Chapter 182: The Deceitful Beast (Part 2)

Gong Liang lived in a tube-style apartment building. The place was small—Qin Huai estimated it to be only about 30 to 40 square meters—and was partitioned into three areas.

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

Qin Huai took a brief look. Gong Liang's room was relatively large, containing a bed, two cabinets, and an iron fan. It was clear that as the only son in the family, Gong Liang was quite doted upon.

His parents' bedroom was comparatively smaller, containing only a bed, a cabinet, and some miscellaneous items.

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

The lunchbox was filled to eighty percent capacity with quail eggs braised in meat, with more meat than eggs. The skins of the quail eggs had been fried; buried in the meat, some of the eggs had been crushed. It looked loose and unappealing, but anyone who had eaten it knew that this was how it tasted best.

The dish had already gone cold, with grease solidified on the surface. One couldn't smell the aroma, but the color of the red-braised meat was beautiful—a rich, deep soy-sauce red. The chef had carefully caramelized the sugar. The large chunks of pork belly had the perfect ratio of fat to lean, and it looked delicious.

Gong Liang took out another iron lunchbox that had been dropped on all four corners and was covered in dents. He scooped a small portion of the quail eggs and meat into it, covered it, and placed the lunchbox on the coal stove to heat.

Gong Liang squatted beside the coal stove, lost in thought.

As time passed, the quail eggs and meat in the lunchbox gradually began to emit an aroma. Even Gong Liang, who had been dazed, smelled it, and his saliva began to secrete involuntarily.

Watching Gong Liang squatting by the stove, dazed while his body honestly swallowed saliva, Qin Huai felt a mix of amusement and frustration, finding the scene a bit too comical.

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

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

"Stop making a fuss. Wait until the New Year when the meat coupons are issued, and I'll let you eat your fill!"

"Mom, meat..."

"Don't disturb Uncle Gong next door. Uncle Gong hasn't been well lately and needs meat to replenish his nutrition. When you need to replenish your nutrition, Mom will give you some too..."

Even though the neighbors next door had lowered their voices, Qin Huai still heard the first few sentences. That was the downside of tube-style apartments; if there was even a slightly loud noise, it was easily heard by the neighbors next door. The soundproofing was very poor.

The lunchbox was still heating on the coal stove, and Gong Liang was still dazed, but a knock sounded at the door.

Gong Liang rose sluggishly and opened the door. Outside stood a thin, sallow-skinned woman whose complexion was yellowed due to malnutrition.

Seeing Gong Liang open the door, the woman squeezed out a smile: "Xiao Liang, I still have some flour at home. I made noodles this noon and there's still a bowl's worth left. You weren't here at noon, and your mom wouldn't accept it when I brought it over. Now that your mom is out washing clothes, take these noodles and give them to your dad to eat."

"Given his current situation, eating some noodles made of refined white flour, with an egg poached on top, is the most useful thing."

"You know the conditions at my house. The wages from the silk weaving factory last month haven't been issued yet. My old Xia is just an ordinary worker, and we really don't have money to lend to your family. Consider this bowl of noodles Auntie's gesture."

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

"Eh." Auntie Xia smiled, quietly glanced into the room, gave a bitter smile, shook her head, and left.

Gong Liang placed the noodles on the table and continued to be dazed.

Qin Huai found it strange. He stared at Gong Liang's face, wanting to know if he was so soul-crushed by life that he was absent-minded at all times and in all places, or if he was actually thinking about something and appeared absent-minded because he was thinking too intently.

The quail eggs and meat on the coal stove were heated. Gong Liang used iron tongs to take the lunchbox down. Without extinguishing the stove, he opened the medicine packet, put the Chinese medicine into the pot for decocting, poured in water, and continued to decoct the medicine using the stove.

The time for decocting medicine was very long.

Gong Liang continued to squat and be dazed. He didn't know how much time had passed when the door opened.

A middle-aged woman entered, carrying a basin. She was thin, pale, and her lips lacked color, but her cheeks were flushed with a sickly red caused by exhaustion.

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

Gong Mu sat on a chair, panting. It took a few seconds for her to speak: "How could you wash them clean? You're already tired enough from work; I can still handle these chores at home."

After speaking, Gong Mu saw the lunchbox and noodles already heated on the table.

"The noodles were sent by Auntie Xia, and the lunchbox has red-braised meat; Zheng Da gave it to me on my way back." After speaking, Gong Liang dug into his pocket, "He just got his wages today and stuffed money into my hand."

