Movie: Get Alpha Dog at the start

Chapter 1113 Zhuang Tunan Instructs His Father

After experiencing depression during the special period, Xuanmiao Temple became prosperous in the 1980s. Song Ying often went to the temple to burn incense so that Lin Dongzhe could be admitted to No. 1 Middle School.

Due to the large flow of people, it has also become a gathering place for many small vendors. The street where Xuanmiao Temple is located is called Guanqian Street, which has become a famous small commodity market in Suzhou.

Qin Hao and his group walked through the surging crowd and arrived in front of Deyue Tower. Huang Ling suddenly felt a little emotional.

“Deyue Building was restored and moved here in 82, but I never thought of eating here.”

As a traditional time-honored brand, Deyuelou's prices are naturally not cheap. A meal here costs at least a hundred yuan, which is equivalent to two or three months' salary for the ordinary working class. It's not that they can't afford it, but they can't bear to spend it.

Seeing that Huang Ling seemed a little sad, Zhuang Tunan changed the subject and said to Zhuang Xiaoting, "Xiaoting, let me test you. Do you know where the name Deyue Tower came from?"

Before Zhuang Xiaoting could speak, Lin Dongzhe said, "Brother Tunan, you underestimate us too much. After all, we will soon be top students of Jiaotong University."

"This Deyue Tower was built during the reign of Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty for the governor of Shengping Prefecture. Two round columns in front of the tower stand out from the lotus pond, and half of the tower faces southeast, passing across the water. On a clear night, if you climb up to the Deyue Tower, you can see the bright moon hanging high above your head and the golden light floating in the lake."

"As the saying goes: I am alone on the riverside tower, thinking quietly, the moonlight is like water and the water is like the sky. Over time, the name of the Moon Tower was decided. Unfortunately, this place was restored later, and there is no way to restore the original beauty."

After hearing this, the waiter praised him repeatedly: "This young comrade is indeed a top student of Jiaotong University, and he is very knowledgeable. To be honest, I have worked in Deyue Building for several years and I don't know the origin of this name."

Song Ying's appetite suddenly increased after hearing this, and she ordered the signature dishes: squirrel mandarin fish, Deyue chicken, cherry meat, sauce recipe, and Suzhou-style boat dishes.

After the waiter left, Song Ying said to Huang Ling in an incredible tone: "I never thought in my life that I would hear others praise Lin Dongzhe for his profound knowledge. Sister Ling, you know, as the saying goes, you can tell a person's future from the age of three. When Lin Dongzhe was three years old, I thought that this kid would probably end up working in a factory like me."

Huang Ling was also happy: "How is it? Does it feel like a dream?"

Song Ying nodded repeatedly, the joy and pride on her face were beyond words.

While waiting for the food to be served, Lin Wufeng suddenly asked Qin Hao: "Haozi, have you found a job yet? Are you going to join the chess academy or take the postgraduate entrance examination?"

"Uncle Lin, Li Jia and I have an appointment to go to the Shanghai Planning Bureau."

Lin Wufeng felt a little regretful when he heard this. In his heart, he actually thought that it would be better to take the postgraduate entrance examination to continue his studies.

Song Ying's eyes lit up: "Then you are assigned together. When do you plan to get things done?"

"I'll have to ask Li Jia for her opinion on this matter later."

"It should, it should."

Hearing that Qin Hao was getting married soon, Huang Ling also started to worry about Zhuang Tunan's marriage.

"Tunan, if you meet a suitable girl in school, try to get in touch with her. I heard that there are few girls in the construction industry..."

Zhuang Tunan was a little embarrassed: "Mom, graduate students are also students, the school is very strict in this regard..."

"It doesn't matter if you hold on tight. Look, Haozi has been dating since college. I'm not asking you to get married right away. If you meet the right person, keep dating."

Fortunately, the food was finally served at this time. Zhuang Tunan quickly put a piece of cherry meat into Huang Ling's bowl, which gave him a chance to change the subject.

"Well, it's worthy of being a time-honored brand. The taste is indeed much better than what we make at home."

"It's a pity that it's too expensive, otherwise I would come here every day and use it as a canteen."

After eating and drinking, Qin Hao and his party left Deyue Tower. It must be said that the consumption here is indeed not cheap. A meal cost nearly two hundred yuan, which is equivalent to four months' salary of an ordinary worker. Of course, compared with a meal at the Peace Hotel that costs thousands of yuan, Deyue Tower is already considered cheap.

"Hey, Tunan, Xiaoting, you guys are here to go shopping too."

Zhuang Tunan looked back and said in a distant and calm tone, "Yes, Zhendong Zhenbei, are grandpa and grandma in good health?"

"It's okay. I just keep talking about you... and Xiao Ting."

"It's okay, we have something else to do so we'll leave first, you guys continue shopping."

As Zhuang Tunan spoke, he ignored the hesitation of his two cousins, and holding Huang Ling with one hand and Zhuang Xiaoting with the other, he followed the pace of Qin Hao and his party.

