Chapter 221 Blocking the Back Road
Panpan and Tiantian shook their heads and sighed, "How would we know that?"
Mother said that if you don't want the other party to ask you for money, you'd better borrow money from him first or let him think you have no money.
My godfather's parents came to ask my godfather for money, so they had to make the other party think that my godfather had no money.
My godfather's salary is very high, and his parents definitely don't believe that he has no money, so they just said that he owed money.
As for how he owed it?
The two children looked at the old couple and shook their heads, "Anyway, we only know that my godfather owed my family money, and my mother was angry because he never paid it back."
"Hey..."
Chen's parents had never seen such smart and deceiving children, so they naturally didn't expect them to lie. The more they listened, the more shocked they were.
Tiantian: "Maybe he sent it to his comrade's family? My father always sent money to his comrade's family, and so did my godfather."
"Hey..."
Chen's parents believed it even more, because Chen Yanming had told them before that his comrade had died and his family was in great difficulty, and he had to support them.
The old couple kept wondering in their hearts.
Since last year, Chen Yanming has had almost no effective communication with them. Although he still remits money every month, he no longer writes letters like in the past, and he does not reply to their letters.
They racked their brains at home but could not contact Chen Yanming, and did not know what happened to him.
It can be said that from last spring to now, they are most concerned about Chen Yanming in their lives. They are eager to know where he is, what happened, why there is only ten yuan left to remit, when will he continue to remit more money, etc.
But no matter who they ask or what method they use, they cannot contact him.
At first, they were too embarrassed to ask the commune. After all, the youngest son saved so much money every month, allowing the second son to live comfortably like the people in the city without having to work in the fields. They were very proud of this and showed off a lot in those years. If people knew that their son suddenly stopped saving money, wouldn’t they be laughed at?
They were used to being praised, and they couldn’t stand others’ cold eyes.
Later, no matter they wrote letters or sent telegrams, they couldn’t contact their son, so they went to the commune and the county to inquire, but they couldn’t get any useful information.
At least they saved a lot of money in the past, and the old couple was frugal. Although the second son spent a lot, the expenses in the countryside were limited. Without meat coupons and cloth coupons, he couldn't buy much. At most, he didn't work and spent money to buy food for the family.
The savings allowed them to live comfortably for more than a year, but they couldn't bear it in the second half of this year. They saw that there was no money at home! !
The second son's family didn't work, and they couldn't buy food without money. Wouldn't they starve to death without food?
Chen's father had been working to earn work points, but the second son couldn't. He had been a baby since he was a child, and his parents didn't want him to do heavy work. The third son would enjoy more after he earned money. Now he is almost 30 years old and asked him to go to the fields? He ca
n't do it, he can't bear the hardship, and his parents are reluctant to let him go.
At least knowing their youngest son's new unit, the old couple came here in a hurry without having time to prepare carefully. Little
did they know that they lost money because their youngest son was not there! What
was even more surprising was that their son actually owed a large amount of foreign debt!
Panpan and Tiantian looked at them, then went upstairs hand in hand and went home.
Upstairs, Lin Shu was talking to Yang Shumin and Zhang Ya, while Fang Dihua and Grandma Fang were putting things away. They didn't want to sleep here, so they rented a small room opposite and slept there after cleaning up.
Zhang Juying came over to take a look. She poked her head at Lin Shu's side. It seemed that this room was bigger than the two rooms of Sangou's family. Then she looked back and saw that there was a slightly smaller room next to Sangou's room. How come it was occupied by this family?
She leaned over again, leaning against the door frame and asked Fang Dihua: "Auntie, are you Comrade Lu's mother?"
She didn't remember Lu Shaotang's name, but knew his last name was Lu.
Fang Dihua turned around and looked at her, "Yeah."
The third daughter-in-law said that she had to remain aloof and let Chen Yanming's parents feel their indifference and exclusion, and not be enthusiastic. Once they are enthusiastic, they will come close to them and make excessive demands, and you will be embarrassed to refuse them.
Be cold to them at the beginning, put on airs in front of them, and show a sense of superiority. They will be jealous and dare not act rashly when they can't figure it out
. If they know the details of my side, know that my family has a good relationship with Yanming and will not do anything to his parents, then they will immediately show their fangs.
Tiantian knew that this was a story of a poor donkey, and we don't want to be a donkey, and the other party is just a paper tiger.
Zhang Juying originally thought that if Fang Dihua was more enthusiastic, she would take advantage of the situation and immediately approach her to get close to her, asking when Sangou brother would come back, and asking her to borrow money and food coupons from her aunt.
