I can travel back and forth in 1986

Chapter 43 Not Shedding Tears Until the Coffin is Appears

After watching Zhao Weidong leave, Zhang Dequan felt both curious and worried, but last time he asked Lao Yao, Lao Yao absolutely refused to say anything.

Zhang Beichuan looked at his grandfather, who seemed to want to say something but hesitated. He knew what his grandfather was thinking, but he didn't offer any answers to his questions.

"Let's go, Third Brother, I'm really hungry."

"Okay, sure..."

Back home, after dinner, the three little girls happily climbed on and off the bicycles parked in the yard.

"Third brother, sister-in-law, you two rest first, I'm going out for a bit."

Zhang Dequan looked up at him, his eyes understanding.

"I'll go with you, so that my brother and the others won't cause trouble later because they outnumber us."

"I'm going too!" Lan Xiuying stood up and said.

Zhang Beichuan smiled, knowing they were worried he would suffer if he went alone, and understanding that no matter how he tried to persuade them, they would still go, so he simply nodded.

"Lili, you stay home and play with your sisters. Your dad, uncle, and I have to go out for a bit, we'll be back in a little while."

Sitting on her bicycle, pretending to ride, Zhang Xiaoli responded crisply.

"Okay, Mom, don't worry, we'll take care of things at home."

As they passed the old locust tree at the village entrance, several villagers who were cooling off saw Zhang Beichuan and cast curious glances at him.

"Yingzi, Dequan, where are you going so late at night?"

Lan Xiuying looked at the curious expressions of the women in the village and felt a little embarrassed.

"I'm going to see my older brother; there's something I need to discuss."

Upon hearing this, several villagers immediately remembered that, according to the time, today was the day Zhang Beichuan had agreed to collect debts from his elder brother.

Anyway, it was too hot to sleep that night, and since everyone had nothing better to do, they decided to follow the three of them to see what was going on.

At the same time, I also want to see how much money I made in those 20 days.

Anyway, these illiterate villagers couldn't figure out what was going on with the account no matter how they tried.

Zhang Beichuan looked at the growing crowd behind him and listened to their hushed discussions, but ignored them.

Zhao Weidong, who had agreed to come and be a witness, was worried that so many people had come to join in the fun, and that it would have a bad influence.

After all, brothers fighting amongst themselves isn't a good thing if word gets out.

"Why are you all following along? If you have nothing to do, go home and get some sleep. What's so interesting about this?"

Whispers immediately arose from the crowd.

"Tch~ Just became captain and already acting all high and mighty. What business is it of yours if I'm just watching the show?"

Zhang Beichuan looked at Zhao Weidong, who was frowning, and smiled.

"Captain Zhao, it's alright, everyone can go if they want."

Anyway, Zhang Dezhong wasn't his real brother, so he didn't feel embarrassed at all. Besides, the more people, the better.

In front of so many people, he wanted to see how Zhang Dezhong would cheat.

As we arrived at Zhang Dezhong's courtyard, we could hear Wang Guifen laughing and talking to her children and husband from inside.

"This year has been a bumper harvest. You've all been working hard these past few days. Eat slowly, and I'll cook more if you're still hungry."

As soon as she finished speaking, Wang Guifen looked up and saw a group of people walking towards her through the bamboo fence, chattering away.

Upon closer inspection, Zhang Beichuan was walking in front, followed by Lao San and his wife, team leader Zhao Weidong, and villagers who were watching the commotion.

The saying "enemies are especially hostile when they meet" is absolutely true.

"What are you doing here?"

Zhang Dezhong, who was eating in the courtyard, heard the noise, put down his chopsticks, and came out with a furrowed brow.

Zhang Jianguo followed behind him, looking at Zhang Beichuan with a wary expression.

"Brother, sister-in-law, good evening." Zhang Beichuan smiled, but his tone was cold. "Today's the day to collect debts."

"Collect debts? Collect what debts?"

