Volume One, Chapter 12: Li Tianhu Is in Trouble
Li Family Ditch!
A small village, few people!
Nestled right next to Xiantao Village.
If Xiantao Village resembled a gourd, then Li Family Ditch was its lid!
Walking from one end of the village to the other took just a few minutes.
When Guo Dong arrived here with Heizi, he didn’t see a single soul.
Heizi wagged his tail, running around joyfully, occasionally marking a tree with his unique scent.
It wasn’t until they reached Li Tianhu’s house that they finally encountered someone alive.
“Auntie, is someone cooking?”
A three-story small building with a large courtyard!
Li Tianhu’s family was quite prominent in the village.
His father was the village chief of Li Family Ditch, and the family was relatively well-off.
In this surrounding area, no one was unaware of them.
In the courtyard, a woman was washing vegetables.
Hearing the sound, she looked up.
“Oh, Guodong! You’re looking for Tianhu, right? He’s not home. That guy went out early this morning and still hasn’t returned.”
Guo Dong paused upon hearing this.
“He even came to see me this morning. And now it’s this late, and he still hasn’t come back?”
The woman got up, casually wiping her hands on her apron, then hurried inside to fetch a stool.
At that moment, a middle-aged man came out of the house, holding a phone in his right hand and a cigarette between the fingers of his left.
“Guodong’s here! Sit down, want a smoke?”
“No, thanks!”
Guo Dong quickly waved his hand, not sitting down but smiling instead.
“Uncle, I didn’t come to see Tianhu today. I’m here to repay some money!”
The woman was stunned for a moment, and even Li Huasheng gave Guo Dong a deep look.
“Boy, you mean the money Tianhu owed for hauling sand, right? No rush, I don’t know about that. You should talk to Tianhu about it!”
Li Huasheng took a long drag from his cigarette, flicked the ash to the ground, and tapped the cigarette butt with his shoe.
Smiling, he said, “Sit down first, I’ll get you some water!”
Guo Dong quickly stopped him.
“Uncle, it’s not about the sand money. It’s the thirty thousand yuan you lent my father!”
The courtyard fell silent.
The woman turned her gaze toward Li Huasheng, whose expression shifted noticeably.
“Boy, what nonsense are you talking about? When did I ever lend your dad money?” His eyes darted nervously, frequently glancing at his wife, clearly afraid she’d find out.
“Uncle, today I sold the peaches! You must have heard Tianhu mention it—over two hundred peach trees. Sold them for three hundred thousand!”
Phew!
The woman, initially about to scold Li Huasheng, turned her attention back to Guo Dong.
Li Huasheng seemed unable to react, standing by the door, lost in thought for quite some time.
“How much?”
“Three hundred thousand!” Guo Dong laughed. “For now, I only sold part of it. The buyer will come back tomorrow; I should be able to sell tens of thousands more.”
“Uncle, my dad once told me he borrowed thirty thousand yuan from you. You wouldn’t forget that, right?”
Seeing Li Huasheng still didn’t believe him, Guo Dong had no choice but to explain.
“Uncle, everyone in our village knows about selling peaches. Before coming here, I cleared all their debts.
I came today specifically to repay you, and it has nothing to do with Tianhu.
I’ll pay Tianhu back myself another day!”
Hearing this, Li Huasheng couldn’t keep up the act any longer and turned to go inside.
After a few minutes, he reappeared, holding a loan receipt, and handed it to Guo Dong.
“Boy, I nearly forgot. That was years ago!”
He glanced at his wife, looking somewhat guilty.
Guo Dong took the receipt, glanced over it, then casually put it away and pulled out his phone to start transferring the money.
“Three years’ worth, including interest. Please check!”
What was there to check?
Li Huasheng never intended to take the money!
If Guo Dong’s father were still alive, maybe he would have said something on his own.
But Guo Dong’s father was dead.
Not long after borrowing the money, he died.
He lost everything overnight gambling and then took his own life!
It caused quite a stir back then.
He left behind an elderly family member and a child; it was pitiful.
Moreover, Li Huasheng was on good terms with the deceased and had even saved Guo Dong’s father’s life once, so he kept quiet to give the remaining two a chance.
He even lied to his own wife, saying the money was lost, which led to several days of arguing.
Now, Guo Dong had made something of himself—he could even make money growing peaches.
Li Huasheng didn’t say much.
He was a man of few words; if you had the ability to repay, then repay.
“Guodong, you really sold peaches for three hundred thousand?”
Only now did Li Tianhu’s mother come to her senses.
“Auntie, thirty yuan a jin. If I hadn’t made money, I wouldn’t have the nerve to come to your house!”
The woman sighed, looking Guo Dong over and over.
She just couldn’t understand.
What kind of peaches could sell at such a high price?
If possible, she’d have her son grow them—wouldn’t they be rich after a few years?
As they were talking, Guo Dong’s phone, which he had been holding tightly, suddenly rang.
He glanced at the caller ID, hesitated slightly, then stepped aside to answer quietly.
The call lasted less than a minute.
When he returned, his expression had subtly changed.
“Uncle, can I borrow your motorcycle for a bit?”
“What’s up? Something wrong?”
“Nothing major, just need to go to town.”
Li Huasheng didn’t think much, took the keys from his pocket, and handed them to Guo Dong.
“It’s parked right outside. Be careful!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Guo Dong snatched the keys and dashed out.
“Uncle, please take care of Heizi!”
With that, the motorcycle roared to life and sped off, leaving behind the barking dog.
His owner had abandoned him at someone else’s house—no responsibility at all.
“This kid, why so anxious?”
“Young people, it’s normal!”
“By the way, have you called Tianhu? It’s so late, and he’s still not back!”
“Called, but no answer!”
The elderly couple talked about their son, completely unaware that Guo Dong’s urgency was because of Li Tianhu.
Just now, he had received a strange call.
Li Tianhu had been out drinking with a group and got into a fight in town.
Good grief!
They didn’t call him when drinking but thought of him during a fight.
True friends!
Guo Dong drove fast.
It was less than a kilometer from here to the town, and in a few minutes, he arrived at the restaurant where Li Tianhu was.
When he got there, Li Tianhu’s face was bruised and swollen, blood still trickling from his head.
He was angrily shouting at someone!
He seemed heavily intoxicated, staggering slightly.
Four or five young men surrounded him, one holding a beer bottle, ready to smash it.
As for the friends who had been drinking with Li Tianhu, Guo Dong saw none.
Seeing this, Guo Dong didn’t hesitate. He jumped off the bike and charged over.
“Everyone, damn it, stop right now!”