The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 178: The Beast (I) (Thanks to the Bookworm Meng Foodie for the reward!)
Qin Huai very objectively told Luo Jun and Chen Huihong what kind of personality Gong Liang had.

Qin Huai can be very objective when he is being objective. He only talks about who did what and what was said. He does not make any comments of his own, does not use any unnecessary rhetoric, and does not add any fabricated paragraphs.

Chen Huihong was listening outside the kitchen while eating melon seeds. Afraid that Qin Huai's mouth would become dry from talking too much, she brought him some blueberry yogurt so that Qin Huai could eat some while watching the fire.

Qin Huai said that if Chen Huihong had not been standing at the kitchen door, he could have gone out to eat.

For steamed fruit and crab roe steamed dumplings, just remember the time; there is no need to watch the heat.

Qin Huai finished his talk only after Chen Huihong had finished a piece of fruit and two steamed buns with crab roe and skillfully found a lunch box in the kitchen to pack up the rest.

Qin Huai started eating Chen Huihong's yogurt. It must be said that the blueberry yogurt prepared by Zhang Shumei today was probably made by her own combination of blueberry jam and yogurt, with a lot of sugar added. It tasted quite good.

"Sister Hong, Mr. Luo, can you guess what kind of monster Gong Liang is?" Qin Huai asked.

Chen Huihong was still packing the biscuits when she blurted out, "He's so eloquent, he must be a scammer."

"Blackmail?" Qin Huai took out his cell phone to check.

In the wilderness of the southwest, there appeared a strange beast, which looked like a rabbit, had a human face and could speak. It often deceived people, saying east when it was west and saying evil when it was good.

Simply put, it is a monster with a rabbit head and a human body, who speaks in a set way and often tells lies to deceive people.

Qin Huai looked closely at the source.

"Shenyijing".

This is not the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" either.

"The evil beast is a monster from the Shenyi Jing, not the Shanhai Jing." Qin Huai said while looking at his phone.

Chen Huihong showed a confused expression, counted the number of biscuits, and felt that she had divided them very well and fairly: she had eight and Luo Jun had two.

Luo Jun is old, eating too much shortbread is not only bad for the stomach, but also bad for the teeth. She is different, she is still young and can still eat, and her brother also wants to eat shortbread.

Chen Huihong took the pastry home and gave one third of it to Chen Yingjun.

"What is the "Shenyijing"? Isn't there a blackmailing beast in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas"? But I have seen one. I saw it when I was a treekeeper in the mountains a few years ago. It spoke in a very different way. It said it wanted to exchange flowers with me and cheated me of many leaves and even broke a branch from me. The flowers it gave me were pretty good."

"But later I found out that the flowers it gave me were just picked randomly from the front mountain. It was just bullying me because I couldn't move at that time." Chen Huihong shared her own experience.

"We say we are the spirits in the Classic of Mountains and Seas because there happens to be a book called the Classic of Mountains and Seas in the world. There are all kinds of things in the world, and the spirits in the Classic of Mountains and Seas may not exist in our country, and the spirits in our country are not recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas." Luo Jun explained, "Chen Huihong should be right, Gong Liang is a false beast."

"I've seen it before. The blackmail beast doesn't have any special abilities, but it's very good at talking and telling lies, and it's good at doing business. When it comes to overcoming the tribulation, as long as it's not so bold as to cheat the rich and powerful out of their money and get hunted down and beaten to death, leaving regrets behind, it will basically not fail."

Qin Huai:?
So what Luo Jun meant was that in his first life, Gong Liang cheated the rich and powerful out of their money and was beaten to death. Is it possible for a blackmailer to be so courageous?

He really deserves to be the head of the sales department.

"I have another question. Gong Liang is obviously not from the first life, so why am I getting his memories? Normally, shouldn't I get his dreams?" Qin Huai asked again.

