thefictionvixens Chapter 189: Debt Collection at Poly
Chapter 189: Debt Collection at Poly
Lin Xiangdong took out a small stool from the space he carried with him and sat down to wait for the train. He waited for more than an hour.
To kill time waiting in the cold weather, he read the traditional Chinese version of Journey to the West.
The train station does not have any heating facilities in such a low temperature environment. Both passengers and station staff are fully armed and wear thick clothes to keep out the cold.
"Woooooooo..."
A steam locomotive finally arrived at the station.
At present, the country's scientific and technological progress is still underdeveloped. In this era, trains are powered by coal and run slowly - usually only about 50 kilometers per hour.
Delays are quite common for passenger trains.
After seeing the train arrive at the station, Lin Xiangdong stood up.
I packed up my belongings and books, then took out my train ticket and prepared to board the train.
After getting off the train and checking in tickets, passengers began to crowd into the train.
After squeezing onto the train, Lin Xiangdong found his seat according to the seat information on the itinerary - most of the people who bought tickets were unoccupied.
Although some seats are empty, it is a tacit agreement that you should not occupy these seats if you hold a standing ticket; and there are train attendants and security guards inside the train to maintain law and order.
After finding a seat and resting, he slowly closed his eyes.
The distance between Beijing and Poly is approximately 160 kilometers.
The journey takes about three to four hours, based on a speed of about 50 km/h.
In other words, if you set off early, you can arrive in Poly before lunch; and then return to Beijing before dusk to complete the round trip.
As there was still some time left in driving, Lin Xiangdong closed his eyes and took a nap.
Just as Lin Xiang was sleeping, the train started to move slowly.
The staff on the train are working diligently to burn coal to supply energy to the train.
Several strong workers, holding large shovels, continuously threw the coal stored in the warehouse into the blazing furnace.
Due to the need to burn large amounts of coal, large quantities of new coal must be loaded onto the car at each stop.
The current coal reserves are insufficient to support reaching the final destination of Baoli, so replenishment along the way is inevitable.
As the vehicle moves forward, the train starts out very slow; then it gradually picks up speed...
There were several temporary stops during the trip to Poly.
As a result, the journey actually took nearly 4 hours before Lin Xiangdong finally arrived at Poly.
Compared to the bustling metropolis of the capital, in this small city, Poly Railway Station is just an inconspicuous place, not grand and with only a single building.
When he stepped out of the car and looked around, what he saw were old, dilapidated, short buildings and graffiti or patterns all over the walls;
The whole area is filled with a unique atmosphere of the times.
Although it cannot compare to the spectacular first scene, it still has its own unique features.
For He Daqing, who was looking for a specific person, even in such a foreign land, as long as he could speak, he would not be unable to move forward.
After questioning more than ten people, the group finally guided Lin Xiangdong to the target location - outside the house of Mrs. Bai.
An auntie was hanging out laundry in the courtyard and saw someone wandering around the door, so she stepped forward and asked, "Young man, who are you looking for?" the auntie asked with concern.
"Hello, I would like to ask if He Daqing lives here?" Lin Xiangdong responded.
In the Siheyuan worldview, borrowing and returning is natural.
It was normal for creditors to come to collect debts. Lin Xiangdong stated his purpose directly and was unwilling to elaborate. If the matter could not be resolved privately, it would have to be handled publicly.
There is no need to be too polite when facing He Daqing.
When He Daqing left his children and came here to live with a widow, was that still a proper behavior?
When he and the widow moved to this town, his daughter He Yusi was just an elementary school student. From this point of view, his behavior is really hard to agree with.
"Dongzi, you're going too far." After hearing Lin Xiangdong's attitude, He Daqing's face was not very good either.
The widow next to him was even more blunt in expressing her stinginess: "No money!"
"Uncle He, when our family encountered difficulties, it was my mother who lent you money without hesitation. Now you are asking for repayment so difficultly? This is really unreasonable. I don't want to hear this, but you must return this hundred yuan loan. As for the interest, considering the term of so many years, if you can give one yuan to show your sincerity, this should be reasonable, don't you think?" Lin Xiangdong said calmly.
Indeed, according to Lin Xiangdong, it is not an exaggeration at all. After all, it is a long-term loan of one hundred yuan, and charging one yuan of interest is really insignificant.
He Daqing looked at Bai Guafu for help, but Bai Guafu just turned her head away.
Widow Bai's reaction made He Daqing feel a little discouraged.
Seeing that He Daqing was silent, Lin Xiangdong smiled and said, "Since Uncle He doesn't intend to pay back the money, it doesn't matter. I will go to the police station to report the case now."
After saying this, Lin Xiangdong made a move to leave, which startled He Daqing, who quickly stopped him.
