PCJ – Chapter 373 Debts Must Always Be Repaid

Under the large camphor tree at the entrance of the village, elders like Zhang Jiwang, Zhang Xianyi, and Zhang Manyin were sitting, smoking, and chatting.

“Have you heard? Li Yujun’s family leaked some news: that rascal Qianlong is planning to come back and build a house. I heard that in recent years, Qianlong and his wife made a lot of money in Guangdong, and now they want to come back and build a house. This time, they’re aiming to build a multi-story building,” Zhang Jiwang mentioned, having heard the gossip while making furniture for Li Yujun’s family.

“He’s got the nerve to come back? He nearly killed Shicai and then ran off without a trace, and now he has the gall to return?” Zhang Manyin angrily spat.

Zhang Shicai’s father, Zhang Nianxiao, recalled the incident from years ago, and his eyes turned red. “Shicai helped him so much back then, and when things went wrong, they didn’t even come to check on him, just ran off. If it weren’t for Jiaohua, Shicai’s grave would probably be covered in grass by now.”

“It’s been six years. That scoundrel ran off for six years without a word, and now, having earned some money, he’s cocky and wants to flaunt it back home. We can’t let that bastard off so easily! Back in the day, we would have called a family council and sorted this out in the Zhang ancestral hall,” Zhang Xianyi said harshly.

“Exactly. But he won’t be able to build that house. So what if he has money? Who from Meizitang would help him build it? Forget Meizitang; nobody in all of Meizi’ao will help him. Does he think that after six years, everything is forgiven and forgotten? He’s dreaming!” Zhang Jiwang snorted in disdain.

“Where did you hear this from?” Zhang Nianxiao asked.

“Li Yujun’s family said it themselves. I think they wanted to test the waters, see how Meizitang would react,” Zhang Jiwang explained.

“And what did you say at the time?” Zhang Manyin asked, puffing on his cigarette, now equipped with a filter—a sign of how much Meizi’ao had changed in recent years. Most of the elderly had traded in their traditional tobacco pipes for filtered cigarettes.

“I said they’re welcome to return whenever they want. No one in Meizitang’s Zhang family is stopping them. But the responsibility they ran from, even after a hundred years, they can’t escape. They’ll have to face it sooner or later, unless they plan never to set foot in Meizitang again,” Zhang Jiwang said, exhaling smoke through his nose.

“Well said. Zhang Qianlong won’t get away with this unless he stays away from Meizitang forever,” Zhang Manyin agreed, stomping out his cigarette butt forcefully.

Just a few days after the elders’ conversation under the tree, sure enough, Li Yujun’s family sent someone—her two older brothers, to be exact. But they didn’t go straight to Zhang Shicai’s house; instead, they visited Zhang Dechun.

Zhang Dechun had already heard the rumors about Zhang Qianlong, and now that the Li brothers were here, it seemed clear that Qianlong truly intended to return.

“Secretary Zhang, you’re Qianlong’s elder and the village secretary. A few years ago, when Qianlong’s house-building accident happened, it was an unfortunate and unexpected event. At the time, Qianlong had no money at all, so he and his wife had no choice but to leave their child behind and go to Guangdong to work. Their plan was to earn money and come back to compensate the people in the village. They won’t shirk their responsibilities,” Li Ganquan, one of the brothers, explained.

“It’s been six years! Now you’re talking to me about responsibility? Back then, Shicai lost an eye and had no money for surgery, so he was left to die at home while Qianlong disappeared. Now you’re telling me Qianlong is ready to take responsibility? If it weren’t for Jiaohua, Shicai’s grave would be overgrown by now. If Qianlong were standing in front of me right now, I’d slap him. He thinks he can flaunt his money around here? Does he have any idea how little anyone in Meizitang cares about his so-called fortune?” Zhang Dechun slammed the table, startling the Li brothers into standing up awkwardly.

Meizitang had indeed changed. Though not many people left the village to work, there wasn’t a household short on money. Even if Qianlong had made some money in Guangdong, it didn’t mean much here. Every household in Meizitang grew tea, and the tea trees had long since matured, bringing in significant income every year. On top of that, people could earn money working at the tea factory. There wasn’t much difference between working locally and going to Guangdong for jobs.

“You’re right that Qianlong was in the wrong, but this issue needs to be resolved. It can’t drag on forever, right? Qianlong genuinely wants to make amends. He regrets what happened, but what’s done is done, and the only way forward is to make it right,” Li Yiyou, the other brother, said with an apologetic smile.

“Honestly, talking to me won’t solve anything. It’s up to Shicai’s family to decide. You can tell Qianlong this: if he wants to come back, he’d better settle his debts first,” Zhang Dechun said, too fed up to waste more time with the Li brothers.

News spread quickly through the village that the Li brothers had come, and soon, everyone gathered outside Zhang Dechun’s courtyard, eager to confirm if Zhang Qianlong was really planning to return.

“That Qianlong is worse than an animal. How can he even show his face here?”

“Exactly! He nearly blinded Shicai. If you ask me, Shicai should take both of Qianlong’s eyes so he knows what it’s like to be blind.”

“Qianlong thinks he can come back and throw his money around like it means something here.”

Among the crowd were some mischievous kids watching the commotion. One of them, the mute boy, ran off quickly to tell Jiaohua.

“Jiaohua, Jiaohua, Jiujin is coming back!” the mute boy burst into Zhang Jiaohua’s home, shouting excitedly.

Zhang Jiaohua was busy wrestling over a peach with Big Fat Monkey, who had picked it from one of the many peach trees in the orchard behind the mountain. Big Fat Monkey had the privilege of picking the best fruit since even the monkey chief didn’t mess with it.

“What Jiujin?” Zhang Jiaohua asked, momentarily confused.

“You know, the fat one! His family built that house that nearly blew out Uncle Shicai’s eye, and then they ran off to Guangdong. Now they’re planning to come back and build a house in Meizitang!”