Luo Jun, whose memory was retrieved, rolled his eyes in annoyance: "I don't have a system. I'm just a Bifang. What do I know? What's the point of asking me? If you have the ability, go ask your system. Aren't the male protagonists in your system novels able to communicate with the system? Something like "Hello, host"?"

Qin Huai said that was the male protagonist of their system article, and his crappy game system had no customer service.

Chen Huihong tried to analyze calmly: "Is it because he is about to successfully overcome the tribulation in this life, and his obsession has been almost resolved, so there is no need to look at the memories of the first life."

"It's enough to look at this life."

"Or maybe it's your system..."

Chen Huihong spoke the last sentence too softly, and Qin Huai could not hear it clearly. Just when he was about to turn around and ask what Chen Huihong said in the last sentence, Luo Jun spoke impatiently.

"What's there to guess? What can you guess? Why don't you just look at it? Didn't you feel very happy when you looked at my memory? Why do you hesitate when you look at others'?"

Qin Huai:......

Well, Luo Jun was still unhappy that Qin Huai read his three entire memories and saw the entire process of how he changed from Bifang to a silly bird.

Since Luo Jun urged him, Qin Huai did not ask any more questions. Luo Jun was right. Before looking at the memory, you can't get anything out of asking someone other than the original owner.

Qin Huai clicked on [Gong Liang’s memory] and chose yes.

[Memory loading——]
"A large amount of goods have been piled up this year. The payment for cotton yarn and silk has not been settled. Director Luo from the Second Silk Factory has come to our factory to urge us three times. Chief Chen, I, Old Li, have to save face. Can your sales department complete the task this quarter? The surrounding garment factories have tried it, and what about the ones in other provinces? If this continues, we won't be able to pay this month's wages. I think you will have to give up your position as the sales department chief, and I will have to give up my position as the deputy factory director."

As soon as he entered his memory, Qin Huai saw several middle-aged people with sad faces in the office.

The person who was speaking looked to be in his 40s, which should be the prime of his life, but he already had very obvious white hair and distinct forehead wrinkles. Compared with other people in the office, he was a little fatter, but that was entirely because everyone else was thin.

From the perspective of modern people's aesthetics, this is a tragic middle-aged office worker who looks ordinary, a little old due to overwork, short in stature, and has a normal body shape.

"Deputy Director Li, our sales department has done its best. Look, we only have so many people in the sales department. Silk is really not selling well now. Since the foreign business withdrew its orders two years ago and the performance of the clothing factory one and two has not been good, our silk weaving factory has been getting worse year by year."

"Besides, it's not that we didn't pay for the cotton yarn and silk on purpose. Garment Factory No. 1 and No. 2 haven't paid for our goods either!"

"We were all hoping to go to the Guangdong Province trade fair this year, but now the province has cancelled our factory's quota for the trade fair. We can't go to the trade fair, and our sales department can't do anything even if we run ourselves a thousand miles."

"Look at Xiao Gong. He is an only child. His father suffered a stroke last month and became paralyzed. When our sales department was short-staffed, he was asked to go out of town, but he still went ahead."

"It's our sales department's fault that we didn't get the deal, but it's not just our responsibility. Several of our sales department's previous sales people with strong business capabilities used connections to transfer to the cotton mill. Deputy Director Li, we really tried our best."

After hearing what Section Chief Chen said, Deputy Director Li didn't know what to say. He could only scratch his already sparse hair and sigh deeply.

"You guys run around again." Deputy Director Li said helplessly, "Think of more ways. I know Xiao Gong is quite capable and has negotiated a few deals. But the situation in his family... I've heard about it recently. Send him less traveling. He's a good talent. Don't force him to go to the cotton mill."

Section Chief Chen nodded.

Only then did Qin Huai realize that Gong Liang was not in this office.

Just when Qin Huai wanted to go next door to see if Gong Liang was outside, the door opened, and Gong Liang, who was obviously still a young man, with a bit of the heroic and upright look of a protagonist in his eyes, trotted in, breathing heavily.

Gong Liang was holding a bag of Chinese medicine in his hand.

