Chapter 2515 - 2579: Borrowing Money
"I want to see my mom!" Li Manli said for the third time.
"Alright, alright, you go see her first!" Wang Feng said impatiently, stepping aside. Li Manli quickly walked in, and as she passed by him, Wang Feng suddenly reached out and slapped her on the ass.
"Smack!" By the time Li Manli noticed and wanted to dodge, it was already too late. She turned her head and glared at Wang Feng. With Wu Gang and the others there, she held back from cursing out loud, and quickly walked into the west room. Outside the door, Wang Feng lifted his hand to his nose and sniffed it, a satisfied look spreading over his face. He chuckled and said, "Not bad, feels damn good."
The others burst out laughing, all with disgusting grins on their faces. Wang Feng got even more hyped and said, "The little girl’s developing pretty well. Old Wu, this deal is done. I’m taking her away today. I’ll give you an extra five thousand later."
At first Wu Gang’s face looked a bit awkward, but when he heard there’d be an extra five thousand, his eyes lit up. He forced out a smile and said, "Good, good, thank you, Brother Wang."
He called Wang Feng "Brother," and even made his own daughter call the guy "Brother." The generational seniority... But Wu Gang didn’t feel the least bit ashamed. Hearing he could get another five thousand, he got excited, thinking to himself he’d picked the right person. This Wang Feng wasn’t much of a person, but he was generous with money, a guy who could get things done.
"Go back in that room and wait!" Wang Feng said smugly.
They walked back again, while Li Manli entered the west room. Seeing her mother’s sallow face, her eyes burned and she wanted to cry. She covered her mouth so she wouldn’t make a sound. After all, her mother’s eyes were tightly shut, motionless. Thinking of what Wang Feng had said—that after taking the medicine, her mother had fallen asleep—she didn’t dare disturb her.
But... Wu Gang and his friends were in the east room, and Li Manli didn’t dare go over there. One Wu Gang was already bad enough; add a bunch of strange old men, and a thin thread of fear wound through her heart.
In just two or three minutes, Wang Feng couldn’t wait any longer and barked at Wu Gang, "Go, call your daughter over. Let’s talk business first!"
Wu Gang had just sat down and had to get up again. He said, "Okay, I’ll go get her first. But... Brother Wang, let’s not rush. I haven’t told her about this yet. We need a bit of a transition."
"Transition my ass. I’ll take her back, fuck her a couple times and everything’ll be fine. Guarantee she’ll be obedient as a lamb," Wang Feng cursed with a laugh.
The others chimed in, jeering, "Exactly, haha. Old Wu, you don’t know Brother Feng’s nickname. ’Big Bird Feng’ is what they call my Brother Feng. That thing of his is something else—he’s already sent that widow from the next village straight to heaven, let alone your daughter!"
"Tonight we’ll let Brother Feng Enter the bridal chamber. Haha!"
Wu Gang’s face looked a bit stiff, but he still forced out an ugly smile and said, "Let me try first. Brother Feng, give me a little time."
"The fuck, did you not hear what I just said?" Wang Feng said, clearly annoyed.
"No, no..."
"You’re the one who brought this up, and now I’m here. I’ve been waiting half the damn day..."
"Brother Feng, Brother Feng, calm down, give Old Wu some time. She’s already back anyway, a little more time won’t matter. Let’s keep playing, don’t spoil the mood," a younger guy quickly said, grabbing Wang Feng to talk him down.
Wang Feng snorted, pointed at Wu Gang, and said, "I’ll give you ten minutes. Make things clear to her. Fuck, you think I’m gonna shortchange her? How many young girls and married women are lining up to get with me—like I’m even that interested."
"Yes, yes." Wu Gang nodded stiffly, then stood up, pushed the door open, and walked out.
"But that girl really is a beauty in the making. Give her another couple years and she’ll be a proper stunner!" Wang Feng rubbed his chin, eyes glinting with lewd, wicked light, clearly already getting impatient. Right in front of everyone, he shoved his hand down his pants.
Wu Gang walked out, closed the door, and scratched his head. Now that it had come to this, he suddenly felt a bit hesitant. But a few seconds later he stomped his foot, steeled himself, and strode toward the west room. He pulled the door open and walked in, just in time to see Li Manli with her head lowered, wiping her tears. Wu Gang clicked his tongue and said, "Lili, what are you crying for? Your mom’s fine. She’ll be okay after some medicine and a nap."
"Uncle, you didn’t take my mom to the hospital?" Hearing his voice, Li Manli turned around and asked.
Wu Gang let out a sigh and said, "Go to the hospital for what? Those places are all crooks. Even a healthy person goes in and they’ll say you’re sick. Your mom’s just exhausted. You two haven’t had it easy these years. But it’s fine, being with your uncle here means you’re living the good life now. Take some medicine, and if it doesn’t work, tomorrow I’ll get the doctor from the village entrance to come and give her a shot. She’ll definitely be fine."
Li Manli bit her lip. They say poor kids grow up fast. She didn’t understand many things, but she was very devoted to her mother. Watching her mother this ill while Wu Gang still wouldn’t get her treated, she said, "Uncle, what about the money I mailed home this month? Let me borrow a thousand first so I can take my mom to see a doctor."
"What money?" Wu Gang pretended not to know, because he’d long since blown all that money on food, drink, and fun. If not for this, he wouldn’t have thought of going down the road with Wang Feng.
When Li Manli saw him acting like this, her heart sank. She asked, "Uncle, I just sent it back last week!"
