In the 90s, you could acquire max-level skills every 14 days.

When Zhang Defa and his brother arrived home, Li Guilan had just put the pickled vegetables on the table.

"Big brother's here, come in and sit down." She pouted and greeted him softly.

Zhang Dewang smeared the mud off his shoes at the door and went inside.

The living room was 12 square meters, with an old dining table, four chairs, a calendar map hanging on the wall, and Zhang Defa's military medals and a radio on the cabinet.

Last time when I came back, there was TV to watch, but this time I don't know where the TV is.

On the table was a pot of corn porridge, a dish of salted radish strips, a dish of fermented bean curd, and half a plate of pickled cucumbers.

Zhang Dewang frowned as soon as he saw it.

In previous years, when he came, he would always go to a restaurant, ordering four hot dishes and a bottle of wine. This isn't right today—

"Wife... is there no more food?" Zhang Defa asked, also looking surprised.

Li Guilan wiped her hands on her apron, plopped down in a chair, and lowered her head even further.

"Uncle, you don't know," she said, completely ignoring her husband, "we're really... starving."

"A while ago, someone came to our door to collect a debt, and the whole neighborhood knew about it."

Li Guilan wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Defa's entire salary went into it. My money also went to Yongzi's tuition. This porridge was made from cornmeal borrowed from Aunt Liu next door."

"Honey, don't just stand there, sit down and eat."

After listening, Zhang Defa gritted his teeth, lowered his head, picked up a bowl of porridge, and began to drink it in silence.

"Third brother, this..."

"Uncle, you eat too, we'll talk after you finish eating."

Zhang Yong brought out a thermos from the kitchen and poured Zhang Dewang a glass of water.

"Uncle, have some water. You must be thirsty on the way."

Zhang Dewang took the cup; the water was scalding hot. He glanced at it and had no choice but to put it down.

I drank two bowls of porridge and ate a few bites of pickled vegetables.

Zhang Dewang put down his bowl and cleared his throat.

"Third brother, I've come here this time because of something..."

Zhang Defa was still silently eating.

"Uncle, just tell me directly," Li Guilan asked.

"I mentioned Desheng's situation to my third brother," Zhang Dewang sighed. "His wife ran away, and he's been listless lately. Recently, someone finally introduced him to someone; the girl is quite good, but the dowry..."

He paused, observing the expressions of the people in the room.

"I want one thousand and one, one in a thousand."

Li Guilan slammed her chopsticks on the table.

"One thousand and one! Didn't you say five hundred last time?!"

Zhang Dewang quickly waved his hand. "That one's off! This one's new! The girl's got good qualities, she wants more..."

"Brother," Zhang Defa finally spoke, his voice low. "The family... really has no money left."

Zhang Dewang's expression didn't look so good.

His eyes darted around, finally settling on Zhang Yong.

"Yongzi."

Zhang Yong looked up.

"Uncle heard about it. You've made something of yourself now." Zhang Dewang smiled and rubbed his hands together.

"Everyone in the village says that you write articles, get published in magazines, and earn a lot in royalties. And that motorcycle, it looks really expensive, probably several thousand yuan."

He moved forward a little.

"Also, you repair vehicles for that winery in Tongxian? That motorcycle was a gift from them, wasn't it?"

The dinner table fell silent.

Zhang Defa suddenly raised his head, his face full of disbelief.

He never told anyone in his hometown about his son writing a book, let alone the motorcycle; he was afraid that others would gossip if they found out.

"Oh? Uncle." Zhang Yong smiled. "You live in the countryside, yet you're so well-informed."

Zhang Dewang patted his third brother on the shoulder and laughed loudly.

"Sigh, it's always your dad making those calls—"

Zhang Defa hurriedly said, "Son, I really didn't tell the family about this, I didn't! Brother, where did you get this idea! That motorcycle belongs to someone else's factory! Yongzi just runs errands and repairs motorcycles for them!"

The scene was awkward for a few seconds.

Zhang Dewang quickly ate two bites of fermented bean curd.

"Oh, then I must have remembered it wrong. It's just what the villagers say. This is delicious and goes well with rice!"

After the meal, Zhang Dewang was genuinely getting anxious. He was planning to make some money to buy more goods when he got back.

Moreover, Ma Degui also said that it would be best to find out how much Zhang Yong knew. If he knew a lot, then Zhang Defa should put him under control.

If these three keep going in circles, neither of these two things will get done.

He gritted his teeth, took a piece of paper from his pocket, placed it on the dining table, and pushed it in front of Zhang Defa's noodles.

The two words at the top read: IOU.

Zhang Yong glanced at it.

"Zhang Dewang borrowed RMB 1,000 from Ma Degui at a monthly interest rate of 3% for a term of three months."

There's a red stamp at the bottom, and the date is last week.

Zhang Defa suddenly stood up.

His face turned pale.

The IOU that Liu Gui, the man in the jacket, brought that night was almost identical. The only difference was that the first one said five hundred, while this one said one thousand. Even the seals were in the same corner.

Zhang Defa's lips trembled slightly. He turned to look at his son, not daring to speak.

Zhang Yong reached out and took the IOU.

His finger paused on the stamp for a moment.

"Uncle, you borrowed money from loan sharks, and it was quite a lot, a thousand yuan?"

"Sigh, it's all for Lao Wu. I was afraid he might do something rash, so I had no choice but to..."

"Then why did you borrow money from Ma Degui?"

Zhang Dewang didn't expect Zhang Yong to ask this, so he just went along with it.

"The Ma family are very philanthropists in Baoding. They offer low interest rates. Everyone in the village goes to them."

"A great philanthropist?" Zhang Yong pushed the IOU back.

"Uncle, do you know what Ma Degui's situation is now?"

"A batch of counterfeit engine oil was seized in Tongxian County, and the source was this person."

Zhang Yong stared into Zhang Dewang's eyes. "Collect waste engine oil, add thickener, cost two yuan, sell it for five yuan at the factory, and then sell it for twelve yuan in Beijing."

"The engines of Dongfeng trucks from a major winery all failed because they used this oil. I heard it affected more than one company, and a guy surnamed Zhou from one of their downstream suppliers even ran away."

"This Ma Degui is no good; the police station has been keeping an eye on him for a long time."

Sweat beads appeared on Zhang Dewang's forehead.

"I...I didn't know any of this...I just borrowed some money..."

"Uncle." Zhang Yong grabbed Zhang Dewang's hand, his tone sincere.

"Your name is written in black and white on this IOU. If the police trace it back to the ledgers, you won't be able to explain yourself."

Zhang Yong patted the IOU.

"Let's go to the police station and clarify things. Just say you were unaware of the situation and only borrowed money. The sooner we say it, the better, so they don't come knocking on our door and treat you like a potential customer."

He turned to look at Zhang Defa.

"Dad, what do you think? We need to help Uncle clear his name completely."

Zhang Dewang's expression changed drastically, and he jumped up from his chair.

"No need! No need to call the police!"

"There's no rush to pay this money back!"

"If I call the police, how am I supposed to face my fellow villagers after this!"

Zhang Yong leaned back in his chair, looking at Zhang Dewang's face, which was contorted with panic.

I've reached a conclusion.

If it's just a simple loan, why be afraid of calling the police?

The police station wouldn't have gotten involved in this anyway.

They can only be accomplices.

If they are accomplices, the IOU is naturally fake.

……