HPDBC Chapter 79 Gambling Debts
Chapter 79 Gambling Debts
When Hong Xiaobing's third uncle's fishing boat was half-finished, an accident occurred.
It's not a matter of the ship, it's a matter of people.
It was Hong Xiaobing's father who discovered the matter.
That evening, his father went to the back street of the old village to buy tobacco. As he passed by Old Ma's courtyard, he heard the sound of mahjong being played mixed with the shouts of several men.
The gate to Old Ma's courtyard was ajar. His father peeked through the crack and saw four people sitting around a mahjong table.
One of them was Old Ma, another was two old fishermen from Hongjia Island, and the third was his younger brother.
His third uncle.
There was no money on the table, only a few bamboo sticks as chips, but the Hong family knew that these bamboo sticks would be used to settle the debt with cash when the game ended.
Old Hong peered through the crack in the door for a long time, but neither went in nor called out to anyone.
That evening, Lao Hong carried a bag of tobacco to his third brother's house.
His third aunt opened the door and said that Hong Laosan hadn't come back yet and hadn't eaten dinner.
Old Hong put the tobacco on the stove and sat in the yard waiting for a long time, until Hong Laosan returned pushing his bicycle.
A snakeskin bag was tied to the back seat of the car, and inside the bag were several old fishing net buoys.
His third uncle told his third aunt that he was going to town to sell buoys to exchange for fuel money.
Old Hong asked his third brother to open the snakeskin bag and asked him how much the buoy had sold for.
Hong Laosan hesitated for a while before saying that he hadn't sold it.
Old Hong asked again where he had come from. Hong Laosan remained silent.
"I saw you at Old Ma's door." Old Hong's voice wasn't loud, but his hand, which was squatting in the yard smoking, trembled slightly, and he didn't even brush off the ash that fell onto his trouser leg. "Last time you told me that you sold the tractor, paid off all your gambling debts, and would never gamble again. Your third sister-in-law pawned her dowry to raise money for your boat repairs. And now you're sitting at Old Ma's mahjong table again."
Hong Laosan squatted by the courtyard wall, his hands covering his head. "I didn't intend to gamble. Old Ma said they were short one player and asked me to join, so I thought I'd play a few rounds with them, and if I lost, I'd leave the table. It wasn't the old-fashioned dominoes, just some mahjong, not much money to win or lose."
"Not much money? How much did you lose today?" Old Hong asked his third brother how much he had lost today. Hong Laosan was silent for a long time before saying that he hadn't lost anything and had even won a few bamboo sticks.
Old Hong stubbed out his cigarette on the ground, stood up, said, "Go to the service station tomorrow and explain things to Master Fang yourself," and turned to leave.
His third aunt stood at the doorway, her apron still stained with the blood from washing the fish.
The next morning, Hong Laosan stood at the courtyard gate for a long time twisting the ends of a hemp rope before coming in.
Old Fang had just crawled out of the cabin and squatted at the workshop entrance, striking a match to light a cigarette. Seeing Hong Laosan's appearance, he took the cigarette out of his mouth.
Jiang Haiping took out the credit agreement from the drawer and spread it on the worktable.
Hong Laosan squatted at the workshop entrance and recounted the whole story of playing mahjong at Lao Ma's house yesterday. "Master Fang, Brother Ping, I used to gamble in Baishakou and owed a lot of gambling debts. Later, I sold my tractor and paid them off, and I also had my fishing boat towed over for repairs. Yesterday, Lao Ma said he was short one player, so I went and played a few rounds."
It's not the old-fashioned dominoes game, just the old neighbors playing mahjong, the winnings and losses are minimal. I promise you, I'll never touch it again. I'll focus on repairing the boat and fishing to pay off my debts."
Old Fang squatted there, looking at Hong Laosan, and remained silent for a long time. "You used to gamble in Baishakou and accumulated a huge debt. Your brother lent you six hundred yuan, you paid back four hundred, and you only managed to pay off the remaining two hundred by selling your tractor."
You said you'd never gamble again. Your third sister-in-law pawned her dowry to raise money for your boat repairs. And now you're back at the mahjong table.
Hong Laosan buried his head in his knees and stopped talking.
Hong Xiaobing remained squatting at the entrance of the old parts warehouse, the wrench in his hand suspended in mid-air.
His father had paid off his third uncle's old debts, and his third aunt had pawned her dowry to raise money for his boat repairs. He knew all of this.
Old Fang lit his cigarette again, took a deep drag, stood up, walked to Hong Laosan's fishing boat, squatted down, and ran his fingers along the seams of the newly installed bottom plank.
The grooves on those boards were cut by Lao Qiu and the seams were sewed by Lin Xiu'e. They were covered with a damp cloth for maintenance.
Ding Haisheng repaired the crack in the gearbox housing by welding it and then smoothed it with an angle grinder. Qiu Changhai personally checked the steering system. The refurbished crankshaft was taken from the old parts warehouse and installed. Ahai tightened the bolts one by one with a torque wrench.
The money the service station had advanced had already exceeded the deposit Hong Laosan had paid in advance. Lao Fang stubbed out his cigarette on the sole of his shoe and stood up.
"Firstly, starting today, for every transaction during the overhaul of your fishing boat, the service station will issue you a special registration form, which Hong Xiaobing will be responsible for keeping."
"One item at a time, if the debt is overdue and not paid off, the service station has the right to impound the fishing boat to settle the debt. Secondly, no matter where you are in the future, even if you're just playing mahjong at Old Ma's house and only one person is left, you are forbidden from playing mahjong or dominoes. If you do, the service station will immediately stop repairs, impound the boat to settle the debt, and pursue legal action for the remaining amount."
After listening to the explanation while squatting on the ground, Hong Laosan looked up at Lao Fang, took a ballpoint pen and wrote his name crookedly on the supplementary terms of the new credit agreement. He then took the inkpad from Jiang Haiping and pressed his fingerprint again under his name.
This time, the handprint was pressed lightly, and the red ink did not smudge. It landed neatly on the paper, perfectly aligned with his name.
Hong Xiaobing took the inkpad box and put it back in the drawer. He took out the register from the old parts warehouse, wrote the repayment record for his third uncle's fishing boat overhaul on a new page, and then placed the register in the most convenient position on the worktable.
That morning, Hong Laosan brought a net bag of ribbonfish and a basket of oysters from Hongjia Island and placed them at the entrance of the kitchen.
He didn't dare linger; he put his things down and left.
For several days afterward, no one at the service station mentioned the incident again, but the changes were visible.
Old Ma, who goes out to collect his nets before dawn, encountered Hong Laosan several times on the mudflats, but Hong Laosan always avoided him.
Once, Lao Ma blocked him at the dock and said that he was one short for mahjong, but Hong Laosan did not stop.
Old Ma shouted again at the dock, "Old Ma's family will no longer set up tables!" Hong Laosan, carrying the fishing nets he had just collected, walked further and further away.
Inside the service station, the old wrench that Hong Laosan had scrutinized for a long time was still hanging on the worktable.