Chapter 15: Pay Me Back! Is Delivering Food Shameful?

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Pay Me Back! Is Delivering Food Shameful?

Hearing his mom’s words, Zhang Lin knew she was still dwelling on their debt.

The family’s debt was a constant weight on her mind.

Sure enough, when he looked at his mom again, her spirits were clearly low.

That kind of mood wasn’t doing her health any good.

’It’s about time I let her in on some of it, just to ease her mind.’

With that thought, he said to her, "Mom, I didn’t know about what happened with Zhang Dong’s family before. Now that I do, when we go to the hospital later, we should pay back the 50,000 we owe them."

"Where are we going to find 50,000 right now!" Lin Yan sighed heavily again.

She wanted to pay off the debt too, so her son wouldn’t have to carry this burden at such a young age. The problem was, they really didn’t have the money.

"Mom, we do. We can afford it!" Zhang Lin said, quickly pulling out his phone and showing the balance to his mom. "Look!"

Lin Yan saw the balance on the phone and was clearly stunned.

She counted the digits uncertainly. It was over 180,000.

This made her anxious, and she quickly asked, "Lin, how do you have so much money? There are some things we can’t do, even if they make a lot of money!"

As she spoke, her anxiety clearly grew.

’It’s not right for my son to have earned so much money in such a short time.’

She had heard a story before about someone in the village who had been a street punk, racked up over a million in gambling debts, and then got involved in illegal online activities. He made several million in half a month, not only paying off his debts but also buying a car and a house. His family became incredibly arrogant.

But he didn’t get to enjoy his new wealth for two months before the police showed up. Not only was all the income confiscated, but he was also sentenced to ten years in prison.

Even though their family owed over a million, she would rather get better and struggle a bit with her son to pay it back slowly. She couldn’t bear the thought of him taking a desperate risk and going down the wrong path because of the debt.

’What would we do if he really ended up in prison for ten years like that guy from the village?’

Zhang Lin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at his mom’s words.

’Where is her mind wandering?’

However, seeing how worried she was, he quickly explained, "Mom, don’t worry yourself sick. Didn’t I tell you I was going into the honey peach wholesale business with someone? This is the money I earned from that."

"You can make this much money from wholesaling honey peaches?" Lin Yan was clearly surprised, then she seized on the key point. "But even if it’s profitable, to make so much in such a short time, you must have needed a lot of capital. Where did you get the capital?"

Zhang Lin found this question hard to answer. He couldn’t just say he bought the honey peaches for 4 yuan a pound and sold them for 30, could he?

Even though it was the truth, no sane person would believe it if he said it out loud.

He could only make something up. "Mom, I went to college, you know. I have some wealthy classmates. You don’t think Dad could borrow so much money, but your own son couldn’t attract a little investment, do you? Besides, this is just the beginning. We’ll be able to pay off our family’s debt very soon."

The truth was that he hadn’t been able to attract any investment at all, but he knew what to say to his mom to calm her down.

Sure enough, Lin Yan breathed a sigh of relief. That made sense. Her husband had managed to borrow hundreds of thousands, so it wasn’t strange that their outstanding son could attract some investment.

In this regard, a mother will always unconditionally believe her son is the most outstanding.

Still, Lin Yan reminded him, "Lin, since your classmate invested in you, you have to work hard and not mess around. For someone to be willing to lend a hand to our family in our situation, that’s a debt of gratitude we owe for a lifetime."

"I know, Mom. Let’s hurry up and eat. We still have to go see Ergen at the hospital later." Zhang Lin said quickly.

Ergen’s full name was Zhang Ergen, and he was Zhang Dong’s father.

"Okay, okay!" Lin Yan nodded immediately. At that moment, the worried look on her face had faded considerably.

Seeing this, Zhang Lin also felt much more at ease.

His mom had let go of that heavy burden, putting aside the anxiety over their debt. That would definitely be good for her health.

After finishing dinner, Zhang Lin left with his mom and headed to the county hospital. On the way, he bought a fruit basket from a shop outside the hospital.

