A century of poverty

Chapter 118 Rescuing Father from Danger

As we entered the new century and the Year of the Dragon arrived, my second sister-in-law gave birth to her second child, a boy, a "Dragon Baby of the Year of the Dragon," whom we are overjoyed with. My second brother also had a child at an advanced age, and we all came to celebrate.

The father was overjoyed to have another grandson.

We're usually busy with our own lives and rarely get together, but today we've all come together. My younger brother, Shuang, said his motorcycle business is doing very well. He not only repairs and sells motorcycle parts, but he also acts as an agent for the "Mulan" brand Kun-style motorcycles, and sales are excellent. He's also established a second sales branch in Sangshu Town.

Speaking of our business, the competition is fierce, and we're just barely making ends meet with sales and work. We don't have any other plans for the time being.

Father said, "Zhiqiang doesn't have any skills, so he can't make it out here. You should focus on developing your business. You could also manage your courtyard well."

I said, "Yes! I plan to build the front gatehouse. Our place is close to the street, so the houses are easy to rent out. A room and a half can rent for a hundred a month. If we design our courtyard well, we can build two 80-square-meter houses with four rooms. We can rent them all out and earn several thousand a year, which is a good income."

Father: "This is a legitimate business, the income is stable, and it won't go hungry if left unattended."

Me: "We have some leftover materials from when we were building the big house, which we originally planned to use for renovating it."

Dad: "There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to building a house. You can have a lot of money or a little. If you have more money, you can build a better house. If you have less money, you can build a worse house. As long as the roof doesn't leak, any house will last for decades."

Me: "Then let's go back and take a look. We built one a few years ago. Let's plan what to use and how much, and if it's feasible, we can build it this spring."

Back home, we quickly moved out and inventoried the leftover timber from building the larger house. We also had some leftover stones and gravel, enough for the foundation. We just needed to buy cement and bricks, and some timber. Overall, it saved us a lot of money compared to building the larger house. Even though the house was smaller, the finished product was of excellent quality.

Look at the money in our hands, it's not exactly abundant, but it's not exactly plentiful either.

I told Zhiqiang, "You should talk to your family before you start construction and hear what they have to say. When you see your uncle, tell him that we want to build a gatehouse this year."

Zhiqiang agreed: "Okay, I'll talk to him when I have the chance."

Not long after, I returned from my fourth niece Su Libo's wedding. I asked Zhiqiang, "Did you see your uncle?"

Zhiqiang: "I saw it."

I asked, "Did you tell him about our plan to build a house?"

Zhiqiang replied, "I did."

I asked, "What did your uncle say?"

Zhiqiang: "He wouldn't let me build it."

I didn't ask why, because Zhiqiang wouldn't ask why. A few days later, another event was held, and Zhiqiang went to give a gift again. I stayed home to mind the shop. I guess my uncle will be able to go this time too.

Before Zhiqiang left, I said to him again, "Today, tell your uncle again about our plan to build a house."

When I returned from giving the gift, I asked again, and the answer was exactly the same as last time.

I'm puzzled. It's a good thing for my nephew to build a house, so why doesn't his uncle allow it?

I thought for a moment and said to Zhiqiang, "Next time you see Uncle, tell him that we have the money to build our house and we don't need to borrow from anyone."

The third time Zhiqiang had the chance to meet his uncle, I still told him to tell his uncle about building the house.

When I came back this time, I asked Zhiqiang again, "What did your uncle say?"

Zhiqiang: "He said yes!"

That's good. We'll find the same group of bricklayers again and start building right away. Having built a house before, this time it was much easier and less troublesome than the last time.

Once all the materials are prepared, the bricklayers will come to work. It's a big job, and meals aren't usually provided.

Before the foundation was finished, my father-in-law came and saw it. He told Zhiqiang that we should include him in the house construction, that he wanted to join in. He asked for some old doors and windows, and one and a half rooms. He told us to consider it.

Zhiqiang told me this when he got home.

