Jiang Jiahua and his wife were riding their bicycles home with Jiang Yong'an and Jiang Yiran when, at the entrance of a street alley just one block away from the food factory's residential compound, a group of men carrying steel pipes suddenly blocked their way.
Jiang Jiahua was so frightened that his legs went weak and his bicycle almost tipped over.
Jiang Yong'an glanced at the person opposite him, his eyes darting around, then turned his bicycle around and tried to run away.
But as soon as his bicycle turned around, several men, also carrying steel pipes, blocked the alley entrance.
One of the men, with a scar running from his sideburn down to his nose and a fierce look on his face, blocked his way, twirling a steel pipe in his hand. "Jiang Laosan, what's wrong? You know your Sixth Brother now? You don't even bother to say hello to him."
Jiang Yong'an's face twitched, and he bowed and scraped, looking at the man with a fawning expression, "Sixth Brother, what do you need me for?"
"call!"
The steel pipe in Sixth Brother's hand, accompanied by a whooshing sound, struck directly at Jiang Yong'an's neck.
Jiang Yong'an turned pale with fright and instinctively closed his eyes.
But the steel pipe stopped abruptly just before it touched his neck.
Sixth Brother grinned wickedly, "Third Brother Jiang, don't be nervous. Your Sixth Brother just hasn't fought in a long time. Let's see if I'm rusty."
At this moment, Jiang Jiahua realized what was happening.
He was a deputy director of a food factory, a respectable figure in the county, yet he was now being cornered in this alley by a bunch of thugs.
He was so angry he was practically spitting fire. "You little bastards! This is a society governed by law! What do you think you're doing?!"
"Bang!"
No sooner had Jiang Jiahua finished speaking than one of Sixth Brother's men grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall. "Old man, who are you cursing?"
Jiang Jiahua was dazed from the impact, but he still stubbornly said, "What...what do you want? Let me tell you, my eldest son is an official in Beicheng, and my second son is a military officer. You little thugs dare to lay a hand on us, you won't escape the punishment of the law!"
Sixth Brother looked at Jiang Yong'an, gestured with his chin towards Jiang Jiahua, and asked, "Your father?"
Jiang Yong'an was so frightened that his lips twitched and his legs went weak.
Once, when he went to borrow money from Sixth Brother, he encountered his gang dealing with people who didn't repay their loans. They literally broke the man's leg and chopped off two of his fingers before they were done with it.
He almost fainted just thinking about the bloody scene.
But thinking of Jiang Yiran hiding behind him, he gritted his teeth and persevered.
Peng Cuiying hid behind Jiang Yong'an, trembling as she asked, "Third brother, who are they? How did you get involved with them?"
Jiang Yong'an dared not say what had happened.
Jiang Yiran had already roughly guessed it.
Before Qin Haiyang went to Beicheng, she asked Jiang Yong'an for a lot of money, and during that time, Jiang Yong'an bought her many things.
She had considered where Jiang Yong'an got his money from.
But she felt that since Jiang Yong'an was willing to spend the money on her, he should bear the consequences himself, and it was none of her business.
So she felt perfectly justified in spending the money.
I just didn't expect these people to choose this time to ask for money.
What if Jiang Yong'an couldn't hold back and told Jiang Jiahua and Peng Cuiying why he borrowed the money? Then she...
The thought of that possibility made Jiang Yiran bite her lip.
"Bang!"
Before Jiang Yong'an could answer Peng Cuiying's question, Sixth Brother had already walked over to Jiang Jiahua and punched him hard in the stomach again, saying, "Old man, you're threatening me!"
"Let me tell you, it's only right to pay back debts! Your son owes me money, and I'm always right no matter where I am in the world!" Sixth Brother said through gritted teeth, his face fierce.
Jiang Jiahua was punched again, and instantly curled up like a shrimp in pain.
The pain momentarily slowed his brain's processing, but Peng Cuiying did.
Peng Cuiying felt her head spinning at the mere mention of the word "debt." She grabbed Jiang Yong'an and asked, "Third brother, did you borrow money from outside too?"
"How much did you borrow?" Peng Cuiying's voice trembled as she asked this question.
Jiang Yong'an's lips twitched slightly, and he lowered his head, not daring to look into Peng Cuiying's eyes.
He dared not answer, so someone else answered for him.
Sixth Brother took an account book from his underling and said casually, "It's not much. In the past two or three months, he's only borrowed about a thousand yuan here and there. With the principal and interest, you only need to pay me back one thousand nine hundred and eighty-four yuan."
Peng Cuiying almost fainted when she heard this number!
The family's savings had long been depleted. The money to buy a house for the eldest son was raised by Jiang Jiahua by selling most of that gold nugget.
Now Jiang Yong'an owes so much money again!
Peng Cuiying grew angrier the more she thought about it, and she bent down and rammed her head into Jiang Yong'an's stomach.
He was still not satisfied with the fact that he bumped into Jiang Yong'an, causing him to stumble.
While crying, she grabbed Jiang Yong'an and started hitting him, "I'll beat you to death, you good-for-nothing, waaaaah... What have you been doing out there that you owe so much money? Waaaaah..."
Jiang Yong'an just kept his head down, enduring Peng Cuiying's beatings and scoldings without daring to say a word.
Sixth Brother's eyes flashed with even more ferocity as he shoved Peng Cuiying aside and threw her onto her backside. "Alright, stop fucking putting on an act for me! I don't have the patience to watch this!"
"You're going to pay me back today, aren't you?! Jiang Yong'an, if I don't get this money today, you know the rules!"
Jiang Yong'an's body trembled violently.
He rushed to Jiang Jiahua and knelt down with a thud. "Dad, please, please save me! I don't want to be crippled, Dad—"
Jiang Jiahua was leaning against the wall with disheveled hair and a disheveled appearance, looking as if he had aged ten years.
He closed his eyes, his face filled with pain, "My children are all debts—"
For some reason, the image of Jiang Qiaoqiao during those two years at home suddenly popped into his mind.
For those two years, every day when he came home from get off work, there would be hot meals waiting for him on the table.
The house is always kept clean and spotless, which makes people feel comfortable.
Jiang Qiaoqiao found a pretty wine bottle, put wildflowers in it, and placed it in his study.
Whenever he felt tired from work, a glance at those ever-vibrant wildflowers would make all his fatigue disappear.
If he showed signs of fatigue in the living room, Jiang Qiaoqiao would give him a shoulder massage and prepare bath water every night for him to soak his feet to relieve his fatigue.
She never caused him any trouble.
Why has their relationship turned out this way with such an obedient daughter?
Two streams of turbid tears slid down Jiang Jiahua's face.
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