Uncle Cheng is also a legendary figure.
He didn’t want to study anymore after junior high school. It was only after repeated persuasion from Grandma Luo and the then homeroom teacher that he agreed to go to a senior high school. After three years of senior high school, he thought he would be liberated. But who knew that Grandma Luo would persuade him to go to a vocational college.
Uncle Cheng had already started to join the messy side when he was in school. He told Grandma Luo that he was going to mix around in the messy side of society in the future, so what was the point of going to vocational college?
However, Luo Granny told him that without education, diplomas, or knowledge, even if he went out to the messy society, he would only end up being a small errand runner. Those who truly made it were those with intelligence.
Uncle Cheng was convinced by her, so he bit the bullet and managed to obtain a vocational college diploma.
Later, when Grandma Luo talked about this to Luo Bei, she said that her intention was to encourage Uncle Cheng to study hard and find a decent job in the future. But she knew that Cheng Shu was going through a rebellious phase, so she said those words to motivate him…
It’s just that she never imagined that Cheng Shu would remain steadfast in pursuing his dream.
Over a decade ago, vocational college graduates were not as common as they are now, so Uncle Cheng had some reputation outside. By coincidence, a big shot found out that Cheng Shu was a vocational college graduate and let him join his crew. In the past decade or so, Uncle Cheng has gone from being a small follower to a big brother and is now heading towards becoming a big shot himself.
Uncle Cheng smiled at Luo Bei and said, “Are you working now, Beibei? Uncle knows you were looking for a job recently. My business is starting to become more visible, and I had planned to have you work at my company, but Beibei, I don’t want you to get involved…”
Suddenly, Luo Bei wanted to correct herself.
She had plenty of wealthy friends around her, including many uncles and grandpas in the urban villages who were worth tens of millions, including Uncle Cheng in front of her.
If she really wanted to counted it up, her childhood friends could barely be considered small rich second generations, including Zhan Qi.
However, perhaps because she had known this group of people since she was young, she always felt that they were down-to-earth despite their wealth, and there was no hint of a wealthy smell about them.
They had money, but they were still keen on buying discounted products from supermarkets, would curse out loud if the price of vegetables went up by five cents, and would even mourn for several days if clothes left outside to dry were lost.
“Don’t drag Beibei into your business,” Grandma Luo said seriously. Luo Bei was her lifeline now. “But you also need to be careful with your business, and it’s okay to earn less money. The most important thing is to keep yourself and your people safe.”
Uncle Cheng listened humbly to her words. His own mother died of illness when he was thirty. It was probably due to the stress of gambling and uncertainty about her next meal, which was bound to cause problems.
To Uncle Cheng, there was really no difference between Grandma Luo and his own mother, or rather, Grandma Luo treated him even better than his own mother.
It could be said that if it weren’t for Grandma Luo, Uncle Cheng would never have had the opportunities and achievements he has today.
Even if others wanted to criticize him, they couldn’t say he was physically strong but mentally simple. After all, he graduated from college, which was considered a high level of education in his time.
“Beibei, I heard that Zhan Qi wants to date you?” Cheng Shu asked.
Luo Bei shook her head. “We’re just friends, there’s nothing like that.”
Cheng Shu breathed a sigh of relief. “Zhan Qi doesn’t have much ability. Once he makes a few tens of thousands of dollars from a small business, his tail is up in the air. He’s not stable, and his mother is notorious for being harsh. If you marry into that family, you’ll suffer.”
Luo Bei smiled. “As long as Uncle Cheng is here, I won’t suffer.”
Uncle Cheng inwardly regretted again. He was almost ten years younger than Luo Bei’s father, so his son was seven or eight years younger than Luo Bei. Luo Bei had already graduated from college, while his son was only in the first year of high school…
If his son were the same age as Luo Bei, or even if they were three years apart, he would shamelessly try to pair them up.
But one is an adult graduate and the other is an underage high school student, he couldn’t even think of doing such a thing, no matter how shameless or crazy he was.
“Mom Luo, has anyone been late with the rent recently?” Uncle Cheng asked again.
“No, not really. Even if they’re a few days late, it’s understandable. Everyone has difficulties sometimes.”
Whether it was because of Uncle Cheng or Grandma Luo herself, the Luo family had never had anyone late on their rent. They were the only ones in the entire urban village who had such a reputation.
Grandma Luo had a good relationship with her tenants. Some of them came from other places to work and would bring her local specialties when they returned for the Chinese New Year.
“Beibei!”
“Is Beibei home?”
Even though it was almost nine o’clock, the urban village was still lively.
Luo Bei looked out of the window and saw one of her childhood friend calling her.
“I’m here!”
“Then come down, I’ll treat you to some sweet soup!”
Luo Bei put on her shoes and grabbed her wallet with some change before going down. Just then, Jiang Sihan walked in.
It was almost autumn, and the temperature wasn’t high at night, but Jiang Sihan was sweating profusely. Since the incident where they took Zhao Pianpian to the hospital, Luo Bei felt that she was somewhat familiar with him and greeted him.
Jiang Sihan had a certain air about him, he was aloof and cold, and even if he was hungry and thin in this village basement, he still stood out from the people around him.
If he was a bit fatter and had better complexion, he could compare to those national heartthrobs on TV and Weibo.
Luo Bei didn’t talk to him, but she guessed that he didn’t have the intention to chat with her either. She walked out with her childhood friend, Xu Yao, to a sweet soup shop in the village.
Luo Bei and Xu Yao were classmates until high school, but after they were admitted to different high schools, their relationship became weaker. However, they still sometimes met up to drink sweet soup together.
