"Master, we're here!"
Manager Hu opened the car door on Chenxi's side.
Chen Xi walked down and looked around.
In front of me was a thatched house with leaks everywhere, which was rare in this village.
Shopkeeper Hu led the way in front, Chen Xi and Liu Ming followed behind, and soon entered the yard.
On the left side of the yard, there was an elderly man turning the soil with a hoe, and another elderly woman was holding a basin, sprinkling something into the soil from time to time.
When Shopkeeper Hu saw the people, he immediately raised his voice and called out, "Brother, sister-in-law, I'm back."
The two people who were working heard the sound, slowly stood up and greeted Manager Hu.
When his eyes fell on the other two people, he froze for a moment, "Xiao Hu, who are these two?"
Shopkeeper Hu solemnly introduced Chen Xi, saying that he had specially invited him to help. After that, he leaned close to the two old men and whispered a few words.
Soon the two old men's eyes darkened and they sighed, "Why bother? We've been living like this for so many years, we've long been accustomed to it."
Shopkeeper Hu tried to persuade him, "That's not what I meant. Don't you want to know the reason? Are you willing to live your life in such a muddle?"
The old man and the old woman looked at each other, obviously unwilling but helpless.
Finally, Manager Hu talked to them for a while before bringing the two of them to Chen Xi.
The old lady brought out a long bench and a low stool from the inner room.
Chen Xi and Liu Ming sat on a bench, opposite them were the shopkeeper Hu, the old man and the old woman.
While Chen Xi was looking at the two old men, he glanced around the yard and made a conclusion in his heart.
Shopkeeper Hu waited for a long time, and seeing that neither his eldest brother nor his eldest sister-in-law spoke, he said anxiously, "Brother and sister-in-law, please tell us. The master will definitely help you solve it. Don't look at her young age, she is very capable!"
The old man frowned. Could it be that his second brother was too old and his brain wasn't working well anymore? He didn't know where he got this little girl from, and she was so capable?
I really wanted to laugh, but when I thought about how this was a token of my second brother's love, I held it back.
Chen Xi knew their concerns and said in a deep voice, "You will never have children! You will be poor all your life. No matter what you do, you will lose money. Even growing vegetables will be far inferior to other families..."
Upon hearing this, the old man sat up straight, shocked. Could it be that his second brother had told her about this in advance? Or was the little girl really quite capable and had figured it out on her own?
Shopkeeper Hu exclaimed in amazement, "Master, you're amazing! You described the situation word for word with just one look!"
???
Didn’t my second brother say that?
Oh my god, he has lived for so many years, but this is the first time he has met such a powerful person. He is really young and promising. Maybe the little girl can really help him solve his doubts!
He apologized, "Master, I'm sorry. I underestimated your ability. I apologize for my contempt for you!"
Chen Xi said calmly, "It's okay, just tell me the situation!"
The old man sighed and said, "My wife and I got married when we were sixteen. We lived well at first. We had our first child a year after marriage, but she suffocated and died on the day of delivery.
From that day on, no matter what we did, we would lose money. Others could grow vegetables and sell them for money, but we could only grow enough to feed ourselves.
My wife didn't believe it, so she went to the town with the aunts in the village to buy a lot of chickens, ducks and geese. We thought that since growing vegetables didn't work, we would try animal husbandry. Maybe this time it would work. Who would have thought that these chickens and ducks died collectively on the day they grew big enough to be sold.
This time it was a pretty big blow to us.
The money for purchasing chickens and ducklings in the early stage was borrowed, and part of the feed later was also borrowed from the villagers. When these animals died, we were dumbfounded. We had no money to repay the villagers, so we could only write IOUs to each family. To show our apology, we paid a very high interest rate, almost like usury.
This time we also realized that no matter what we do, we will be very unlucky and will not only achieve nothing but also lose money.
Later, we stopped bothering with those things and just quietly farmed, lived frugally, and paid back whatever we could. Thirty years later, there were still five families who hadn’t paid back…”
Liu Ming found it strange. Farming wasn't the only way to make money. He asked, "Since farming doesn't work, why don't you go out and work?"
The old man pulled the old woman's hand, squeezed it, and said in a heavy voice, "It's not that we don't want to go, but we can't leave. As long as we work in the factory, my wife will suffocate and convulse all over."
The old lady said guiltily, "If it weren't for me, I believe he could have lived a good life. It's me who held him back."
"It's not your fault!" Chen Xi said seriously.
This has nothing to do with the old lady!
Even if the old man leaves the old woman behind and goes to work alone, he will be fired from the factory for various reasons and may even be involved in a lawsuit!
On the contrary, it was his unwavering loyalty that saved him from imprisonment!
Chen Xi looked towards the room filled with evil spirits and asked, "Have you offended anyone?"
Shopkeeper Hu immediately stepped forward and said with certainty, "My eldest brother and his wife are the most easygoing people in the village. They would never offend anyone. Besides, they've lived in the village since they were young, so it's impossible for them to offend outsiders!"
The old man and the old woman nodded in agreement. "That's true. We've always been about peace and harmony. We don't fight or make enemies. Take that livestock business for example. We paid a very high interest rate because we were afraid of gossip from the villagers. We've been paying it back bit by bit over the years and never thought of not paying it back."
Shopkeeper Hu said proudly, "Yes, this matter was even reported on TV. Many people praised my eldest brother and sister-in-law for being the most trustworthy people."
As he spoke, he took out the interview video from that time and played it for Chen Xi and Liu Ming.
Chen Xi and Liu Ming watched the entire interview with great enthusiasm, and also glanced at the comments below. They were similar to what Manager Hu said, all praising the old man and the old woman.
Some even boasted: "If the elderly couple are in trouble, they are willing to help them pay it back."
It seems that the old man did not seek help from outsiders, but was silently shouldering his responsibilities through his own efforts.
If everything is as they say, then where does this evil spirit in the room come from?
It can't be that one of the old man or the old woman did it on purpose, right?
Chen Xi reminded: "Before grandma got pregnant with her first child, did you ever have an argument with anyone?"
The old man was about to shake his head, but then Chen Xi added, "Very subtle ones count, too!"
The old man tried hard to recall the past period of time. The scenes from the past played frame by frame in his mind like a movie. Of course, many of them were not very clear.
After a while, the old man's eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "Oh, I remember now. There is one thing."
Chen Xi said: "Tell me about it!"
If nothing goes wrong, this is the time!
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