You can’t go visit someone in the hospital empty-handed.

After entering the hospital, Zhang Lin followed his mom to a room in the orthopedics department. There, he saw Ergen, who had been in the car accident. One of his legs was in traction, covered in a thick cast, and one of his arms was the same. His injuries were clearly not light.

Still, it was a great blessing just to be alive after a car crash.

By the hospital bed were Mrs. Ergen and Zhang Dong.

Zhang Dong was peeling fruit for Ergen.

Mrs. Ergen wore a worried expression.

Zhang Lin had seen that same worried look on his own mother countless times. Zhang Dong’s family was obviously in a tight spot right now; otherwise, they wouldn’t have needed to borrow money for the hospitalization and surgery.

"Lin Yan, Lin, you’re here," Zhang Ergen said quickly, greeting the mother and son as they entered.

"Ergen, are you okay?" Zhang Lin immediately stepped forward to greet him.

Lin Yan handed the fruit basket she was carrying to Mrs. Ergen.

"You shouldn’t have brought anything!" Zhang Ergen said hastily when he saw the gift. He was well aware of Zhang Lin’s family situation; they were in a much tougher spot than his own family.

A cerebral hemorrhage strikes without warning, and a perfectly fine family was turned upside down just like that.

"Zhang Dong, why didn’t you say anything about what happened to Ergen? Are you trying to cut ties with our family or something?" Zhang Lin said to Zhang Dong, his tone a little reproachful.

"Zhang Lin, what are you talking about?" Zhang Dong quickly denied it. He was about to explain when his phone rang. Seeing the number, a difficult expression crossed his face—it was his girlfriend. He quickly excused himself and stepped out of the room to take the call.

Zhang Lin saw that his mom was already chatting idly with Mrs. Ergen, so he spoke with Ergen for a few moments before suddenly changing the subject. "Ergen, there’s another reason I came today. My dad borrowed 50,000 from you for his business. I’m here to pay it back."

"Lin, where did you get that much money?" Zhang Ergen’s brow furrowed. "Our family isn’t short on cash right now. You don’t need to rush to pay it back."

But while he was still speaking, Zhang Lin had already opened WeChat on his phone and transferred the 50,000 to Ergen. "Ergen, paying back a debt is only right and proper, isn’t it? If I have the money, I should pay it back first. Don’t worry, I’m doing fine."

Zhang Ergen picked up his phone, saw the transfer notification, and could only sigh. "Lin, you’re going to be successful. No one your age in the village is as mature as you."

Seeing this, Mrs. Ergen, who was standing nearby, added emotionally, "Lin, you’ve had a tough time, but your maturity is enviable. If only Dong were half as sensible as you, we’d have so much less to worry about."

Both of them spoke from the heart.

Their family was indeed going through a difficult time. Because they knew Zhang Lin’s family was also struggling, they hadn’t thought of bothering them. But now that Zhang Lin had actually transferred the 50,000, they couldn’t refuse it, because this money could truly help them overcome their current crisis.

Zhang Lin stayed in the hospital room a little longer, waiting for his mom and Mrs. Ergen to finish their chat before he and his mom said their goodbyes and left.

Watching the mother and son leave, Zhang Ergen didn’t forget to instruct his wife, "Don’t tell anyone about Lin coming to pay back the money."

"I know!"

The couple both knew why Zhang Lin had come to repay the debt. He must have found out that they’d had to borrow money.

He probably had to scrape that 50,000 together from all over.

But Zhang Lin’s family still owed money to other people. If those others found out he had paid back their 50,000, someone might get upset and start making a fuss.

After Zhang Lin and his mom went downstairs and were about to leave, they saw Zhang Dong by a trash can, chain-smoking with a worried and utterly dejected look on his face.

It was clear something was wrong.

Zhang Lin quickly walked over and asked, "Zhang Dong, what’s with the long face? What happened?"

When Zhang Dong saw it was him, he sighed heavily and asked in frustration, "Zhang Lin, tell me... is it shameful that I’m a delivery driver, earning money through honest hard work, not stealing or robbing anyone?"