"Xiao Gong, I'm back from the hospital getting medicine for your father." Section Chief Chen was very kind and gentle to Gong Liang.

Gong Liang nodded: "Western medicine is too expensive. The doctor at the factory said that Chinese medicine can also be useful, but there are many medicinal materials that are not available. I went to the pharmacy outside to buy them."

Section Chief Chen sighed and said, "I know that the factory's medical expenses have not been reimbursed for a long time. You should also understand that the factory's performance is not good now."

"You don't have to go to Jinling next week. I'll go. The clothing factories there have a stable supply of goods, and they don't make a lot of silk clothing. It's unlikely that we can negotiate a deal. Travel expenses are reimbursed late now, and there's no subsidy. You'll probably have to spend some money on this trip. I'll go." Section Chief Chen said this to Deputy Director Li. Deputy Director Li touched his nose awkwardly, indicating that he had something else to do, and left in a hurry.

Section Chief Chen glared at Deputy Director Li's back in annoyance, and hurried away with the briefcase that had four patches and two new holes in it, not sure if it could be used for show.

There is still one middle-aged person and one young person left in the office.

The young man looks older than Gong Liang.

Qin Huai remembered that Huang Anyao had told him that Gong Liang joined the silk factory right after graduating from technical secondary school, and after working there for more than a year and getting hired as a regular employee, he encountered a major setback in his life. Eventually, he made a big splash and became the head of the sales department, leading the entire silk factory to glory.

This point in time was the darkest moment in Gong Liang’s life.

The young man came up to Gong Liang and said, "Gong Liang, you were not here just now. Our section chief and Deputy Director Li had a fierce quarrel. It must be because we lost the quota for the factory trade fair. Deputy Director Li is unhappy. He can't come to our sales department to vent his anger. The silk cannot be sold. What does it have to do with us if the garment factory cannot collect silk due to the recession?"

Gong Liang looked very depressed and whispered, "There is nothing wrong with the silk in our factory. It is indeed the responsibility of our sales department that we cannot sell it."

The young man obviously didn't want to talk about this topic, let alone take this responsibility, so he changed the subject: "Last month's bonus was cancelled again, did you hear about it?"

Gong Liang didn't want to talk.

The young man also realized that he had said the wrong thing, and hurriedly tried to make amends: "But I heard that we will get a sum of money after the Chinese New Year, and each person will get a pound of meat! But only those who are working will get it, not retired people or those who have retired due to illness."

Gong Liang continued to remain silent.

The young man then remembered that Gong Liang's father had just retired due to an unexpected illness two months ago. He covered his mouth in annoyance and continued to make up for it: "I also heard that the union will organize a blind date next month..."

Qin Huai had closed his eyes in despair. This young man was really good at talking. He kept bringing up irrelevant issues.

"Liu Hai, if you really have nothing to do, just make some phone calls or write letters to see if there are any clothing factories or bed sheet factories in other provinces that need silk. Even if they are small factories in remote corners with only a few dozen people that make silk fans, ask them." The middle-aged man in the office spoke up.

"Oh oh." Liu Hai ran away with oil on his feet.

"Gong Liang, don't listen to Xiao Liu's nonsense. He is a man with a loose mouth. You made a deal in Guangling last month, and you will definitely get a bonus next month. If your father takes Chinese medicine in the future, I know an old Chinese doctor here. I will take you there some other day and ask him to come and see your father." said the middle-aged man.

"You've already got the medicine. I'll be in the office. Go back and take care of your dad. Your mom can't take care of him alone."

Gong Liang stood up in a daze, nodded slightly stiffly, said thank you, and floated away.

It was indeed floating away.

Gong Liang was obviously absent-minded, as if his soul was not in his body. It was almost written on his face that "I'm worried and I've been having a hard time lately." He didn't even walk straight, and it was obvious that he was really devastated.

Gong Liang left the silk factory and walked along the road towards home.

