The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 179: The Beast (Part )

Gong Liang's family lives in a tube-shaped building. The house is not big. Qinhuai is estimated to be only about 30 to 40 square meters and is divided into three areas.

The living room, Gong Liang's room and Gong Liang's parents' bedroom.

Qin Huai took a quick look and found that Gong Liang's room was relatively large. It had a bed, two cabinets, and an iron fan. It was obvious that Gong Liang, as the only son in the family, was very favored.

Gong Liang's parents' bedroom is relatively small, with only a bed, a cabinet and some sundries.

Gong Liang's father was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, seemingly asleep. Gong Liang's mother was not at home. After returning home, Gong Liang went to the bedroom to check on his father, then skillfully took out the coal stove from the corner of the living room, lit the coal balls, and opened the lunch box.

The lunch box was stuffed to about 80% full with quail eggs and braised meat, with more meat than eggs. The skin of the quail eggs was fried, and some of the eggs were squeezed and broken when buried in the meat. It looked loose and not very appetizing, but those who have eaten it know that it tastes better this way.

The dish was already cold, the fat solidified on the surface, and I couldn't smell the aroma, but I could see that the color of the braised pork was very beautiful, with thick oil and red sauce. The chef had carefully fried it to make it sugary. The large piece of pork belly was just the right amount of fat and lean, and it looked delicious.

Gong Liang took out another iron lunch box with dents all over its four corners, put a small amount of quail eggs and roasted pork in it, closed the lid, and put the lunch box on the coal stove to heat it up.

Gong Liang squatted beside the coal stove, in a daze.

As time passed, the quail eggs and braised pork in the lunch box gradually gave off a fragrant aroma. Even the dazed Gong Liang could smell it and began to drool unconsciously.

Seeing Gong Liang squatting beside the stove, staring blankly and swallowing his saliva honestly, Qin Huai felt a little amused and felt that this scene was a little too funny.

Soon, the sound of a child crying was heard from next door.

"Mom, I want to eat meat, too! Delicious meat!"

"Don't make a noise. I'll give you meat coupons during the Chinese New Year so you can eat as much as you want!"

"Mom, meat..."

"Don't disturb Uncle Gong next door. Uncle Gong has not been feeling well recently and needs to eat meat to supplement his nutrition. When you need to supplement your nutrition, mom will give it to you..."

Even though the neighbors had lowered their voices, Qin Huai still heard the first few sentences. This is the downside of the tube building: if you make a little noise, it will be easily heard by the neighbors next door. The sound insulation is very poor.

The lunch box was still heating on the coal stove and Gong Liang was still in a daze when there was a knock on the door.

Gong Liang stood up sluggishly and opened the door. Outside the door was a thin woman with a yellowish complexion due to malnutrition.

Seeing Gong Liang open the door, the woman forced a smile and said, "Xiaoliang, I still have some flour at home. I made noodles for lunch today and there is still enough for a bowl. You were not here at noon, and your mother confiscated the noodles when I brought them here. Now that your mother is out doing laundry, you can give the noodles to your father to eat."

"For someone in his current situation, it would be most helpful to eat some noodles made from refined white flour and top it with an egg."

"You know my family's situation. The silk weaving factory hasn't paid last month's salary yet. My old Xia is just an ordinary worker. I really don't have any money to lend to your family. This bowl of noodles is a token of my aunt's kindness."

"Thank you, Aunt Xia." Gong Liang took the bowl.

"Hey." Aunt Xia smiled, glanced quietly into the room, smiled bitterly, shook her head, and left.

Gong Liang put the noodles on the table and continued to be in a daze.

Qin Huai was a little confused, staring at Gong Liang's face, wondering if he was too distracted by life and so was so absent-minded no matter where he was. Or if he was actually thinking about something and was thinking too seriously, so he seemed absent-minded.

The quail eggs and braised pork were heated on the coal stove. Gong Liang took the lunch box down with tongs. Without turning off the stove, he opened the medicine bag and put the Chinese medicine into the pot, poured water, and continued to boil the medicine on the stove.

It takes a long time to boil the medicine.

Gong Liang continued to squat there in a daze. After an unknown amount of time, the door opened.

A middle-aged woman came in holding a basin. She was thin, pale, and had bloodless lips, but her cheeks were flushed with a sickly color caused by fatigue.

"Mom, if you're not feeling well, don't go downstairs to wash clothes. I told you to leave the clothes at home and I'll come back to wash them after get off work." Gong Liang took the basin.

Mother Gong sat on the chair and panted. After a few seconds, she spoke: "How did you wash it so clean? Working is tiring enough. I can still do this little housework."

