Just then, a man wearing a mourning cap and with a slightly weathered face slowly walked over. His gaze fell on Wang Hu, and he said, "Uncle Hongjun, this must be your son-in-law! Since you're here, please take your seats and start eating. By the way, didn't your family give a gift of money before?" As he spoke, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Meng Hongjun quickly introduced Li Defu to Wang Hu with a smile, "This is Li Defu. According to seniority, you can just call him Brother Defu. You two are of the same generation!" Following the direction Meng Hongjun pointed, Wang Hu sized up the man named Li Defu in front of him. He looked to be over fifty years old, and the years had left many marks on his face, but his eyes still revealed a shrewdness.
Despite feeling a little awkward, Wang Hu still politely greeted, "Hello, Brother Defu!" He then added, "Brother Defu, we still need to give the monetary gift. I'll go bow to my uncle first to show my respect." After saying this, Wang Hu turned to Meng Hongjun, and after receiving a nod from the other party, he took out two hundred-yuan bills from his pocket and handed them to the person in charge. The person in charge was the key figure responsible for handling all the affairs of this wedding or funeral.
Wang Hu walked respectfully to the front of the mourning hall and bowed deeply three times. Each bow was exceptionally sincere, as if he wanted to convey all the sorrow and respect in his heart. After completing these rituals, Wang Hu turned back to the large pot, looking at the delicious-looking stew.
Wang Hu casually picked up a large bowl, filled it to the brim with food without any hesitation, grabbed two steaming white steamed buns, and began to eat them in large mouthfuls. He looked as if he hadn't eaten for days. He ate with great relish, making smacking noises from time to time.
Wang Hu made three trips in a row like a whirlwind, and actually ate a whole ten steamed buns in one go! The people around him looked at him with surprise and a little amusement.
Wang Hu had just turned and taken a step when he suddenly felt someone blocking his way. He instinctively looked up and saw a woman wearing a school cap standing beside him. The woman's gaze was fixed on Wang Hu, and she asked with a hint of doubt, "Are you Wang Hu? I don't think I've mistaken you for someone else. What are you doing here?"
Wang Hu stared at the familiar face before him, his mind racing to recall relevant fragments of memory. A moment later, a flood of memories surged through him, and he blurted out involuntarily, "Zhou Lichun!"
That's right, Zhou Lichun was a friend Wang Hu had met in Suzhou. Back then, Wang Hu wasn't in Ningbo, where he is now, but was assigned by a technical school to work in the largest electronics factory in Suzhou High-tech Zone. It was there that he met and became acquainted with Zhou Lichun.
At that moment, Wang Hu felt a pang of embarrassment. It turned out that he had once accidentally lost his factory badge, and replacing it cost 50 yuan. Struggling financially, Wang Hu had to borrow money from everyone he knew. However, after asking many people, only the kind-hearted Zhou Lichun was willing to lend him the 50 yuan.
When he finally received his salary, Wang Hu intended to repay Zhou Lichun. However, once he got the money, he couldn't control his shopping urges and went on a spending spree, leaving him with only a pitiful 200 yuan. This amount was barely enough to cover basic living expenses, let alone repay the debt.
Every time Wang Hu caught a glimpse of Zhou Lichun from afar, he would run away like a mouse before a cat. Later, after a heated argument with the factory leaders, Wang Hu resigned in a fit of anger. And so, the debt remained unpaid to Zhou Lichun.
Just then, he suddenly ran into his creditor. In an instant, a strong sense of embarrassment surged into his heart like a tidal wave, making him wish he could immediately dig a hole in the ground and bury himself in it like an ostrich.
Zhou Lichun, on the other hand, hadn't actually come here to collect a debt at all. She had long forgotten about that matter. She only came up to say hello because she thought Wang Hu looked familiar.
However, at the same time, she also began to wonder: there didn't seem to be anyone named Wang Hu among her uncle's relatives!
Seeing the atmosphere growing increasingly awkward, Wang Hu quickly tried to make conversation, saying, "Sister Lichun, I remember your hometown is Zhoukou, right? What's your relationship with this family?" As soon as he said this, even he felt it was a bit far-fetched, but at the moment, it seemed that there was no other way to ease the suffocating atmosphere except to force a conversation like this.
To his surprise, Zhou Lichun rolled her eyes at him without any mercy and replied irritably, "The person who passed away here was my own grandfather. What kind of relationship do you think we have? As for you, what are you doing here all of a sudden? And I heard that you actually resigned. I even asked your fellow villager about you before, but who knew that as soon as he heard me mention your name, he turned around and ran away without saying a word. I really don't know what happened!"
"Don't mention him! That guy is a complete bastard!" Mentioning that person instantly ignited Wang Hu's anger. Back when they first started working, they happened to be from the same hometown, so whenever they went out, Wang Hu always generously paid the bill.
But who could have imagined that when Wang Hu was short of money and had to ask the other person for a loan, the guy answered without hesitation, "No!" What was infuriating was that on the same night, Wang Hu witnessed him swaggering back to his dormitory with a large bag full of snacks.
Seeing Wang Hu's anger and obvious unwillingness to discuss the matter further, Zhou Lichun wisely chose to remain silent and instead asked, "So, where did you go after you resigned? Judging from your outfit, you must be doing quite well now! Why don't you introduce me to a job too? I've been idly wandering around at home for four or five months now."
Hearing this, Wang Hu calmed down a bit. For him, helping someone find a job was a piece of cake. After all, Zhou Lichun had indirectly saved his life once!
At that time, Wang Hu was desperate because he didn't have the money to replace his factory ID card and couldn't contact his family. He was so anxious that he even considered robbery. If Zhou Lichun hadn't come to his rescue in time, Wang Hu would probably be in jail by now.
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