Chapter 343: A Gambler's Heartlessness, Even Selling His Own Sister

Chapter 343: A Gambler's Heartlessness, Even Selling His Own Sister

  Songwang Township.

  Zhoubei Village.

  Li Guangchang's House.

  Li Guangchang and his wife, Zhu Jinfeng, were having lunch. The lunch was the usual assortment of coarse grains, which they had become accustomed to over the years.

  For many people from Bobai in later generations, coarse grains like sweet potatoes, taro, cassava, yams, and potatoes were highly sought after, and they found them delicious. Compared to these grains, porridge and other dishes were nothing.

  However, for the people of Bobai who grew up eating these coarse grains in this era, they were merely for filling their bellies. Even those who enjoyed them would find it hard to like them if they had to eat them every day, two or three times a day, for their entire lives.

  Therefore, in later generations, few of the older generation in Bobai County enjoyed eating coarse grains, as they had grown tired of them from a young age.

  Li Guangchang had been eating coarse grains for decades and naturally did not like them. He stuffed a few sweet potatoes into his stomach to satisfy his hunger, rubbed his hands, wiped them on his clothes, and then took out some tobacco and matches to prepare to smoke with the water pipe.

  Zhu Jinfeng ate more slowly, frowning and saying, "I wonder where Ah Hai has gone. He left last night and hasn't returned yet."

  Li Guangchang, while stuffing tobacco into the pipe, said with a sigh, "This boy is really unreasonable. He's already 23 this year, yet he still hangs around with those no-good friends, and doesn't help with the chores at home. With a personality like that, which girl would want to marry him?"

  Zhu Jinfeng sighed, "If he were more sensible, like Xiao Qin, who is so good at studying, it would be better!"

  Li Guangchang took out a match and sighed deeply as well. His youngest daughter was the top student in her grade, with a good chance of getting into university. Unfortunately, daughters eventually belong to others, and it would be better if she were a son!

  He struck the match and took a few puffs of the pipe before complaining, "It's all because you spoiled him."

  Zhu Jinfeng glanced at him, "We only have this one son. Was it just me spoiling him? Didn't you spoil him too?"

  Li Guangchang had no response. Ultimately, it was because they had too few sons. Despite their efforts, they had many children, but only one son, and the rest were daughters. Who could he complain to?

  "Forget it. You should quickly find him a wife and see if he can settle down. If he continues like this, he'll end up a lonely old man."

  "Do you think I don't want to? But this good-for-nothing has a bad reputation in the village. When people send someone to inquire about him, they know exactly what kind of person he is and won't even give him a chance to meet. What can I do?"

  As Li Guangchang was about to say something, he saw his wayward son stagger into the house. His face was very pale, his eyes bloodshot, and he looked lifeless.

  Li Guangchang originally wanted to scold him, but seeing his condition, he swallowed his words and asked, "What happened? You look like you've lost your soul."

  Zhu Jinfeng also noticed her son's odd behavior. Despite her earlier complaints, she still loved her only son and asked with concern, "Ah Hai, why do you look so pale? Are you feeling unwell?"

  Li Minghai sat on the bench, looking dazed, as if he hadn't heard his parents' questions.

  Li Guangchang and Zhu Jinfeng exchanged worried glances.

  Zhu Jinfeng asked anxiously, "Ah Hai, what happened? Speak up!"

  Li Guangchang frowned and asked, "Did you get into trouble?"

  Li Minghai looked at his parents with lifeless eyes. After a long pause, he began to tremble, his lips quivering, and said, "Dad, Mom, I... I got into big trouble... I... I lost Xiao Qin... I'm a scoundrel, I... I'm sorry to Xiao Qin!"

  Li Guangchang's veins bulged as he stared at his son and asked, "What did you say?"

  Zhu Jinfeng asked anxiously, "You lost Xiao Qin? What happened? Explain clearly."

  Li Minghai was filled with regret, still unable to understand how things had come to this.

  Last night, he went out with his usual group of friends, who were all idlers with no money. But they found ways to have fun even without money. They pooled their money, bought a few pounds of liquor from the supply department, and each brought some snacks from home—beans, peanuts, and eggs.

  As for vegetables, they were never in short supply. They set up a simple meal and drank while discussing the world, enjoying themselves.

  As they drank, they all became slightly drunk. Someone suggested they pool their limited money and go to the neighboring village's casino to try their luck. If they won, they would have a big meal the next day; if they lost, they would just go without a drink.