After saying that, Mother Gong saw the heated lunch boxes and noodles on the table.

"The noodles were sent by Aunt Xia, and there was braised pork in the lunch box. Zheng Da gave it to me on my way back." After saying that, Gong Liang searched his pockets, "He just got his salary today, and he stuffed some money in my pocket."

"I've got them all down."

"Mom, I won't go to Jinling next week. The section chief said that it's highly likely that we won't be able to get the order from Jinling, and if we don't get the order, the reimbursement won't be available for a while, so he'll go in my place."

Mother Gong didn't say anything. She walked silently to the door and closed it tighter, as if the sound would not be able to pass through.

Mother Gong sat back, as if she had made some kind of decision. Her lips trembled slightly, and her right hand unconsciously clenched until her knuckles turned white and her nails dug into the flesh.

"Xiaoliang, after you went out this morning...your dad said, why don't we stop treating you." After saying this, Gong's mother took a deep breath, as if she had used up all her strength. Her lips turned pale, and she didn't dare look at Gong Liang.

Seeing that Gong Liang did not respond, Gong's mother continued.

"Although your father was rescued this time, he is also disabled. It is still uncertain whether the medical expenses can be reimbursed. Last year, Lao Zhang's medical expenses were not reimbursed. Now that the factory is in such a bad state, everyone is trying to find ways to transfer to other factories."

"It's impossible to cure your father's condition, and the medical expenses are a bottomless pit. The family is already burdened with me, and now your father is in the same situation. The extra money the factory gave us in view of our difficult situation has long been spent, even the money for your wedding..."

"Xiao Guo is a very nice girl, and her parents like her very much, but it's normal for her to be hesitant and have concerns. Our family situation wasn't particularly good to begin with, and now we have this burden. Who would want to marry into our family and take care of two patients?"

"Neighbors have helped as much as they can, and relatives and friends have borrowed as much money as they can. Your uncle and aunt are both in the countryside, and your uncle... forget it. It's normal not to lend money that you are destined to not be able to pay back."

"You've been absent-minded for the past month or two, and your parents have seen it. Although your father is lying in bed, he is also in pain. When you were away, he kept muttering at home that if he had known the result would be like this today, he would rather have died directly, so as to save money without treatment."

"I know you definitely don't want to do it. If there is really no other way, mom wouldn't want to do it either. How about this, just finish the remaining Chinese medicine and forget about it. I will take care of your dad for the rest of the time, at least let him pass away in a dignified manner."

As Gong's mother spoke, she quietly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingers.

Gong Liang spoke in a hoarse voice: "Mom, I asked the doctors, and they said that Dad's condition is not the worst. If he recovers well and is lucky, he won't necessarily be paralyzed for life."

Mother Gong forced out a bitter smile that was uglier than crying: "But your father doesn't want to delay your life."

Gong Liang remained silent.

"Xiaoliang..." Gong's mother wanted to say something, but Gong Liang didn't want to listen anymore, so he opened the door and ran out.

Gong's mother wanted to chase him out, but Qin Huai just followed him to the door when he heard a low voice coming from the room: "Leave him alone." Gong Liang ran downstairs and squatted at the foot of the wall blocked by a big tree. He was not sad or angry, but just numbly grasping the soil on the ground.

It goes on like this from day till dark.

Qin Huai watched him quietly from the side as he dug the soil. Gong Liang dug a small hole in the ground.

Finally, someone found Gong Liang.

"Why are you squatting here digging for no reason?"

Looking in the direction of the sound, Qin Huai saw a tall, strong middle-aged man whose face looked a little ferocious in the moonlight, but his eyes and brows seemed amiable.

There was a hideous scar on the man's face. It looked like it was cut by a sharp weapon. It ran from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth. It was crooked and it was a ferocious scar that could scare children to tears when they passed by.

But the man's expression was unexpectedly gentle, like an elder who was carefully teaching an ignorant child. His smile reached the bottom of his eyes, and his tone was joking, as if he was teasing a child.

What Qin Huai found strange was that he felt that the man looked a little familiar, as if he had seen someone who looked somewhat similar to him somewhere.

The man's identity is about to be revealed -

Jing Lixiang, Master Jing.

"Master Jing." Gong Liang stood up obediently. It can be seen that Master Jing is still very prestigious among the younger generation.

"You ran away from home and haven't been seen for several hours. Your mother was almost going crazy and had to ask for help from a fifty-year-old lame old man. I guessed that you were here. What's the matter? Have you failed to close another deal?" Jing Lixiang said with a smile.

"No." Gong Liang said in a low voice.

