pjbooks Chapter 34: Trouble
Chapter 34: Trouble
"Brother Da Mao, I almost fell asleep just now, it sounded like your voice."
Tang Zhenghong came out of the house.
Xu Damao looked around and asked in a low voice, "Is it convenient? Let's go inside and talk."
Tang Zhenghong stepped aside, and the two entered the house one after the other.
"Zhenghong, only you can help me this time."
Tang Zhenghong stroked his chin and guessed, "Let me guess, did someone find out about you helping the widow? Or did they catch you helping someone else's husband take care of his wife?"
Xu Damao found this amusing, but also somewhat exasperated: "It wasn't me, it was my dad."
"No way, does my Uncle Xu play this exciting game too?"
"Hey, we're talking about completely different things. My dad was taken away by your railway police today for some reason, and he hasn't come back yet. I tried asking the cinema manager, but I couldn't find out anything. That's why I'm troubling you."
Now Tang Zhenghong understood. When he ran into Liu Guangqi today, Liu said that Liu had been called in for questioning. Xu Fugui was secretly plotting against him, and he must know something, which was why he had someone "inadvertently" pass the message to him.
He was originally planning how to teach that cunning Xu Fugui a lesson, but he didn't expect his master to act so quickly.
"Brother Da Mao, you know how long I've been working here. I haven't even gotten to know everyone in our railway police team yet."
"I don't want you to work for nothing. The main thing is to help me find out what my father did wrong so I can make some preparations."
"You're being too polite. It's fine to ask around, but I'm worried that you'll miss the opportunity by placing your hopes on me. Alright, it's already this late, I'll go back to the team first thing tomorrow morning and ask someone there."
Xu Damao put down the two packs of cigarettes, then stood up: "I was in a bit of a rush today. Keep these cigarettes; you need to give some when you're asking around for information. Alright, it's getting late, so I won't disturb your rest any longer. I still need to go back and tell my mom, otherwise she definitely won't be able to sleep tonight."
When Xu Damao arrived at his parents' house, he indeed saw that the lights were still on.
"Mom, I came to tell you that I asked Tang Zhenghong from our hospital to inquire about the situation tomorrow morning. Even just a few words from him will be more effective than us running around like crazy."
When her son mentioned Tang Zhenghong, Xu's mother was stunned for a moment. Then she remembered that for a while, Old Xu had been scheming against others at home. How coincidental that the young man's workplace had taken him away.
Well, now we're really in their hands.
Xu Damao noticed that his mother's expression was off, but he didn't take it to heart. He was tired after all the commotion and planned to stay here for the night. So he yawned and prepared to go back to his room to sleep.
"Da Mao, wait a minute."
"Mom, please don't bother me anymore. I'm sleepy and tired. I'll definitely hear from you tomorrow morning. Zheng Hong will definitely keep his promise."
"Oh, I just remembered you mentioned Tang Zhenghong. This is troublesome; your dad has been handed over to them."
Xu Damao sensed something was wrong. He knew his parents all too well. After drinking a glass of cold water, he sobered up considerably: "What is my dad up to now, hiding it from me?"
"Hey, you're the one who's been wronged in this matter."
"What did you mean by accusing me? I haven't caused any trouble since I joined the steel rolling mill."
Xu's mother glared at her son reproachfully, then sighed with worry, "Your father and I have only done this for you. We moved here to make room for you, and you've been on so many blind dates without a single one going well. Your father and I suspected someone was sabotaging us, and we found out it was that scoundrel Yi Zhonghai. Otherwise, with our family's circumstances, how could you still be single?"
"Is it really him? I always thought it was Sha Zhu. No, what makes him think he's the best? I didn't do anything to him."
"It's all because of the old grudges between your dad, him, and that deaf old lady. It's a long story, back in the day..."
Xu Damao was very sleepy at the moment, and interrupted his mother's long-winded speech: "Mom, please don't bring up the past. How did this get involved with Zheng Hong?"
"Yi Zhonghai and that deaf old lady are both very secretive, and your father isn't in the yard, so he can only get revenge through someone else. I heard you say recently that this Tang kid became a policeman, and your father has been at home every day thinking about how to use him. Sigh... A couple of days ago, your father came home in a good mood, and when I asked him what was going on, he said things were almost done. Now look what happened, all his scheming has backfired, and he's ended up scheming against himself."
Xu Damao was truly panicked now. He had just found a future support, and his own father had ruined it all: "Mom, you and Dad are really something. Do you even know what a martyr's family member is? Besides, Tang Zhenghong has been smart since he was a child. Even I can see through this little trick. But Dad, he's really getting senile."
"Isn't all this for you? You ungrateful wretch, how can you talk to your father like that?"
Xu Damao clasped his hands together and prayed, "Mom, I'm begging you, please, from now on, can you and Dad interfere less in my affairs? It used to be normal for me and Shazhu to joke around, but several times he got involved, and now we're enemies, even if we weren't. And this Tang Zhenghong, I finally found a way out, but before I could even taste any success, he blocked it all. What kind of mess is this?"
"Do you think your dad and I have nothing better to do than get you married sooner? What's the use of saying all this now? Hurry up and think of a solution."
"My dad always brags about how good he is at judging people, but I'm not as good as him. Ever since Tang Zhenghong came back to the hospital, I knew this kid was going to rise to prominence and wouldn't be the obscure nobody he used to be. Sigh... I don't even want to face him tomorrow."
Even Xu's mother couldn't help but sigh.
After all, they were family. After thinking for a while, Xu Damao gritted his teeth, stood up, and asked, "Mom, how much money can you come up with?"
"Your dad manages all the money; I don't have a single penny. Da Mao, don't even think about money now."
"Let me tell you this too, at a time like this, forget about money. I only need this money for my dad. His situation isn't a big deal; it's just him venting his anger. But he can't afford to miss work. A day or two at the movie theater might be enough, but if it goes on, he might lose his job. Can't you even figure out which is more important?"
Mentioning money, Xu's mother's face fell even more: "How much money will this cost? If it really comes down to it, we'll go to the neighborhood committee and complain to them. I refuse to believe there's no place to seek justice."
"How could you be so confused? Since ancient times, the common people have never fought against the officials. Besides, what is the neighborhood committee compared to their other units? They don't even bother to acknowledge them."
Perhaps seeing his mother's mournful face, Xu Damao softened his tone and advised, "Don't worry about money now. Hurry up and find someone. Asking for favors without any real promises is like asking a third uncle for help. Not to mention the foolish thing my dad did, it's not even certain that they'll be lenient with you."
"Go to sleep first, I'll go with you tomorrow."
Xu Damao knew his mother was trying to prevent him from seeing where the money was hidden, and he snorted unhappily, "Fine, I'll sleep with you then. I'm your own son, is this how you protect me?"
Xu's mother was too lazy to respond to her son's words. According to Old Xu, if it weren't for his physical condition, he would have had another son.
Xu Damao was really tired today; he started snoring as soon as he lay down on the bed.