The next morning, Qi Taiguo waited for Chen Shouwang at the entrance of the military base.
Chen Shouwang walked over and was taken aback when he saw Qi Taiguo, forcing a smile. He could fool Hualing, but could he deceive Qi Taiguo, who was said to have eagle eyes?
"We need to talk," Qi Taiguo said indifferently, glancing at Chen Shouwang’s still pale face and handed him a cigarette.
Chen Shouwang sighed and followed him to a resting spot, where they sat down.
"Spit it out, what exactly happened?" Qi Taiguo got straight to the point, "Don’t try to smooth-talk me like you do your wife; I won’t fall for it. Did you, or did you not, go and sell your blood?"
Chen Shouwang paused mid-drag and then put on a bitter smile, inhaling the smoke deeply before exhaling sharply.
Seeing his reaction, Qi Taiguo immediately became furious, "Have you lost your mind? Selling blood? Do you not care about your health? You’re a soldier—if your health fails, can you continue to serve in the military?"
"What else could I do? I need money." Chen Shouwang retorted angrily, scoffing at him, "I’m not like you, having a wife who can earn a good income, money to burn."
Qi Taiguo frowned, "What do you mean by that?"
Chen Shouwang turned his face away and said nothing.
"Is it because of those two thugs? What exactly happened? If you don’t tell us, how can we help you?" Qi Taiguo pressed directly, "If it’s about money, while we’re not rich enough to rival the nation, we can still pitch in. How could you be so foolish?"
Chen Shouwang let out a self-mocking laugh, "What should I say? That Chen Shouwang is so pathetic, I can’t even afford to buy a fan for my wife, so I had to borrow from loan sharks, and now they’re knocking on my door for repayment?"
"What? You took out a high-interest loan?" Qi Taiguo rose in shock, "You took on high-interest debt?"
This had to be the most absurd thing he’d ever heard— a soldier resorting to high-interest loans, just to buy a fan for his wife?
"She kept pestering and insisting. Seeing everyone buying fans like they’re free, she demanded one too, accusing me of marrying her," Chen Shouwang roared with indignation, "Divorce? How can I divorce? My parents went into debt to get me married, how could it end in divorce?"
"Are you crazy? Hualing’s being unreasonable, but what’s your excuse? Can’t you talk sense into her instead of letting things get this bad?" Qi Taiguo was deeply disappointed.
He had thought about it all of last night, considering that if Chen Shouwang was selling blood, it must be because his family needed the money, especially since his family in the countryside was struggling.
If Hualing had been willing to listen to me, would I have dug this hole for myself?" Chen Shouwang sneered mockingly, "And don’t speak so poorly of others. Cheng Su wasn’t easy to deal with either. We all saw the mess that became."
"Chen Shouwang!" Qi Taiguo clenched his fist, ready to strike.
Chen Shouwang just looked at him coldly.
Qi Taiguo gritted his teeth and lowered his fist, "How much did you borrow?"
Chen Shouwang, who had also been carried away in the heat of the moment, regretted his words almost instantly. Now that Qi Taiguo was not holding it against him, he quickly took the opportunity to step back, "One hundred yuan!"
"Just one hundred yuan! If you had told us, your comrades, could we not have raised that amount? Why would you stupidly go and sell your blood?" Qi Taiguo was exasperated.
Chen Shouwang sneered at him with full sarcasm, "You’re lucky, having a wife who makes money. You don’t understand. With usury, you pay back nearly double. I borrowed one hundred yuan, couldn’t repay it, and with the interest piling up, it’s now two hundred and twenty!"