northernbook Chapter 111 The Pillar of the Family
Chapter 111 The Pillar of the Family
Su Chen also came over to take a look, and when he saw the rows and rows of densely packed loan and debt records...
He gasped, his previously relaxed expression freezing completely.
"Brother Chen...it seems like this person's family has suffered a great calamity."
The person above is named Liu Cheng, and it seems he's the breadwinner of his family.
I don't know anyone by that name. Is there anyone named Liu Cheng in our old street?
Su Chen turned to look at Chen Feng.
Chen Feng stared at the glaring red stamp on the diagnosis report, remained silent for a long time, then carefully folded the stack of papers, put them back into the tattered cloth bag, and tied them tightly with cotton thread.
"Xingruo, you and Su Chen clean up the shop first, and mop the floor clean."
"Mengmeng, stay in the store and be a good girl. Daddy's going out for a bit."
Chen Feng turned around and rubbed the head of the cute little one who was biting his finger and looking at him.
"Okay, Daddy, Mengmeng won't run around!" Mengmeng obediently replied, then wiggled her little legs and ran behind the counter to get her paintbrush.
Chen Feng, carrying a cloth bag, strode out of the store.
The midday sun was quite dazzling, making the old, dilapidated stone pavement of the street scorching hot.
Chen Feng walked several dozen meters down the alley and stopped in front of a shop with a sign that read "Old Wang's Grocery Store".
Aunt Wang, who runs the grocery store, was sitting on a bamboo chair by the door, holding a large palm-leaf fan in her hand, fanning herself idly, and humming along to the opera playing on the radio.
Upon seeing Chen Feng approach, Aunt Wang immediately stopped what she was doing, her face beaming with a warm smile as she half-straightened up to greet him.
"Hey, Boss Chen, you're closing up so early today?"
The aroma of that braised pork today has really whetted my appetite!
"Aunt Wang, I'm glad you like it." Chen Feng smiled, stepped forward, and handed over the old blue cloth bag he was carrying.
"I need to ask you about someone. Do you know a man named Liu Cheng? He left his bag at my shop."
The moment Aunt Wang saw the cloth bag clearly, the palm-leaf fan in her hand paused abruptly, and the smile on her face faltered slightly.
She patted her thigh somewhat awkwardly, her eyes darting evasively at the stone slabs on the ground, and stammered as she spoke:
"Ah... Liu Cheng, I know him, I know him."
He's... isn't he the owner of "Old Liu's Noodle Shop" in the middle of our old street? This guy's usually a quiet type.
Chen Feng keenly sensed the unusual tone in Aunt Wang's voice. He didn't respond, but simply looked at her quietly, waiting for her to continue.
Feeling uncomfortable under Chen Feng's intense gaze, Aunt Wang coughed lightly, tugged at her clothes, and spoke somewhat evasively.
"Sigh, Old Liu is a man with a hard life."
His wife, Zhang Xiulan, is sick. She has a very serious illness and is staying in the hospital. Every day, the money is being spent like water.
His son worked as a temporary worker in a small county town hundreds of miles away, and he didn't even have money for food and drink, so he lived a very hard life.
Old Liu was stubborn and unwilling to admit his mistakes, so he never uttered a word and never asked his children for a single penny, enduring the hardship alone.
At this point, Aunt Wang sighed and made as if to reach for the palm-leaf fan again, but then abruptly stopped talking.
Chen Feng tightened his grip on the cloth bag slightly, his voice lowering: "Since he's so ill, didn't he try to lend a little something to the neighbors on this old street who've been here for so many years?"
Aunt Wang's face became even more embarrassed when she heard the words "borrow money".
She lowered her head even further, waved the palm-leaf fan haphazardly in the air a couple of times, and spoke in a very low voice, as if afraid of being overheard by others.
"Borrow? Of course I've borrowed... But Boss Chen, you don't know."
Last year, Lao Liu borrowed money from every neighbor he could to help him raise the initial cost of his wife's surgery.
Everyone here is just trying to make ends meet in the old town; how much spare money do they have?
Who among the Li family and the Zhang family hasn't been lent three or five thousand by him?
This year, his relatives hung up the phone as soon as they heard his voice. Even his own brothers back home said that he was a bottomless pit that could never be filled, and that if he continued to do so, they would no longer be relatives.
He really... really couldn't find a way to speak.
As Aunt Wang spoke, she kept glancing furtively at Chen Feng's face out of the corner of her eye, her hands fidgeting nervously on her knees, her words revealing a sense of suppressed frustration and unspoken words.
Chen Feng listened quietly, his expression completely calm, but his eyes remained fixed on Aunt Wang's face.
"Aunt Wang, you haven't finished speaking, have you?" Chen Feng's voice carried an inescapable sense of pressure.
"His wife's condition has worsened recently, and he's running out of money for hospital bills, right? Is something wrong with his noodle shop?"
Aunt Wang was startled by Chen Feng's sudden question.
She looked up in a panic, staring at Chen Feng's calm yet dignified face. Finally, like a deflated balloon, she slapped her thigh hard, her eyes even turning a little red.
"Sigh! Boss Chen, since you've put it this way, I'll just tell you the truth with my eyes closed. Please don't take it to heart!"
Aunt Wang tossed the palm-leaf fan onto the bamboo chair, gesturing excitedly with both hands, her words filled with reluctance.
"Old Liu's noodle shop was their family's only hope."
But just these past few days... just these past few days at noon, your "Human Fireworks" restaurant opened, and wow, it was so popular that it completely drained the flow of customers from the entire old street!
Now, during mealtimes, everyone flocks to your place, while Old Liu's shop is so deserted that there's not a soul in sight.
His hand-pulled noodles were already cheap, and if he couldn't even sell ten bowls a day, how would he pay for his medical bills at the hospital?
This noon, I saw him pull down the shutter in the middle of the day, his face was deathly pale, like he was about to kill someone... Boss Chen, I know doing business is about skill, I don't blame you, but this Old Liu, he's really been driven to a dead end!"
Aunt Wang blurted everything out, then covered her mouth in lingering fear, cautiously observing Chen Feng's reaction.
She was afraid Chen Feng would get angry.
After all, if someone's business is thriving on this commercial street, that's their own skill. Why blame others just because your own business is bad?
However, Chen Feng did not show the anger or disdain that Aunt Wang had imagined.
He stood quietly at the entrance of the grocery store, the midday sun casting a shadow on his profile, a mixture of light and dark.
He looked at the white flour stuck to the old blue cloth bag in his hand, and his eyes began to become unreadable.
It's impossible to know what he's thinking.
After a moment, Chen Feng let out a slight breath and nodded to Aunt Wang.
"I understand. Thank you, Aunt Wang."
His tone remained as flat as still water, devoid of any emotion.
"Hey, Mr. Chen, please don't be angry with Lao Liu. He's just an honest man. He's probably just feeling down today. Go check on him..." Aunt Wang called out anxiously from behind.
Chen Feng didn't turn around. Carrying the heavy cloth bag, he walked steadily back along the stone path he had come from to the wooden door of "Human Fireworks".
The wooden door creaked open.