Reborn in '77, I have a job panel!

By the time we arrived, it was already getting dark.

The lights were on in the courtyard, and voices could be heard coming from inside the house. Qian Lu pushed open the door and saw Qian Gaofei carrying dishes to the table.

"You're here? Please have a seat," Qian Gaofei greeted.

Qian Lu and his wife sat down and glanced at the table.

A plate of stir-fried cabbage, a plate of shredded potatoes, a dish of pickled vegetables, a bowl of soybean paste—that's it.

Qian Lu knew perfectly well that the dishes were too vegetarian, and most of the meat dishes were inside, but he didn't say anything.

The two children sat to one side, each holding a bowl of white rice topped with meat. Qian Fugui and Qian Fusheng ate their rice with their chopsticks moving very quickly.

Liu Fang came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of soup, and put it on the table: "Drink soup, drink soup, cabbage and tofu soup."

Qian Lu's wife glanced at the soup and saw a few cabbage leaves floating in it, but hardly any tofu.

The two picked up their chopsticks and took a few bites of the food. The cabbage was stir-fried without any flavor, and the shredded potatoes were just so-so.

Qian Gaofei sat down, picked up the wine pot, and poured Qian Lu a cup: "Come on, have a drink."

"Uncle, I don't drink alcohol." Qian Lu waved his hand.

"Drink a little less, it'll be fine," Qian Gaofei insisted, pouring the drink down his throat.

Qian Lu didn't refuse again, picked up the cup and took a sip.

After taking only a few bites, Qian Gaofei spoke up.

"Xiao Lu, you know about your brother's situation, right?"

Qian Lu paused, chopsticks in hand: "What is it?"

"Isn't Wang Shoujun and the others still in the police station because of the beating?"

Qian Lu put down her chopsticks and looked at him: "I know, so what?"

Qian Gaofei cleared his throat: "I went to your house today and talked to Chengzi for a while."

Qian Lu frowned but didn't reply.

Qian Gaofei continued, "That kid Chengzi has a bit of a temper. I told him to stop, sign a letter of understanding, and let the person out, but he wouldn't listen and kept bringing up those old grievances with me."

He paused, looking at Qian Lu: "You're his brother, he should listen to what you say."

Go back and try to persuade him to stop being so stubborn.

We're all from the same village, we see each other all the time, it's not good to have a falling out.

Qian Lu's expression slowly changed as he listened.

Qian Gaofei didn't notice and continued, "Besides, Wang Shoujun and the others also had your brother beaten up. His nose bridge collapsed and his front teeth fell out. He's already in enough trouble."

"Other people's wives and children can't even have a good New Year at home, how can your brother bear to see that?"

He leaned forward and lowered his voice: "The Sun family even gave us ten yuan for this, saying it was a trouble fee."

If you can persuade your brother, I'll give you three dollars of this money.

Three yuan.

Qian Lu stared at him, his eyes wide open.

"Uncle," Qian Lu's voice changed as he spoke, "You took the money?"

Qian Gaofei was taken aback, then waved his hand: "It's not money, it's a tip for my trouble, I just helped out with some errands..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qian Lu suddenly stood up.

He grabbed the edge of the table and yanked it upwards.

Whoosh!

The table was overturned, plates and bowls were smashed all over the floor, soup was splashed everywhere, and the wine bottle rolled to the ground and shattered with a crash.

Qian Fugui and Qian Fusheng were so frightened that they jumped up and hid behind them, holding their bowls.

Qian Lu's wife quickly stood up and tried to pull Qian Lu back.

"The road to wealth!"

Qian Lu was already pointing his finger at Qian Gaofei and cursing him.

"Qian Gaofei! Are you even human?!" Qian Lu's voice was loud enough to lift the roof off the building. "My brother was beaten up like that, three ribs broken, his leg cracked, and he's been in the hospital for five days! You won't help us, fine, but you even took their money and expect me to persuade my brother to let them go?"

Seeing Qian Lu's murderous intent, Qian Gaofei was so frightened that he backed away, his face turning pale: "You, you listen to me..."

"Shut up!" Qian Lu took a step forward. "Who do you think you are, Uncle? When my dad was alive, your whole family looked down on him. Now that he's dead, have you cared about us for even a day? And now, for ten yuan, you expect me to persuade my brother to forgive that family of bastards?"

Liu Fang shouted in a shrill voice from the side, "What are you doing? What are you doing? Trying to hit someone?"

"So what if I hit you?" Qian Lu glared at her. "Neither of you two is any good!"

Qian Lu's wife held onto his arm tightly, afraid that he would really hit her.

The commotion inside was too loud. Qian Fugui saw his father being pointed at and scolded. He wanted to step forward to help, but when he saw Qian Lu's expression, he chickened out and stood there, too scared to move.

Qian Fusheng, needless to say, hid behind his brother, not daring to utter a sound.

Liu Fang was also terrified, her legs trembling as she stood there.

Qian Gaofei's face flushed red and then turned pale, his lips trembled, and he wanted to curse but couldn't utter a word.

Qian Lu, panting heavily, pointed at the family and said, "Let me tell you, this isn't over! You took money from them, so figure out how to return it yourselves! Don't expect me and my brother to clean up your mess!"

After saying that, he turned around, grabbed his wife, and walked out.

Reaching the door, he turned back, pointed at Qian Gaofei, and said, "Qian Gaofei, from now on, I have no uncle like you!"

The courtyard gate was slammed shut with a loud bang.

The room was a complete mess.

Qian Gaofei stood there, his face as white as a corpse.

Liu Fang's legs went weak, and she sat down on the ground.

The two children stood there, holding their bowls, too afraid to move.

After a long while, Liu Fang finally burst into tears: "What am I going to do? What am I going to do..."

Qian Gaofei plopped down on the kang (a heated brick bed), his hands trembling.

Little did he know that Qian Lu, with his honest and simple nature, could be even more frightening than Qian Cheng when he got angry.

How can I pay back thirty yuan?

How will we spend this year's New Year?

Qian Lu dragged his wife along as they walked quickly from Qian Gaofei's house, their feet seemingly on the wind.

His wife had to jog to keep up, saying as she ran, "Slow down, slow down, getting angry is bad for your health."

"What harm?" Qian Lu asked without turning his head. "I just want to go back and tell Mom and Chengzi what kind of scum those two are!"

The daughter-in-law sighed and didn't try to persuade her anymore.

She knew Qian Lu's temper. He usually seemed honest and unassuming, never getting angry with anyone, but if you really provoked him, once his temper flared up, no one could stop him.

If she hadn't held on so tightly, Qian Lu really might have hit her.

The two walked all the way to Qian Cheng's house.

The courtyard gate was not closed, and the lights were on inside the house.

Qian Lu pushed open the door and went in. Hou Yufen was tidying up the dishes in the outer room, while Qian Cheng was leaning against the kang (a heated brick bed) reading a book.

Seeing Qian Lu enter, Hou Yufen was taken aback: "Xiao Lu? What brings you here at this hour? Have you eaten?"

Qian Lu didn't answer, but plopped down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

Qian Cheng put down his book, looked at him, and asked, "Brother, what's wrong? Who upset you?"

Qian Lu opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he took a few deep breaths.

The eldest sister-in-law chimed in, "It's not just your uncle's family."

Upon hearing the words "uncle," Hou Yufen's face changed: "What happened to them now?"

The daughter-in-law explained the whole story.

It started with Liu Fang inviting them to dinner, talking about how shabby the dishes were, how Qian Gaofei persuaded Qian Lu to convince Qian Cheng, the ten yuan "hardship fee," and finally, how Qian Lu overturned the table and cursed.