"I know it even if you don't tell me." Jing Lixiang smiled, "It's okay if you don't want to go home. I'll stay here and chat with you for a while."

As he spoke, Jing Lixiang took out a cloth bag of the same type as Zheng Da's from his pocket and handed it to Gong Liang.

"This is Shengli's salary for this month. He heard that Zheng Da paid 10 yuan to his family and kept 5 yuan for himself. He didn't keep a penny for himself this month. Except for the 10 yuan he gave to his family, the rest is all here." Jing Lixiang shook his head helplessly, "This is also a comparison. Sometimes I really can't do anything with these two brothers."

"I can roughly guess what your parents are thinking right now, and I can also guess what you are thinking. We outsiders have no right to ask about your family affairs, but we have been neighbors for so many years, and I have saved some money in my life without children. If the medical expenses are really not enough, I can still borrow some more."

Gong Liang whispered, "Master Jing, we can't lend you any more money. My family has already borrowed a lot of money. If you lend me more, I won't be able to pay it back in my lifetime."

"Life is still long. When I was your age, I never thought that one day I would leave my hometown and come to Gusu. When I was 10 years older than you, there was a period of time when I didn't want to live anymore. I thought there was no point in living, it would be better to die and end it all, but I still lived to this day."

"Xiaoliang, you are also capable. When you first joined the silk weaving factory, didn't your Section Chief Chen praise you every day for being a natural salesperson?"

"In the early years when the silk weaving factory was doing well, the wages, annual bonuses, and subsidies were all quite generous. Although times have changed, the road is made by people. How can you conclude that you will not be able to do it in this lifetime?"

Gong Liang said nothing.

"Don't you like to hear such empty and false words?" Jing Lixiang asked with a smile.

"No." Gong Liang shook his head quickly.

"That's because you can't listen. That's normal and understandable. It's already late, and it's cold at night in late autumn. Don't stay outside. Go back. If you don't go back, your mother will be really worried."

Gong Liang knew that what Jing Lixiang said was right, so he stood up and helped Jing Lixiang walk back.

Jing Lixiang waved his hand to indicate that it was not necessary. He had been lame for so many years and could walk on his own without any problem. He would not be able to walk without someone's support.

The two walked away slowly.

"By the way, Xiaoliang, I remember hearing from your parents last year that you had negotiated a few small deals in the surrounding areas. How come there is no news since you went to the Magic City at the beginning of this year? I heard that the silk quality of the silk weaving factory is pretty good this year."

"We lost the deal in Shanghai." Gong Liang said dejectedly, "Section Chief Chen led the team and originally wanted me to be the main negotiator, but I got stage fright and didn't perform well, so we lost it."

"The section chief didn't blame me. He said he was too impatient and shouldn't have let a young person like me who had just been hired take on such a big order."

"is my problem."

"You don't seem like someone who would be afraid of the stage. You are the most eloquent among all the kids since they were little. You speak very eloquently."

"I... I'm just scared." Gong Liang frowned and rarely spoke his mind. "I'm afraid of this kind of big occasion. I get nervous when I see people. I forget everything I prepared as soon as it comes to my lips."

"Everyone said it was a pity that the factory lost the spot in the trade fair this year. I know it's a pity, but I'm actually a little lucky in my heart."

"I'm afraid that when we get to the trade fair, Section Chief Chen will give me the heavy responsibility, and I'll get stage fright or even run away. This year's sales will be as dismal as last year, and our sales department will lose face for the silk mill again."

"I know that the trade fair is a rare opportunity. If I can get a big order, my father's medical expenses will be paid for. As long as the factory is profitable and the medical expenses can be reimbursed, my father can go to the provincial hospital for treatment."

"But at the same time, I was afraid of ruining the trade fair. I was even glad that I didn't have a quota this year, so I wouldn't ruin it if I couldn't go."

"Master Jing, I feel like I'm a coward and a deserter. I don't want my dad to lie in bed and wait to die, but I know there are ways to save him, but I don't want to try."

"Everyone says that I've been distracted recently because something happened at home. That's not true. I'm..."

"I hate myself."

“I hate that there are things I want to do and things I can do, but I don’t dare to do them.”

Jing Lixiang listened quietly.

After Gong Liang finished his rambling, Jing Lixiang asked without any context, "You're not going on a business trip these days, right?"

Gong Liang nodded.

"Can you ask your section chief for half a day off tomorrow afternoon and come to the state-owned restaurant?"

Gong Liang was a little confused, but still nodded: "It should be possible."

Jing Lixiang smiled and said, "Then I'll wait for you at the state-owned hotel tomorrow afternoon."

"If you're in a bad mood, eat something good and you'll feel better."

(End of this chapter)