  At the time, Li Minghai was also quite drunk and followed his friends to the neighboring village's casino in a daze.

After arriving at the casino, his friends all handed their money to him, letting him be in charge of it.

The money wasn't much, just a few yuan that they had pooled together.

At first, Li Minghai's luck was good, and the two or three yuan in his hand quickly turned into over ten yuan. The speed at which he was making money was really too fast and too exciting.

At that moment, one of his friends suggested they should leave, but Li Minghai was on a winning streak, betting and winning every time. How could he leave at that moment? He insisted on continuing, hoping to turn the ten yuan into a hundred.

However, when he had won nearly twenty yuan, his luck ran out. No matter where he bet, he lost. In less than ten minutes, he lost all the money he had won, as well as his initial stake.

At that moment, Li Minghai was filled with regret. He should have listened to his friends and stopped earlier.

His friends, seeing that the money was gone, didn't blame him, but they were certainly disappointed. There was no point in staying there with no money, and it was quite late. They were all drunk and wanted to go home to sleep.

But Li Minghai was already captivated by the atmosphere of the casino. The thrill of transactions worth tens or even hundreds of yuan every minute was too exciting. He wasn't in a hurry to leave; he just told his friends to go ahead, saying he would stay to watch others gamble even if he had no money to bet.

Seeing this, his friends left without further persuasion.

Just then, someone offered to lend him money to try and win back his losses. This person was a well-known scatterhead from the neighboring village.

Normally, Li Minghai wouldn't dare borrow money from him, but after drinking and experiencing the rollercoaster of winning and losing, he was desperate for a chance to win back his losses. He would borrow money from anyone, even the Heavenly Emperor.

So, he borrowed ten yuan from this scatterhead named Ah Diansan.

A few minutes later, he borrowed another ten yuan.

Half an hour later, Li Minghai already owed a hundred yuan.

By then, he was so desperate to win back his losses that he wanted to borrow more, but the lender refused.

No matter how he begged, it was no use. Ah Diansan bluntly said, "Li Minghai, you can still gather a hundred yuan from your parents at home. If I lend you more, you won't be able to pay it back.

Unless..."

At that moment, Li Minghai had lost his reason. He quickly asked, "Unless what?"

Ah Diansan looked at him and laughed, "I know you have a sister who is quite pretty and does well in school. I like girls like that. If you're willing to let me marry your sister, I can lend you more money."

Hearing this, Li Minghai hesitated for a moment.

It must be said that such a gambler, who lacks self-control, truly deserves to be condemned.

Deep down, Li Minghai knew that what he was about to do could have very serious consequences, but he deliberately ignored these consequences, hoping against hope that he could win back his losses.

Thus, in a moment of madness, Li Minghai agreed to Ah Diansan's terms and continued to gamble with the money he borrowed.

Unconsciously, the night turned into morning. By the early hours, Li Minghai was sober, but he was already too deep in the game to back out. He could only continue, leading him to fall deeper and deeper into debt, eventually owing a staggering 1000 yuan.

When he tried to borrow more, Ah Diansan patted his shoulder and said, "Brother-in-law, your luck isn't good today. Don't push it. Wait a few days until I marry your sister, and we'll be real family. Then I'll help you win back the money you lost."

At that point, Li Minghai was terrified, realizing the gravity of his actions and wanting to back out.

Ah Diansan didn't get angry. He just smiled and said, "Li Minghai, I'm giving you a chance. If you can pay back the 1000 yuan you owe me, including interest, within three days, I'll forget about marrying your sister.

But if you can't pay it back within three days, your sister will have to marry me, and the money will be her dowry.

Otherwise, you should know that in this area, no one who owes me money and doesn't pay it back has ever been born yet!"

Hearing the thinly veiled threat, Li Minghai's face turned pale. He was finally afraid and regretful, but it was too late.

When Li Minghai finally stammered out the whole story, Li Guangchang was so angry that his veins were about to burst. He panted heavily and pounded his chest, wishing he could kill his son with the water pipe.

Zhu Jinfeng was no better. She cried and cursed, "Li Minghai, you are a real monster! You would even sell your own sister. If someone wanted to, would you sell your mother as well?"

While they indeed had a preference for their son, it didn't mean they didn't love their daughters. They had been supporting their youngest daughter's education, letting her attend high school and university, even if they loved their son more.

