Back to the 70s: My Childhood Sweetheart Spoils Me Rotten
Chapter 155: No Money

Chapter 155: Chapter 155: No Money

Zhang Lan lay on the kang, tossing and turning non-stop, because besides having things on her mind, she was also hungry.

Gong Dajiang was already a bit sleepy, but Zhang Lan kept turning over, making it impossible for him to fall asleep.

"Why aren’t you sleeping?" Gong Dajiang scolded quietly, "If you don’t sleep, how can you do proper work tomorrow?"

In the evening, Gong Dajiang asked Zhao Gang where there were ginseng pickers nearby. Zhao Gang’s reaction at the time greatly angered the old man.

Knowing that Zhao Gang and Gong Tao had a good relationship and wouldn’t treat him well, he didn’t expect them to be so disrespectful.

They didn’t even give in a little, insisting that ginseng wasn’t easy to sell. Even if someone found it, they’d keep it at home, so why would they tell anyone?

Gong Dajiang asked a few more questions, and Zhao Gang feigned ignorance, which really upset the old man.

The problem was, even if Gong Dajiang was angry, what could he do, report them?

Walking around the yard, he only found a few chickens raised there, and in the countryside, every household has a quota for raising poultry, there was nothing excessive.

As for fishing, it was because Zhan Jing was pregnant, plus Zhao Gang was repairing things for nearby villages and Zhan Jing was acting as a doctor, so the village specially granted her this privilege.

With this, Gong Dajiang had nowhere to report, wondering how he could make a report.

Gong Dajiang didn’t want to report because he knew without evidence, he couldn’t take down Gong Tao and the others. Once they bounced back, they would surely retaliate.

Gong Dajiang was troubled, although frustrated, he couldn’t return empty-handed after coming all this way, "By the way, how much money did you bring?"

"Not much." Zhang Lan had said they could come here to buy ginseng, but how much could she bring? She didn’t have much on hand, and even if she did, she wouldn’t be willing to spend it.

Zhang Lan thought maybe when they arrived, Gong Tao would dig up ginseng for them, but unfortunately, no one was digging ginseng at all.

Trying to buy ginseng, Zhang Lan asked around a bit, but the prices scared her. The money she had wasn’t even enough to buy a third of the ginseng.

As for getting Gong Tao to pay, Zhang Lan lost that hope, knowing Gong Tao would never be willing, and that he had already talked about old-age money and not wanting to help Gong Qiang.

"Not much." Zhang Lan hesitated, giving a figure for the money in her hand.

Seriously, just this little money? If Gong Dajiang didn’t get it by now, he was a fool. His wife hadn’t even thought of spending money, but could they get by without it?

"Without money, even if you find someone willing to sell, do you think they’d sell to us?" The price would definitely need to be higher than what the supply and marketing cooperative offers.

Gong Dajiang’s questions left Zhang Lan flustered. Other than staying silent, what could she do? Was she supposed to hope for Gong Tao to pay?

However, Zhang Lan angrily noted down this debt against Gong Tao’s couple. They were leaving her in the lurch.

Gong Dajiang had no choice, "Tomorrow, go to the county to send a message to Gong Qiang, tell him to send two hundred over."

Send two hundred? Zhang Lan almost exclaimed. Her eldest son’s burden was heavy, where could he get that much money?

"Don’t say he doesn’t have it, if he doesn’t, let’s not bring it up." Gong Dajiang wasn’t interested in hearing how Zhang Lan said Gong Qiang didn’t have money.

What was the ginseng purchase for? Was it so the son could get promoted and the father had to pay?

Watching the old man turn over and go to sleep, Zhang Lan muttered a few words and could only go to sleep herself.

The old couple thought Gong Tao and his wife were already asleep. In reality, how could they sleep? They just wanted to hear what the old couple planned next.

They didn’t expect Gong Dajiang to give up on the earlier plans so soon, but what they heard made them even angrier.

They had brought a total of fifty from the start, needing to buy tickets, eat on the train, think about buying things in the Northeast to take back, and consider the return tickets.

No matter how frugally they spent, at most they only had thirty or so yuan left to buy ginseng. This was what they called sincerity.

Cai Meina kept sneering, thinking, let them handle it themselves. As for Gong Qiang paying, yeah right, she didn’t believe he’d part with the money.

Let alone having no money, Cai Meina knew the Gong Qiang couple well — even if money reached their hands, it’d be impossible to get it out of their pockets.

Gong Tao just pretended to hear an old couple discuss spending and turned over to sleep, why bother with so much?

Even with money, they couldn’t buy ginseng, let alone without it. This was a chance to show parents how their supposedly filial son would react when asked for money.

Gong Tao didn’t think Gong Qiang would be willing to spend that money, even if buying ginseng meant advancing his career in all sorts of ways.

Zhang Lan was worried whether her eldest son had this money, but some money cannot be saved; it had to be spent. Otherwise, her son’s position could be at risk and getting promoted later would be tough.

Thinking this, Zhang Lan felt her reasonable son Gong Qiang would surely understand, and once the money was wired, no matter how unpleasant Gong Tao and his wife’s faces were, they could forget about gaining from this.

Zhang Lan harbored these thoughts about Gong Tao’s couple’s various frustrations as she slowly drifted into sleep.

Early the next morning, Zhang Lan went to the county to send the telegram, with only Gong Tao accompanying her. Of course, he didn’t bring a penny on him. Why should he pay for this telegram?

"Mom, you remember to bring money. I don’t have any, don’t make it a second trip." Gong Tao emphatically showed his empty pockets, indicating he had no money.

Zhang Lan indeed didn’t bring money, not believing Gong Tao would be completely empty-handed. Unexpectedly, he indeed didn’t bring any, and her face darkened.

"How can you, as a grown man, have no money?" Although Gong Tao never had a lot, he usually had at least a few yuan, why did he have nothing now?

"How could I have money? I’m drowning in debt," he retorted with feigned ignorance.

"Mom, you can tally the telegram cost with older brother later since it’s for his business. Isn’t it good enough that I, the younger brother, am taking you to the county?" Who wanted to go out in the middle of winter?

Again with bringing up the brother. Hearing Gong Tao mention Gong Qiang felt odd, Zhang Lan was too tired to comment more. She went back inside to get some money, initially thinking of checking out if any Northeast specialties were available, but then realized bringing a lot back meant giving it to the children to eat?

Such good things, Zhang Lan was unwilling to let the brats eat. To her, they could only go hungry.

Zhang Lan put some of the money back in her pocket, only taking out one yuan for the telegram fee before leaving.