There were not many people on the road at this time, only children who were obviously not yet of school age playing on the roadside. Occasionally, a few middle-aged women could be seen walking hurriedly, carrying things.

Qin Huai knew that the silk mill and cotton mill were near Huang Ji, but he couldn't recognize the specific place just by looking at the nearby bungalows and streets. A lot has changed in the past few decades, and he could only follow Gong Liang and watch the soulless Gong Liang floating on the street carrying the medicine bag.

Before he knew it, Gong Liang had arrived at the street where Huang's shop was located.

Qin Huai didn't know the street, but he knew the State-owned Hotel and Zheng Da, who was squatting in front of the hotel with nothing to do but no one knew who he was waiting for.

Zheng Da looked a bit like Zheng Siyuan when he was young. Qin Huai felt that he roughly knew what Zheng Siyuan looked like when he was 40 or 50 years old.

"Gong Liang!" When Zheng Da saw Gong Liang, his eyes lit up and he almost jumped up and ran towards him.

Gong Liang was called back to his senses. By the time he came to his senses, Zheng Da had already run in front of him. Gong Liang was obviously frightened.

"What's wrong?" Gong Liang asked.

"Why are you always absent-minded recently? Be careful not to get hit by a bicycle while walking." Zheng Da said.

"No." Gong Liang said lightly.

"I have good news to tell you. I got a permanent job! I'm now a formal employee of a state-owned restaurant. I just got my salary today, and I also got sugar and meat coupons. I can buy meat and vegetables at a lower price!" Zheng Da said with a beaming face.

"Oh." Gong Liang said calmly, "Congratulations."

Zheng Da sighed and said, "I can tell from the sound of your congratulations that they are not sincere. Forget it. I forgive you for all the troubles your family has had recently."

Gong Liang forced a wry smile and was about to walk back when he was stopped by Zheng Da.

"I still have to go back to make medicine for my dad. If you want to tell me the wonderful story of how you got a permanent job, can you come to my house in the evening?" Gong Liang said helplessly.

"Am I that kind of person? You think I'm my senior brother? I've been teaching for three days and I want to make sure everyone knows about silk mills and cotton mills."

"I have something for you." Zheng Da took out a tin lunch box and a small cloth bag from his arms.

Qin Huai then realized that Zheng Da had been squatting at the door of the state-owned restaurant with his arms crossed over his chest, not because this posture was convenient for squatting, but because this posture was convenient for holding the lunch box in his arms.

"You guys got the meat dish today. It's quail eggs and braised pork. My master cooked it himself, and he used the meat coupons he just issued. I ate half of it, grabbed the other half from my senior brother's bowl, and made up a portion for you."

Gong Liang was stunned.

"Didn't the doctor say that your dad needed nutritional supplements? This is definitely nutritious enough!"

"But the doctor said that my father can't eat foods with high oil content and high salt content now. Besides, my father is half paralyzed and can't take care of himself. He definitely won't be able to eat meat in the short term." Gong Liang said weakly.

Zheng Da: "...Then give your mother some nutrition. I saved it with great difficulty. I squatted in front of the state-owned restaurant waiting for you to get off work but I didn't dare to go in. I was afraid that I would eat the meat as soon as I sat down."

Gong Liang smiled, took the lunch box, pointed at the cloth bag and asked, "What is this?"

Zheng Da proudly opened it a little, revealing a corner, with money inside.

"I kept 10 yuan of my salary this month, except for the 5 yuan I gave to my mother. I will lend you the rest."

"When we get back tonight, I'll snatch my senior brother's share and ask him to lend it to you as well."

"Your father's medication cannot be discontinued. If it is discontinued now, he will be paralyzed for life."

Gong Liang looked at Zheng Da and was silent for a long time. He moved his lips tremblingly and slowly uttered two words: "Thank you."

Zheng Da waved his hand gracefully and turned away. Only in this way could he feel less heartbroken.

Gong Liang continued walking home with the lunch box and money.

(End of this chapter)