"Humph, uncle keeps complaining to us about being poor every day, saying how it's not easy for his mother to raise two children alone, and how it's not easy for her to afford to eat at Deyuelou?" Zhuang Zhendong said indignantly.

Zhuang Zhenbei also echoed: "That's right, our family has never eaten at Deyuelou."

"No, I have to go back and tell my uncle not to be fooled by his mother."

"What aunt? My uncle divorced her a long time ago."

"Yes, why should we give her money since we are divorced?"

After returning to the banker's house, the two brothers Zhendong and Zhenbei vividly recounted what they had seen at the gate of Deyue Tower, adding some exaggeration.

Upon hearing this, Grandma Zhuang said sarcastically, "I said that Huang Ling is the best at pretending to be pitiful. She said that it's hard to raise a child alone, but her salary is higher than Chaoying's. I heard that she often does handicrafts and earns more than her salary in a month."

"It's just that our Chaoying is honest. He believed her lies and even gave her half of his salary to raise the child. But she went to Deyue Tower for a banquet. My goodness, I have lived for more than 60 years and I still don't know which direction the door of Deyue Tower opens."

Mr. Zhuang slammed the table fiercely: "Go and call Chaoying back!"

"Grandpa, I'll go." Zhuang Zhendong volunteered.

Not long after, Zhuang Chaoying was called back. At first he thought there was something wrong with his parents' health and was shocked. But when he got home and saw that the atmosphere at home was not right, he immediately felt uneasy.

Sure enough, after listening to Zhuang Zhendong's vivid description of the scene he saw in front of Deyue Tower, Zhuang Chaoying knew that something bad was going to happen.

Mr. Zhuang said angrily, "Starting from next month, don't send money to Tunan anymore. You've been sending him money for a year, and except for a visit during the Chinese New Year last year, he hasn't come since. Who are we? We are his grandparents, and you always use the critical moment of the postgraduate entrance examination as an excuse. I think it was Huang Ling who gave him the idea to use our kindness to cheat him out of money!"

Grandma Zhuang spoke in a Suzhou accent, "Chaoying, your father is right. The money you sent to Tunan last year was at least three or four hundred yuan, but he doesn't know how to be grateful at all. You can't feed such an ungrateful person. We might as well buy a few more pounds of ribs with that money to save him from squandering it. That's our hard-earned money."

Zhuang Chaoying looked very unhappy. In fact, he had never sent money to his son. It was just a word from his son last year that woke him up. At his age, he didn't even have a place to stay.

So he withheld half a month's salary every month and did not hand it over, actually intending to save it for buying a house.

As it turns out, it’s only been a year and I’m still far from having enough money to buy a house.

"Dad, Mom, I know Huang Ling. She is reluctant to spend her own money to have a banquet in such an expensive place. It should be Song Ying from next door who treated them. You misunderstood her and Tuanan." Zhuang Chaoying said cautiously.

The two brothers Zhendong and Zhenbei retorted: "Who would invite people to a banquet for no reason at such an expensive place like Uncle Deyue Tower? And Aunt is not a leader."

Zhuang Chaoying said quietly, "You don't understand the situation of Song Ying's family. Qin Hao treats Song Ying better than his own family. He won the China-Japan Go Tournament again this time, and the prize money is at least 20,000 yuan. It should be to celebrate Lin Dongzhe's admission to Jiaotong University. Qin Hao treated everyone to a meal, and Song Ying brought Huang Ling and the others along."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhuang's expression eased a little, but Mrs. Zhuang became sour.

"That guy surnamed Qin is simply a rebellious person. He is not filial to his own grandparents and is so close to an outsider who has no blood relationship with him. The most hateful thing is that he even meddles in our family affairs. If he hadn't backed Huang Ling up, how would Huang Ling dare to divorce you?"

The corners of Zhuang Chaoying's mouth twitched, but he did not refute. He agreed with his parents' point of view on this point. If Qin Hao had not interfered, he would not have ended up with Huang Ling today, and his eldest son Zhuang Tunan would not have become a stranger to him.

"What's the point of saying all this? The key now is how to get Tuanan close to us again. Tuanan is now a graduate student. He is even more capable than a college student. In the future, he will definitely be assigned a leadership position. Zhendong and Zhenbei will have to rely on him for help then." Grandpa Zhuang knocked on the table.

These words immediately resonated with Mr. and Mrs. Zhuang Ganmei. Their two sons both failed the college entrance examination this year. They didn't know whether they could be admitted to university if they repeated the exam. Their hopes of finding a good job in the future were slim. The best outcome would be for him to take their place in the factory and get a stable job.

But the family only has this one house, and if the two brothers want to get married, they need money for the house, the gift price, and the three transfers and one ring. Their salary, plus the subsidy from their parents, is not enough.

