Zhou Jiao's worries didn't materialize. She didn't know if the other party had come to her house. Aunt Chen, however, kept the door closed and remained nervous for several days. Those people had considered coming to Zhou's house, but they were scared off by Old Man Jiang.
The rumored Zhou Xiaozheng is even more useful than a door god - it would be risky to find him.
Mr. Jiang knew he had to send his relatives back early this time. After searching everywhere, he found nothing of value. He could only ask his sons to scrape together food coupons.
Human nature is inherently selfish. With the change of his status and the influence of his surroundings, the honest and simple country man has completely changed, acquiring a Beijing accent. The kindness he once held, along with the constant flow of his family members to Beijing and the instigation of their own inner circle, has dwindled to a mere fraction.
They were all silent for a long time in response to their old father's request.
The first thing Jiang Laoda said was, "Dad, you know I've had enough of the hardship of being uneducated. Now all my children are in school and have even learned from masters. I've spent a lot of money in the past few years, so I don't have much savings."
Old Master Jiang paused. He suddenly remembered the scene that year when his eldest son helplessly called out for his father. Things have changed, and everything has changed. He should have understood the fragility of human kindness the moment his children moved out of the compound.
He looked at the second child without hope, glancing at the watch on the child's hand.
"Dad, don't think we're ungrateful. We've always remembered the kindness Uncle and Aunt have shown us, otherwise we wouldn't have supported you all this time. My salary is indeed higher than Big Brother's, but I have a lot of social engagements, and I can't be too shabby at work. We need money everywhere at home and outside, so I really can't afford to help my relatives anymore."
Old Master Jiang suddenly burst into laughter.
What kind of smile was that? Sadness, helplessness, heartache, and mostly disappointment in the children...
Jiang Lao Da and his younger brother looked at each other and said helplessly, "Dad, let's go home and get some money together. But don't get your hopes up. Even food coupons on the black market are worth several times more these days. You can't let your grandchildren go hungry."
"Well, we'll also send some food coupons to my little sister. You wait at home for a while, we'll go back first."
Old Master Jiang watched his two sons hurried out of the compound gate. Suddenly, he realized that it seemed that his children had not visited their family in recent years.
He looked up at the sky, feeling indescribable.
At the small intersection, Old Mrs. Jiang walked forward worriedly, watching her husband return slowly with his hands behind his back.
"Dad, what did the boss and the others say?"
Old Master Jiang sighed as he looked at his wife who had lost a lot of weight.
"The eldest is in real trouble. He even has to help his father-in-law's family. He blames me for finding him a marriage. I also didn't take good care of the second son. Otherwise, he wouldn't be like this. I'm too embarrassed to go back home and see my in-laws. It's all my fault. Don't get angry. I'll try to find a way to borrow some money."
"They've already gone home to raise the money," said Mr. Jiang softly, unable to bear the thought of his wife worrying. It's not wrong for his daughter-in-law to take care of her parents and raise children on his behalf.
Second child, I don't know who this child will take after. Such a virtuous daughter-in-law said she didn't want him, so she just gave him up. The child has grown up and is no longer under the control of his parents.
Mrs. Jiang smiled with relief. That's good. With her two sons helping her, they should be able to gather a few dozen kilograms of food to allow them to return home.
The more beautiful the imagination is, the more cruel the reality is. Unfortunately, no matter how hard the two sons of the Jiang family tried, they could only get ten kilograms of food coupons and twenty yuan.
In desperation, Mr. Jiang gritted his teeth, wiped his face and went to the retirement home to find his old friend - his relative Lin Xinsheng.
Mr. Lin was overjoyed to see his in-laws coming. He quickly asked the aunt to serve tea and cheerfully asked Mr. Jiang to sit down and talk slowly.
No matter how good the tea was, Mr. Jiang couldn't taste it at that moment. He only felt the bitterness of the first sip was like his mood, and the sweet aftertaste made him suddenly envy the other person's orphanage.