As a result, she was very disappointed. Fang Dihua's attitude was very cold, so she didn't dare to approach her shamelessly.
She was unwilling to leave, so she asked timidly: "Auntie, our two families live on the third floor. How are the rooms arranged? Well, my second brother's family will come over in two days, and there are no rooms available there."
Fang Dihua was born with a pouty face and didn't like to laugh. Even if she wasn't angry, she was very serious. Now even if she was in a good mood, she smiled more, but when she deliberately put on a stern face, she was quite imposing.
Lu Shaotang's cold temperament was inherited from her.
She turned her head and glared at Zhang Juying, which frightened Zhang Juying so much that she shrank back, fearing that she would be beaten by Fang Dihua if she stuck her head into the house.
Fang Dihua: "Chen Yanming is not married yet, and there is only one room. This room belongs to our family."
Zhang Juying was anxious, "I, I, I Sangou... Brother Yanming has a wife, and I am his wife!"
Granny Fang immediately looked over with her glasses, grinning, "Girl, you have to be honest. If you are not honest, you will not be liked by others."
Zhang Juying's face immediately turned red, "I, I didn't lie, I am Brother Yanming's wife!"
Granny Fang: "Where is the marriage certificate? Where is the evidence?"
Zhang Juying's face turned pale again. "We country people don't care about that. We just set up the wine."
Granny Fang looked at her from above her glasses. "Did the Chen family set up the wine?"
Zhang Juying nodded. "Of course!"
Granny Fang: "Is Chen Yanming here?"
Zhang Juying's face turned even paler, but she said loudly, "Of course!"
Granny Fang shrugged, pouted, turned to Fang Dihua and said, "This family is not real. You'd better not have any dealings with them."
After that, she closed the door.
Zhang Juying was almost hit on the nose by the door panel. She took a step back in fear. She didn't understand why the two old ladies were so arrogant. They were so bullying.
She turned to look at Lin Shu's room. Three women were chattering about something she couldn't understand, such as cloth, meat coupons, leather shoes, and furniture. She
mustered up her courage and leaned on the door frame and said, "That...sister-in-law..."
The three women in the room were dressed fashionably and looked good. They were all white, unlike the country girls with dark and wrinkled skin. She was a little timid and didn't dare to speak loudly to them.
Lin Shu and the others didn't hear her at all, so naturally they didn't pay any attention to her.
Zhang Juying didn't dare to go in after all, and just leaned on the door frame to look inside.
"Are you a thief?" A questioning voice from a child came from behind, and Zhang Juying jumped away in fear, waving her hands repeatedly, "No, no! I'm not a thief! Don't blame me!"
Panpan and Tiantian looked at each other, ignored her, and pushed the door and went into the house.
Lin Shu saw the two children coming back and smiled, "You ran away as soon as you got off the car, and didn't even say hello to Aunt Yang and Aunt Zhang."
In the countryside, everyone likes to call them aunt, auntie, sister-in-law, etc. In the city, people who are particular like to call aunt and uncle, and think that aunt and auntie are too rustic.
The two children greeted crisply, and Panpan even took out a handful of candy, "Aunt Yang, Aunt Zhang, eat candy!" Knowing that they would not eat his candy, he might be pretending to be generous.
Yang Shumin and Zhang Ya were so amused that they laughed. They touched Panpan's head and Tiantian's little hair, "You two are getting more and more handsome, much taller than the last time I saw you."
Tiantian immediately spun around happily, "Really? Really?"
She hoped that she would grow taller, preferably taller than Panpan and the others, as tall as grandma and dad!
After chatting for a few sentences, Lin Shu said she was going to the cafeteria to get food.
At this time, Chen's father and mother also came upstairs and happened to meet Lin Shu in the corridor again.
Originally, they thought that their son and Lin Shu's husband were comrades-in-arms, so they were equal in status in this courtyard. As a result, because the two children talked about Chen Yanming's debt, they subconsciously felt guilty and short of breath, and they couldn't help but be shorter when they saw Lin Shu.
"Are you going to get food?" The two of them took the initiative to greet Lin Shu with a flattering smile on their faces.
Lin Shu did not return the enthusiasm, but glanced at them, and looked back at the balcony as if she remembered something, and walked over, "Although everyone lives on the third floor, I have to make it clear to you. Brothers have to settle accounts clearly, and we are just neighbors, so we have to settle accounts more clearly."
Chen's father and mother had no idea about Lin Shu's family background, and they just thought that she was their son's creditor. Naturally, they did not dare to speak loudly to Lin Shu, and hurriedly asked how to settle.