Zhuang Tunan is different. He will definitely become an official after graduating from graduate school. He can find a good job for Zhendong and Zhenbei with a little talk, with high salary. As long as he hands over a small part of the money and saves for a few years, he can buy a house for the two brothers.

"Dad, Tunan..." Zhuang Chaoying mustered up the courage and was about to say a few words for his son.

As a result, Master Zhuang glared at him and said, "What? Is there something wrong with what I said? It's not good for a person to be good. People should know how to repay kindness. If Tunan gets better, as long as we help a little, Zhendong and Zhenbei will also have a place to stay, and our family will get better. As an older brother, shouldn't I help my younger brothers and sisters?"

Zhuang Chaoying was instantly deflated.

"But, I have thought of everything I can think of."

Grandma Zhuang suddenly said, "Chaoying, you have kept the receipts for sending money to Tunan, right?"

"No... it's lost."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Zhuang immediately yelled angrily, "How could you throw it away, you stupid fool? It's all evidence!"

"Evidence? Mom, what do you want to do?" Zhuang Chaoying's heart shuddered.

Mr. Zhuang said as a matter of course: "Humph, you send money to Tunan every month. If he is unfilial in the future, this will be the evidence. Then we can find the leaders of their unit. I don't believe that their leaders will let such an unfilial person take on such an important task..."

"Dad, Mom, you are going to ruin Tuanan." Zhuang Chaoying looked at the two elders in disbelief.

Mr. Zhuang said sternly, "How can we call it ruin? Of course we hope that he can become as high an official as possible, but the key is that he must be filial. If he is as unfilial as that kid named Qin, it is better not to raise such a child."

"Starting from next month, remember to keep the receipt for the money you send to Tunan."

It was late at night and Zhuang Chaoying was lying on the wooden bed in the school dormitory. His mind was filled with the words his parents had said during the day and he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

Early the next morning, Zhuang Chaoying came to the cotton mill's family lane, but stopped not far from the courtyard. After thinking about it for a whole night, he still couldn't figure out how to talk to his son.

People greeted him from time to time. Zhuang Chaoying had taught quite a few children from Jiajun Lane in the past, and the parents still remembered him to some extent.

Just when Zhuang Chaoying was hesitating, a simple and honest voice came from behind him.

"Uncle, you came to see Tunan and Xiaoting, right? Why don't you come in?"

Zhuang Chaoying turned around and saw Xiang Pengfei carrying large and small bags of luggage.

"Pengfei, are you back from Guizhou?"

"Well, my mother also asked me to bring you some local specialties. You can take them back and try them later."

Having said that, Xiang Pengfei pulled Zhuang Chaoying into the courtyard.

Huang Ling was originally mending clothes for Zhuang Xiaoting in the yard. After hearing Xiang Pengfei's loud voice, she immediately went back to the house. It was not because she was afraid of Zhuang Chaoying, but because she did not want to quarrel in front of her children.

When Zhuang Tunan saw Zhuang Chaoying, he simply called out, "Dad."

Then he pulled Xiang Pengfei to his side and scolded him with a dark face: "Why did you only get such a low score in the college entrance examination this time? Did you slack off in class?"

"Mo Yu" was a phrase Qin Hao often used when he taught Lin Dongzhe a lesson. Zhuang Tunan was used to hearing it and started to use it casually. Later, he got used to using it to criticize Xiang Pengfei.

"Brother Tunan, my uncle wants to talk to you about something. I'm going to go tell my aunt that I'm safe first."

After saying that, Xiang Pengfei ran into the house. This was the reason why he was so enthusiastic towards Zhuang Chaoying just now. He just didn't dislike Zhuang Chaoying, but he couldn't say that he was close to her. On the contrary, after all these years of getting along, he had already regarded Huang Ling as a family member, and he also disliked the people Huang Ling disliked.

"Dad, do you have something to talk to me about?" Zhuang Tunan saw that his father seemed to be hesitant to speak, and could not help but speak first.

Zhuang Chaoying hesitated for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "Tunan, your grandmother found out about the private money I hid. Can I send you half of my salary every month and you save it for me?"

Zhuang Tunan was stunned for a moment: "Dad, you still hand over half of your salary to grandpa and grandma?"

Zhuang Chaoying was speechless for a moment.

"Dad, I don't understand why you, a high school teacher, live such a miserable life. When you stand on the podium and write passionately with your students, don't you feel guilty?"

Zhuang Tunan said word by word: "A teacher is to impart knowledge and resolve doubts, cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the country and bring peace to the world. Which of these have you achieved?"

Zhuang Chaoying felt as if struck by lightning, his whole body seemed to be frozen in time, Zhuang Tunan's words kept echoing in his mind, and the voices became louder and louder, shaking his eardrums.

"Dad~~~Dad, what's wrong with you?"

"Pfft~"

A mouthful of blood flowed out from the corner of Zhuang Chaoying's mouth, but he walked out of the yard stiffly as if nothing had happened, completely ignoring Zhuang Xiaoting who was crying behind him.