"You mean the person was taken away on the spot?" Aunt Wang asked, somewhat incredulously.
“Yes, we have to take it with us, or something bad will happen outside.” Ding Qiunan took the water glass her husband handed her and took a sip.
"The police officers took me away to disperse the crowd outside. It was so crowded that people were starting to push and shove. Luckily, Li Chu pulled me out beforehand."
"If we take him away like this, what will happen to his parents' funeral arrangements?"
"Auntie, if we really want to investigate, that guy committed a crime, and it's normal procedure for the police to take him away." Li Chu said casually as he stood up after helping his wife change into slippers.
"Oh, what a tragedy!"
“Xiao Chu is right. He should be held accountable for his crime. He was a perfectly good young man, but instead of having a proper relationship, he messed around outside and even angered his parents to death. He doesn’t deserve any sympathy.” Uncle Wang couldn’t help but speak up at this point.
"Go play your chess game, do you need me to tell you?" Aunt Wang rolled her eyes at her.
"Hey, you old hag, let me just say what I think..."
Just as he finished speaking, Uncle Wang saw Aunt Wang turn her head and stare at him, so he immediately changed his tune and said, "Come on, Lao Ding, let's continue."
"Qiu Nan, is the old man you're talking about the same one who used to be an eighth-grade worker at the steel mill?"
"Yes, sis, it's him. You know him too?"
"I've met him. It was right after Liberation, when they were allocating houses to them. I remember his son; I think it was after Xiao Chu had helped his wife get better, right?"
"Yes, that's right. Who could have imagined that this son would take their lives? Every whim is preordained."
"Alright, let's not talk about this upsetting stuff anymore, Aunt Wang, Aunt Ding, let's continue."
“That’s right, that’s right, Auntie, come on, let’s start over.” Ding’s mother put the cards on the table together and started shuffling them.
The card game restarted, and the chess game over there had also begun. Li Chu stood at the door and looked around before realizing that someone was missing from the room.
I heard some noise in the front yard when I came back. Wenxuan, Yueyue, and his mother-in-law should all be in the house in the front yard. Where's Wenhui? Why can't I see my daughter?
He lifted the curtain and walked out of the living room, then knocked on the door of Wenhui's east wing room. No one was inside; it seemed she had gone out to play. Didn't that girl feel cold?
He turned around and walked to the boiler, added some more coal, stared at the boiler for a moment, and wondered what would happen if coal burning was banned in the city.
The gas pipeline that's being laid is still under construction. I don't know when it will reach this area. Once we have piped gas, this coal-fired boiler can be retired.
Then he thought of natural gas, which is much cleaner than coal gas, but currently only two or three industrial users can use it, and residents are far from using it.
Moreover, Beijing had long suffered from a lack of natural gas, a situation that was only resolved in the late 1990s when Shaanxi gas was introduced to Beijing.
Li Chu felt that all he could hope for right now was piped gas.
Just as he was wondering what to do, he raised his hand and slapped his forehead. He had forgotten to call Meng Ge to tell him to come to his house for dinner today, instead of going to a restaurant.
We planned to have hot pot at home this afternoon, but for lunch I just ate some noodles.
Wang Ziwen didn't know what was going on at noon, but she mysteriously ran out without eating lunch and didn't return for two hours. As soon as she got back, she pulled Li Chu into the study.
g.
"What's wrong, brother-in-law? Where did you go drinking at noon?" Li Chu could smell the alcohol on his brother-in-law even from a distance.
"Hehe, someone's treating us to dinner at Xu Damao's restaurant."
"Wow, that's impressive, brother-in-law. You even got treated to a meal at a restaurant."
"You know this person too."
"Oh? I know him too? Who is he?"
Li Baonian
"Who? Factory Director Li?"
“That’s right, it’s him.” Wang Ziwen picked up the freshly brewed tea on the table and took a sip.
"I remember he resigned as factory director around seven or eight years ago?" Li Chu said uncertainly after thinking for a moment.
"We have no choice but to resign; someone is planning to hold him accountable later."
What kind of grudge? What other grudge could it be? The people he messed with in those years have come back, of course they're going to cause him trouble.
Where has he been all these years?
"According to him, he went to the south. Anyway, he looked like a successful boss and even brought a female secretary with him."
"Brother-in-law, he wouldn't be looking for you for no reason, would he?"
"Yes, he did need to talk to me about something. According to him, he brought back a batch of goods from overseas, but he's a bit short on cash right now and wants to partner with me."
He said the goods would arrive soon, and they were all in-demand items like TV recorders. He told me how much I paid and he would calculate the quantity of goods.
The most crucial point is that the goods have already been pre-ordered. As long as we receive the goods, we can resell them. Just like that, with a simple resale, I can make at least 10,000 yuan from the 10,000 yuan I earned.
Hearing this, Li Chu understood that Li Baonian wanted to drag his brother-in-law into the mess.
"You didn't agree, did you?"
"No, nobody's stupid. I don't believe in free lunches."
"It's good that he didn't agree. I suspect that he may have brought this batch of goods over the wall. If he gets caught, he'll be finished. Not only will all the money be lost, but he might also go to jail or at least be fined."
"Xiao Chu, are you saying his goods are all counterfeit?"
"Of course, otherwise why would it be so cheap? Don't forget, department stores also sell imported goods, and those things are much more expensive than domestic ones."
Wang Ziwen nodded slowly. He remembered that he had originally wanted to replace the 12-inch TV at home that day, but it was too much trouble. He went to the department store and saw a TV from a certain brand called "Xiao Ri Zi" (小日子) that cost several thousand yuan.
"This guy was trying to scam me! Luckily I didn't agree."
"He might not actually be trying to scam you this time. If you go along with him, you might actually make some money. You always have to play the long game."
"Forget it, no matter how much money he can make, I don't care. You can't take that stuff with you when you die, enough is enough."
"If this were before, I might have thought I'd save some money for the kids, but now Jia Yuan and Jia Dong are doing so well thanks to you. They get a good share of the profits from Xu Damao's restaurant every month, so I don't have to worry about them. My sister and I can spend whatever we have, so why should I bother?"
"That's right. Money is meant to serve people. None of us in the family are short of money, so we don't need to do anything shady."
"Your sister and I have to thank you for this. If it weren't for you, our family wouldn't be living such a comfortable life."
"Come on, brother-in-law, let's not be so sour. We're all family, let's not talk about this. Come on, have some tea."
(Announcement: Dear readers, there will be three chapters updated tomorrow, August 9th, at 6:00 AM, 11:00 AM, and 5:00 PM. Thank you for your support and encouragement.)
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