Old Deng is reborn in the 1980s, and he starts by severing his father-son relationship!

Chapter 101 Moral Blackmail! Lending money to aid the enemy? No way!

Chen Deshun suddenly stopped, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Chen Jianguo?

Why is he back at this hour instead of staying at the hospital with Liu Rui?

The old man and Mrs. Shen looked at each other blankly.

Chen Jianguo was here yesterday, wasn't he? Why is he here again today? Could something have happened at the hospital? Has Liu Rui's condition worsened?

Chen Deshun sighed. No matter the reason, he definitely couldn't let him keep knocking on the door.

If you wake up the neighbors, they'll surely come out in their clothes and start cursing, and then they'll be the ones who lose face.

He strode over and yanked open the courtyard gate.

The gate opened, and Chen Jianguo's hand, which had been pounding on the door, was still in mid-air. He withdrew it when he saw the door was open, his face showing some fatigue and panic. He called out somewhat awkwardly, "Dad."

After saying that, without waiting for Chen Deshun's reply, she lowered her head and walked straight into the house.

Chen Deshun frowned even more. Just as he opened the door, a strange, indescribable smell wafted over from Chen Jianguo and entered his nose. Suppressing his doubts, he closed the gate and followed Chen Jianguo into the house.

"Why did you come here? Is everything alright at the hospital?"

As soon as Chen Jianguo entered the main room, Old Lady Shen spoke.

The old man fanned his nose, looking disgusted: "What's that smell on you? It's so awful!"

Hearing the noise, Chen Jianshe, who was not asleep, knew that Chen Jianguo had returned. He was instantly wide awake, put on a coat, and came out of the house. He leaned against the door frame, looking like he was watching a good show.

He wanted to see what his older brother was up to, coming over in the middle of the night.

Ignoring the stares of the crowd, Chen Jianguo turned to Chen Deshun, who had followed him in from the courtyard, and asked, "Dad, is there any leftover food at home?"

"What's wrong?" Chen Deshun asked with a scrutinizing gaze. It was unusual for someone to ask if there were any leftovers as soon as they entered the house.

"I—I haven't eaten a single thing since noon," Chen Jianguo stammered, his eyes darting around.

"Where's the money I gave you?" Old Mrs. Shen asked immediately. Twenty yuan, if spent carefully, could last the young couple for ten days or half a month without any problem. How could they not have money?

Chen Jianguo looked troubled and didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Grandma Shen and asked, "Grandma, is there any food left at home? I'm starving."

Seeing that Chen Jianguo didn't seem to be faking it, Old Lady Shen was about to get up to get it when Chen Deshun beat her to it. He turned around and went out of the house, taking the half-plate of stir-fried cabbage with vinegar and the cold steamed buns left over from dinner from the cupboard in the corner of the yard and putting them on the dining table.

Chen Jianguo's eyes lit up. He didn't mind that the food was cold. He picked up the food and stuffed it into his mouth, wolfing it down.

For a moment, only the sound of his slurping food filled the main room.

The family sat quietly in the main room, watching Chen Jianguo eat.

He sat at the table and ate like a whirlwind for more than ten minutes, until he had soaked all the leftover soup in his plate with steamed buns. Only then did he let out a satisfied burp and lean against the wall contentedly.

Chen Deshun tapped the table: "Are you full?"

Chen Jianguo nodded subconsciously.

"Once you've eaten, let's get straight to the point. Why aren't you at the hospital in the middle of the night? What are you doing here at home?" Chen Deshun cut to the chase.

Grandma Shen followed up with, "Didn't I give you twenty yuan yesterday? How come you didn't even get dinner? And your clothes smell awful, don't you know to change them?"

Chen Jianguo lowered his head awkwardly, his eyes darting around, rubbing his hands. After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Dad, could you—lend me some more money?"

A knowing glint flashed in Chen Deshun's eyes. Sure enough, he knew Chen Jianguo had come back with something up his sleeve.

"What do you need money for? What about the money your grandma gave you yesterday?" Chen Deshun retorted.

