Chapter 15 Debt (2)

After the suspicion, the aunt remembered that Su Taotao said she was visiting relatives. She looked around for a long time but couldn't remember which relative it was, so she had to ask: "Could the relatives you are visiting be from our family? Are you..."

Su Taotao smiled and said, "It's just a saying. We are here to look for Comrade Chen Sihai."

The mother suddenly realized: "So you are here to look for my son. Come in first, Sihai, come out quickly. Someone is looking for you."

The eldest mother had a good impression of this family. Usually, people who came to her house for unknown reasons to ask her son to do something were turned away by her before they even saw Chen Sihai. She rarely looked so friendly: "Sit down for a while. I'll go get you a glass of water."

Su Taotao didn't bother to be polite with her. After thanking her, she led the few people to sit on the bench.

Zhou Linglan felt a little awkward and followed Su Taotao to sit down.

I have to say that Zhou Linglan knows how to teach children. It was the first time for the two children to come to such a tube-shaped building, but they just looked around curiously. Chenchen sat obediently in his uncle's arms and did not look around or touch anything. He did not even glance at the eight-treasure box on the table with various candies and biscuits.

"Who is looking for me..."

A tall and strong man in his forties, with a decent temperament, opened the curtain and came out of the room. When he saw Su Taotao and the others, he was stunned for a moment, frowned and asked, "Who are you?"

Su Taotao stood up, introduced herself, and showed him Cao Guohua's handwritten letter. "Take a look at this first."

After reading the letter, Chen Sihai was very excited and asked immediately: "Where is Lao Cao now? How is he? Is he okay?"

Su Taotao nodded and said, "Teacher Cao is in our production team now. Everything is fine. Don't worry."

Chen Sihai asked Su Taotao which production team she was from and some specific information about Cao Guohua. Su Taotao was not very clear, and Zhou Linglan answered most of the questions.

Chen Sihai nodded repeatedly after hearing this, "That's good, that's good."

Seeing that he didn't mention the repayment for a long time, Su Taotao reminded him, "Comrade Chen, what Teacher Cao mentioned..."

Chen Sihai slapped his forehead, then carefully looked at the loan agreement and photos in his hand, and said to Su Taotao: "That's right, I'll go get it for you now."

After Chen Sihai finished speaking, he returned to his room and took out a bag: "Here are three hundred yuan, and these are some common bills I have lying around."

Su Taotao didn't expect things to go so smoothly, and was about to refuse, saying that she would only take back 250 yuan.

Chen Sihai raised his hand to interrupt her: "Please listen to me first. Two hundred and fifty yuan here is the debt. I have received your receipt and photos and we are all clear. The other fifty yuan is my impertinent request. I know Lao Cao. He has refused to contact us since he went to the countryside. If you hadn't come here today, I wouldn't know his situation. Lao Cao mentioned in the letter that your family took care of him.

By the way, Lao Fu and I have met each other a few times, so I shamelessly ask you to look after Lao Cao on my behalf.

It won't be too difficult. Just send some to Lao Cao when you need to improve your food. If he encounters difficulties, let me know. Use the tickets if you need them. If it's convenient, bring some to Lao Cao. If it's really inconvenient, just pretend I didn't say anything. The tickets are here with me, and you can use them more. In short, thank you no matter what."

Su Taotao knew that Chen Sihai and Cao Guohua had a close relationship when she heard what he said. She shook her head and said, "Comrade Chen, you are too kind. There is not much we can do. Teacher Cao and my father-in-law are comrades-in-arms. We will definitely help if we can. Don't worry, I will see to it."

Chen Sihai was delighted. "Thank you so much. I am currently the director of a meat processing plant, so it is quite convenient for me to buy meat. If you need to buy meat in the future, just come to me."

Both the mother and son of the Chen family are good people. When leaving, Chen Sihai stuffed another piece of meat into Su Taotao's mouth. It wasn't much, just a little over a pound, but this piece was top-quality front leg meat. Aunt Chen also insisted on giving Su Taotao a piece of defective cloth and kept stuffing candies into the two children's mouths.

Fu Yuanhang was so scared that he kept refusing, but finally he couldn't resist and took two out of courtesy. The small pocket embroidered with peanut patches was stuffed full by her.

Su Taotao also insisted on leaving all the remaining mountain products to them, and they did not refuse but accepted them happily. Aunt Chen also made an appointment with Su Taotao that next time she had any mountain products, she could send them to her, and if she needed to exchange anything, she could tell her, because she knew a lot of people and she would find a way to help her exchange it.

Su Taotao thanked them one by one, but declined the Chen family's invitation to have them over for dinner.

We just met by chance, and we have done our best. It would be inappropriate to push for more.

The whole family is polite and knows when to advance and retreat. Chen Sihai and his mother have a much better impression of them. In fact, it is not difficult to see from the children's education that this family is worth making friends with.

Su Taotao never expected that her trip to the county town to collect debts would bring her such a big unexpected gain. Not only did she get back the money she was owed, but she also received such a big favor. It seems that she was still quite lucky in the 1970s.