But now, their son had actually gambled away their youngest daughter at the gambling table. For Li Guangchang and Zhu Jinfeng, this was like a bolt of lightning on a clear day, a result they found hard to accept.

Li Minghai, clutching his messy hair, said with a pained expression, "Mom, I didn't mean to. I drank a lot that night and made a foolish decision. After I sobered up, I knew it was wrong, but by then, it was too late to turn back!"

Hearing this, Li Guangchang could no longer contain his anger. He grabbed a broom nearby and started beating his son, yelling, "You fool, you dare to sell your own sister! I'll beat you to death, you scoundrel!"

Li Minghai, dodging the blows, shouted, "Dad, stop hitting me, I know I was wrong!"

Zhu Jinfeng, though furious, couldn't help but feel soft-hearted as a mother. Seeing her son being beaten, she stepped in to protect him, saying, "Enough! Even if you beat him to death now, what good will it do? We need to figure out how to solve this problem!"

Li Guangchang, seething with anger, threw the broom to the ground and said with deep sorrow, "How could I have a son like you?"

Li Minghai, terrified, had never seen his father so angry or been hit by him before. The beating itself wasn't painful, but he felt the weight of his father's authority.

Zhu Jinfeng, looking at her audacious son, asked, "You borrowed 1000 yuan from him. How much do you need to pay back, including interest?"

Li Minghai, hanging his head in shame, said, "1200 yuan."

Zhu Jinfeng, pointing at her son, was so angry she couldn't speak.

Li Guangchang sneered, "High-interest loans are nine out, thirteen in. You're lucky it's only 1200."

Zhu Jinfeng, looking utterly hopeless, said, "Where will we get 1200 yuan in just three days?"

It was 1987, and while ten-thousand-yuan households were becoming more common in the countryside, most rural families were still economically struggling. For a family like the Li Guangchangs, 1200 yuan was a huge sum.

Even 200 yuan, a fraction of that, was beyond their reach.

Li Guangchang took out his water pipe and continued to smoke, silently calculating their family's assets. They had only a few dozen yuan in cash, one cow, two pigs, and several chickens and ducks.

At that time, the price for live pigs was only a few yuan per kilogram. A 200-kilogram pig would fetch around 100 yuan at most, and one of their two pigs was still a piglet.

The price for live cows was also low, but a cow weighed much more than a pig. Selling their cow would fetch around 400 yuan.

Chickens and ducks were a few yuan each, and selling all of them would barely make 100 yuan.

Adding it all up, they could gather around 700 yuan, leaving a shortfall of 500 yuan.

The only way to make up the 500 yuan was to borrow from relatives.

Li Guangchang had six daughters, but they only kept three. One was still in school, and the other two were already married, but their conditions were not much better. Borrowing a few dozen yuan from each of them might be possible, but more than that was unlikely.

They could also borrow from his siblings and his wife's relatives, which should add up to a significant amount.

money.

If there was still a shortfall, they could ask their neighbors for help, which should cover the remaining amount.

With this in mind, Li Guangchang shared his plan.

Zhu Jinfeng, her voice trembling, said, "If we do this, we'll have nothing left, and we'll be in deep debt."

Li Guangchang, gritting his teeth, said, "What choice do we have? It's all because of this good-for-nothing. Do we really want to push Xiao Qin into a life of misery?"

Zhu Jinfeng had no more words. She was heartbroken for her youngest daughter, who had always been well-behaved and excelled in her studies. She couldn't bear to see her marry someone like Ah Diansan, who would ruin her life.

"Let's get moving. Return to your parents' place, and then head to A Fen and A Fang's residences. I'll take care of selling the livestock."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Seeing his parents rush out to borrow money and sell their livestock, Li Minghai, filled with regret, raised his hand and slapped himself hard. His moment of foolishness had come at a tremendous cost to his family.

...

Three days later.

Ah Diansan and a few others sauntered toward the Li Guangchang family's house.

One of them said, "Brother, I heard Li Minghai's parents have sold all their chickens, ducks, pigs, and the cow, and borrowed money from many people. It looks like they're planning to pay off their son's debt."

Another added, "It seems they value their youngest daughter quite a bit."

A third person said, "That's understandable. I heard she's a top student with a good chance of getting into university."

The last one asked, "Brother, what will you do if Li Minghai's parents pay off his debt?"

"Do you still want to marry his sister?"

As they walked, Ah Diansan said, "We have to be credible when we're out here. I already said that if Li Minghai can pay me back the 1000 yuan he borrowed, plus interest, within three days, I won't marry his sister.

