Erzhu's real name is Zhang Erzhu. He was a primary school classmate of Yuan Fangguo. However, unlike Yuan Fangguo, he stopped studying after primary school and stayed at home to farm. He got married when he was sixteen and became a father when he was seventeen.
When Yuan Fangguo came to Erzhu's house, Erzhu was about to go out, but when he heard that Yuan Fangguo wanted to borrow a bicycle, he lent him the bicycle without saying a word.
"Fang Guo, just take it and ride it."
"What about you?" Yuan Fangguo also knew that Erzhu definitely needed a bicycle.
"Hey, isn't it just a few steps away? Your grandma is an old lady with bound feet, and she walks so slowly. You will probably have to go to the county town and come back in the dark. Don't be polite, brothers." Erzhu said.
After thanking Erzhu, Yuan Fangguo got on the 28mm heavy-duty bicycle and rode home.
With this 28 heavy bicycle, Yuan Fangguo and his grandmother rode to the county town in just one hour.
My uncle is at work at this time, so only my aunt and uncle are at home.
"Aunt, what a coincidence, our family is also short of money now." My aunt said with a smile on her face.
Qin Mingzhen was turned away and had no idea that her eldest nephew who lived in the city was also short of money.
"It's okay. Since your family is also short of money, I'll go look somewhere else." Qin Mingzhen said embarrassedly.
After seeing Qin Mingzhen and Yuan Fangguo off, her aunt and uncle quickly called her husband's workplace.
"You are not allowed to borrow money. I have already told your aunt. Our family is also short of money. Do you hear me..." After a burst of preaching, my aunt and aunt finally hung up the phone.
She said with disgust, "I have so many poor relatives."
After being turned away in the city, they had nowhere to go and had to return home.
That night, Yuan Chengzhu and Chen Yongying did not go home.
Yuan Fangguo was a little worried, and this feeling of worry continued until his parents came back at noon the next day.
Both of them looked pale.
Yuan Fangguo noticed that his parents' hands were shaking a little while they were eating.
Yuan Chengzhu wolfed down his lunch, returned to the bedroom, and soon came out again.
He took out a plastic bag from his pocket and opened it layer by layer, revealing colorful banknotes.
"Fang Guo, you will be going to Chengdu the day after tomorrow. This money is for your tuition and living expenses. Don't let yourself suffer while you are away. The total amount is 1,048.86 yuan. The money may not be enough. I will remit some more to you when the time comes." After saying this seriously, Yuan Chengzhu handed the plastic bag in his hand to Yuan Fangguo tremblingly.
His university tuition was 900 yuan. Apart from the tuition, Yuan Fangguo still had some money to spend, of course, this included the 40 yuan bus fare to Chengdu.
In other words, he can only spend about 100 yuan in the second half of this year.
Yuan Fangguo glanced at his father, full of expectations.
Seeing the wrinkles on his father's forehead and his increasingly aged appearance, Yuan Fangguo held back his tears and nodded, "Dad, next year I won't ask for a penny from home. I still have to support my younger siblings' education and build a new house for our family."
Yuan Chengzhu was an honest man. After hearing what his son said, he didn't know what to say and just nodded continuously.
Qin Mingzhen and Chen Yongying didn't speak either.
Yuan Fangmin and Yuan Fangan also looked serious.
They all knew that their loved ones would soon leave home and go out into the world to make their own way, and that their future would depend solely on them.
"Brother, come on..." Yuan Fangmin gave Yuan Fangguo a thumbs up with a proud look on his face.
"Brother, come on..." Yuan Fangan also followed his third brother and imitated his movements.
"Let's work hard together." Yuan Fangmin patted his brother and sister on the shoulders and said with a smile, "Let grandma and mom and dad no longer have to work so hard, okay?"
"Well... don't worry, Fang An and I will study hard." Yuan Fangmin nodded with a determined look on his face.
Looking at the three children's sensible faces, the three adults' eyes began to well up with bitter tears. If this family wasn't so poor, they wouldn't have...
Qin Mingzhen wiped her tears, and Chen Yongying also wiped her tears. The strong-willed Yuan Chengzhu strode out of the house, trying hard to hold back his tears.
Yuan Fangguo also felt that he was about to cry. In order not to break this last line of defense of tears, he picked up the dishes on the table and headed towards the kitchen, quickening his pace.
"In this reborn world, I, Yuan Fangguo, must not only be successful myself, but also help my younger brothers and sisters to become successful." Yuan Fangguo clenched his fists in the kitchen.
…
On August 27, 1993, the reborn Yuan Fangguo boarded a bus to Chengdu, carrying a bleached denim backpack that his uncle had washed while working.
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