The family of four came out of Chen's house, and Zhou Linglan was still smiling: "Taotao, not only did we get our money back, but we also got a lot of meat. Is this true?"

Su Taotao hadn't come back yet, but Fu Yuanhang, who was also overwhelmed by the sweetness of the fruit candy, had already nodded: "It's true, mom, I saw with my own eyes a thick stack of money, and there was a lot of meat in the basket!"

Ever since his elder brother passed away, Fu Yuanhang had forgotten how long it had been since he had seen meat, except for the fish and meat distributed by the team during festivals.

Su Taotao was actually very worried before she got the money, but only now did she feel relieved. She nodded and said, "Yes, we can at least have meat every day from now on, so that you and Chenchen can grow taller, right, Chenchen?"

Chenchen lay on his uncle's shoulder and nodded, with candy in his little mouth, his big eyes wide open and his cheeks puffed out, looking like a cute little hamster. He was infected by the happy atmosphere and started grinning as well.

After coming out, the family of four found a small park to sit in and eat the dry food they brought with them. After eating, Su Taotao looked at the time and saw that there were still a few hours before the tractor would return to the village.

There were quite a few cloth coupons among the tickets given by Chen Sihai, so Su Taotao decided to take them to the state-owned shopping mall first.

When they arrived at the entrance of the state-owned shopping mall, Zhou Linglan said, "Taotao, I won't go in. I'll just watch the basket outside."

Su Taotao thought about it and felt that it would be inconvenient for Zhou Linglan to go in carrying a basket, and she might be reluctant to buy this or that.

"Then you take a rest at the door. We will be out soon. Xiaohang must be tired too. Chenchen, let mommy hold you for a while."

Chenchen no longer resists Su Taotao and takes the initiative to reach out to her.

Fu Yuanhang actually wanted to say that he was not tired, but when he saw Su Taotao's expectant look, he took the words back.

Su Taotao was very happy to hold the little darling in her arms, and she loved him very much.

"Chenchen, can you pick out your own clothes and shoes later?"

Chenchen tilted his head in confusion. This question was beyond his scope. It was his first time even to be in a state-owned shopping mall, let alone buy clothes and shoes.

Su Taotao asked for directions and headed straight for the children's clothing area.

Clothes these days don't have so many fancy styles and the colors are not rich. The most popular one is green military uniform.

It was also the first time for Fu Yuanhang to enter a state-owned shopping mall. The number of goods was already "dazzling" for him. He looked down at the Jiefang shoes on his feet, which he had been wearing with his heels stepped on because they did not fit his feet. Those were bought for him by his brother before he left. He only wore them during the Chinese New Year, but there was still a hole in them. He retracted his toes embarrassedly and wanted to tell Su Taotao that he would go to the door to wait for her with his mother.

But the opportunity to enter the state-owned shopping mall was rare, and he could not help wanting to continue looking, so he had to bite the bullet and follow behind Su Taotao, looking at the new clothes, shoes and hats from a distance, and he did not dare to touch anything with his hands, for fear of getting them dirty by accident.

"Xiaohang, pick one for yourself too." Su Taotao fiddled with her clothes and turned to say to Fu Yuanhang.

Fu Yuanhang looked up at Su Taotao in astonishment, and then he reacted and shook his head: "No, no, sister-in-law, I, I don't need it, just buy it for Chenchen."

Fu Yuanhang knew that the money he had just taken back was the money that his sister-in-law's family had left for him to keep in the bottom of the box. Before he left, his mother had told him to try not to spend his sister-in-law's money.

Su Taotao actually wanted to touch the child's head. The envy and expectation in his eyes could not be hidden at all, but there was no greed or gloom in his eyes. He was a sensible child that made people feel sorry for him.

"Xiao Hang, look at these two sets of clothes. The price of the large size you wear and the small size Chenchen wears are actually about the same. But think about it, this set is so much bigger, and when it doesn't fit you anymore, Chenchen can still wear it. One set of clothes can be worn by two people. Aren't we getting a good deal?"

Fu Yuanhang blinked after hearing this. It seemed to make sense, but also seemed to be wrong. Before he could react, Chenchen's little hand had already grabbed a green military uniform: "This, uncle..."

Su Taotao smiled and kissed Chen Chen: "Chen Chen has a good taste. Mom also likes this set. Let's buy these two sets, the big one for uncle and the small one for Chen Chen."

Chenchen nodded, narrowed his big eyes, and looked very happy.

The waiter who was picking his teeth nearby naturally heard their conversation. He had been indifferent since they came in, but now he spoke: "Ready-made clothes are very expensive, and they require cloth coupons. Can you afford them?"

Su Taotao didn't even look at her. She handed the two big balls and the sorted cloth coupons to Fu Yuanhang, pointed to another young female comrade who was smiling and introducing clothes to an old man in tattered clothes, and said, "Xiaohang, go there and wait. When that sister is free, tell her that we want to buy these two sets of clothes."

Captain Fu Yuanhang had never seen so much money and bills in his life. He almost threw them away and said with difficulty: "Sister-in-law, I..."

