Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 758: Finding Money
At this time, none of the Wang family members had fallen asleep. Hearing the knocking, Old Man Wang immediately got up to open the door. Just as he was about to ask a question, his second son's voice rang out from outside, "Dad, Mom, open the door quickly, eldest brother is back."

Old Wang was startled. His eldest son had returned?

He quickly sped up his movements, while calling to his wife, "Turn on the light."

Wangjiazhuang was located in a remote area and naturally had no electricity. Not to mention Wangjiazhuang, even the Hongqi Commune had no electricity. At night, the commune secretary could only light a kerosene lamp.

Old Wang's wife, Sun Xiuying, was startled. She quickly got up, and in the darkness, she accurately found a match, struck it, and lit an oil lamp. The next second, her third daughter, fourth son, and youngest daughter all got up and rushed into the main room.

At this moment, the door was opened, and Wang Jianjun stepped across the threshold, pointed at the people behind him, and laughed loudly, "Father, Mother, look, it's my eldest brother."

Sun Xiuying took the initiative and, using the bright light from the lantern in her second son's hand, grabbed her eldest son's arms and looked him up and down with wide eyes.

Wang Jianguo immediately let go of his luggage and threw it on the ground. Then, he helped his mother up and grinned, "Mom, I'm back."

Sun Xiuying didn't rush to speak, but looked him up and down repeatedly. Wang Jianguo was a little surprised, but he didn't say anything. He just supported his mother, turned to look at his father, and called out with a smile, "Dad."

Old Wang nodded repeatedly, "Good, good."

After a long while, Sun Xiuying finally let out a long breath and murmured, "Thank goodness, thank goodness, it's intact."

Hearing this, Wang Jianguo finally understood his mother's intention. His nose tingled with emotion, and he said, "It's alright, Mom, I'm fine, nothing's wrong."

Wang Jianjun said from the side, "Let's go inside first, then we can talk."

Upon hearing this, Sun Xiuying realized what was happening and pulled her son inside, saying, "Yes, yes, let's go inside and talk."

After they all went inside, Wang Jianjun picked up his older brother's luggage bag that he had dropped on the ground and went inside. He then closed the door behind him, placed the lantern on the table, and casually blew out the kerosene lamp on the table.

The kerosene lamp belonged to the family, while the kerosene lamp belonged to the public; they didn't even need to think about which one to extinguish.

Actually, this so-called kerosene lamp was not a real kerosene lamp. It was made by filling an ink bottle with kerosene, drilling a hole in the metal cap, threading a cotton thread through the hole, immersing the bottom of the bottle, and then sealing the cap tightly. The small piece of cotton thread at the top served as the wick.

Sitting on the bench, looking at the familiar ink bottle and kerosene lamp, a smile appeared on Wang Jianguo's cold face.

At this moment, his three younger siblings also greeted him, each calling him "eldest brother."

Wang Jianguo snapped out of his daze, immediately pulled over his second brother's luggage bag from the table, unzipped it, took out several items, handed them to them one by one, and said with a smile, "Take these, they are gifts for you."

The three little ones happily accepted it, thanking them with smiles.

Wang Jianguo joined the army at the age of 19 and served for 6 years. He is 25 years old this year. His younger brother, Wang Jianjun, is three years younger than him and is 22 years old this year. At this age, most people in rural areas are already married, but he is still single.

The remaining three are younger: the third sister, Wang Yumei, is 18 years old; the fourth brother, Wang Jianshe, is 16 years old; and the youngest sister, Wang Yulan, is 14 years old.

Looking at his youngest sister, Wang Jianguo smiled and asked, "Yulan, how are your grades? Will you be able to get into a vocational school this year?"

There's no need to ask about the third sister and the fourth brother; at their age, if they're not in school, they must have either failed their exams or dropped out and gone home.

Wang Yulan, who was initially quite happy, immediately lowered her head upon hearing this, pursed her lips, and remained silent. However, she unconsciously tightened her grip on the pen, and then immediately released it, as if afraid of damaging the pen her older brother had given her.

When Wang Jianguo saw her, the smile on his face faded slightly. He turned to look at his mother, who was still holding his arm, and his father, who was silently smoking his pipe. His brows furrowed involuntarily. "What's going on?"

Before his parents could speak, Wang Jianjun whispered, "My little sister dropped out of school."

Wang Jianguo's eyes widened. "Why did you stop studying? Last time you wrote that you were doing very well, that you got first place in the class. Why did you stop studying?"

Old Wang and Sun Xiuying both kept their heads down silently, without saying a word.

Wang Jianjun glanced at his parents, then at his older brother, and murmured, "During the Spring Festival, my third uncle's son, Jiefang, is getting married. Our family has owed them money for several years, and Jiefang hasn't had it easy either..."

