something else happens to you, what am I supposed to do?” Liu Ping said helplessly.
After listening, Chen Feng fell silent. What she said made sense. According to his usual personality, his first reaction after hearing about this would definitely be to seek revenge on the village chief.
How could I possibly use my brain?
"Later, it wasn't that he was afraid to use his ID card; eventually, he found a way to make a living, which was gold panning."
"The reason I didn't want you to go when you first said you wanted to pan for gold was because your dad told me about the dangers of gold panning."
“But you insisted, so I couldn’t stop you. I figured you could work right in front of your house and nothing would go wrong.”
"But who would have thought that your business would grow bigger and bigger, and you would even move to other provinces."
"It must be fate that you two ended up in the same line of work."
Liu Ping shook her head and said.
"So during those years when I was in college, when I called you, you weren't home. You said you were visiting relatives, but actually you were going to see my dad?" Chen Feng said belatedly.
"Yes, he later found out that the man surnamed Ma hadn't called the police, and he became bolder."
"I guess the guy surnamed Ma wouldn't have dared to call the police before he caught your dad, since he's not exactly clean himself. He's already done his job by forcing your dad to leave," Liu Ping guessed.
"Don't think you don't know anything about your dad. He actually misses you a lot and always asks me to tell him about you."
“Before, I had no money and couldn’t leave. I relied on the little land at home to make a living and support you. Your father has only recovered a little in the last few years.”
“Now that you can leave, your dad doesn’t want to leave anymore. He wants to come back. He still hates that guy surnamed Ma and wants to send him in so he can come back openly.” Liu Ping said with a sigh.
"So where are we now?" Chen Feng asked, taking a deep breath.
"He was waiting for Zhang Chengbao to die, and he was also accumulating his own strength, because among these people, only Zhang Chengbao was relentlessly pursuing him, vowing to make him be executed no matter how much money was offered, and he was also the one who was most seriously injured."
"As for the others, including that guy surnamed Ma, it will be very difficult for them to get your father back in jail."
"You didn't call the police twenty years ago, what's the point of calling now? There's no evidence."
"Your dad never expected you to rise so quickly, becoming the richest person in the village in the blink of an eye."
Hearing this, Chen Feng frowned and asked, "That cripple Zhang, his brother was beaten like that, do you think he'll back down?"
"Zhang Chengbao is probably dying soon. He's been paralyzed for so many years, but Zhang the Cripple is quite tough."
"Don't worry, Zhang the Cripple has already served his younger brother enough. He can't wait for his brother to die."
"Besides, now that you've risen to such prominence, those people from back then probably wouldn't dare to go against you anymore. They're all over fifty now, and they've long since stopped hanging out with that Ma guy. Who would dare to offend you?"
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