Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 322 - 322 319 Who is it for after all

Chapter 322: Chapter 319: Who is it for, after all? Chapter 322: Chapter 319: Who is it for, after all? Listening to his father’s proud and smug promises, Du Fan, who was standing at the door, froze. He lowered his head, and when his gaze fell upon his worn-out canvas shoes, he hesitated.

A mocking smile suddenly tugged at his lips.

Heh, Jiang Yan was right after all. Most of his money really was squandered by his father on keeping up appearances.

He received a stipend from his graduate studies, which, although not much, was enough to cover living expenses, so the money he earned from part-time jobs was almost entirely sent back home. He thought about his mother’s poor health, unable to do farm work, and his younger brother who still needed to attend school; he wanted to send them more money so at least they wouldn’t have to worry about medical bills and tuition fees.

He had no objection to his father not going out to find work, but why let the land lie fallow? You are a farmer, strong and healthy, so why not tend to the fields?

Furthermore, money he had thought would be set aside for medical bills and tuition fees had also been frittered away.

Du Fan took a deep breath and strode into the yard.

“? Xiaofan?”

Du Fan’s mother was the first to see him. She hurriedly set down the winnowing basket she was holding and greeted him with surprise, “Why are you back? Why didn’t you call ahead? Haven’t you eaten yet? Are you hungry?”

With motherly warmth, Du Fan’s father also stood up happily and said, “Why didn’t you give your dad a call when you were coming from town? I could have picked you up.”

Du Fan’s aunt was also smiling fondly at him, her nephew who had made something of himself; his return meant he could help settle her son’s gambling debts.

“Mom, I want to eat noodles.”

“Alright, I’ll go roll out some noodles for you.”

Du Fan sent his mother off to work and turned to invite his aunt to sit down, casually asking, “How’s Junge doing recently? Is he still doing okay on the construction team?”

After getting into university, Du Fan spent little time at home, often working during winter and summer vacations, and he only came back for the Spring Festival, otherwise where would he get the money to pay for years of university tuition and living expenses? Relying solely on scholarships wasn’t enough.

So he really didn’t know about his cousin’s gambling issues.

“What construction team? That’s no job for humans, too exhausting. Your Junge can’t do that.”

His aunt continued, her eyes filled with envy as she looked at Du Fan, “Not like you, studying and getting into a good university, sitting in an office where you don’t get hit by wind or rain, easily earning big money. Xiaofan, your Junge is tall and looks good; does your office have any jobs suitable for him? Try to find him one.”

Being tall and good-looking is also an advantage?

Are you looking for a job or a match?

It was the first time Du Fan had conversed so much with his elders at home, and he found the content of the conversation truly thought-provoking.

He gave his aunt an incredulous look and said, “Where did you hear that I work in an office? I haven’t even graduated yet, and I still have several years of school to go, so I don’t have time to work.”

Upon hearing this, both Du Fan’s aunt and father were stunned.

His dad quickly asked, “Didn’t you say after the New Year’s that an alumnus from your school invited you to help out at his company? And haven’t you sent money home every month these past six months? Isn’t that your salary?”

Du Fan, pretending not to know his dad had borrowed money for his aunt, replied calmly, “You must have heard wrong. It wasn’t a company; it was a project my teacher took on. Didn’t it happen right when my mom was feeling unwell? I begged my teacher to let me work on it with him so I could earn some money for my mom’s medication. Last month, the project ended, and my teacher paid me a bit more. When I sent you the money, didn’t I ask if there was enough for mom’s medicine for the year, telling you to save the rest?”

Without waiting for his dad to react, he continued, “The last time you called, I was on the bus where it was really noisy. I didn’t catch what you said at first, and then I think I heard you mention advance payment. What advance payment? Who would I even ask for an advance from? Not counting the money provided before, I sent 9,500 home just last month. I didn’t keep a single cent of the bonus my teacher gave me. Look at what I’m wearing; I’ve been wearing this T-shirt for three years and haven’t even bought a new one. And as for my shoes, the front is about to fall apart, but I’ve been too frugal to spend 30 yuan on a new pair. All I thought about was not letting my mom suffer anymore and earning enough for her medicine. This way, I can focus on my studies for the rest of the year. The courses in my third year of graduate study are intense, and I have to prepare for my Ph.D. next year. After that, even thinking about finding the time to work part-time will be virtually impossible.”

After he finished speaking in a single breath, his dad stood in stunned silence for a long time before coming back to his senses. Then, looking at his son’s clothes and shoes, his face flushed red and then paled.

Regaining her composure, his aunt blurted out, “Didn’t your dad say you’ve been earning over ten thousand a month?”

“Over ten thousand?” Du Fan turned to his dad in surprise, “Did you mix something up? Maybe over three months.”

When Jing Junyang’s company was just starting out after the New Year, the salary he gave Du Fan was five thousand. In May, when the first game was launched and some funds were returned, Du Fan’s salary was increased to seven thousand, and then there was last month’s ten thousand.

Fortunately, Jing Junyang hadn’t paid him more; otherwise, Du Fan might have exploded with anger, because no matter how much he earned, there’d still be nothing left at home.

However, his aunt’s main concern was clearly not about that. She stared at him and asked, “What do you mean by the project ending? Can you not get an advance on your salary now?”

“That’s not called a salary; it’s project bonus money. And there’s no such thing as advances,” he explained.

Pretending not to understand his aunt’s intentions, he flashed a shy smile and said, “But aunt, you don’t have to worry. I should have earned enough for my mom’s medicine and Xiaofen’s tuition fee in these six months, right dad?”

His dad’s face remained stiff without a response.

Realizing the situation, Du Fan’s aunt felt a chilling disappointment. She turned to her brother and said through clenched teeth, “You’ve already promised me, the words spoken must be honored.”

Du Fan’s dad’s face turned from green to red, his mouth opened then closed, and finally, with a grinding of teeth and determination, he addressed Du Fan, “Xiaofan, you’ve met lots of people at university, some of them rich. See if you can ask them to lend you tens of thousands to help your aunt cover expenses, to help your Uncle Jing pay off his debts.”

Du Fan’s expression turned cold, and he asked his dad, “If I borrow money from my classmates, who is going to repay them?”

His dad remained silent, and so did Du Fan’s aunt.

Du Fan laughed, and as he did, tears streamed down his face. He raised his hand to wipe them away, but they quickly rolled down again…

From the first day of university, he knew not to count on his family, so he worked hard to earn scholarships and part-time wages to pay for tuition and his mother’s medicine. But what had all that effort turned into?

For whom was he living so frugally?

Du Fan’s mother rushed over, fumbling to wipe away his tears, her hands emaciated and her complexion jaundiced. She fell ill after jumping into a river to save Du Fan from drowning right after giving birth to his younger brother and never fully recovered after resuming work soon after her confinement period.

Du Fan felt he owed his mother, so once he was able to earn money at university, he insisted on sending every penny home to give his mother a sense of security, so she wouldn’t suffer because she was reluctant to spend money on herself.

But he hadn’t expected that his formerly taciturn father would now stoop to such levels for the sake of saving face…