"Hey, I thought you were talking about some other money. That money, I already used it for your mom’s treatment. You know your mom’s health hasn’t been good lately. I can’t just watch her be sick and do nothing, right?" Wu Gang said shamelessly.
Li Manli’s heart sank. From Wu Gang’s behavior, she already knew that the money she’d mailed back had probably been squandered by him directly. Thinking of this, her heart ached even more. She only had a little over three hundred yuan in her hand—was that enough for her mother’s treatment?
Judging by the look of it, Wu Gang wasn’t going to take out the money. Li Manli’s heart sank again, but then she heard Wu Gang say, "Girl, come out here, Uncle has something to tell you."
"What is it?" Li Manli looked at Wu Gang warily.
A fake smile squeezed out of the wrinkles on Wu Gang’s face as he said, "It’s something else, hmm, something I need to discuss with you. Let’s go out and talk, don’t disturb your mom’s rest in here!"
Instinctively, Li Manli knew it wouldn’t be anything good. She turned her head and glanced at her mother lying on the kang, then lightly nodded and said, "Okay."
Wu Gang turned and walked out, heading straight to the kitchen. Seeing that Li Manli had followed, he coughed once and said, "Lili, how old are you this year?"
"Me? Sixteen." Li Manli answered, subconsciously glancing back toward the east room.
"Sixteen already, not that young anymore. And you’ve been out of school for half a year." Wu Gang sounded like he felt a bit of heartache, but in reality he was just building up his act.
At the mention of school, a trace of sadness flashed in Li Manli’s eyes. Was it that she didn’t want to study? With a family like this, how was she supposed to keep going to school? But this wasn’t something she could talk about now. There was no way the Wu Gang in front of her could give her the conditions to keep studying, so she’d chosen to go out and work instead.
"Uncle, I want to take my mom to get checked. Can you... help me borrow some money? I’ll pay you back next month!" After hesitating a moment, Li Manli lifted her head, eyes full of pleading as she looked at Wu Gang and said, "I promise I’ll give it to you next month. As soon as I get my wages, I’ll give it to you!"
Wu Gang chuckled and said, "Lili, listen to yourself. Your mom’s my wife now. How could I not treat her if she’s sick? Don’t worry so much, it’s not some serious illness, she’ll be fine in a few days. She’s taking medicine every day, isn’t she!"
"Uncle, I’m begging you. I don’t have any money now. I already mailed this month’s wages back to you, but I swear I’ll pay you next month, I definitely will!" Li Manli continued to plead.
Wu Gang’s eyes rolled as he suddenly thought of an idea. He’d been fretting over how to bring it up. "I don’t have much money either, you know what our family’s situation is like!" he said.
A wave of despair rose in Li Manli’s heart. She looked at Wu Gang helplessly, tears brimming in her eyes, feeling a trace of hopelessness. She begged, "Uncle, can you help me borrow some from your friends, please? I promise I’ll pay it back next month, I’ll keep my word."
"You..." Wu Gang was secretly delighted; this was exactly what he’d been waiting for her to say. He pretended to be very troubled, scratching his head with a distressed look and glancing toward the east room. Clicking his tongue, he said, "They’re just here to have some fun, how are they supposed to agree to that..."
"Uncle, go and try. I can write an IOU, and a higher interest is fine too!" Li Manli said hurriedly.
"Alright. I’ll go try. You wait here!" Wu Gang nodded hard like he’d made a big decision.
Li Manli twisted her hands together and bit her lip, watching Wu Gang walk into the east room as if she were waiting for a verdict.
"It’s done?" Seeing the smile on Wu Gang’s face, Wang Feng immediately stood up, clapping his hands and saying, "So I can take her away today?"
Wu Gang waved his hand and said, "Brother Wang, don’t get ahead of yourself. It’s not done yet, but almost."
"If it’s not done then what the fuck did you come back for?" Wang Feng’s smile froze and he couldn’t help cursing.
"No, I mean it’s almost done!" Wu Gang lowered his voice and finished explaining what had just happened, then added, "Brother Feng, you come out with me in a bit, just cooperate and we’ll make it happen. That little girl won’t be able to resist..."
Wang Feng’s eyes flicked. The reason he was so well-known around here was because he always relied on someone else’s power to throw his weight around. With soft eggs like Wu Gang, of course they wouldn’t dare act up in front of him. He was very skilled at this scare-tactic routine. As soon as he heard Wu Gang’s plan, he nodded and said, "Alright, I’ll go out with you. You know what to say, right?"
"I know, I know." Wu Gang nodded over and over.
He walked in front, Wang Feng behind, and the two left the east room and went to the back kitchen. Seeing Li Manli, Wang Feng’s eyes lit up again. This actually wasn’t the first time he’d seen her. Back when she was still going to school in town, he’d seen her many times. He often wandered around the schools in town—what he called "hunting"—and often managed to trick little girls with his so-called methods. After asking around, he learned that Li Manli belonged to Wu Gang’s family, and then he found out Wu Gang wasn’t her real father, so he got interested.
That’s why today’s whole thing came about. Wu Gang’s heart was itching as he looked Li Manli up and down, thinking this girl was really pretty. When she grew up she’d definitely be a great beauty. Hmm, why not just take her now...
Wu Gang, on the other hand, felt relieved, thinking this matter was almost guaranteed to go through today. That way he could get a sum of money and also build a relationship with Wang Feng, and in the future he’d have some status in town too.