boyutpedia Chapter 74 Visiting to Borrow Money
Chapter 74 Visiting to Borrow Money
When Hong Xiaobing's uncle pushed his bicycle over the seawall, the sun was just reaching the top of the loquat tree, and the broken seashells surrounding it were tanned white and hot by the sun.
He was wearing a faded blue cotton jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a pair of liberation shoes.
The upper of the shoe is worn and frayed, and the shoelace on the left shoe was broken and re-attached, with a knot at the joint.
A snakeskin bag was tied to the back seat, its opening secured with two ropes. It was bulging and contained half a bag of sweet potatoes. They weren't very big, and their skins were still covered in mud, clearly indicating that they had just been dug up from the ground that morning.
He parked his bicycle at the entrance of the used parts warehouse but didn't come in.
He stood at the gate of the courtyard and looked inside for a long time, clutching the end of the hemp rope in his hand and rubbing it back and forth several times.
Lin Xiu'e was slicing ginger in the kitchen.
I saw him standing at the door, twisting the ends of a hemp rope for a while, but he wouldn't come in. I put down the kitchen knife, went to the door, and asked who he was looking for.
He said he was looking for a low-ranking soldier. His voice wasn't loud, and he lacked confidence.
Hong Xiaobing was squatting by the stone trough, cleaning the old water pump with Hong Ashun.
Hearing voices at the courtyard gate, he looked up and saw the person's face, the copper brush in his hand frozen in mid-air.
Hong Ashun followed his gaze to the courtyard gate and asked who this person was.
Hong Xiaobing didn't answer. He placed the copper brush on the water pump casing, stood up, wiped his hands with cotton yarn, and walked to the gate of the courtyard.
He called him "Uncle." His voice was flat, revealing no hint of closeness or distance.
Hong Xiaobing's uncle rubbed the end of the hemp rope in his hand several more times.
He cleared his throat and said that he wasn't there to visit relatives, but rather to discuss something with the service station.
He has a brother, who is Hong Xiaobing's third uncle. A while ago, he took over an old fishing boat to run a transport business, but several planks of the boat were rotten.
The grout lines on the upper plate need to be replaced, and the old diesel engine on the ship also needs a major overhaul.
He wanted to have the boat towed over for repairs first, but he was short on cash and wanted to ask if he could pay on credit and wait until next spring when he caught fish to pay back the debt.
As he spoke, he took the snakeskin bag off the back seat and put it on the ground, saying that he knew it was not easy to ask for credit, and these few pounds of sweet potatoes were not worth much, but it was just a token of his appreciation.
Hong Xiaobing squatted down to look at the half-sack of sweet potatoes, and frowned slightly when he stood up.
The rules for credit at the service station were set by Lao Fang. Fishermen could pay in installments for boat repairs, but there was a limit to the credit limit. If the limit was exceeded, Lao Fang had to personally approve it.
He had seen his third uncle's old fishing boat; several planks were rotten.
The diesel engine hasn't been maintained for many years. The cost of a major overhaul and replacement of the engine plate, including labor and materials, is not a small amount.
Hong Ashun walked over from the stone trough and squatted down next to him. He looked at the bag of sweet potatoes and said in a low voice that this was a big problem. The service station's refurbished spare parts inventory was waiting for the inspection team to take stock, and the training for the competition could not be stopped. There were not enough people to begin with.
Hong Xiaobing said there was no need to look it up. His uncle had borrowed money from his father in Baishakou to pay off gambling debts, but he never paid it back. His father had been squatting at the kitchen door for half the night because of this.
He had told his father not to lend money to this person again, but unexpectedly, he came to the service station today pushing his bike.
Hong Ashun said that your uncle was afraid you wouldn't agree, so he deliberately bypassed the service station to see if you were there first.
Hong Xiaobing stood up, dusted off his trousers, and said he couldn't make the decision; he would have to ask Brother Ping and Master Fang.
When he entered the workshop, Jiang Haiping was checking the sales records of refurbished water pumps.
He recounted the whole story of Hong Xiaobing's uncle.
Jiang Haiping turned to the page of the register on credit records, where there were still several outstanding debts from before the new year.
Next to each credit record is Lao Fang's handwritten note, indicating who bought the credit, when it was repaid, how much was repaid, and how much was left.
He called Lao Fang out of the cabin, and Lao Fang placed the torque wrench on the worktable.
I stopped at the entrance of the old parts warehouse, looked at the bag of sweet potatoes, and then at Uncle Hong Xiaobing, who was still twisting hemp rope at the gate of the courtyard.
"I've met your uncle before in Baishakou. He's a gambler and borrows money everywhere he goes to pay off his gambling debts. How much did your dad borrow from him that time?" Hong Xiaobing said he borrowed six hundred, then paid back four hundred, and still owes two hundred.
Old Fang took the cigarette out of his mouth and stubbed it out on the sole of his shoe.
He walked to the gate of the courtyard and said that there were two conditions for the service station to offer credit.
First, the amount of credit cannot exceed the cost of materials.
Secondly, the person who buys on credit must be the owner of the fishing boat, and must have the fishing boat registration certificate and the owner's fingerprint.
Hong Xiaobing's uncle said he didn't have a fishing boat registration certificate; the boat belonged to his brother, and he was just running errands for him.
Old Fang said that wouldn't work; the credit agreement had to be signed by the ship owner himself.
Hong Xiaobing's uncle paused in rubbing the end of the hemp rope, and his voice lowered slightly as he said that his brother was too embarrassed to come, so he sent him first to sound him out.
Old Fang said that repairing the boat was possible; the boat would be towed over for inspection, and repairs would be made as needed. However, the credit agreement had to be signed and sealed by the boat owner, and the interest and repayment period had to be written on it.
Service stations are not banks, but the rules are the same; everything must be explained clearly, down to the last penny.
Hong Xiaobing's uncle stood there for a while and said okay, he would go back and tell his brother to bring the boat over tomorrow.
He left the half-sack of sweet potatoes at the gate of the yard and pushed his bicycle along the seawall.
Hong Xiaobing squatted down, carried the sweet potato into the kitchen, placed it in the corner, and said, "Don't eat this sweet potato yet. Let's wait until my third uncle signs the credit agreement."
Lin Xiu'e looked down at the half-sack of sweet potatoes, placed them in the corner of the kitchen wall, and covered them with an old cotton gauze.
She thought that the service station never loosened its rules on credit, but as long as the boat owner himself came to sign the agreement, Lao Fang and Jiang Haiping would still take on the repair work.
After finishing work in the evening, Hong Xiaobing closed the windows of the old parts warehouse and tucked them in tightly with plastic sheeting.
Hong Ashun put all the old water pump impellers back in their places and finished the last entry in the logbook for today's entry and exit records.
Ding Haifeng squatted in front of the worktable and traced his hand-drawn registration form several more times. Every column had eraser marks, and every stroke was forceful.
Jiang Haiping locked the refurbished water pump registration book in a drawer and stood at the workshop door looking towards the seawall.
The inspection team will arrive tomorrow, and Hong Xiaobing's third uncle's boat should be towed over soon.
Lin Xiu'e put away the bowls and chopsticks in the kitchen, the enamel bowls making a slight clinking sound on the stove.
The fishy aroma of dried ribbonfish was carried away by the evening breeze, mingling with the smell of diesel engine oil and the saltiness of the sea.
The service station courtyard gradually quieted down, with only the sound of waves lapping against the stone trough.