"My dear, I'm here today to ask for your help."
Old Master Lin's heart skipped a beat. The title had even been changed to a formal one. It seemed that the request was quite significant.
He smiled and said, "What's making you so serious? Tell me, what's our relationship? If I can help you, I'll definitely help you."
Old Master Jiang smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I really have no choice but to shamelessly ask you to borrow food."
"Someone from my hometown is coming?"
Old Master Jiang sighed, "They made a scene in the cafeteria yesterday. If they do it again, I won't be able to stay any longer."
Old Master Lin wanted to persuade him not to take everything on himself, but he held back the words. If persuasion worked, then Old Master Jiang wouldn't be so stubborn.
He sighed and stood up, "Wait here for a moment, I'll go find the child's mother."
After saying this, facing his old friend's surprised eyes, he left the study in shame and returned to the master bedroom with a wry smile. He had no choice. His wife had suffered a stroke, not become stupid. The family's expenses and income were still in her hands.
In the bedroom, Mr. Lin waved his aunt away, sat on the edge of the bed, grabbed Mrs. Lin's hand, and said softly, "Old Jiang came to borrow food. I think he really has no choice but to come here."
Mrs. Lin's eyes were like knives, ready to pierce him. Unable to speak, she pointed with her right hand at the small box beside her pillow and wrote on the cardboard, "My family is short of food, so I won't lend it to you."
Old Man Lin looked at her, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. They didn't need meal tickets to eat in the cafeteria, and every month a young soldier delivered rations to their door. Could the food be put into the small box?
"I've sent all the food coupons I saved to Lao Er. Show Lao Jiang the notebook. It's not that I won't lend them, it's just that I don't have them. If you feel bad about it, go find that dead girl."
After writing, she glared at Mr. Lin fiercely, closed her eyes and refused to pay any more attention to him.
Looking for the eldest daughter? Forget it! Mr. Lin didn't dare to listen to her stupid ideas.
In desperation, he took his notebook and went out. He calculated the time and knew that next month's rations would be distributed in a few days. He wanted to see if he could move it first, otherwise he would be too embarrassed to see his old friend.
He pointed outside. After leaving the yard, he smiled at the curious aunt and said, "Go to the logistics department and ask if you can overdraw ten kilograms of food coupons for next month's rations."
Auntie looked hesitant, but finally nodded. She couldn't believe the old man didn't know there was no room for compromise. If everyone could overdraw in advance, what were the rules and regulations? Never mind, she'd still go.
Watching the nanny leave, Mr. Lin shook the notebook and returned to the study.
"Old Jiang, I'm so sorry. My husband sent all his food coupons to the second son. Apart from the rations delivered every month, we really don't have any food left at home. Don't worry, I've asked Auntie to go to the logistics department to get next month's rations. Let's get some together first."
Old Master Jiang stood up, smiled bitterly, and shook his head. "No need. There's no hope for logistics. I've already asked, and they also need the food to arrive before they can distribute it. I'm leaving first."
Old Master Lin hurriedly stopped him and said, "Wait a minute, I'll go with you to the compound to borrow some from some old guys."
Old Master Jiang quickly shook his head and refused. No one was wealthy, and even with so many children and grandchildren, even if there was surplus food, there wasn't much. If it weren't for his old in-laws, he wouldn't have come to the Lin family.
In the end, Mr. Jiang scraped together ten kilograms of food coupons and asked his youngest son to exchange all twenty kilograms of food coupons for coarse grains. He also used his connections to get a cart of sugar scraps to send away his relatives and friends.
As the saying goes, debts of money are easy to repay, but debts of favor are hard to repay. Grandpa Jiang didn't know how many generations of people he owed, besides his brothers and sisters, he still owed them, but he also knew that only after he passed away would this debt of gratitude be repaid. As for his children, they had long forgotten what it meant to be a homeland or a clan.
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