Lin Shu pointed to the balcony: "This stove, coal briquettes, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar are all mine. Your son..."
Chen's father and mother immediately stared at Lin Shu with shining eyes.
Lin Shu paused and said slowly, "Chen Yanming rarely comes to the family compound. When he comes, he eats in the canteen. There is nothing of his here. I bought all of them. If you use... Oh, I wonder what's wrong with you. Why did you use up so much of my oil?"
Chen's father and mother were shocked when they saw Lin Shu's cold face.
Yang Shumin and Zhang Ya also came to see. The two were good friends with Lin Shu. Seeing Lin Shu's attitude towards Chen's father and mother, they knew something was wrong, so they naturally cooperated with Lin Shu.
"Oh, I saw that there was still more than half a small bucket when they came, but now it's empty after just a few days?"
Zhang Ya: "This soybean oil costs 75 cents per catty. At least two catties were used, so I have to compensate you 1.5 yuan."
Chen's father and mother's faces fell suddenly.
Mother Chen cursed in a low voice: "Juying, you don't know how to manage your life. Why did you use so much oil in just a few days?"
Zhang Juying lowered her head, and was also very scared, afraid that Lin Shu would get angry and let them arrest her.
When she first came, she heard her parents-in-law say that this was Brother Sangou's unit. Brother Sangou was a big official. This building was his, and he had the final say.
Then aren't all the oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar in this building his?
Can't they use them freely?
In the countryside, she heard people say that the treatment of being a cadre in the city was very good, and that white flour could be made freely, and oil could be eaten freely, and even drunk as water. She
thought that she finally had such a good life, how could she not...spend a little?
The first noodle she ate here, she fried it with scallion oil. Although she had never used so much oil before and it was burnt, it...was so delicious!
She and her parents-in-law had a delicious meal that day, and that night the three of them had diarrhea because they ate too much oil.
She didn't use a lot of oil just now, but she also poured a spoonful of stewed cabbage.
This cabbage is not delicious when boiled in water, but it is really delicious when stewed with oil.
Now tell her that this is not Sangou's, will it cost money?
Panpan and Tiantian ran over to move the oil barrel, salt jar, and sauce jar away.
Fortunately, the sugar jar was not placed here.
And it was cold, so the kimchi jar and pickled vegetable jar were not placed here, otherwise they would have been stolen.
If they were good to their godfather, let alone these pickled vegetables, they would be willing to give them big fish and meat!
But if they were not good to their godfather, they would not be willing to give them.
They are not used to bad habits.
Seeing Lin Shu and the others moving all their stuff away, Chen's father and mother were so anxious that they wanted to stop them, "Why are
you moving?" "What will we use it for? We still need it?"
"You said it's yours, so it's yours? Maybe it's ours?"
"Why are you so picky? They say that a neighbor is better than a distant relative."
Yang Shumin said, "Are you really Chen Yanming's parents? Do you have any proof?"
Chen's father hurriedly said, "Yes, we brought the household registration and the letter of introduction."
He immediately asked Chen's mother to go into the house to get it.
Soon Chen's mother took out the household registration booklet and the letter of introduction.
Lin Shu took a look and saw that the household registration booklet belonged to the Chen family, but Chen Yanming's household registration was not on it. He and Lu Shaotang were both in the army.
The letter of introduction was issued by the brigade, with no time limit, and the content was to find his son to join the army.
Father Chen: "Look, there is a stamp from the brigade, we are real parents."
Lin Shu felt a little regretful that she could not send them back as fakes.
She turned her head to look at Zhang Juying who was hiding behind Chen's mother. This person kept saying that she was Chen Yanming's arranged daughter-in-law. It seemed that Chen's father and mother married her without Chen Yanming's knowledge.
Human nature is so strange, and parents in the world are also different.
Chen Yanming is so promising, but his parents are partial to the unpromising second son. Although they are not partial to the eldest son, they don't hate him either. However, they have no tenderness towards Chen Yanming. They are full of money and treat Chen Yanming as a blood bag of the family.
Parents can be partial, but they can't lose their bottom line because of partiality.
If they still have the feelings of ordinary parents for their son towards Chen Yanming, Lin Shu will not look down on them, nor will she treat them, and will still treat them well as elders.
After delivering the oil barrels and salt cans, Panpan and Tiantian ran back and said to Mr. and Mrs. Chen, "You use my oil and coal briquettes, which is one yuan and sixty cents."
