Chapter 95

After a night had passed, Dad Bian finished his breakfast and went to work.

Before nine o'clock, Bian Xuedao took Mom Bian to the bank.

When transferring the money to the family's savings book, Mom Bian kept ten thousand and only deposited one hundred and fifty thousand.

Bian Xuedao didn't ask anything in the bank, but after leaving the bank, Mom Bian pulled him eastward.

Bian Xuedao asked Mom Bian, "Where are we going?"

Mom Bian said, "A new Dafang Temple has been built in the eastern part of the city. I'll take you to see it today."

When they arrived at the Dafang Temple Mom Bian mentioned, it was much smaller than Bian Xuedao had expected, with only three halls, each dedicated to Shakyamuni Buddha, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Many parts of the temple were still unfinished, and some were left half-done.

Mom Bian found an old monk in a side hall, clasped her hands, and asked, "Master, the last time I came, someone donated money for the floor tiles. I wonder if there are enough tiles now?"

The old monk shook his head and said, "We still need some."

Mom Bian asked, "How much does one tile cost?"

The old monk pointed to the large tiles on the ground and said, "Fifty yuan each."

Mom Bian glanced outside and noticed a large area of the courtyard was still bare. She turned to look at Bian Xuedao, steeled her heart, and said to the old monk, "Master, I will donate one hundred tiles."

Bian Xuedao was stunned for a moment. One hundred tiles meant five thousand yuan!

When had his mother, who always counted every penny when buying vegetables, been so generous?

The old monk clasped his hands and said, "May your good deeds bring you blessings, and may you sow the seeds of virtue."

If it were something else, Bian Xuedao might have tried to stop Mom Bian, but he definitely wouldn't have interfered with donating money to build the temple. He even thought about donating a few tiles himself when she wasn't paying attention.

When writing their names on the donation list, Mom Bian asked Bian Xuedao to write his name.

Bian Xuedao asked, "What should I write?"

Mom Bian said, "Write that you donated one hundred tiles."

Bian Xuedao asked, "What about you and Dad?"

Mom Bian said, "Your father and I have already donated. Just write your name."

In the end, Bian Xuedao donated forty tiles, Dad Bian donated thirty tiles, and Mom Bian donated thirty tiles.

After touring the temple and burning incense, Bian Xuedao and Mom Bian left the Dafang Temple.

Bian Xuedao asked Mom Bian, "If Dad finds out we donated so much, will he get angry?"

Mom Bian confidently said, "No."

Bian Xuedao asked, "Why not?"

Mom Bian said, "We discussed it with your father last night."

Bian Xuedao asked, "Why?"

Mom Bian said, "To accumulate blessings for you. This time, you received unexpected wealth. According to the elders, such money should not be spent on yourself; you must give some to others to avoid harming your own fortune."

Bian Xuedao asked, "Is that true?"

Mom Bian said, "The remaining five thousand yuan, take two thousand back to school. If you encounter someone in need, give them some. A colleague of your father's, whose wife was diagnosed with a tumor last year, had a car accident in March. His family is in dire straits. In a couple of days, your father and I will visit him with five hundred yuan."

Bian Xuedao asked, "Five hundred? Give him a thousand."

Mom Bian shook her head and said, "A small favor can turn into a big grudge. When you enter society, you must understand this. Besides, everyone knows our family's situation. Giving five hundred yuan is already a huge favor; giving a thousand would be too unusual."

In the following days, Bian Xuedao kept urging Mom Bian to go see the house with him. Mom Bian said, "Unexpected wealth should not be shown. Even if we buy a house, we should sell this one first. Otherwise, relatives and friends will wonder where the money came from. Don't worry about the house. If your father and I find a suitable one, we'll let you know to come back and see it."

Bian Xuedao knew that his parents had reached some kind of agreement, and no matter how much he persuaded them, it wouldn't make much difference. Since the money was given to the family, they wouldn't be short of money for a while.

