Chapter 50 Ji Xuening failed to get the money and tickets.
Liu Huo naturally knew the purpose of Ji Xuening's visit.
He scoffed, then walked over with a fake smile on his face, putting his arm around her shoulder and saying, "Hey bro, what brings you here? How's your grandma?"
After Ji Xuening explained her grandmother's condition and the reason for her visit, Liu Huo's smile vanished instantly: "I really want to help you, but my family doesn't have much food left, and the demobilization allowance isn't much either. My husband hasn't been able to work lately, and I'm even looking after the reservoir for him. That's not enough to feed the whole family."
Ji Xuening frowned slightly: "When you were in the army, you borrowed a total of thirty-six catties of grain from me."
Liu Huo removed his hand from Ji Xuening's shoulder: "How could it be a loan? We're brothers who grew up together. Didn't you give it to me voluntarily?"
Ji Xuening's face darkened: "Liu, you said you were borrowing that yourself."
At that time, he could have sent the saved grain home, but Liu kept pestering him, begging him in various ways, and saying that he would return it to him the following month, but he never did.
He remembered that they were from the same production team and had grown up together, so he borrowed the money.
Liu Huo scoffed, took a few steps back, and said in a very displeased tone, "Brother, don't you think you're being petty like a woman, acting like a grown man? I only took your ration coupons because I considered you a good brother, and I didn't even care. Now that everyone's been wiped out, you're asking me for them? And you even said you lent them to me? You can't act like that, can you?"
There was disdain in his eyes: "When you were in the army, everyone said you were down-to-earth, hardworking, and loyal. You were even rated as an outstanding private first class. All the female soldiers in the cultural troupe praised you, especially Chen Xiangxue, who openly had feelings for you."
After saying that, he snorted: "You've changed so much since you came back? You still bring up things from years ago, and you even came to my house asking for food. Didn't I give you some oil and a dollar a few days ago?"
Ji Xuening remained expressionless, but emphasized, "A loan is a loan. Return every penny to me."
Ji Daming stood to the side, not daring to say a word, but there was some anger in his eyes.
Liu Huo gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. At this moment, Uncle Liu suddenly rushed out and shouted at Ji Xuening, "Fourth son of the Ji family, you want grain and you're coming to my doorstep? How can you have the nerve to do this? How could my son possibly lend you grain?"
Liu Huoma, who was cooking in the kitchen, heard Ji Xuening come to ask for food and came out with a spatula in hand: "Who wants my food? Who dares to?"
The elderly couple were not reasonable people. After a barrage of shouting and cursing, Ji Xuening, out of consideration for their elders and the fact that no IOU had been signed back then, had no choice but to leave with Ji Daming.
He then drove Ji Daming to the Wulitun Brigade.
Ji Daming asked in a low voice, "Dad, Meimei said that Grandma often hears her calling Second Uncle's name when she sleeps at night. Will they go to the hospital to see Grandma?"
Ji Xuening's expression was grave: "I don't know either."
Just as Wang Yuqing had expected, Ji Xuening's second brother, Ji Xuehua, and his wife, Ma Jie, not only did not come to the hospital to visit Grandma Ji, but they also did not give Ji Xuening a single penny.
Ji Xuehua said coldly, "Fourth brother, it's your fault that Grandma is eating wild vegetables. What's the use of you coming to me? My own family is struggling to make ends meet."
Ma Jie picked at her nails beside her and said, "Fourth brother, it's not that we don't want to go to the hospital to see Grandma, it's just that we have to go to work to earn work points. We have two elderly people at home and a young child, all of whom are waiting for food. The rice jar is almost empty, and we have to save the little money we have for the children's schooling. Our lives are not as good as yours."
Ji Daming's eyes were red: "Second Uncle and Second Aunt, Grandma misses you very much. Why don't you go and see her?"
Ma Jie sighed and rubbed her lower back: "It's not that Second Aunt doesn't want to go, it's just that Second Aunt's back pain has flared up again. Last night, your younger brother also had a high fever, and there's a ton of stuff going on at home."
Ji Daming knew perfectly well that they simply didn't want to go.
Ma Jie suddenly changed the subject, asking, "Fourth brother, we've all heard about your new wife. Aren't you afraid people will gossip about your Ji family? Also, isn't your new wife a bit too barbaric? I heard she beat up three men from the Cao family and even scolded the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Tsk tsk, it's terrifying to hear. You have such good qualities, even if you're a bit dull, poor, and not very capable, you still shouldn't have chosen someone like that as your wife, right?"
"She's fine."
"It's none of your business if she's not good."
Ji Xuening rode his bicycle and coldly uttered two sentences. Ji Daming also quickly jumped on his bike, and the father and son left without looking back.
Ma Jie spat at their retreating figures: "Pah, always with that deadpan look on their faces, what kind of future do they have? It's a good thing we separated back then, otherwise the whole family would be a burden."
After saying that, she went back to the kitchen to boil eggs for her son.
Ji Xuening didn't say a word the whole way, while Ji Daming, sitting in the back, couldn't help but secretly shed tears, and finally couldn't hold back and started sobbing.
"Don't cry! This isn't worth crying over."
Ji Xuening rebuked him.
Ji Daming quickly wiped away his tears, gritted his teeth, and resolved to study hard and learn more!
Ji Xuening drove Ji Daming to the brigade headquarters first, where they saw Lei Yongxia's son, Lei Jun, standing next to the tractor, looking flustered.
He saw Ji Xuening and rushed forward: "Xuening, you seem to know how to mend wheels, right? Can you mend it for me? This tractor was fine when I finished work yesterday, but it broke down this morning. There's a hole in the wheel. I went to the foreman, and he said I have to find a way to mend the wheel myself, or he'll deduct my work points."
Ji Xuening's dark eyes narrowed. She knew that Wang Yuqing had asked Aunt Lei to borrow a tractor from the brigade headquarters last night, only to be told that the tractor was broken.
However, Lei Jun said that the tractor broke down after work, and usually he would drive the tractor back to the brigade headquarters before going home.
So, this wheel is broken in a very strange way.
However, he had something more important to say: "Junzi, I have something I can't help you with right now. Tell the director that the tractor was fine when you finished work, and the wheel broke. It has nothing to do with you. Whoever was on duty is responsible."
Lei Jun exclaimed, "That's right, it has nothing to do with me."
The brigade's branch secretary happened to be back. Ji Xuening got a certificate from him and asked him to help Wang Yuqing register, allowing her to work in the fields with the collective to earn work points.
The Party Secretary, in his sixties, had a weathered face with deep wrinkles and a pipe in his hand. Upon hearing Ji Xuening's words, he immediately agreed.
The Party Secretary thought highly of Ji Xuening, believing that he was not only a demobilized soldier but also capable and virtuous, making him a suitable candidate for militia company commander. He had been recommending Ji Xuening.
After expressing his gratitude, Ji Xuening rode his bicycle with Ji Daming to the grain station in the county town. There, they used the certificate to exchange the grain given to them by Old Man Li for five jin of grain coupons.
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