Chapter 545 The gap between the two
Zhuang's mother also returned home, took the box from the closet and put it in a cloth bag, and then asked Zhuang Ganmei to accompany him to Wuxi to borrow money from an old acquaintance.
Zhuang Ganmei didn't know who Zhuang's mother was going to find, but when she heard that she would definitely be able to borrow money, she agreed to accompany Zhuang's mother without saying a word.
In that era, most people would work in the same unit until they died, and even two or three generations would work in the same unit, so it was easy for Zhuang's mother to find the dormitory area of the rubber factory where Xu Daqing worked.
The two asked as they walked and soon found out where the Xu family was.
That is an old street.
The man pointing the way said, "The Xu family is easy to find. It's the one at the back, where the wall sticks out. Two of their three brothers work at the rubber factory, and their houses are next to each other. So they built a wall themselves, enclosing half of the yard, and no one dared to say anything. Tsk, tsk, tsk, isn't that impressive?"
The two of them turned sideways to look into the alley. Just as the person pointing at others said, the Xu family's courtyard wall was indeed eye-catching. Theirs was the only house that protruded out of the street. Although it was at the end of the street, the straight path was narrowed by half for no reason.
Zhuang Ganmei didn't understand what was going on, and he also said with a "tsk tsk" sound:
"Mom, it seems that their two sons are officials in the factory! Otherwise, how could they be allocated a house and even have a yard without anyone saying anything? I haven't heard that you have such a powerful old friend! Do you usually keep in touch?"
Zhuang's mother looked at the room, her heart aching, and she hummed:
"Ganmei, just wait here for me! I'll go alone."
"ah"
"I'll go alone." Zhuang's mother said in a firm tone. She took two steps, turned around, handed the cloth bag on her body to Zhuang Ganmei, and then went to the house.
Zhuang Ganmei did not insist. He thought his mother must have a reason for doing this, maybe it was because she looked more pitiful alone.
He squatted at the intersection and waited. There was a waterway diagonally across the intersection where someone was fishing, so he crossed the road and got closer to take a look.
Just when they were bored, a fish was hooked and the group cheered. Zhuang Ganmei stood up and stretched his head to see the size of the fish. Unexpectedly, he lost his grip on the rope of the cloth bag and it fell onto the uneven stone floor with a clang sound.
Zhuang Ganmei picked up the bag and thought, did his mother bring a lunch box filled with dry food?
He was a little hungry, so he opened the bag and saw a torn and black iron box inside, which was definitely not used to store food. In addition to this iron box, there were other things scattered in the bag.
Zhuang Ganmei picked up one at random and looked at it, feeling a little confused.
I picked up another one and looked at it, and seemed to understand something.
He sat down on the stone steps and rummaged through the bag, and things became clearer and clearer.
He looked towards the alley. From this angle, he could only see the middle of the alley and couldn't see the Xu family.
He ran across the street, into the alley, and headed straight for the house at the end of the alley.
When he got to the gate, he heard his mother talking to a man:
"Go away! Really not!"
"No, you have to give me some money, otherwise I won't leave." There was a tearful tone in Zhuang's mother's voice.
"It's meaningless if you do this!" Xu Daqing said with disgust.
"You haven't cared about it for decades. Look at the life you live and the life we live. Do you feel at ease?" Zhuang's mother's voice was pitiful and angry.
Xu Daqing also raised his voice:
"Then it's not me who caused you to live like this. It's because your husband is incompetent! I support three children, he supports three, why do I live like this, and you live like that? Is it because of me?"
"That's not what I mean. He...you have to take care of it!"
"This happened decades ago. Who knows what happened? It's definitely none of my business. I advise you not to bother us! My eldest son is the most arrogant one in the rubber factory! If you embarrass him, he will beat you to death! He will be back soon."
Xu Daqing wanted to deny it, and then he advised:
"You should go back to Suzhou as soon as possible! If you can't do business, find a job and work hard. You can still make a fortune."
At this moment, an old woman came over and saw Xu Daqing and an old woman talking at the gate of the courtyard. She said:
"Old man, who is this?"
Zhuang's mother looked at Xu Daqing's wife. She was wearing a white shirt with small blue flowers, black cloth pants, and a pearl necklace around her neck.
