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

Chapter 82 Those Things That Happened That Year! Cater to their interests, and you'll get the savings account!

"Is there anything else?" Old Mrs. Shen stopped and raised an eyebrow at Chen Jianguo. "We've finished talking, why aren't you going home yet?"

She didn't believe that Chen Jianguo had taken leave specifically to care about family matters. He kept saying he was coming to help, but he didn't do anything and was almost bought off by the Huang family's fifty yuan compensation.

If we had actually accepted Chen Jianguo's idea and taken the fifty yuan compensation, where would the final 1,800 yuan have come from?

Chen Deshun also stopped, crossed his arms, and watched with great interest without saying a word.

"Grandpa, Grandma, I'm just worried about you."

Chen Jianguo rubbed his hands together, a smile plastered on his face, and subtly steered the conversation back to himself: "What do you think of my promotion, the one I mentioned to you last time?"

"Your grandfather and I are old, and we're about to be buried. Do whatever you want, don't ask us." Old Mrs. Shen waved her hand, looking indifferent.

"Didn't you say you could become some kind of high-ranking official? I think that's great," the old man smacked his lips in agreement.

Chen Jianguo's face lit up with excitement; he had been waiting for these words!

He leaned closer and whispered, "Grandpa, Grandma, you know the officialdom is like a battlefield; you have to spend money on everything. Studying requires money for materials, and cultivating relationships with colleagues and superiors costs money too. My dad has that compensation money now, so he's financially comfortable. Could you please help me—help me get my family's savings back?"

He tossed and turned all night thinking about it and realized that the reason he couldn't get the money before was because he was too impatient. Wanting everything would only make him seem greedy and eager for quick success.

After much deliberation, I decided to proceed gradually, step by step: first, I would retrieve my bankbook, and then slowly work on my grandparents and the compensation money handed over to the authorities.

Before the elderly couple could even speak, Chen Jianguo began making grand promises: "Grandpa, Grandma, don't worry! As long as you help me get my savings book back, I'll take care of your retirement when your grandson becomes a high-ranking official! Then, I'll renovate and rebuild our Chen family's ancestral graves, making sure they're magnificent! Everyone will know that our Chen family is on the right track, no longer just peasants toiling in the fields!"

"A peasant?"

The old man's smile vanished instantly, replaced by a cold glint in his eyes. He took a puff of his pipe and sternly lectured, "Without the hard work of a peasant, do you think your food falls from the sky? Go starve!"

Grandma Shen suddenly chuckled and nudged Grandpa with her elbow, saying sarcastically, "Why are you being so fierce? Didn't you hear me? Your good grandson said he'd take care of you in your old age and repair the ancestral graves for the Chen family. How filial!"

The old man's face darkened further. "What kind of old age am I supposed to keep? I don't even know how many more years I have left to live."

Repairing ancestral graves? Back then, the Japanese were fighting so fiercely, with war raging in North and East China. Their whole family followed the refugee wave, running back and forth between the north and south. They were bombed repeatedly along the way, and their brothers and parents were separated. To this day, no one knows whether they are alive or dead.

Now, it's unclear whether the Chen family's grave faces south or north. Where did they get the ancestral graves to repair?

Chen Jianguo noticed the change in the old man's expression and realized he had misspoke. He coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment: "Grandpa, what I meant was, wherever you are, that's where the roots of the Chen family are. When the time comes—"

"Get lost!"

The old man's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. Not wanting to hear Chen Jianguo barking like a dog, he kicked him in the backside: "You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth! All you spout is nonsense!"

Grandma Shen chuckled to herself—she seriously doubted whether her grandson really worked in a government agency. With his thoughtless speech, his inability to read the room, and his lack of tact, how could he expect to get promoted? He'd be lucky if he didn't get bullied to death.

Chen Jianguo rubbed his buttocks, looking aggrieved: "Sir, I was just using an analogy, please don't be angry. What I meant was, 'Alright, alright, stop talking!'"

The old man quickly raised his hand to stop, took a deep breath, his chest still heaving.

Now that life is getting better and better, he wants to live a few more years and strive to have four generations under one roof. If Chen Jianguo continues talking, he might be so angry that he dies on the spot.

After a moment of silence, the old man looked at Chen Jianguo and said solemnly, "Jianguo, there's something I've kept from you for a long time. Actually—I was a deserter back then. Are you sure you want to build me a grave and erect a monument so everyone will know you had a deserter grandfather?"

Chen Jianguo's expression froze instantly, his lips twitching uncontrollably: "Sir, you—you're not joking, are you? You're a deserter? I've never heard you mention that before?"

The word "deserter" exploded in his mind like a bolt from the blue!

Although the situation has not been as severe in recent years, if this matter gets out, he will not only lose his promotion, but also his job.

Grandma Shen rolled her eyes at him and scolded, "Are you stupid? You can't just go around yelling about something that could cost you your head! If you hadn't brought up the ancestral graves today, would your grandfather have told you? This is something we're planning to take to our graves!"

Chen Jianguo's face was as black as charcoal; he was filled with deep regret.

I thought the elderly people cared a lot about their ancestral graves and reputation, so I brought it up to please them. I should have known better than to ask. My grandparents are really something. Couldn't they have kept me in the dark? At least I would have felt more at ease.

Now look what's happened, we've inexplicably gained a "deserter grandpa," it's so embarrassing.

Chen Deshun, who was in front, overheard the conversation between the grandfather and grandson and almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.

That old man is really wicked.

However, what he said was actually quite accurate.

The old man did indeed desert in the past, but it was not the same as the "deserter" that Chen Jianguo understood.

In those years of war and chaos, the situation was turbulent, and men were being conscripted everywhere. That's when my grandfather was conscripted. He got a set of clothes from the army camp and ran away in the chaos, joining the Red Army next door.

Calling them deserters is an understatement; they're more like turning from darkness to light.

Chen Jianguo was also blinded by desperation, believing everything he was told without thinking. If his grandfather were truly a deserter, would he have been recommended to university back then? And after graduation, would he have been assigned to such a good government agency in the city? Did he really think it was because he was popular and had good grades?

So you get recommended because you can talk?

Seeing that the elderly couple was thoroughly annoyed by Chen Jianguo's harassment, Chen Deshun composed himself and turned to look at him: "Alright, Chen Jianguo, all you want is the passbook, isn't it?"

Chen Jianguo's eyes lit up, and he quickly stepped forward, excitedly asking, "Dad, you've thought it through?"

He admitted that he had underestimated his grandparents' stubbornness. Their thinking was rigid, and it would probably be impossible to change their minds in a short time. If his father could take the initiative to give him back the bankbook, that would be the best thing.

Chen Deshun didn't say anything, but reached into his pocket, took out his savings book, and handed it over.

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