It's true that Liu Rui was injured, but the elderly couple said yesterday that he's out of danger and will be discharged after a few days of observation in the hospital.

Liu Rui herself is a nurse, and her workplace can reimburse most of the expenses. The total cost of hospitalization and medical expenses is not much. Moreover, Grandma Shen had already paid for Chen Jianguo yesterday.

Now you're asking to borrow money again?

Chen Jianguo sighed softly, seemingly having something difficult to say, but still not wanting to tell his family: "Dad, please don't ask, it's hard to explain in a short time."

Chen Deshun glared at him and made a move to get up and shoo him away: "If you can't explain yourself, then get lost! You have no money, go back to where you got it from! If you dare to knock on my door in the middle of the night again, believe me, I'll go directly to the residents' committee to complain about you disturbing the peace!"

Seeing that Chen Deshun was angry, Chen Jianguo quickly softened his tone: "Dad, don't be impatient, I'll talk, I'll talk, okay?"

He looked up at the spider web on the ceiling, seemingly trying to gather his emotions, but after a long time, he couldn't utter a single word.

"Are you going to tell me or not? Stop dawdling. I have to work the early shift tomorrow!" Chen Jianshe urged impatiently from the side.

Chen Jianguo glared at his third brother, who seemed to enjoy the drama, and slowly said, "Liu Rui's parents, uncle, and brother have all come over."

Shen Laotai had mentioned the visit of Liu Rui's family yesterday, and Chen Deshun knew about it, so he wasn't surprised to hear it from Chen Jianguo.

Seeing that Chen Jianguo seemed to have hit a snag on an old-fashioned tape recorder, and there was no further comment, he frowned and asked, "And then?"

Chen Jianguo hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Liu Rui's younger brother—he's sick and has been hospitalized. The money Grandma gave me yesterday went entirely to pay his hospital fees, and we're still short quite a bit."

Speaking of this, Chen Jianguo gets a headache.

Who would have thought that a packet of laxatives would land Liu Qiang in the hospital?

When Liu Qiang was admitted to the hospital, his family members all complained about being poor and took all the blame upon themselves. Feeling a little guilty, he reluctantly agreed to pay Liu Qiang's bills.

But when he saw the details on the bill, he was completely dumbfounded.

Ambulance dispatch fee, emergency room rescue fee, various laboratory test fees, medication fees, hospitalization fees, nursing fees —

All the miscellaneous fees added up to a whopping fifty-six yuan!

That's almost as much as his monthly salary!

The worst part is that Liu Qiang doesn't have a job, so he has to pay for all his own expenses and can't get a single penny reimbursed.

Now that he was penniless, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and go home to find Chen Deshun.

Chen Deshun glared at him and said coldly, "Chen Jianguo, if you keep trying to dodge the issue with me, leave now and don't waste our whole family's rest time."

Chen Jianshe jumped in to chime in, "Exactly! They come here with their big mouths licked up, then start playing the victim. We fed them, and they stammered and didn't tell us a single truth! What, do you think our dad's money is so easy to swindle?"

He couldn't get any money to buy a watch today, so naturally he couldn't just stand by and watch Chen Jianguo's scheme succeed.

Chen Jianguo's face immediately turned ugly after the third brother's words hit the nail on the head. He stubbornly said, "What did you say?!"

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He spoke with conviction, but lacked real confidence. His face flushed red, and he couldn't withstand the scrutinizing gazes of his family. He sighed heavily and recounted the series of events that had occurred after Liu Rui's family came to visit, downplaying the important parts.

They concealed the truth about Liu Qiang having one of his back molars knocked out and his diarrhea, only saying that Liu Qiang had suddenly fallen ill in the car and was rushed to the hospital.

Chen Deshun listened quietly, and only after he finished speaking did he ask casually, "Where are you going with Liu Rui's family on the bus?"

Chen Jianguo's heart skipped a beat, and his voice was barely audible: "He said—he said he came to find you."

"Oh----"

Combining Chen Jianguo's rambling narration with the clues in his mind, Chen Deshun quickly figured out the cause and effect.

