Chapter 153: Borrow?

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Watching Grandpa Dean walk away step by step, Chang Yu hurriedly gave Little Li a few instructions. “Go to the street and buy some cooked meat and snacks to go with the liquor. And pick up a rack of ribs while you’re at it. Don’t let Grandpa Dean pay.”

“Got it.”

Comrade Little Li pulled out his car keys and headed straight for the gate without another word.

Although Grandpa Dean had deliberately moved away from Chang Yu, his voice still drifted into Chang Yu’s ears now and then as he made his calls.

After all, Chang Yu was a cultivator, and his hearing was far sharper than an ordinary person’s.

“Hello, is that Xuan? It’s your Grandpa Dean.”

“Oh, it’s like this. The orphanage has run into some difficulties recently and urgently needs some money.”

“What? You don’t have any money either, and you’re still in debt? Oh, then I won’t trouble you.”

“It’s nothing, nothing. You don’t need to apologize to Grandpa. I know things haven’t been easy for you all these years…”

The air fell silent for a while. Clearly, Grandpa Dean had ended the call.

Then his aged voice sounded again.

“Hello, is that Ran? It’s your Grandpa Dean.”

“Oh, it’s like this. The orphanage has run into some difficulties recently and urgently needs some money.”

“What? You’re saving money to buy a house in the capital and can’t donate? I understand, I understand.”

“It’s nothing, nothing. You don’t need to apologize to Grandpa. You young people have it hard making a living away from home.”

The air froze for a moment. Then Grandpa Dean called the next person.

“Hello, is that Peng? It’s your Grandpa Dean.”

“Oh, it’s like this. The orphanage has run into some difficulties recently and urgently needs some money.”

“Don’t hang up so quickly. What? The signal over there is bad? All right, then.”

Grandpa Dean spent a full hour making phone calls, and that hour left Chang Yu deeply distressed.

From beginning to end, Grandpa Dean never showed the slightest impatience, nor did he utter a single curse.

He treated every older brother and sister who had left the orphanage just as he would his own children.

Even when the people on the other end realized that Grandpa Dean was calling to ask for money and began producing all kinds of excuses to evade him, Grandpa Dean still showed no sign of anger.

It was enough to make Chang Yu furious.

Grandpa Dean, can’t you tell that those are nothing but excuses from your older brothers and sisters?

Don’t you realize that their claims of financial hardship are all lies?

One or two of them living on a tight budget would be understandable, but how could every single one of them be struggling financially?

“Looks like I can’t count on those so-called brothers and sisters of mine,” Chang Yu muttered to himself.

“Actually, it doesn’t matter. I never expected them to offer much help to the orphanage in the first place.”

“If you ask me, this is going to depend on me, Chang Yu, to turn things around and find a way to raise the money.”

“Heh. When it really matters, I’m the only one you can rely on. The rest are nothing but ungrateful wretches.”

While he was lost in thought, Grandpa Dean finally returned to Chang Yu, his expression dejected.

“Xiaoyu.” Grandpa Dean let out a helpless sigh. “The fundraising isn’t going very smoothly.”

“I called all your older brothers and sisters one by one. Most of them aren’t doing very well.”

“Some are trying to buy houses, some are rushing to get married, and others are buried under a mountain of debt.”

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“In short, only three people are able to help us, and together they can barely scrape together five thousand yuan.”

Five thousand yuan… Were they treating him like a beggar?

Chang Yu thought to himself that his monthly salary alone was nearly as much as the three of them had donated.

(This chapter is not over. Please turn the page.)

At that moment, Comrade Little Li finally returned, carrying bags and bundles of food. He happened to hear Grandpa Dean’s words the moment he stepped inside.

He drew somewhat awkwardly closer to Chang Yu’s ear and whispered, “Chief, our family hasn’t managed to save much money over the years. I’ll discuss it with my wife after I get home. We can give you seventy thousand yuan. That’s everything we have.”

Comrade Little Li was willing to lend Chang Yu his entire fortune, though his entire fortune was not much—only seventy thousand yuan.

In truth, the standard for judging whether someone was generous was not how much money he could lend you, but whether he was willing to lend you everything he had.

Seventy thousand yuan was merely a small fraction of the five hundred thousand they needed, but Chang Yu was already deeply grateful.

In today’s society, people willing to lend money were few and far between. Even the best of friends, even brothers closer than blood, were reluctant to loan money to one another.

Heaven knew how many friendships between brothers had fallen apart simply because one of them refused to lend the other money.

Comrade Little Li had not known Chang Yu for very long—at most, a month.

To claim that they had forged a revolutionary friendship higher than the heavens and deeper than the earth in that brief month would simply be nonsense.

They were colleagues, comrades-in-arms, and superior and subordinate. But they were still a long way from becoming friends who could confide everything in each other.

Yet under such circumstances, after learning that Chang Yu was in trouble, Comrade Little Li had resolutely decided to lend him every penny he possessed.

That alone was enough to show how kindhearted and trusting toward Chang Yu he truly was.

“Little Li, your children still have to go to school and attend tutoring classes. I can’t take this money,” Chang Yu said. “And… Grandpa Dean, there’s no need to collect money from those brothers and sisters anymore. I’ll think of a way myself.”

Those words were addressed both to Little Li and to Grandpa Dean. It was a very direct refusal.

Since the money they could collect amounted to so little, Chang Yu might as well shoulder the entire debt himself.

