The midday sun blazed down overhead. Su Jianguo wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at the red handprints that the village secretary and Old Zhang had pressed onto the contract.
With the dust settled, the four barren mountains, the reservoir, and the twenty acres of irrigated land now belonged to him.
"Brother, when are we going to the city to withdraw money?"
Su Jianjun leaned closer and asked in a low voice, his dark face showing some worry.
"I'm worried about you going to collect so much money by yourself on the way."
Su Jianguo patted his younger brother on the shoulder.
"I'll go this afternoon, you'll come with me."
"Then I'll go borrow two bicycles."
Su Jianjun started to walk out as he spoke.
"etc."
Su Jianguo grabbed him, took out a few crumpled banknotes from his pocket, and stuffed them into his hand.
"Give the car owner something; don't just lend it to them for nothing."
Su Jianjun declined a few times, but eventually accepted it.
He knew his older brother's temperament; he was a man of his word.
At 2 p.m., when the sun was blazing, two bicycles, one after the other, drove out of Sujiatun.
Su Jianguo rode in front, with Su Jianjun following closely behind.
The wheels rolled over the potholes in the dirt road, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Brother, ride slower!"
Su Jianjun shouted from behind.
"This road is so bumpy, my butt feels like it's going to split in eight!"
Su Jianguo laughed heartily, but showed no sign of slowing down.
The wind blowing on his face, carrying the scent of the fields, gave him a long-lost sense of freedom.
Since moving to the city, he hadn't enjoyed riding his bike so freely in a long time.
"Jianjun, let's have a race and see who gets there first!"
As they rode up a hill, Su Jianguo said to Su Jianjun with a smile.
Su Jianjun caught up, panting heavily.
"Brother, how old are you? Why are you still comparing things like this?"
Su Jianjun initially wanted to refuse, but Su Jianguo said something that even a man couldn't refuse.
"Jianjun, if you win, then I'll acknowledge your skill."
A simple "You're awesome!" instantly ignited that inexplicable competitive spirit between men.
On the country dirt road, two bicycles began to speed along.
In the end, the journey that was originally supposed to take three hours by pedaling was completed.
The two successfully arrived in Beijing in just two hours.
Su Jianjun, who had always worked in the countryside, had a slight advantage.
The two brothers, exhausted like dead dogs, rested at the city gate, glancing at each other's disheveled state.
Then, they all burst into laughter.
The process of withdrawing the money went surprisingly smoothly.
The female clerk behind the counter stared wide-eyed when she saw the numbers on the passbook.
For a major client like Su Jianguo, there's no room for complacency.
Twelve thousand yuan in cash, a thick stack of ten-thousand-yuan notes, was wrapped in several layers of newspaper before being stuffed into Su Jianjun's canvas bag.
Su Jianguo withdrew an extra thousand yuan. He was going home, and he wanted to leave some for his parents.
"Brother, I've never held so much money in my entire life."
On the way back, Su Jianjun was so nervous that his palms were sweating, and he kept touching the bag on his chest, afraid that he would lose his money.
"Relax, don't act like you're doing something wrong."
Su Jianguo smiled.
"This is a legitimate business."
Even so, he himself was on edge.
These days, the roads aren't safe; you'd be in trouble if you ran into a robber.
Fortunately, the return journey was safe, and the two arrived back in the village before sunset.
When the money was handed to the village secretary and Old Zhang, the two old men's hands were trembling.
Old Zhang was overcome with emotion, tears streaming down his face, and kept trying to kowtow to Su Jianguo.
"Uncle Zhang, you need to go to the hospital right away, the child is the most important."
Su Jianguo couldn't possibly let the old man kowtow to him, so he quickly pulled Old Zhang's head away.
After finishing the matter of buying mountains and land.
Su Jianguo has already achieved his basic goals for returning to the village; there is only one thing left to do.
Leaving the village office, Su Jianjun asked curiously.
"Brother, is there anything else?"
"Go find Wu Er and give him a piece of your mind."
Su Jianguo said.
"Why bother with Er Maitai? His place is a garbage dump; even a dog would be driven out by the stench if it went in."
Su Jianjun looked disgusted.
Su Jianguo then told his second brother about how his eldest son-in-law had died and how his mother-in-law, Old Lady Zhang, had forcibly occupied the house and refused to leave.
"I'm thinking of taking Ermaita over and letting him stay at Yufen's house for a few days."
Su Jianjun was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Brother, this idea doesn't sound like yours at all; it must be Dad's! Only he could come up with such a wicked scheme."
"Don't talk nonsense."
Su Jianguo patted his younger brother on the back of the head.
"This is called fighting poison with poison."
Su Jianjun laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight.
"Yes, yes, fight poison with poison."
The two walked towards the west end of the village, chatting and laughing.
The further west you go, the more dilapidated the houses become, until finally you can hardly find any decent courtyards.
Wu Er's house was located at the foot of a small hill at the far west end, and from a distance it looked like a pile of mud bricks that could collapse at any moment.
"We're here, that's it."
Su Jianjun pointed ahead.
Su Jianguo frowned.
He knew Wu Er's family was poor, but he didn't expect it to be in such a dilapidated state.
The courtyard wall had long since collapsed, and the remaining part was also on the verge of collapse.
The yard was piled with all sorts of junk, including broken copper and iron, shattered glass bottles, and several pieces of broken furniture whose original appearance was no longer recognizable.
Pushing open the creaking courtyard gate, a stench mixed with mustiness, sweat, and an unknown foul smell hit me.
Su Jianjun covered his nose, and Su Jianguo couldn't help but frown.
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