"I've recorded it all."

"Mom, I'm not going to Jin Ling next week. The section chief said it's highly likely the Jin Ling order won't be negotiated. If the order isn't negotiated, the reimbursement won't come down for a while, so he's going in my place."

Gong Mu didn't speak, silently walking to the bedroom door to close their room's door tighter, as if that would prevent the sound from carrying over.

Gong Mu sat back down, as if she had made a certain decision. Her lips trembled slightly, and her right hand clenched involuntarily until her knuckles turned white and her nails sank into her flesh.

"Xiao Liang, after you left this morning... your dad said, why don't we just stop the treatment." After Gong Mu finished speaking, she took a deep breath, as if she had used up all her strength. Her lips were pale, and she didn't dare look at Gong Liang.

Seeing Gong Liang didn't respond, Gong Mu continued.

"Although your dad was rescued this time, he's ruined. Whether the medical expense reimbursement can come down is still a question. Last year, Old Zhang's medical expense reimbursement never came down. Now the factory is in such a slump, everyone is trying to find ways to transfer to other factories."

"In your dad's situation, it's impossible to get better, and the medical expenses are a bottomless pit. Originally, having me as a burden was already a heavy load for the family, and now your dad is like this too. The extra money the factory issued considering our family's difficulties has long been spent, and even the money for your wedding is..."

"Xiao Guo is a very good child, and your dad and I like her very much, but it's normal for people to have hesitations and concerns. Our family situation wasn't particularly good to begin with, and now there's another burden. What good girl would be willing to serve two patients as soon as she marries into our family."

"The neighbors have helped as much as they could, and relatives and friends have lent all the money they could. Your uncles and aunts are in the countryside, and your uncle... forget it, it's normal not to lend money that is destined never to be repaid."

"You've been soul-crushed for the past month or two, and your dad and I have seen it all. Although your dad is lying in bed, he feels terrible inside. When you aren't here, he keeps muttering at home that if he had known the result would be like this, he would rather have just died directly; he wouldn't need treatment and it would save some money."

"I know you definitely aren't willing, and if there were any other way, Mom wouldn't be willing either. Why don't we just leave it at that? Once the remaining Chinese medicine is finished, that's it. I'll take care of your dad for the remaining time; at least let him leave with dignity."

As Gong Mu 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 doctor. They said Dad's situation isn't the worst. If he recovers well and has good luck, he won't necessarily be paralyzed for life."

Gong Mu squeezed out a bitter smile that was uglier than crying: "But your dad doesn't want to delay your whole life."

Gong Liang remained silent.

"Xiao Liang..." Gong Mu wanted to say something more, but Gong Liang no longer wanted to listen, running straight out the door.

Gong Mu wanted to chase after him. Qin Huai had just followed to the doorway when he heard a low voice from the room: "Let him be quiet by himself." Gong Liang ran to a wall base blocked by a large tree downstairs and squatted there. There was no sadness, no anger, just numbly scraping the dirt on the ground.

He scraped like that from daytime until dark.

Qin Huai watched him scrape the dirt quietly from the side. Gong Liang had even scraped a small pit in the ground.

Finally, someone found Gong Liang.

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

Following the source of the voice, Qin Huai saw a tall, sturdy middle-aged man whose face appeared somewhat ferocious under the moonlight, but whose eyes and brows felt amiable.

There was a ferocious scar on the man's face, looking as if it had been slashed by a sharp weapon, stretching from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth, twisted and crooked—a fierce scar that could scare children to tears just by passing by.

However, the man's expression was unexpectedly gentle, just like an elder carefully teaching an ignorant child. The smile reached his eyes, and his tone was also joking, like teasing a child.

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

The man's identity was already about to be revealed—

Jing Lixiang, Master Jing.

"Master Jing." Gong Liang stood up obediently. It could be seen that Master Jing still held a lot of prestige among the younger generation.

"You ran away from home for hours without a trace. Your mom is almost crazy with worry, begging people until she begged this fifty-year-old lame old man. I guessed you would be here. What, another order failed to be negotiated?" Jing Lixiang said with a smile.

"No." Gong Liang said softly.

"I know even if you don't say it." Jing Lixiang smiled, "It doesn't matter 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 a cloth bag of the same style as Zheng Da's from his pocket and handed it to Gong Liang.