Me: "No need to consider it, I wouldn't dare. I'm afraid of him, afraid of them. Haven't we learned enough lessons over the years? We can't afford to offend them."

Three days later, my uncle came to persuade us on behalf of his older brother.

I said, "Uncle, it's not that I don't want to let him go, but if it were just one brother, I could do whatever he wanted. But there are eight of them, and I'm just afraid of them. I don't want anything in return, I just want some peace and quiet, and I don't want to cause trouble for myself."

Uncle: "I'll cover for you this time. I guarantee they won't cause you any trouble. If your father is alive, he can live here as he pleases. Even if he's gone, this house is still yours. No one will contest it. If anything goes wrong, just tell me."

Since my uncle has said so, I can't refuse him. No matter how unwilling I am, I have to agree.

Seeing that I didn't say anything, my uncle said again, "After this house is built, your father can choose whichever room he wants to live in."

I said, "Okay! I've already agreed to it, so why worry about which room it is!"

My father-in-law was overjoyed and stayed here every day. As soon as the roof beams were put up, he chose a room that was close to the road and in the sunniest spot for him to live in. He even told the bricklayer that he was in a hurry to move in and that the stove and kang (heated brick bed) should be built in this room first.

Cunning always comes first, before kindness.

My father-in-law has "his own home" again. No matter whose house it is, he will stay there for a few days.

It was Su Zhiru's turn.

The public telephone in our store is malfunctioning. Zhiqiang unplugged the line, picked up the phone, and went to his second brother's house to try it out and find out what was wrong.

Upon arriving in another city, he saw his second brother and father-in-law eating in the corridor. Zhiqiang greeted them and went inside to test the phone, but before he could even plug it in, he was already in a different situation.

Zhang Guozhi, with his hair disheveled, suddenly got up and, wrapped in a quilt, began to "dance" on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Zhiqiang was so frightened that he didn't even try the phone; he just grabbed it and left.

It turned out that when it was her father-in-law's turn to come to her house, Zhang Guozhi suffered a "mental illness" attack and lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) all day doing nothing, requiring Su Zhiru to prepare special meals for him and take care of him.

Zhiqiang went to her house to test the phone, and she took the opportunity to demonstrate her "mental illness".

My father-in-law couldn't stand it anymore, so he moved out and lived in another house on our property. He still only calls out to his eldest grandson at the door, or comes directly to the store to get daily necessities like oil, flour, salt, and soy sauce, and cooks for himself.

Zhang Guozhi's "mental illness" immediately disappeared. He was dressed in a bright purple suit and dark gray trousers, with his hands in his pockets, and went wherever there was excitement.

The next place was also unbearable, so Su Zhijuan sent her eldest daughter abroad. Su Hongyuan's condition worsened, and he underwent surgery at the Shenyang Medical University Hospital, which made him even more depressed. By this time, his former workplace had closed down. The once self-assured man was now inferior to everyone else.

He and Su Zhijuan, who was always independent and did things her own way, started arguing over a single word. His cursing, which came out with only half the ability to speak, was even more grating and unbearable to his father-in-law.

So he didn't even bother to bring his luggage and ran back to his own home.

We still have to provide for all his food and drink. I thought to myself, maybe one day my father-in-law will realize this and give us the money. Perhaps he'll use cash to buy things, because he's not short of money; his savings are no less than 60,000 yuan, and he always has a few hundred yuan in his pocket. I don't need to argue with him about this.

One evening at dinner, after I finished steaming the dumplings, I took out a small bowl and Zhiqiang brought it to his father. When Zhiqiang came in with the dumplings, he immediately saw his father sitting on the floor against the wall of the kang (a heated brick bed), unconscious. He quickly put the small bowl on the kang, ran back to get a piece of candy, and put it in his father's mouth.

After regaining consciousness, Zhiqiang asked, "What happened to you? Why were you sitting on the floor?"

The father-in-law, stunned, said, "Nothing happened to me!"

Zhiqiang: "You must have low blood sugar! Don't you even realize it? It's so dangerous! If I hadn't come, you wouldn't be hard by tomorrow morning!"