Mr. Chen's dark and rough old face turned red, and he felt humiliated as if he was caught a thief. He cursed, "That bastard San Gouzi knew that mom and dad were coming but he didn't tell us to prepare anything. Does he really think that he treats others as his comrades, and others should treat him as such?"
Mother Chen: "We have no money now, so let's save it first."
Panpan immediately said, "That's five hundred and one yuan and sixty cents, you must remember it."
He decided to remind his godfather and mom when he sees them in the future, so that they won't forget!
Panpan's noises gave Chen's mother a headache. She quickly took a basin to pour the food into the room, and immediately closed the door, fearing that Lin Shu would chase her to ask for the debt.
Lin Shu winked at Panpan and Tiantian, and took a few lunch boxes to get food.
Yang Shumin and Zhang Ya also went downstairs.
Chen's father and the other two hid behind the door and listened to the noise outside.
Chen's mother: "His father, what should we do? The little money and food coupons we brought with us are not enough. I had thought of borrowing from San Gou'er's comrades, but now he is not coming back. His wife is so fierce and stingy, she will definitely not lend us a penny."
Chen's father gritted his teeth and said: "Send a telegram to the eldest son and ask him and his sisters to collect twenty or thirty yuan and send it to us. Then let the second son borrow food from home and exchange it for food coupons at the food administration office."
They collected more than 40 yuan when they came, but it cost a lot for three people to take the train. They were supposed to reimburse their train expenses, but San Gou'er is not here, and no one will reimburse them now. They have to wait for him to come back.
When they came, they had 30 kilograms of food coupons, which they could still eat for a few days if they tightened their belts.
Zhang Juying: "Dad, Mom, can we borrow from the government? Brother Yanming is a government official, he is not at home, we have no food to eat when we come, the government can't just ignore it, right?"
The government takes care of the five-guarantee households without children in the countryside, and also helps those whose houses are collapsed by heavy rain or snow. Doesn't the government care about them?
If you have any difficulties, go to the government. This is what the commune secretary said when he went to the countryside. She remembers it clearly.
Chen's father thought about it and said, "This is a way. Let's go to the government first, and then send a telegram to our family."
Originally, they didn't know how to send telegrams, but they learned it by sending telegrams to Chen Yanming to ask for money.
Lin Shu took her two children to the canteen in the government compound in front to get food. She chatted with acquaintances on the way. Without exception, they gossiped with her, "Did Director Chen's parents bring their daughter-in-law?" "When did Director Chen marry a daughter-in-law? Didn't he say he wasn't married before?"
Someone who had a better relationship with her whispered to Lin Shu, "Some people are whispering behind his back that Director Chen dislikes arranged marriages and rural daughters-in-law because they are not presentable, so he doesn't acknowledge the marriage."
Lin Shu felt that this was not difficult to clarify. All she needed was an investigation report from the Public Security Bureau to prove Chen Yanming's innocence.
But Zhang Juying was a secondary contradiction. The main contradiction was Chen's father and mother, and they had to be sent back.
Lin Shu was thinking of a solution all the way.
They met many acquaintances along the way. When Lin Shu was too busy to handle the food, Tiantian and Panpan would help greet them. They called them uncles, aunts and uncles very enthusiastically, which made others praise them and cherish them very much.
The canteen had cabbage and pork slices, and stewed potatoes with pork skin. Lin Shu also bought a lunch box and eight big steamed buns.
Panpan helped count the food coupons and money. The two of them held the steamed buns, and Lin Shu held the lunch box, and they walked home together.
As they walked, Lin Shu gradually came up with an idea. If she wanted to send Chen's father and mother back, she had to cut off their food supply. If she wanted to cut off their food supply, she couldn't let others support them.
She had to say hello to others. She couldn't let the people in the family compound lend them money and coupons, nor could she let the unit lend them money.
How can she tell others without giving them a negative impression of Chen Yanming?
Don't publicize the fact that Chen Yanming's parents were not kind to him. This is a family shame, and it doesn't matter in the eyes of most people.
After all, it's a thing of the past that his parents were not kind to Chen Yanming, and they didn't see Chen Yanming suffer when he was a child. They only saw that he is successful and a big cadre now.
Then the rational person will think that the fact that you can grow up so big and have such a promising future must be the credit of your parents.
There are no parents who are not wrong in the world, and even if they are a little partial, children should not bear grudges.
So it's nothing that his parents are not kind to him.
But if he is not kind to his parents, it would be a great rebellion.
Especially when his parents came to see him, but he was not there, his parents had no money or tickets, and the families of his comrades-in-arms refused to lend them money, then Lu Shaotang would be criticized along with him.
But if they could borrow money to get by, they would stay and never leave.