“Ah, don’t resent your brothers and sisters either. Their lives aren’t easy. Housing prices and the cost of living are so high in the big cities that they can’t save much money.”

Perhaps worried that Chang Yu would harbor resentment toward those brothers and sisters who were unwilling to contribute, Grandpa Dean continued making excuses for them.

“Grandpa, they all grew up in this orphanage. Now that the orphanage is in trouble, they shouldn’t forget the kindness you showed them when you raised them.”

Chang Yu’s words were anything but pleasant.

Unlike Grandpa Dean, Chang Yu was not so forgiving. He knew perfectly well that those people were making excuses and avoiding responsibility, yet Grandpa Dean still chose to forgive them.

No wonder the ancients always said that true feelings were revealed in times of adversity.

Today, Chang Yu had finally seen through the ugly faces of those so-called “brothers and sisters.”

He decided that, from this day forward, all ties between them were severed. As far as he was concerned, he had never had those brothers and sisters at all.

“They’re all my children, just like you.” Grandpa Dean suddenly stroked Chang Yu’s hair, like an old bird soothing the feathers of its young.

“Even when our own children do something wrong, we parents shouldn’t blame them. One day, when you become a father, you’ll understand how this feels.”

!!!

Grandpa Dean’s words left Chang Yu looking extremely strange. Even Comrade Little Li, standing beside him, wore an odd expression.

Comrade Little Li thought to himself that the old man might not yet know that Chief Chang Yu was already a father…

And that he had reproduced asexually, like a single-celled organism…

You might not believe it, but Chief Chang Yu had merely let out a fart—and somehow, a child had been born. Women had played absolutely no part in the matter!

By the time lunch was over, it was already past two in the afternoon when Chang Yu and Comrade Little Li set out for home.

Chang Yu had accompanied Grandpa Dean in drinking a little. His head was still somewhat dizzy, whereas Little Li had not drunk at all. Someone had to drive, after all, and he could not drink.

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(This chapter is not over. Please turn the page.)

The two of them arrived back in H City sometime after three, exactly when Yangyang’s kindergarten was letting out.

After discussing it, they decided to pick Yangyang up first.

Before long, Yangyang came out of the kindergarten. Even among all the other children, he was the most eye-catching one.

The main reason was that he was simply too adorable, with features as delicate as a little porcelain doll. He looked nothing like Chang Yu’s plain, utterly unremarkable old face.

“Yangyang!” Chang Yu waved to him, a smile spreading across his face.

When Yangyang spotted Chang Yu, he smiled as well. He trotted over and said, “Weren’t you leaving the city today? How did you get back so quickly? I thought you wouldn’t be able to pick me up today.”

“I did leave the city. I went to the orphanage that raised me.” Chang Yu naturally slipped the little schoolbag from Yangyang’s shoulders and carried it in his hand, just as any father would do for his child.

“But we came back early so we could make it in time to pick you up and take you home.” He smiled.

Other children had their parents pick them up every day. Whenever they saw their mothers and fathers waiting eagerly outside the kindergarten gate, it gave them a warm and satisfying feeling.

Although this was Chang Yu’s first time being a father, he still hoped to be a good one.

He did not want someone else picking Yangyang up from kindergarten every day. If possible, he wanted to do it himself.

He did not want Yangyang’s classmates and teachers whispering behind his back, saying that he had no parents to pick him up and was an unwanted, undisciplined street child.

“Actually, you don’t necessarily have to pick me up yourself. If you’re really too busy, someone else can come instead.”

Yangyang said this with his mouth, but inside, he was already bursting with joy.

Judging by the way the corners of his mouth had stretched almost to his ears, Chang Yu knew that the little fellow was once again saying the opposite of what he felt.

There was no child in the world who did not want the attention of his parents. Ultimately, Yangyang was only a child.

Without exposing Yangyang’s little secret, Chang Yu simply called out, “Hurry up and get in the car. Let’s go home together…”

That night, Chang Yu was restless and could not calm his mind no matter what he did.

The orphanage’s enormous debt weighed on him like a heavy stone, pressing the breath from his lungs.

All night long, he tossed and turned, trying to think of a way to gather the money. But after considering every possibility, he found that apart from asking Fatty Wang for a loan, he had no other choice.

The final repayment deadline was seven days away. Chang Yu could not wait for the highly profitable hotel dividends, and his own savings amounted to only a little over ten thousand yuan—nowhere near enough to cover even a fraction of the debt.

It seemed he would have to swallow his pride and ask Fatty Wang for money.

Just as he picked up his phone and dialed Fatty Wang’s number, a news report on the television caught Chang Yu’s attention, causing him to hang up instinctively.

“What’s going on? They promised to show Armor Hero! Why are they broadcasting this instead? I don’t want to watch all these stupid advertisements!” Yangyang angrily picked up the remote control and was about to change the channel, but Chang Yu stopped him.

“Wait! I want to watch this news report,” Chang Yu said seriously.

“Fine, whatever makes you happy.” Yangyang shrugged, set down the remote control, and began fiddling with his phone instead.

The living room immediately fell silent. Only the female news anchor’s rich, magnetic voice continued from the television as she reported:

“Recently, while conducting archaeological work in a certain province, experts uncovered a tomb of immense research value.”

“Among the many burial objects found inside, the most valuable was a piece of Tang sancai pottery. According to experts, this artifact is estimated to be worth approximately eight hundred thousand yuan…”

(This chapter is complete.)

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