Zhang Dezhong remembered the contract, but he never expected that Zhang Beichuan would actually come to collect it on the appointed day with so many people.

"Brother, you really do have a bad memory." Zhang Beichuan slowly pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket. "Twenty days ago, we signed a contract in front of the village secretary and the villagers. It's in black and white, with red handprints. You wouldn't deny it, would you?"

Zhang Dezhong's face flushed red and then turned pale; he couldn't deny it no matter what.

But then he thought again, it wasn't much money anyway, and he might as well just pay up and send them away.

"All done? Now, how much?"

Zhang Beichuan looked at him with a smile, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

"It's not much, just one thousand and forty-eight dollars, fifty-seven and fifty-five cents. We're brothers, so let's forget about the odd amount; just give us the exact amount."

"How...how much?" Zhang Dezhong gasped, startled by the number, and took a half step back.

"1048.575, round it down to 1000 yuan." Zhang Beichuan repeated each word clearly, his voice so distinct that the onlookers outside the courtyard could hear it clearly.

The courtyard was deathly silent; everyone was terrified by the number.

Wang Guifen's rice bowl fell to the ground with a thud, spilling food all over the floor.

She acted as if she hadn't seen him, and just stared intently at Zhang Beichuan.

"Are you crazy for money? A thousand dollars? Why don't you just rob someone!"

Zhang Dezhong also snapped out of his shock, his face flushed, veins throbbing on his forehead, and he pointed at Zhang Beichuan.

"Youngest brother! You...you're trying to scam me?"

Zhang Beichuan's smile faded, but his eyes turned cold.

"It's all in black and white, with red handprints—who am I trying to extort?"

"Impossible! How could there be so much! You must be crazy for money!" Wang Guifen said, hands on her hips, looking at him with disbelief.

Zhang Beichuan remained calm as he looked at Zhao Weidong to the side.

"Captain Zhao, since my elder brother and sister-in-law don't believe us, why don't you help us calculate how much it will cost for twenty days?"

The villagers who came to watch the spectacle couldn't help but wonder, seeing Zhang Beichuan's calm expression, if what he said was true.

You can earn 1 cent a day, 2 cents every two days, and double that way. After 20 days, you could really earn more than 1000 yuan.

Everyone found it unbelievable and turned their attention to Zhao Weidong.

"Alright, since Xiao Chuan invited me to be the witness, I'll do the calculation in front of everyone. Dezhong, Guifen, do you have any objections?"

When he said this, Zhao Huaiguo's heart was also very unsettled.

The Zhang couple, equally confused, naturally didn't believe Zhang Beichuan's claims.

"Fine, whatever! Who's afraid of who!"

Zhang Beichuan watched as they remained relentless until the very end, a slight smile playing on his lips. He then turned to look at his grandparents, whose eyes were wide with disbelief.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Weidong had someone fetch paper and pen, and began to calculate the accounts in front of everyone.

The first day was 0.001, the second day was 0.002, and so on until the 10th day, when the total was only 0.512 yuan.

The villagers who had gathered around Zhao Weidong glanced at Zhang Beichuan, who was resting with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

「第12天，2.048元；第13天，4.096元；第14天，8.192元.......」

As the number of days increased, by the sixteenth day, everyone was getting a little excited; it had already reached 32.768 yuan.

When the final day's figures were announced, Zhao Weidong felt his throat go dry and swallowed hard.

"Day 20, 524.288 yuan."

The crowd immediately erupted in uproar. Even though the total for the 20 days hadn't been added up yet, the amount of money on the last day alone had already reached over five hundred.

Adding those 20 days together, it's quite possible that the number could actually exceed one thousand!

At this moment, everyone's gaze towards Zhang Beichuan changed.

At first, everyone thought Zhang Beichuan was just a pretty face with no substance, that he would so easily agree to sign a contract that seemed like child's play.

But now it seems that everyone was wrong, and quite terribly wrong!