Chapter 164: An Unresolved Regret

Li Zhiqi was aware that his older cousin's eldest son had taken an educated youth from the city as a daughter-in-law, and that the youth's family was well-off.

Therefore, he figured that since her family had so much money, and they were relatives after all, shouldn't you share some of it with me?

Of course, Li Zhiqi was not a fool and wouldn't say it so bluntly; he merely claimed he was coming to borrow money.

Li Zhiqi was a man who cared deeply about his pride and was not given to many words, while Fangshi remained inside the house and generally refrained from dealing directly with men outside. Thus, the atmosphere became deadlocked for a moment.

This was the scene that Tang Xin witnessed upon her return. After learning the whole story, she whispered a few words into Li Jiang's ear.

Li Jiang broke into a trot and hurried inside the house to find his second sister.

Since Li Sheng and Li Kai had both gone out to work, and Li Xihua happened to be attending a meeting at the brigade headquarters, Li Zhiqi had seized this exact opportunity to visit. He probably knew that Li Zhiqi was the most easy-going person in the household and, after all, his own paternal cousin.

After a short while, Li Xihua emerged. With a beaming smile, she greeted both her father and her sister-in-law.

Then, she let out an exclamation of surprise: "Oh, Uncle Zhiqi is here! Did you come to return that five yuan you borrowed from my older brother?"

When Li Zhiqi had borrowed the money back then, he had said that his family was facing difficulties and needed a temporary turnover, and that he would pay it back very soon.

Of course, everyone knew it was impossible for him to ever pay it back—utterly impossible.

Hadn't it been several years, and Li Zhiqi had never once brought up the subject of repayment?

The members of the older Li family simply regarded it as having thrown the money to the dogs. In any case, Li Zhiqi only had a few paternal cousins like them, and they were hardly going to be charitable to everyone.

Never in their wildest dreams did they expect that after several years, this man would actually have the nerve to come asking to borrow money again—and once more, ask for five yuan right off the bat!

Upon hearing the words of the second girl of the Li family, Li Zhiqi was momentarily stunned before hurriedly trying to laugh it off:

"Well—oh my, I would have completely forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it. I am so sorry. Since we are family, let's let bygones be bygones. Next time, I'll return the money to you all together."

He really had the gall to talk about returning it all together next time!

The smile remained brilliant on Li Xihua's face, but her sharp little mouth spared no one: "Uncle, borrowing and returning makes borrowing again easy. You should pay back that five yuan first before talking about anything else."

Li Zhiqi's expression changed instantly, and he glared at Li Xihua, snapping: "You girl, is that any way to talk to your uncle?"

Turning back to Li Zhiqi, however, he assumed a shameless posture once more: "Brother, we're brothers after all. Are you afraid I won't pay you back?"

He knew that Li Zhiqi cared about his pride and had a gentle disposition, which was why he specifically sought out his older cousin.

Pay back? Of course he had no intention of paying back! Now that his older cousin's family was living a comfortable life, shouldn't they share some money with him?

To his surprise, Li Zhiqi's calculations failed him this time. Seeing her own young daughter step up to protect him, Li Zhiqi realized how wrong he had been in the past.

When a person stopped caring about their own dignity, why should others bother preserving it for them?

Therefore, Li Zhiqi nodded solemnly and said: "I am indeed afraid you won't pay it back. Haven't you failed to return the previous five yuan?"

To have his older cousin utter such words in front of so many people caused Li Zhiqi to lose all remaining face.

Embarrassed and enraged, he snapped: "Older cousin, how can you be so petty? Your family has money now; what difference does it make if you lend me five or ten yuan? We share the same surname Li, passed down from the same ancestors. Are you really going to stand by and watch me starve to death without a bite to eat?"

Li Xihua panicked, worried that her father's soft heart would be swayed into lending money.

Five or ten yuan? Their family's life was indeed better now, but every bit of small change had been earned through hard work.

Moreover, although she was young at the time, she remembered clearly that when the family was at its poorest, not a single one of these so-called paternal and maternal uncles had stepped out to help.

Terrified that her father might yield to kindness and actually agree to the loan, Li Xihua opened her mouth to speak.

Tang Xin, however, tugged at her sleeve, shook her head, and motioned for Li Xihua to wait and see how her father would handle it.