I will definitely keep my word. Once the money is in hand, I won't make things difficult for him."

"Big Brother Three is always so generous."

"Others usually charge nine out and thirteen in, but Big Brother Three only asks for 1200 yuan in total, which is very fair to him."

"To think Li Minghai is so foolish. If Big Brother Three hadn't stopped lending him money that night, he might have lost ten thousand yuan."

"I've seen many people lose their minds at the gambling table, but Li Minghai is the first to get so carried away on his first try."

"..."

Laughing and chatting, they soon arrived at the Li Guangchang family's house.

At that moment, there were quite a few people at the Li Guangchang house, all neighbors from the village.

Ah Diansan greeted them with a smile, "Uncle Li, Aunt Zhu, Ah Hai."

Li Minghai forced a very strained smile and greeted him, "Big Brother Three."

Zhu Jinfeng took out a stack of money from her inner pocket and handed it over reluctantly, saying, "Here is the 1200 yuan. Check to see if it's correct."

Ah Diansan didn't take the money immediately but smiled and asked, "Uncle Li, Aunt Zhu, are you sure you don't want to reconsider? I know it was very difficult for you to gather this money. After you give it to me, your days ahead will be tough. And Ah Hai is not getting any younger. How can he marry a wife without money?

But if you agree to let Xiao Qin marry me, I won't ask for the money, and I might even add a bit more. Would you like to think about it?"

Zhu Jinfeng, though tempted, politely refused, "I'm sorry, Xiao Qin is still in school and is not considering marriage at the moment."

Ah Diansan took the money with a hint of regret, "Alright, then this matter is settled. If you change your mind, Uncle Li and Aunt Zhu, you can find me anytime. I won't shortchange you on Xiao Qin's dowry."

With that, he turned and left without further delay.

Once he was gone, the neighbors in the Li family's house began to discuss the matter.

"That Ah Diansan is quite reasonable!"

"That's because he got the money. If you hadn't gathered the amount he asked for, would he still be so reasonable?"

"Borrowing 1000 yuan and demanding 1200 yuan back in three days, that money is really easy to earn. No wonder he does nothing but drinks and eats meat every day. He must have done this a lot!"

"..."

At that moment, Li Guangchang and Zhu Jinfeng both breathed a sigh of relief.

They had finally resolved the matter without sacrificing their youngest daughter, which was a stroke of luck in their misfortune.

However, after this incident, their family was truly left with nothing.

Moreover, they owed a considerable amount of money to their relatives and neighbors, making their future days even harder.

...

Li Shuqin returned to the village on Saturday afternoon and learned about the incident.

Hearing that her brother had gambled her away at the gambling table, Li Shuqin's face drained of all color. She was completely disillusioned with her brother, who loafed around and never did anything productive. Fortunately, her parents loved her and were willing to sell everything they had and borrow money from relatives and neighbors to pay off her brother's debt rather than agree to marry her off.

Not wanting to go home and see her brother, Li Shuqin decided not to return home after hearing the story from the villagers. She asked a villager to pass a message to her parents and then returned to school.

Deng Yunzhu, who had just finished playing table tennis with other female classmates, met her desk mate and asked in surprise, "Shuqin, why are you back so quickly?"

Li Shuqin sighed with a gloomy expression, "Don't even get me started. I almost got sold by that good-for-nothing brother of mine without even knowing it."

Deng Yunzhu asked, "What happened? What did your brother do to deserve that?"

Li Shuqin recounted the story told by the villagers and concluded, "Sister Zhu, everyone else's brothers dote on their sisters. How did I end up with such a brother?"

Deng Yunzhu, hearing this, was furious and cursed, "He really is a scoundrel, selling his own sister."

Li Shuqin said, "I don't want to see him anymore, so after hearing this, I didn't even go home and came straight back to school."

Deng Yunzhu comforted her, "Fortunately, your parents still love you and didn't use you to pay off your brother's debt. What you need to do now is focus on your studies and aim to get into a top university. Don't let this incident affect you.

As for your living expenses and the money for your university journey, you don't need to worry about them or ask your parents. I'll lend you the money."

She remembered the words her father had taught her brothers. Her desk mate was a promising candidate for a top university, and her future prospects were definitely better than most. Now was the perfect opportunity to do her a small favor, and she wouldn't let it pass.

Li Shuqin, moved by her words, said gratefully, "Thank you, Sister Zhu!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end