His face was full and rosy, his hair was gray, and he had a tortoise-shell hairpin on each side of his ear. He looked energetic and looked at least ten years younger than Zhuang's mother.
At this time, she was holding two fish weighing about one kilogram in one hand and a basket of vegetables in the other. There were quite a lot of vegetables. Based on this amount, it was enough for a whole family to eat.
"Asking for directions." Xu Daqing said casually.
"You are so old and still don't know the etiquette! Why do you come to the gate to ask for directions when you want to? " Xu Daqing's wife walked past Zhuang's mother, rolled her eyes at her, and went into the house first with the vegetables in her hand.
Xu Daqing waved towards Zhuang's mother and whispered:
"Go away! Don't come back!"
Before Zhuang's mother could say anything, Xu Daqing's wife popped her head out of the room and shouted:
"Old man! Close the door!"
The voice was so powerful that Xu Daqing hurriedly pushed Zhuang's mother out of the house and closed the door.
When they arrived at the door, Zhuang Ganmei saw Xu Daqing clearly.
The two of them had exactly the same eyebrows and eyes, which were completely different from those of Zhuang's father, Zhuang Chaoying, and Zhuang Hualin. Of course, he had this feeling after seeing the things in the cloth bag.
So, when Zhuang's mother was pushed out, he stood there in a daze and didn't react for a long time. Xu Daqing was afraid of being scolded by his wife, so he didn't even pay attention to Zhuang Ganmei and just slammed the door.
When Zhuang's mother turned around and saw her son, she was surprised:
"Didn't I tell you to wait outside?"
She dragged her son away. Zhuang Ganmei was still in shock. He only reacted after he stumbled out of the alley with his mother.
"Mom! Tell me, who is he?"
"Forget it, old friend. Forget it. Let's go find a place to stay first. Son, we don't have a letter of introduction. Let's ask around and see if there's a hotel that doesn't require one."
Zhuang Ganmei had already reacted by now. He frowned and had an idea.
Then you must live there.
He went to ask at a private hotel on the roadside. He said that he had brought his mother from the countryside to see a doctor, but he had lost the letter of introduction issued by the village. Seeing that he brought his elderly mother with him, the innkeeper let him stay without any suspicion.
After entering the room, Zhuang Ganmei poured everything in the cloth bag onto the bed, and pointed at the things without saying a word.
When Zhuang's mother saw that she could no longer hide the truth, she had no choice but to tell the truth.
"Mom! That's too much! He lives so well. I looked in from the gate and saw such a big yard with at least five or six rooms! That old woman is eating fish and meat, and he won't give her a penny and won't even acknowledge it!"
Zhuang Ganmei was very angry.
"I haven't looked for him for decades because I saw how good your father is to you and how much he cares about you. You don't need him, your biological father, to do anything. But now we need him, but he...ah..."
Zhuang's mother was also very heartbroken when she saw Xu Daqing's indifferent look today.
The old lady's delicate appearance hurt her deeply.
In her entire life, since she married Lao Zhuang, she had never lived a life like that. She had never worn such nice clothes, pants, and shoes. The only thing she always wore on her head was a black clip that would peel off, and she had been wearing it since she was young.
That tortoiseshell hairpin is so pretty!
She had wanted it since she was young, but she had never been able to afford it.
There is also a pearl necklace. The pearls are so white and round, and they emit a gentle and charming luster in the sunlight.
But what about her?
She didn't have any jewelry.
They were said to be poor before, but later they were not so poor anymore. When she wanted money, Zhuang's father said she was extravagant and it would be better for her to save it.
Maybe, if these were not bought by Xu Daqing, then they were bought by her children, and then her children would have no use for them! Zhuang Chaoying and Zhuang Hualin never thought of buying these things for her.
In short, she didn't have what Xu Daqing's wife had, which made her anxious and unable to sleep all night.
She thought over and over again, if she had married Xu Daqing instead of Zhuang, she would have lived a life like this!
Zhuang Ganmei was also tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He planned to go find his biological father tomorrow and get some money.
Zhuang's mother was also unwilling to accept this, so she agreed with Zhuang Ganmei's decision.
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