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

"Uncle, please have a seat."

Zhang Dewang stood by the dining table, caught in a dilemma.

"I...I won't sit." He took a step back. "Third brother, this money isn't urgent, I'll go first—"

"Uncle." Zhang Yong took out his notebook from his pocket and turned to a page. "Please don't rush. I have a few things I'd like to discuss with you."

"A few days ago, a man named Liu Gui came to my house with an IOU demanding payment. The IOU said that you owe Ma Degui five hundred yuan."

"I figured you were an honest man and wouldn't get involved in loan sharking, so I just sent Liu Gui to the police station."

"The police found a piece of paper in Liu Gui's pocket. It had a number on it, from his hometown, which I had already dialed."

"The person who answered the phone said a few words to me."

He looked into Zhang Dewang's eyes and spoke slowly and deliberately.

He said the Zhang family was rich. Zhang Desheng was as poor as a dog; it was all an act for outsiders.

Zhang Dewang opened his mouth, then closed it again, and Zhang Defa was also stunned.

"Uncle," Zhang Yong said, closing his notebook. "You know perfectly well whether my fifth uncle is poor or not."

"Whether you're poor or not, you know it yourself."

"My dad has sent more than 8,000 yuan to Baoding over the years."

He asked Li Guilan to take out a stack of pink remittance slips, which were spread out one by one, covering half of the table.

"Seventy percent of this is for you. It can be used for repairing old houses, buying fertilizer, medical treatment, getting married, and all sorts of other things."

Zhang Yong reached out and pointed to two of them.

"They say the roof tiles are broken. I've already asked, and your house wasn't repaired at all in 86."

"This was in 1988, 200, with the note that it was for my second brother's family to buy fertilizer. I also asked, and they said they had enough fertilizer that year."

Zhang Dewang's face turned bright red.

"You!" His finger trembled as he pointed at Zhang Yong. "You, a junior, are investigating your uncle's accounts! What do you mean by that?!"

"What I mean is—" Zhang Yong stood up, half a head taller than Zhang Dewang. "Borrowing money is fine, but you have to pay it back."

"Give me back the money?" Zhang Dewang stood up straight.

"That was given to you voluntarily by your father! I didn't force him with a knife!"

"What a load of rubbish! They kept it all from me!" Li Guilan pinched Zhang Defa hard, who dared not utter a sound, and then spoke up.

"My man is soft-hearted; he gives in every time! He's been doing it for years!"

"And what happened? You weren't poor at all back home! You took our family's money and went out there doing shady business with that guy surnamed Ma!"

Zhang Dewang's face turned pale instantly.

"I didn't! What are you talking about!"

"No?" Zhang Yong sneered. "Uncle, there's waste engine oil stuck to the bottom of your sack. I'm a car mechanic, do you think I can't smell that?"

"I bet you can just walk into Ma Degui's warehouse like that! Did you just grab this bag from there?"

Zhang Dewang's face flushed red again, and he raised his hand, his finger almost poking Zhang Yong's head.

"Zhang Yong, you've really made something of yourself! You've grown wings!"

"You even scheme against your own uncle! The money your father gave me was his! It was his own choice! As his son, what right do you have to interfere!"

"How I live back home is none of your business!"

He turned to Zhang Defa, his eyes reddening again, his voice trembling with tears.

"Third son! Look at the fine son you've raised! What did our father tell you before he passed away? Have you forgotten?"

Zhang Defa sat in a chair, his hands supporting his knees, motionless.

He didn't look up.

At this time of year, Zhang Dewang would always agree to anything his father said, Zhang Defa would do. It was always the same.

But today—

Zhang Defa raised his head.

He looked at his older brother, at that face contorted with anger, and at those gleaming eyes.

"Brother," Zhang Defa's voice was low and slow. "What exactly is your relationship with Ma Degui?"

Zhang Dewang's sobbing stopped.

"Huh...what's the matter? It's nothing! I just borrowed some money!"

"Then why were the people who came to my house to collect the debt Ma Degui's men?" Zhang Defa's voice began to tremble. "And why did that person have your name and Ma Degui's phone number in his pocket?"

"Big brother, tell me."

"Do you still consider me your own brother?"

"All the money I've sent you over the years—has it all gone into the fake oil business?"

Zhang Dewang opened his mouth twice, but no sound came out.

Within two minutes, he bent down, grabbed the sack by the door, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and turned to walk towards the door.

"I'm not talking anymore! We can't talk anymore!"

He walked much more briskly than when he arrived; he was limping just now, but now he was walking very fast.

"You ungrateful family! I traveled all the way from Baoding to see you, and this is how you treat me!"

"Fine! I don't want the money! From now on, we'll never see each other again!"

He rushed to the door and yanked it open.

In the stairwell, Aunt Liu and Sister Zhao were leaning on the handrail when the door suddenly opened, startling them so much that they shrank back.

Zhang Dewang didn't care about any of that; he grabbed the sack and rushed downstairs.

"Uncle."

"Don't rush off."

Zhang Yong chased after him from the building entrance and stood behind him, a hint of apology on his face.

"Uncle," Zhang Yong's tone softened. "It was my fault earlier; I spoke too harshly. Please don't take it to heart."

Zhang Dewang turned around, his face full of vigilance.

"Oh, let me see you off."

Zhang Dewang was stunned for a moment.

"Also, my dad asked me to pass something on to you." Zhang Yong took out two hundred yuan from his pocket.

"You've come all this way, we can't let you go back empty-handed."

Zhang Dewang stared at the stack of banknotes, his eyes darting around.

He reached out and took it.

"That's more like it." He stuffed the money into his pocket and snorted. "Yongzi, your uncle won't hold it against you. You're young and immature, so listen to your father more in the future—"

"Okay, Uncle." Zhang Yong had already walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll see you off."

"Need not--"

"When are you going to get there on your own two legs?" Zhang Yong asked, his hand still firmly on his shoulder, his tone very warm. "Let's go, I'll take you there on my motorcycle."

Zhang Dewang hesitated for a moment, but the warmth of the two hundred yuan was still in his pocket, so he didn't think much of it.

"Alright."

Li Guilan stood at the window looking down, and Zhang Defa also came over.

"What...what is he going to do?" Zhang Defa's voice was weak.

"Don't worry about it." Li Guilan grabbed his arm. "Our son said you should just stay home."

"OK……"

Downstairs, Zhang Yong tied the sack to the back seat and made sure Zhang Dewang was seated securely.

The engine of the Jialing 125 roared to life, and Zhang Yong accelerated, speeding up the motorcycle.

"Uncle, I'll take you somewhere." Zhang Yong's voice was slightly muffled by the wind. "Soon."

"what?"

Before Zhang Dewang could react, the motorcycle went straight and then turned right, crashing directly into the courtyard of the Chaoyang District Police Station.

Looking at the sign at the door, Zhang Dewang initially wanted to jump out of the car and run away, but he was too old to do so. Before he could react, the local police officer was already standing in front of him.

"Zhang Yong has arrived?"

"They're here." Zhang Yong got out of the car and patted the back seat. "Xiao Li, this is my uncle, Zhang Dewang. He's from Gaoyang, Baoding."

"They're from the same line of work as Liu Gui's case last time."

Zhang Dewang sat in the back seat, his legs weak, and he didn't get off for a long time.

Xiao Li walked over, bent down, and smiled at him.

"Sir, would you like to come in and have a seat? Have some water?"

Zhang Dewang clenched his teeth.

That's it, I've already met my end here.

"You little beast! Call your father here!"

......