Before he could speak, Wang Jianguo understood the situation and waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to say anything.

Although he earned 20 yuan a month before he was discharged from the army, that was gradually increased year by year.

When he first joined the army, his salary was only 6 yuan. It increased by 1 yuan every year until it reached 10 yuan in the fourth year. Only then did he have extra money to send home. So after 6 years in the army, he hadn't even paid off the debts he had incurred, let alone saved any money.

Taking a deep breath, Wang Jianguo took out all the money in his pocket and stuffed it into his mother's hand, saying solemnly, "Mom, keep this money. Pay back whoever you owe tomorrow."

Sun Xiuying looked at the money in her hand, her hands trembling uncontrollably. She looked up at her son and asked, "This money is...?"

Wang Jianguo felt a pang of bitterness in his heart, but managed a forced smile. "It's the demobilization pay from the army."

"demobilization?"

Several voices sounded at the same time.

Mr. Wang stopped smoking and hurriedly asked, "In your last letter, didn't you say..."

Before he could finish speaking, Sun Xiuying interrupted him, "What are you saying? Do you want your son to be like the third son of the Sun family in Sunjiazhuang, missing an arm or a leg, or like that kid from Zangjia Village, coming back lying in a box?"

She choked up a few times, gripped her eldest son's arm tightly with both hands, and said in a trembling voice, "It's good that he's been discharged from the army. He won't have to worry about me every day, afraid that I might get hurt or injured somewhere."

Wang Jianguo quickly grabbed his mother's arm and laughed, "It's alright, Mom, look at me, I'm perfectly fine now."

Sun Xiuying wiped her face, counted the money, put one stack away, and handed the other stack back. "This is enough to pay back the money. First, pay back the money owed to our relatives, and then pay Xiaolan's tuition."

Everyone owes the production team; it's the same for every household. Paying it back would make you seem capable. Besides, this money isn't even enough to pay off the production team's debts. Keep the rest for yourself; a grown man can't be without some cash on him.”

Without hesitation, Wang Jianguo pushed his mother's hand back and said with a smile, "Mother, keep this for me. I'm afraid I'll lose it. I'll ask you for it when I need it."

Sun Xiuying thought for a moment, then this time she didn't refuse. She stood up, went into the inner room, and hid the money.

Old Wang no longer dwells on why his son was discharged from the army. His wife is right; it's better than anything else that he can come back whole.

Whether I'm a cadre or not, sigh... I guess I'll just have to accept that fate.

He then tapped his pipe, stood up, and said, "You're home at this hour, haven't you had dinner yet?"

Wang Jianguo nodded. "Yes."

Old Wang went to the kitchen behind the main room with his hands behind his back. "There's still some flatbread left. I'll give it to you to have some to eat first. Your mother will also make you a bowl of egg drop soup."

Wang Jianguo quickly said, "A flatbread is fine, but we don't need egg drop soup."

Sun Xiuying came out of the inner room and waved to him, "You can rest."

After saying that, he turned and went into the kitchen.

Wang Jianguo smiled and didn't insist. He turned to look at his younger siblings and said with a smile, "You should all sit down. What are you standing for?"

The four men chuckled awkwardly and each found a place to sit down.

Wang Jianguo said to his younger sister, "Xiaolan, do you know who gave you this pen?" Wang Yulan looked at the beautiful pen in her hand, then looked up at her older brother, her eyes filled with confusion. "Big brother?"

Wang Jianguo laughed, shook his head, and said, "Do you know a famous writer named Chen Fan?"

Wang Yulan's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly. "I know, our Chinese teacher told us about him in class, and we've read several of his articles."

After she finished speaking, her eyes were full of confusion. Why did her older brother mention Chen Fan?

Wang Jianguo pointed to the pen in her hand and smiled, "This pen was a gift from him to you."

"what?"

Wang Yulan's eyes widened, her face clearly saying: Don't lie to me!
At this moment, Old Man Wang came out carrying a bamboo basket and a bowl of soybean paste, and placed them on the table, saying, "Eat something first."

When his eldest son came back, it wasn't that he didn't want to cook something good, but there was only so much food left at home, and they had to borrow grain from the production team tomorrow, so they really couldn't offer anything else.

The two old hens we keep at home laid two eggs today, just enough to make a bowl of egg drop soup.

Thinking of this, the wrinkles on Old Wang's forehead deepened even more.

Originally, the eldest son was in the army and could send a few dollars back every month. If he could hold on for a few more years, he could not only pay off all the debts, but he might also be able to find wives for both of his sons.

Now it's all in vain.

