*Chapter 56 The Road-Building Madman (Part 9)*
The next day was a market day. Hou Weidong bought a fish and kept it in a bucket. Time flew by; in the blink of an eye, it was Thursday. By Saturday afternoon, Xiaojia would take the opportunity of her trip to visit him at Shangqinglin Mountain. For Hou Weidong, this was a grand festival, a day he had long anticipated. Knowing that Xiaojia loved fish, he had taken advantage of the market day to buy one and keep it alive in his bucket.
After buying the fish and cleaning both his office and the meeting room, Hou Weidong went as promised to the storefront of the foundation where Bai Chuncheng worked. A crowd of villagers surrounded the shop. The deposit interest rates at the foundation were three percentage points higher than those at the bank, so the commune members were eager to deposit their money there. On market days, there were always many people coming to deposit or withdraw funds. It wasn’t until eleven o’clock that the crowd around the foundation’s storefront gradually dispersed.
Hou Weidong stood at the window of the foundation. Inside, the same two familiar faces remained: Bai Chuncheng and Tian Fushen.
“Station Master Bai,” Hou Weidong said, “I’ve already reported the loan matter to Town Mayor Su. He has agreed and informed Station Master Huang. I’m not sure if he has called you yet?”
Bai Chuncheng leaned back in his chair, looking surprised. “I didn’t know about this. Station Master Huang hasn’t mentioned it to me.”
Hou Weidong observed Bai Chuncheng’s indifferent expression and thought to himself, They say that getting a loan from the foundation requires a kickback. Could it be that because I didn’t mention kickbacks, they are unwilling to process it? He then reasoned further, I am doing this for Shangqinglin, and it has been approved by the leadership. If such a matter requires a bribe, it would surely be against all justice.
Although he felt quite dissatisfied with Bai Chuncheng, Hou Weidong maintained a polite demeanor. “Station Master Bai, please give Station Master Huang a call. He must know about this.”
Tian Fushen saw Hou Weidong leaning against the window, his face covered in sweat. “University Student Hou, come in and sit. There is air conditioning inside.”
Hou Weidong walked into the inner room and found a chair to sit on. Bai Chuncheng was focused on making the phone call and did not greet him. Tian Fushen asked, “The township government of Shangqinglin has talked about building roads for two terms, but it always came to nothing. If University Student Hou can actually get the road built, it would be a great deed. In the future, wherever you go in the villages, you will be warmly entertained.”
“I’m afraid it will be like a rooster’s droppings—hard at the beginning but soft at the end. It won’t last, and it will waste both effort and resources,” Bai Chuncheng said after hanging up the phone. His expression always carried an indescribable tone that made Hou Weidong extremely uncomfortable.
A moment later, the phone rang.
Bai Chuncheng picked it up, and his face immediately lit up with a smile. “Station Master Huang, the call I just made was regarding University Student Hou’s loan. I wonder if you are aware of the details?” He nodded as he spoke.
After hanging up, a faint smile finally appeared on Bai Chuncheng’s face. He turned to Hou Weidong and said, “University Student Hou, Station Master Huang has agreed. Do you have your ID card with you? Fill out a form right away.”
Tian Fushen, who had supported the road construction from the bottom of his heart, immediately handed over a form upon hearing Bai Chuncheng’s arrangement. “University Student Hou, fill out this form.” He sat beside Hou Weidong, patiently guiding him through the process. When they reached the collateral section, Tian Fushen asked Bai Chuncheng, “What should we fill in for collateral?”
Bai Chuncheng leaned back in his chair, sipping Yiyang tea. After thinking for a while, he said, “Just fill in the house number of the residence where University Student Hou is currently living.”
Once the form was completed, Bai Chuncheng said, “Send it to Qinglin Town tomorrow. After Station Master Huang signs and stamps it, you can collect the money.”
The matter was handled so smoothly, and the collateral was actually public property. This opened Hou Weidong’s eyes. He thought to himself, No wonder the people at the foundation are so arrogant. They have great power, and there are many loopholes in their procedures.
It was now lunchtime. Seeing Tian Fushen start to pack up his pens and papers, Hou Weidong said, “Station Master Bai, Accountant Tian, I’m treating everyone to lunch today. Let’s drink at the place next door.”
Bai Chuncheng replied, “Forget it. Go back early and sleep. I drank too much at Tang Guiyuan’s house yesterday, and my head is still hurting.”
Seeing that Bai Chuncheng’s refusal was not firm, Hou Weidong pressed on. “We have to eat anyway. Let’s eat together, and then we can go to Li Yong’s place to play cards.”
Bai Chuncheng agreed, “Eating is fine, but no alcohol.”
“I’ll go order the dishes and call Li Yong, Xi Zhaoyong, and Duan Pangwa over.”