Su Taotao put Chen Chen down, held his little hand, bent down and looked Fu Yuanhang in the eye and said, "Xiaohang is so good at studying, he must remember the 'equality of all' advocated by our great leader. There is no hierarchy among people, and there is no high or low status. Workers and farmers, leaders and employees are just different social divisions. Of course, there are differences in quality and education. For example, we don't need to care about some people who look down on others." Su Taotao patted the child on the back, "In the future, keep your heads up high for me, go."

Fu Yuanhang's chest was hot and swollen. He nodded heavily, pursed his lips and said "hmm" seriously, then walked forward with his head held high and chest puffed out.

Most salespeople these days take themselves too seriously and have no sense of service. Hearing Su Taotao say this, he couldn't stand it. He stood up and glared at Su Taotao: "Who are you calling a dog looking down on others?"

Su Taotao was too lazy to argue with the idiot, so she pointed at the banner on the wall and said, "Don't you know how to read? Let me read it to you: 'Serve the People'. You don't think you're here to be a boss, do you?"

The salesperson didn't expect that Su Taotao's face was covered in black and gray spots, and her clothes were not very good, and she looked soft and fluffy. He didn't expect her to be so tough. He didn't dare to respond to her and could only keep a sullen face and say nothing.

If she didn't find fault with her, Su Taotao would naturally not argue with her.

Fu Yuanhang had already come back with another salesperson. The kid seemed to think he had done something great, and his face was full of excitement and confidence.

Su Taotao was very relieved. She was afraid that the previous environment would make Fu Yuanhang inferior and cowardly, and develop a petty character. It would be a pity to lose such a good child.

Su Taotao not only bought a set of clothes for him and Chenchen, but also bought a pair of sandals for each of them. Seeing that there were still some cloth coupons left, she bought a piece of clothing and a pair of sandals for Zhou Linglan and herself.

Dacron is popular these days, but Su Taotao thinks pure cotton is more comfortable to wear.

The sandals were picked out by the uncle and nephew together, or to be more precise, it was Chenchen who picked them out. The two children stood in front of the shoe cabinet and whispered to each other. Fu Yuanhang doted on Chenchen very much, and he thought whatever Chenchen pointed out was good, so he bought what Chenchen pointed out.

Money these days is easy to spend, but there are too many things that are needed and many people need to spend money. They want to buy everything, including for the whole family. All the cloth coupons were used up in one go, and nearly twenty yuan was spent. Su Taotao never knew that one day she would feel heartbroken for spending only ten or eight yuan.

This reminded me of the string of unspent money in my bank card from my previous life. It would be great if I could bring it here to spend.

After coming out and meeting Zhou Linglan, he was naturally scolded. Zhou Linglan wanted to return the clothes and shoes she bought for herself.

Su Taotao was determined not to give in. She said with a pained look on her face, "If I had known I would have gone in with you guys, Taotao, that's the money your dad saved for you. You can't spend it on me and Xiaohang anymore."

Fu Yuanhang just remembered this. He touched the green military uniform and shoes he had just received, and reluctantly handed them to Su Taotao: "Sister-in-law, how about..."

Su Taotao stared at them and asked sternly, "Do you think I'm an outsider?"

The mother and son shook their heads and said in unison: "No!"

Su Taotao said, "I've already told you to listen to me about family matters in the future. I know what's going on. I almost forgot to tell my dad. It's too late to write a letter now. I'll send him a telegram."

Su Taotao put Chen Chen back on Fu Yuanhang's back and said, "You guys walk slowly to the supply and marketing cooperative and wait for me. I'll meet up with you after I send the telegram. If you get separated, just go to where the tractor is parked and meet up. I'll be there before five o'clock."

Because the agreed meeting time is five o'clock.

Sending telegrams was really expensive in those days. The telegram that Su Taotao sent to Comrade Su Donghan had only seven words, and she didn't even waste a punctuation mark: "The debt has been collected, don't worry, I'm doing well."

After sending the telegram, Su Taotao rushed to the supply and marketing cooperative without stopping. Surprisingly, the supply and marketing cooperative was still crowded at that time.

When she arrived, Zhou Linglan and others were already waiting at the door.

Su Taotao asked them not to squeeze in. She put all the things in a basket and squeezed in with the empty basket.

Seeing her like this, Zhou Linglan seemed to want to say something but hesitated, looking worried, but in the end she said nothing.

When Su Taotao came out, the empty basket was almost full!

Zhou Linglan's heartbeat became irregular, but she didn't ask anything.

It was already 4:50 when the group returned to the gathering point where the tractor was parked.

Su Taotao felt like this trip was like a war and she was almost exhausted.

The members who came with them kept looking at their full baskets, and some even kept asking what they bought. Su Taotao pushed them back one by one, neither soft nor hard. This was also thanks to Zhou Linglan's experience. She covered the baskets tightly with bamboo lids, so that nothing could be seen, and others did not dare to lift them up.

This is how we ended a busy and fulfilling day in the county town, and returned to the small mountain village in the sunset...