And those rational people who lent them money would only ask Chen Yanming for it, and would not say anything about the old couple.
After all, it would not hurt them.
Lin Shu was well-informed and quickly came up with an idea.
If someone told her on the road that Chen Yanming's parents had come with their country wife, she would immediately sigh, which made the other person very curious and they had to ask why.
Lin Shu: "Parents in the countryside are uneducated and not open-minded, so they often do bad things with good intentions."
The other party asked with sparkling eyes what happened, "I will definitely not tell anyone."
Lin Shu: "Actually, it's nothing. Director Chen is busy with work and often away from home. He is afraid that getting married will delay the woman, so he plans to find a partner after he is stable. The elderly at home are anxious and worried that their son will not be able to find a wife. If someone tricks him, won't he bring her here as his daughter-in-law? Director Chen is a soldier. How can it be considered a marriage without a marriage application, political review, and marriage certificate? Not to mention setting up a wedding banquet in his hometown, it won't work even if he sets up a wedding banquet in the sky."
"Ah? Was he tricked?"
Lin Shu: "More than that, I didn't bring much money and bills, and Director Chen won't be back for a while, so I'm asking for money and bills from everywhere. Anyway, I won't lend it. If anyone borrows money and Director Chen doesn't acknowledge it and doesn't pay it back for them, don't be angry."
The other party agreed: "Of course I won't lend it."
Lending money is to do Director Chen a favor, but this is not a favor and it makes an enemy. Who is the idiot?
After Lin Shu said this, several women quickly communicated privately.
When the women communicated, their parents-in-law and men naturally knew about it.
The generation of the parents-in-law had suffered from arranged marriages, especially the wave of successful revolutions. Many people went home to divorce their arranged marriage wives when they became rich. Even if the divorce was successful, there would always be a stain.
They can understand Chen Yanming's mood very well, so they will definitely not help Zhang Juying, Chen's father and Chen's mother. If they do, wouldn't they just add fuel to the fire and become enemies with Chen Yanming?
Everyone goes to work units to talk about it, whether it is the Provincial Revolutionary Committee or the various subdistricts or police stations, there will naturally be many of them.
In the afternoon, Chen's father and Chen's mother took Zhang Juying to the post office to ask someone to send a telegram.
The word count was a bit too much, and it cost two yuan and eighty-five cents. It made them tremble with pain.
It doesn't matter if they spend Chen Yanming's money or borrow money from their comrades, but they raised the money themselves.
Father Chen gritted his teeth. When San Gou'er came back, he had to get more money. He had to make San Gou'er hand over all his wages and not keep a penny.
His parents raised him and provided for him, so how could he not give back?
He puffed on his tobacco pipe and walked towards the family compound with his hands behind his back, followed by Chen's mother and Zhang Juying.
When they returned to the family compound in the evening, Chen's father saw an old woman who was quite enthusiastic about them. He coughed and motioned Chen's mother to hurry up.
Chen's mother understood and greeted her with a smile, "Sister, are you taking a walk?"
Old Lady Li had been able to chat with her a few days ago, but now she glanced at her, said a perfunctory word and left.
Chen's mother: "Sister, I need your help."
Zhang Juying blocked the old lady's way.
Old Lady Li: "Hey, what are you doing? I have something to do, don't stop me."
Mother Chen said warmly: "Big sister, we are not outsiders. Our third son is the leader of the No. 8 Courtyard. He is on a business trip and has not returned yet. We don't have enough money with us."
She directly asked to lend her money.
Old Lady Li was warm to her because of Lin Shu. Now that she knew that Lin Shu didn't like them, how could she lend them money?
Old Lady Li immediately talked about how nervous she was, and then hurried away.
Mother Chen looked at her back and spat, "She said so nice things when we met, but she didn't do anything when she asked for help."
They met a few people who had a good chat in the past two days, but they left before they could open their mouths.
No one was willing to lend them money and bills!
Chen's father was furious, "Forget it, these city people are all snobbish and look down on us peasants."
Chen's mother: "When San Gou'er comes back, we will be city people too, with higher positions than their families. Let's see if they still dare to look down on us! Let's go to the government!" They
said to go to the government, but there are so many government agencies, which one should they go to?
They were standing in front of the gate of the Revolutionary Committee and felt dizzy.
They couldn't borrow money and bills in the family compound at the back, and they couldn't borrow money in the front either, because the people in front might not believe that they were Chen Yanming's parents, and they might even suspect that they were liars.
In the end, they decided to ask the gatekeeper how to borrow money and bills from the government.