He could feel that bringing back this money had changed the atmosphere at home. His parents smiled more often. Even if they never mentioned it to him, his parents had always been thinking about his marriage after graduation. Now, with the sudden addition of over a hundred thousand yuan, they felt much more confident.

In Dad Bian's mind, if he and his wife worked a few more years, they could save up thirty thousand yuan by the time their son got married. Even if the girl was from a family of civil servants, as his son had mentioned, it wouldn't be a problem.

The past ten days at home were the most comfortable and relaxed days Bian Xuedao had had in the past six months.

Outside, he had to pretend and wear a mask, but at home, he could be a child again. Last year, he had somewhat resisted this feeling, but this year, he enjoyed it immensely.

One night, he realized the reason.

To some extent, men need a haven called home even more than women do.

Physically and legally, Shan Rao couldn't give him a complete sense of home yet. Being cautious by nature, he couldn't completely entrust everything to Shan Rao, so despite their sweet relationship, the deep fatigue in his heart remained unsoothed.

Therefore, the place where his parents were became his most unreserved haven for healing his soul.

The night before returning to Songjiang, Bian Xuedao truly didn't want to leave. But he had to go back to sign the contract and pay the house fee, and he also had a dinner to attend.

The one who invited him was Xu Zhiyou, but the one who set up the dinner was Wu Tian.

At the championship team's reunion banquet at the Media Institute, Wu Tian had once boasted that he would visit Xu Zhiyou's brother-in-law. Everyone thought he was just talking, but five days ago, he really went to Xu Zhiyou's house.

For many years, Xu Zhiyou's brother-in-law had been lonely and disheartened, immersed in the state of losing his wife in middle age and being destitute. He was usually silent, even when facing the talkative Wu Tian.

To everyone's surprise, Wu Tian came back the next day and spent the afternoon drinking with Xu Zhiyou's brother-in-law, recounting the glory days and the dirty corners of the circle. That day, Xu Zhiyou's brother-in-law spoke more.

On the third day, when Wu Tian came again, he brought two masons. Wu Tian paid for the materials to repair the house, then sent the children to buy some skewers from the opposite store and drank with Xu Zhiyou's brother-in-law again.

Wu Tian said to him, "You are older than me, have more experience in football, and have achieved more in the circle, but these are not the reasons I came to drink with you."

Seeing that Xu Zhiyou's brother-in-law was listening attentively, Wu Tian continued, "I came to drink with you because I respect the 'righteousness' in you. I heard from Little Xu that you had already retired due to injury but still used all your money to try to save your wife's life. After she passed away, you took in and raised your young brother-in-law. This sounds reasonable, but I tell you, not many people can do it when it comes to them. You are a real man! It is an honor for me, Wu Tian, to sit here and drink with you today. If I go out and brag to my friends that I drank with such a man, they will say, 'Respect.'"

That day, Xu Zhiyou's children were not present, but they heard their uncle crying and calling out their mother's name from a distance.

After that day, Xu Zhiyou's brother-in-law no longer felt depressed and decided to turn over a new leaf and support the family. He arranged a dinner to thank Wu Tian, who had awakened him, and asked Xu Zhiyou to contact the "Big Brother Bian" he often mentioned, insisting that he must come.

Actually, since Bian Xuedao gave the children the key to the cash box, the economic situation of Xu Zhiyou's family had improved a lot. Liu Yisong saw the changes in the family and knew that his brother-in-law had met a benefactor. Now, since they wanted to start a new life, they naturally had to thank everyone.

To wait for Bian Xuedao to return to Songjiang, the dinner was postponed for a day.

The room for the dinner was separated from the book rental shop by a door, very small, and already had a bed. Setting up a round table made it even more cramped.

Liu Yisong replaced the dim light bulb at home with a high-wattage energy-saving one and bought a new set of porcelain bowls and chopsticks to entertain the guests.

When choosing chopsticks, Xu Zhiyou liked the ones with plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum patterns, but Liu Yisong insisted on buying the ones with the words "wealth and honor" written on them.