To everyone's pleasant surprise, Li Zhiqi did not disappoint his family this time.

"If you refuse to go down to the fields to work and refuse to earn your own money, who else can you blame for having nothing to eat?"

This paternal cousin was quite a spectacle in the Eighth Production Team of the Bianshou Production Brigade. He wouldn't even buy matches, going to other people's homes year-round just to borrow a spark.

Not to mention other things—everything he borrowed was never returned, and his immediate neighbors had long been terrified of him.

At this thought, Li Zhiqi let out a long sigh and said with absolute firmness: "You should leave. I will not lend it to you. If you say another word, you can return the five yuan you borrowed previously first."

Back then, he had been soft-hearted and lent out five yuan—money that represented his eldest son's very first wages from his first job.

He had handed it over just like that, receiving nothing in return. At least throwing a stone into water would cause a ripple.

Although his old wife hadn't said anything at the time, he knew she had been secretly wiping away tears alone in the dark when they went to bed at night.

At that moment, Li Zhiqi knew he had made a mistake. How could he possibly commit the exact same error a second time?

Li Zhiqi had purposely chosen a time when only his older cousin was home to come and make his plea, never expecting that Li Zhiqi was slowly changing as well.

Not only did he fail to secure any money, but he was also severely reprimanded by his older cousin, leaving Li Zhiqi to storm off in frustrated humiliation.

As he walked away, still burning with indignation, he muttered curses without stopping.

Back in the courtyard, Li Zhiqi was also speaking, filled with deep emotion.

He truly couldn't fathom what was going on in his cousin's head. Their young aunt had already passed away, leaving two children behind in the household.

Yet he still refused to work—did he really intend to watch his wife and children starve to death in the future?

Furthermore, Li Zhiqi genuinely had no spare money on hand. Back then, it was just that his eldest son had received his pay and, overjoyed, brought it home to please his old father, handing the entire sum over to him.

Yet he had turned around and lent it out without even discussing it with his family first. Fangshi had given him the silent treatment and sulked for several days.

Li Zhiqi knew he had erred, and knowing his own soft nature and fear of damaging his pride, he wondered what he should do if people kept coming to borrow money in the future.

After all, everyone in the brigade knew that Li Sheng had a steady job.

Therefore, from then on, whenever Li Sheng collected his wages, he handed them directly to his mother. Any dividend distributions at the end of the year were also kept in Fangshi's custody.

As for now, his eldest son and daughter-in-law were capable, leaving the two old folks with nothing to worry about.

However, there were still several younger ones underneath them. Marrying off sons and wedding out daughters required substantial sums of money, so Li Zhiqi felt he still needed to work diligently for a few more years.

Naturally, all the money earned had to be saved by his old wife. When the time came for their three sons to take wives and their daughter to marry, they had to have a solid stash of cash on hand.

[First of all, thank you all for your enthusiastic support for this book, and for your active voting and comments. However, I have discovered a drawback in my own approach: out of a desire for mutual respect, I generally reply to every single comment. Especially since many dear readers have offered enthusiastic suggestions, which I deeply appreciate and am sincerely willing to accept. Over time, however, I noticed a downside. Writing is not like solving a math problem; there is no absolute right or wrong in a true sense. Unless it's a typo or a matter of principle or technical error, general writing has no objective rights or wrongs—it can only be said that everyone has different perspectives. And since I am someone who tends to take things to heart and is easily influenced by others, sometimes reading your comments would even cause me to doubt my original conceptions and ideas, making me involuntarily wonder: "Did I write it wrong?" But in fact, with over three hundred thousand words published up to now, the general style and narrative direction are already fixed. The core framework cannot undergo drastic, major changes, and no matter what, I can only write according to my own vision. One thousand readers yield one thousand Hamlets; everyone has their own mysterious ideas, and everyone believes their own thoughts are the most unique, but my mind simply cannot hold a thousand different visions...

I am sorry, but I will still reply to comments when I have time in the future. However, the basic premise and setting of this novel cannot be altered; I must continue writing according to my own ideas. Otherwise, a work of several hundred thousand or even over a million words could never be finished.

As for the flaws in my writing that you have pointed out, I am extremely grateful. I will take note of them seriously and strive not to make similar mistakes in future writings.

Thank you all once again. I am off to plot the storyline and will strive to update properly tomorrow!]