Once he returns from demobilization, he will most likely be like other discharged soldiers, going back to the countryside to continue earning work points. As for being assigned a job, he doesn't even dare to dream of it.

Others lost an arm or half a leg and couldn't get a job, but my son came back whole and is still ahead of them in the queue?

That doesn't make sense.

But the team's output is only so much throughout the year. If one more person works, it doesn't necessarily mean they'll get much more. It's worrying.

Wang Jianguo had no idea that his father was filled with sorrow. Instead of taking the flatbread, he carefully took out his discharge certificate from his inner pocket. Inside the certificate was a folded piece of paper.

He took out the paper, unfolded it, handed it to his younger sister, and said with a smile, "Take a look for yourself."

Wang Yulan took the paper with trembling hands. On it were written a few words: "Hello Wang Yulan, your older brother told me that you are a good student with excellent academic performance and a positive attitude. He is very proud of you, and I am also very happy for you."

Here, I wish you all the best in your studies. Keep up the good work, strive to get into a good school, and after graduation, contribute to the country and your family's happiness.

Your older brother's friend, Chen Fan.

After reading it, Wang Yulan looked up, her eyes brighter than a lantern, "Brother, is it really the writer Chen Fan?"

Everyone else was stunned and crowded around her to see what was on the paper.

Wang Jianguo laughed heartily, quite pleased with his quick wit at the time. "Of course it's Chen Fan. On the title pages of several of his novels, there are messages and signatures for his readers. I'll buy you a book later, and you can compare them and you'll see."

The words on the paper were written by him after he begged Chen Fan, and the fountain pen was also something he shamelessly begged for.

Chen Fan made many preparations for entering the Southwest, one of which was to buy dozens of fountain pens, which he carried in a special belt to use as darts.

Wang Jianguo saw it and said that he had a little sister at home who was still in school. He asked if he could get her a souvenir and write her a message of encouragement.

Chen Fan agreed without hesitation. Since there were more than a dozen other wounded soldiers present, he simply gave each of them one. If they had many younger brothers or sisters, he would give them one or two more. He also wrote a message for each of them.

After the news spread, the result was that the prepared darts were not used to kill a single enemy and were given away as gifts. Hundreds of messages were written, making him feel like a life guru.

Wang Jianguo ate two large pancakes and drank a large bowl of egg soup, eating his fill before going to sleep.

The next day, he went to the brigade headquarters to complete the household registration procedures, received his work point book, and, amidst the strange looks from others, picked up a hoe and went to work with his parents every day.

More than a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

……

It's already June, and even in the northern regions, the weather is getting hot.

That day, Wang Jianguo was working in the fields as usual when his younger brother, who was the militia captain, came to him. "Brother, someone is looking for you. He says he's your comrade-in-arms, named Li Nan."

Li Nan?

Wang Jianguo paused for a moment, then picked up his hoe and walked towards the edge of the field. "Where is he?"

Wang Jianjun followed closely behind, saying, "I took him home to rest."

Wang Jianguo nodded, then suddenly stopped and handed the hoe to his younger brother, saying, "You go about your business, I'll go back."

After saying that, he quickly walked home.

Wang Jianjun, holding a hoe, sensed that something was wrong with his older brother. He lowered his head and thought for a moment, then turned around and threw the hoe to someone not far away, saying, "Keep an eye on things for me. I'm going home to check on things."

the other side.

Wang Jianguo quickly returned home and saw the young man in green military uniform sitting on a bench in a daze. He immediately ran over to him and called out, "Li Nan."

When Li Nan saw Wang Jianguo, his eyes lit up immediately, and he got up to greet him.

The two met, opened their arms, and hugged each other tightly.

They quickly separated, and Wang Jianguo, holding Li Nan's arm, laughed and said, "You little rascal, why did you suddenly come here without telling me beforehand?"

Li Nan gave a simple, honest smile, then his expression fell, and he said softly, "Squad leader, I..."

When Wang Jianguo saw his expression, he immediately said, "We're brothers who came out of the same trench. Just tell me what's wrong. I'll help if I can, and if I can't, I'll work with you to figure it out."

Li Nan smiled gratefully, gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and looked up to say, "Squad leader, my mother is sick and needs surgery, which requires a lot of money. I... I've come to borrow money."

Wang Jianguo's expression changed slightly. Borrow money?

Where did he get the money?
You can get it by borrowing a life!

However, he didn't say he didn't have money. He just hesitated for two seconds and then said seriously, "How much do you need, and when do you need it?"

A glimmer of hope flashed in Li Nan's eyes, "500 yuan, the sooner the better."

Wang Jianguo patted Li Nan on the shoulder, took a deep breath, and said, "Wait for me a moment. I'll call home and then take you to find the money."

(End of this chapter)