What kind of nonsense is this? Their daughter is in the hospital, and the whole family is out having fun with their son-in-law? Do they really think I don't know the route of the bus they're on? One of the stops happens to pass by an electronics factory.

He now reasonably suspects that Chen Jianguo and Liu Rui told the Liu family about the bankbook, and that they were resentful, so they took the bus as a group to the factory to ask him for the money!

Unexpectedly, Liu Qiang, that unlucky fellow, suddenly fell seriously ill halfway through the journey, forcing the group to turn back.

It's true that God has eyes!

Seeing Chen Deshun's uncertain expression, Chen Jianguo felt uneasy: "Dad, do you think—could you lend me some money first?"

I'll pay you back as soon as I get my salary next month.

Grandma Shen and Grandpa Shen, standing to the side, had gloomy faces and showed signs of disappointment.

I initially felt some sympathy for Chen Jianguo, but he actually dared to side with outsiders and scheme against his own family! Luckily, Liu Qiang had an accident halfway there; if the Liu family had really caused trouble at Chen Deshun's workplace, his job would definitely have been affected.

This has completely crossed the line with the elderly couple!

"Big brother, you really know how to talk."

Chen Jianshe, who had been leaning against the doorframe watching the show, couldn't help but speak up, his smile laced with sarcasm: "Borrow? I'd like to ask, when have you ever paid back the money you borrowed from your family?"

"Stop making sarcastic remarks!"

Chen Jianguo glared angrily and snapped, "Which eye of yours saw that I hadn't returned it? I just gave Dad my and Liu Rui's bankbooks a couple of days ago! There was over 1,300 yuan in there!"

When Chen Jianguo said this, he was full of confidence. He thought, "Let's see who in the family can say that I am unfilial or that I borrowed money and never paid it back!"

More than 1,300?

The mockery on Chen Jianshe's face froze instantly, and he subconsciously looked at Chen Deshun.

He vaguely remembered his father mentioning that his older brother had paid back the money, but he didn't know that he had actually paid back so much!

That's over 1,300 yuan! That's no small sum; it's enough to get married.

No wonder my grandparents have been buying new clothes and a radio these past few days, and the food at home has improved a lot. So that's what happened.

Chen Jianshe looked intently at Chen Deshun. His father was so rich, he certainly wouldn't be short of forty yuan to buy a watch. He could try to negotiate after this was over, and maybe it would work out.

Chen Deshun had no idea what his two sons were thinking. The light returned to Chen Jianguo, and he slowly said, "Chen Jianguo, if you want to meddle in Liu Rui's family's business, that's your business. Don't bring your family's mess into my family. Everyone has to be responsible for their own decisions."

Want to borrow money from him? No way!

Make him pay to cure Liu Qiang, so that those scoundrels can continue to come to the factory and cause trouble for him?

Isn't this blatantly aiding the enemy?

Chen Jianguo was stunned for a moment, then said incredulously, "Dad, what did you say?"

"Haven't I made myself clear enough?"

Chen Deshun's attitude was resolute: "If you want to pay Liu Qiang's hospital fees, that's your business. Figure it out yourself."

Chen Jianguo, unwilling to give up, resorted to moral blackmail: "Dad, you have to take care of whether Liu Rui and I live or die, right? We haven't earned a single penny this month, and we're even having trouble eating."

Chen Deshun chuckled: "Why don't you ask your mother-in-law for money? Doesn't Liu Rui hand over her entire monthly salary to her mother for safekeeping? Even if it's forty yuan a month, over two years, she should have nine hundred and sixty yuan, right?"

These words effectively shut down anything Chen Jianguo was about to say.

With Liu Rui's mother's character, she's a total tightwad; once she's taken the money, there's no way she'd ever give it back.

Chen Deshun saw right through his thoughts and continued, "What, you think Liu Rui's family is easy to bully, so you come back home to bully me and your grandparents? Chen Jianguo, you really dare to think that way. I'm telling you right now, not a single penny will be lent to you."

He leaned forward and said sternly, "Don't you and Liu Rui both have jobs? If it really doesn't work out, go to your supervisors to ask for an advance on your salaries. I believe they will understand your difficulties."

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