"This is Shengli's wages for this month. He heard that Zheng Da gave 10 yuan to the family and kept 5 yuan for himself, so this month he didn't keep a single cent for himself. Except for the 10 yuan given to the family, the rest is all here." Jing Lixiang shook his head helplessly, "They have to compare even this. Sometimes I really can't do anything about these two apprentice brothers."

"I can probably guess what your parents are thinking now, and I can also guess what you are thinking. We outsiders have no right to interfere in your family affairs, but as neighbors for so many years, I have also saved some savings in my life without children. If the medical expenses are really not enough, I can still lend a little more."

Gong Liang said softly: "Master Jing, you can't lend anymore. My family has already borrowed a lot of money. If I borrow more, I won't be able to pay it back in my whole life."

"A whole 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, I also had a period when I didn't want to live, feeling what was the point of living, better to just die and be done with it. But didn't I still live until today?"

"Xiao Liang, you also have ability. When you first entered the silk weaving factory, didn't your Section Chief Chen praise you every day for being a natural-born salesman?"

"In the early years when the silk weaving factory was efficient, wages, holiday bonuses, and subsidies were all plentiful. Although times have changed, paths are walked by people. How can you conclude that your life won't work out?"

Gong Liang didn't speak.

"Don't like listening to these empty, high-sounding words?" Jing Lixiang asked with a smile.

"No." Gong Liang shook his head hurriedly.

"Then it means you can't take them in. Normal, I understand. It's already very late, and it's cool at night in late autumn. Don't stay outside, go back. If you don't go back, your mom really will be anxious."

Gong Liang knew Jing Lixiang was right. He stood up and supported Jing Lixiang as they walked back.

Jing Lixiang waved his hand to indicate it wasn't necessary. He had been lame for so many years that he had no problem walking by himself; having someone support him would actually make it harder to walk.

The two walked slowly.

"By the way, Xiao Liang, I remember hearing your parents say last year that you negotiated a few small peripheral orders. How come there hasn't been any news since you went to Modu at the beginning of this year? I heard the quality of the silk from the silk weaving factory is quite good this year."

"The Modu order was lost." Gong Liang said dejectedly, "Section Chief Chen led the team. Originally, I was supposed to be the main negotiator, but I got stage fright at the last minute and didn't perform well, so it was lost."

"The section chief didn't blame me either. He said it was his heart that was too anxious, and he shouldn't have let a young person like me who had just become a regular employee negotiate such a big order."

"It's my problem."

"You don't seem like someone who would get stage fright. Since you were a child, you've had the slickest tongue among this group of children, and you always have a set of words ready."

"I... I'm just afraid." Gong Liang frowned, revealing his heart for a rare moment, "I'm afraid of such big occasions. I panic when I see people. The words I clearly prepared in advance are all forgotten as soon as they reach my lips."

"Everyone says it's a pity that the factory lost the quota for the trade fair this year. I also know it's a pity, but in my heart, I'm actually a little relieved."

"I'm afraid that when the trade fair arrives, Section Chief Chen will hand the heavy burden to me, and I will get stage fright again or even run away at the last minute, and this year will be as dismal in transaction volume as last year, and our sales section will lose face for the silk weaving factory again."

"On one hand, I know the trade fair is a rare and good opportunity. If I go and negotiate a big order, there will be hope for my dad's medical expenses. As long as the factory is efficient, the medical expense reimbursement can come down, and my dad can go to the provincial hospital for treatment."

"But on the other hand, I'm very afraid of messing up the trade fair, and I'm even relieved that there is no quota this year. If I can't go, I won't mess it up."

"Master Jing, I feel like a coward, a deserter. I don't want to let my father lie in bed waiting for death, but even though I know the method to save him, I don't want to try."

"Everyone says I've been distracted lately because of trouble at home, but that's not it, I am..."

"I am hating myself."

"Hating myself because there are things I want to do, things I can do, yet I don't dare to do them."

Jing Lixiang listened quietly.

After Gong Liang finished rambling, Jing Lixiang asked a question that seemed to come out of nowhere: "You aren't going on any business trips these next few days, right?"

Gong Liang nodded.

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

Gong Liang was a bit dazed, but he still nodded: "I think I can."

Jing Lixiang said with a smile: "Then I'll wait for you at the state-run restaurant tomorrow afternoon."

"When you're in a bad mood, eating something good will make you feel better."

(End of chapter)