The White Widow also began to get nervous.
If Lin Xiangdong really caused trouble, He Daqing might have to go to jail.
Even if that doesn't happen, his career might be ruined and his reputation destroyed.
One hundred dollars is indeed a large sum, but if it really triggers a **, it will bring greater financial losses to the White Widow.
"If it were you, and you lent me a hundred yuan and I didn't pay it back after a few years, how do you think you would feel, Uncle He?" Lin Xiangdong asked with a 'dissatisfied' look.
After this question, He Daqing couldn't help feeling a little shy.
"Of course." He Daqing replied firmly.
Although one hundred yuan was a sum that the White Widow was reluctant to spend, He Daqing's attitude was already very firm.
"Then I'll go find someone to raise money now." He Daqing said in a low voice.
After all, he had been in the castle city for some time and had made a few friends here, so it was not difficult for him to get a small sum of one hundred dollars.
Seeing that He Daqing was about to start borrowing money, Widow Bai immediately shouted to stop him.
"We still have some savings at home, so we don't need to borrow money from others," Widow Bai explained to He Daqing.
At this moment, her heart was filled with pain and torment.
Although Widow Bai had thought of breaking the contract, Lin Xiangdong came all the way from Beijing and explained the situation clearly.
Moreover, she was not clear about the matter. If she tore up the IOU, could she guarantee that there would be no relevant proof in Beijing?
The dispute over the money further escalated. If He Daqing was arrested, what would her future be like? This was really a choice that required her to choose the lesser of two evils!
As some people often say, widows are difficult characters to deal with in this era. This White Widow is indeed very clever.
Then the White Widow went into the house to get the money.
When he saw the White Widow turn around, He Daqing asked about the situation of Sha Zhu and He Yushui.
It can be seen that deep down He Daqing still can't let go of his feelings for Sha Zhu and He Yu Shui.
He Daqing felt unhappy when Lin Xiangdong said the word "Silly Zhu".
In fact, the nickname "Shazhu" was created by He Daqing himself.
As for why he named his son "Shazhu", there is actually a story behind it.
When Sha Zhu was still very young, he used to sell steamed buns on the street. At that time, the rebels broke into the area near the East Gate of Beijing. At that time, Sha Zhu ran away with the steamed buns, which was almost like putting his life at risk. After selling all the steamed buns, he got a small amount of money, which made He Da so angry that he shouted his name. Since then, this name has spread and been accepted by the neighbors.
After listening to Lin Xiangdong's story about how Sha Zhu and He Yushui had not had a good life in the past few years, He Daqing hurriedly continued to ask questions about the details.
"Uncle He, I shouldn't question you, but there are some things I have to say. It's understandable that he came to the protection city with that widow, but he hasn't sent a letter home in many years, let alone sent money to his family to make a living. If it weren't for the support and assistance of the deaf grandma and uncle, Brother Zhu and Sister Yushui might have faced difficulties in life." Lin Xiangdong expressed his doubts.
"What did you say? How could this happen?" Brother He was very surprised to hear this information.
When Lin Xiangdong saw Brother He’s surprised expression, he began to feel confused.
Listening to the subsequent story content made Lin Xiangdong fall into deep thought.
"I have written to...Brother Zhu several times since arriving at the Protectorate City."
"In addition, I also send ten dollars every month for household expenses. After years of accumulation, it must be at least several hundred dollars!"
"My uncle should have received it all. Didn't he pass the remittances to Brother Zhu?" Brother He frowned slightly.
Lin Xiangdong was indeed a little surprised to hear that "Brother He had sent money to the household."
Although this incident may have been briefly mentioned in the TV series, it is obvious that Lin Xiangqian did not pay attention to the details. His understanding of the entire plot was also quite rough and he was not clear about the specific situation.
Now, hearing He Daqing say in person about the help to Brother Zhu and the payment of household expenses, he was truly surprised.
According to what He Daqing said, in addition to paying the remittances, he also sent letters home several times, all of which were collected by Yi Zhonghai.
However, according to what we have learned so far, Mr. Yi has not shown any family letters or family support money sent by He Daqing.
What if the uncle never received it? How likely is that?
If there were some mistakes in sending goods from the guaranteed city to Beijing, it might be understandable. However, if it is true that Daqing sent money on time every month to support Zhuge's living expenses, and it continued for many years, and these funds were not passed on to Zhuzi through Yi, it would be extremely unreasonable.
The postal system in that era was extremely strict and omissions rarely occurred.
Then there is only one reasonable answer, that is, all this happened under Yi Zhonghai's deliberate concealment.
He did not make public the contents of the letters that He Daqing sent to him.
Similarly, not even a penny of the household expenses was revealed to Brother Zhu.