Among the more than ten people in the working group, only these few truly enjoyed gathering to play cards. Every afternoon, if one wanted to find them, one usually went directly to Li Yong’s house. Soon, the familiar faces gathered together again. Everyone claimed to be hungover from the previous night, but after a few drinks, the atmosphere became lively. Just as they were enjoying the meal, Zheng Faming from the Agricultural Technology Station, Director Huang from the Family Planning Office, and cadres from Wangri Village came upstairs. The two tables merged into one, setting up a battlefield. The drinking session turned into a card battle. Duan Pangwa, Bai Chuncheng, Xi Zhaoyong, Hou Weidong, and others began competing against Director Huang and his team. They didn’t stop until they had consumed five cases of beer.
After eating and drinking their fill, Li Hui from the Family Planning Office settled the bill. Except for Tian Fushen, everyone went to Li Yong’s house. With so many people, they couldn’t play mahjong. Li Yong, with a flushed face, loudly suggested playing诈金花 (Zha Jin Hua, a poker game). Everyone agreed. They played all afternoon. As the sun began to set, Director Huang had to head down the mountain, so they finally stopped. Everyone ate a large pot of cold porridge before dispersing.
The next morning, Hou Weidong withdrew the money. It was exactly ten thousand yuan. The green banknotes felt heavy in his hands. This was the first time Hou Weidong had held such a large sum of money personally. He felt as if the money were burning, scorching his hands.
Having heard that there were many thieves on the Yiyang buses, Hou Weidong wanted to ensure the safety of the ten thousand yuan in cash. He put the money in a large envelope, wore a vest underneath his short-sleeved shirt—a vest he never normally wore—and placed the envelope inside the vest. The envelope touched his skin directly, ensuring it would be secure.
By the time he arrived in Yiyang City, sweat had soaked the envelope completely. One-third of the money was damp from the sweat. Hou Weidong did not want Liu Wei to see how nervous he was about the ten thousand yuan, so he proactively went to Duan Ying’s small room.
Duan Ying worked in analysis at the factory, so her schedule was very regular. She got off work at twelve noon and started again at two-thirty in the afternoon. The round trip home took about twenty minutes. It was not yet time for her to get off work, and Hou Weidong did not want to wander around the city with the money on him, so he sat at the door waiting for her. At twelve-thirty, he saw Duan Ying return from work, dressed in her work uniform.
“The money was borrowed from the foundation and got wet from sweat. I wanted to wait for it to dry before giving it to Liu Wei,” Hou Weidong said. In front of Duan Ying, he did not put on airs. He自嘲 (mocked himself), “I used to think I was quite impressive, but today I suddenly realized I am a timid person. Ten thousand yuan in cash made me as nervous as a neurotic.”
Duan Ying was surprised that Hou Weidong had come to find her and was very happy. She changed her clothes in the bathroom and came out, saying, “I heard last time that you only earned three hundred and fifty yuan a month, which is only about four thousand yuan a year. If you were saving money, you would have to go without food and drink for more than two years to save ten thousand yuan. It’s normal to be nervous. This shows that you are a responsible and careful man.”
Hou Weidong was already familiar with Duan Ying. He smiled, closed the door, turned off the fan, and spread out the twenty-odd hundred-yuan notes on the table, arranging them in neat rows. The two sat by the table, looking at the money.
“If only I had ten thousand yuan, I could open a small shop and slowly grow it from small to large,” Duan Ying said, staring at the banknotes. A faint worry appeared on her face.
“You have a good job. Why do you want to open a shop?”
Duan Ying explained, “Now it is a commodity economy. State-owned factories and private factories are competing fiercely. Generally, state-owned factories perform worse than private ones. I heard that in Zhejiang, many county-owned enterprises have gone bankrupt. The Yiyang Silk Factory is currently doing well, but who can say what will happen in the future?”
“Don’t worry. My second sister is in Wuhai, also working in a factory. She is living quite comfortably, and I haven’t heard of such things there.” Hou Weidong’s mind was full of the grand plan to build the road, so he did not take Duan Ying’s concerns seriously and only offered a few casual words of comfort.
Duan Ying tried to adjust her mood and smiled. “You came without even saying hello. There’s nothing good to eat. I cooked a pot of porridge this morning and cooled it with cold water, originally planning to eat it over two meals, but now it’s all gone in one sweep.”
Porridge, pickled vegetables, and a bowl of tomato with rock sugar—it was an extremely light meal.
Seeing that Hou Weidong was still hungry, Duan Ying joked, “Our laboratory also has a phone. Next time you come back from the ‘old society,’ give me a call so I can prepare something good for you. Xiaojia is my good friend, so I’m helping her take care of you.”
Upon saying this, Duan Ying realized her wording was awkward and quickly stopped. Fortunately, Hou Weidong did not notice.