“I heard you found a job?” asked Xu Yao after sitting down.
“Yes, as an assistant to the general manager in a foreign trade company.”
Xu Yao looked melancholic as she held her face. “That’s good. I resigned yesterday. I don’t know why I can never stay in one company for long.”
Luo Bei comforted her, “It means you just haven’t found the right company yet. Don’t worry too much about it.”
As they chatted aimlessly, almost finishing their drinks, Xu Yao finally brought up the topic that was on her mind. She hesitated before asking, “Beibei, I heard that Zhan Qi is pursuing you. What do you think of him?”
Luo Bei wasn’t surprised that Xu Yao brought up the topic.
Xu Yao had liked Zhan Qi since middle school, but unfortunately, Zhan Qi never seemed to notice. He had been in a few relationships, and each time Xu Yao would be sad for a long time.
For Xu Yao, if Zhan Qi was dating someone she didn’t know, she could secretly pray for them to break up soon. But if Zhan Qi were to be with Luo Bei, she would be heartbroken for real.
Although Luo Bei is not her best friend now, they grew up together after all and still have a close relationship. And if Luo Bei and Zhan Qi get together, they will be talking about marriage. Both families know each other well and they have grown up together, so they will naturally take it more seriously than other exes.
Luo Bei quickly explained, “Yaoyao, if Zhan Qi and I were a good match, we would have been together long ago. It’s impossible for me and him, but for you, if you like him, you should let him know. You have to break down that window between you two sooner or later.”
After hearing Luo Bei’s words, Xu Yao felt relieved.
She knew Luo Bei well. If she said it was impossible, then it was impossible.
“I’m just afraid we won’t even be friends in the future.” Xu Yao’s eyes dimmed.
Luo Bei smiled and couldn’t deny, “Do you really want to be friends with him? Are you willing to be just friends with him?”
Xu Yao saying such things was just lying to herself, and in fact, it was just fear of rejection.
As soon as Luo Bei returned home, she could smell the aroma of steamed crabs.
The crabs that Uncle Cheng sent were all fresh. Grandma Luo was worried that if these crabs died tomorrow, they wouldn’t be able to eat them. So she decided to steam them all. But she and her granddaughter couldn’t finish them all, so they decided to give some to their tenants to eat.
As Grandma Luo prepared the seasoning for the crabs, she said, “It’s better to have good neighbors than distant relatives. When our toilet was blocked, it was the tenants who helped us fix it. And look at this leftover bacon and sausage in the fridge, they were also given by the tenants. I just like to have a good relationship with our neighbors, so we can visit each other and chat. If they have difficulties, we should help them, and if we have difficulties, they will also help us.”
In Luo Bei’s eyes, there was no one better and kinder than her Grandma in this world.
People often say that kindness invites exploitation, but in reality, it’s not always the case. At least, it wasn’t the case from what she saw.
Her Grandma was good to her neighbors, and when they were in need, they would also help her, just like Uncle Cheng did.
Actually, Luo Bei knew in her heart that her Grandma did all of this for Luo Bei’s own good. At that time, her parents had gone out and didn’t return for years. Grandma was afraid that she would be bullied, so she treated others kindly. Grandma also said that by doing good deeds and being kind to others, she hoped that these people would show more kindness to her precious granddaughter, so that she could live a slightly easier life.
Grandma believed that by accumulating good karma, it would eventually pay off for her granddaughter.
Luo Bei couldn’t understand before why her Grandma would be so good to these outsiders, but now she finally understood.
Uncle Cheng brought a lot of fresh crabs, and almost every tenant could get two. When Luo Bei went to deliver the crabs, she also picked up the fruits and vegetables that the tenants gave back…
The last place she went to was the basement.
There were now two rooms in the basement. The other tenant moved to a single room upstairs a few days ago, and now only Jiang Sihan was left in the basement.
She vaguely knew that Jiang Sihan often went hungry, so in addition to the crabs, she also brought two apples and a banana.
When Jiang Sihan opened the door and saw it was Luo Bei, he was somewhat surprised, and even more surprised when he saw what she was carrying.
“Someone gave us crabs. We can’t finish them at home, so my Grandma asked me to give two crabs to each family,” Luo Bei handed him the food, “you should eat them soon, they can’t be kept overnight.”
Jiang Sihan was silent for a moment, and then hoarsely said, “Thank you, and thank you to Grandma Luo too.”
When they talked about the Grandpa and father’s debts, I was wondering why the creditors didn’t seize the six-storey building to pay off the debt. Why the creditors didn’t make ruckus and vandalize their home to “intimidate” them to pay the debt “on-time”. Nowadays, when even the government-approved creditors will (illegally-but-still-often-happen) hire thugs to collect debts… I was amazed that their creditors seemed to be so ethical.
Then, I read about Cheng Ge. 🙂 All of sudden, I get the answer. Either the Luo relationship with Cheng Ge’s father or with Cheng Ge himself, no thugs would dare making trouble for the Luo. So, instead of the usual operation of: made ruckus and vandalize the building to ward off any (potential) tenants–>the grandma and granddaughter can’t pay debt and the building is difficult to sell–>the creditors can seize the building with a very low price which doesn’t fully pay the debt–>the grandma and granddaughter still have to pay the leftover debt and interest–>the creditors get the building and the money for years ahead.
Grandma Luo being kind and good to her neighbors is one things. And ofc, it will be paid off one way or another (even if sometimes it might not involve the object of her kindness). But, her kindness and favor for the Cheng is (imo) the main reason for the ethical creditors.