Cub's Dad Chapter 29
Chapter 29
A few days ago, Gu Yanzhi had checked the little chubby boy's arithmetic.
The little chubby boy had now learned up to "ten million" and knew that among "unit," "ten," "hundred," "thousand," "ten thousand," "hundred thousand," "million," and "ten million," "ten million" was the largest.
Given Gu Yanzhi's understanding of his son, if he had to pretend to be poor, the little chubby boy would definitely exaggerate. Showing a "five" would definitely mean he had told people at the kindergarten that Dad owed fifty million.
Xie Yishu was stunned.
It took him a while to find his voice, "…How much?"
Gu Yanzhi's eyelid twitched.
He belatedly realized that the number he reported might have been a bit too large.
He could have easily said "fifty thousand" or "five hundred thousand," and if it differed from what Bo Zai had said in kindergarten, he could explain it as "the child remembered wrong."
But now that "fifty million" had already been said, Gu Yanzhi couldn't change it. He could only brace himself and repeat, "Fifty million."
Xie Yishu fell silent.
He felt like he was just a step away from a heart attack.
Last night, while lying in bed, he had thought that if Gu Yanzhi owed a lot of money, he could register some partnership patents as a collaborator from "Ancient Blue Planet," for things like lip balm and hand cream. He had made those in the lab before when he was helping others with their classes.
If he was lucky enough to sell one or two patents, he might be able to help Gu Yanzhi pay off the debt.
But fifty million... Xie Yishu took a deep breath to calm himself down.
He did some mental calculations:
Buying the qualification for the incubation pod program, purchasing a house in the main star's university city, raising Bo Zai alone for five years...
It did seem to require that much money.
He wondered where the fifty million had been borrowed from. Remembering what Ge Qing had told him about Bo Zai's father frequently moving with Bo Zai, Xie Yishu's face turned pale. "Where did you borrow fifty million from?"
Gu Yan had no assets to use as collateral, so it was impossible for a bank to lend him fifty million.
Xie Yishu thought of a type of private lending from Ancient Blue Planet: "loan sharks."
Atlantis had no historical record of such illegal industries, but Xie Yishu couldn't be sure if they didn't exist now.
Seeing Xie Yishu's pale face, Gu Yanzhi felt a pang of heartache. Just as he was about to confess, the little chubby boy spoke up first, "It was borrowed from the bank and some kind-hearted grandpas and grandmas."
The little chubby boy had watched many TV dramas with the housekeeper grandma over the years and had his own ideas.
Seeing that Dad couldn't explain, the little chubby boy used Dad and the grandparents as prototypes to create a heartwarming story about an "elderly couple doing charity and helping young people achieve their dreams." "The kind-hearted grandpa and grandma were moved by Dad's determination, so they lent Dad fifty million to fulfill his dream."
Xie Yishu found it somewhat unbelievable. "What if he can't pay it back?"
The little storyteller thought for a moment and showed a worried expression. "Then we'll give Bo Zai to them as collateral."
Grandpa and Grandma both liked him very much, so he would still be valuable to them!
Xie Yishu: "…?"
He found this very unreliable and looked at Gu Yanzhi, waiting for him to explain.
Gu Yanzhi and Xie Yishu looked at each other for three seconds before Gu Yanzhi explained, "He was joking."
"The 'kind-hearted grandpa and grandma' he mentioned are Gu Jinming and Ye Wan. They are..."
They are my parents, Bo Zai's grandparents.
Gu Yanzhi was about to lay it all out when Xie Yishu interrupted, "The son of the richest man, Gu Jinming, and the former movie queen, Ye Wan?"
Gu Yanzhi nodded, and just as he was about to continue, Xie Yishu sighed, "No wonder."
During the most difficult times at Mutong Orphanage, it was this couple who provided support. Not only Mutong Orphanage, but the foundation established by Ms. Ye Wan also funded thousands of orphanages across the thirty-six districts of Atlantis.
Xie Yishu, who kept up with the news, knew that this kind-hearted couple not only supported orphanages but also helped university students seeking education, young people wanting to start businesses, and families suffering from illness. Xie Yishu sincerely said, "They are truly good people."
Gu Yanzhi: "…?"
Xie Yishu had a rough idea of what the fifty million was about.
Although the Gu couple provided free assistance to those in need, they would, depending on the situation, require the recipients to "repay" a certain amount periodically, which would flow into the foundation to help more people.
Xie Yishu asked, "How much do we need to repay the bank and the foundation each year?"
Gu Yanzhi hadn't expected Xie Yishu to be swayed by the little chubby boy's story. He was organizing his thoughts, intending to tell Xie Yishu that he actually didn't owe any money.
But his silence led to a misunderstanding.
Xie Yishu thought Gu Yanzhi was worried that he would leave him again because of the "debt repayment." After thinking for a moment, he reached out and covered the back of Gu Yanzhi's hand with his own. "Actually, I'm quite relieved that you need to repay a debt."
"If you didn't have debts and were worth millions, I wouldn't even know how to come back to you."
"In a situation where I don't feel worthy of you."
Gu Yanzhi's confession was stuck in his throat. He thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "If I were worth millions..."
Xie Yishu decisively interrupted him, "Then I would definitely feel uneasy being with you, and I wouldn't be able to sleep well."
Although he would strive to catch up to Gu Yanzhi, until he could stand shoulder to shoulder with him, he would still feel insecure.
Gu Yanzhi vaguely sensed Xie Yishu's thoughts.
Rather than becoming Xie Yishu's support, it seemed Xie Yishu wanted to be the support for him and Bo Zai.
If Xie Yishu knew his true identity, would he... leave him once again?
Gu Yanzhi looked at Xie Yishu for a long moment, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and said, "One hundred thousand."
Xie Yishu was a bit taken aback.
Gu Yanzhi lowered his head and explained, "Mainly to repay the bank. The minimum repayment is one hundred thousand per year, to be paid off in thirty-five years."
The average monthly salary for a kindergarten teacher on the main star was around twelve thousand. Gu Yanzhi planned to say he worked as an ordinary employee at Jingsheng Technology, which, including the year-end bonus, would bring his annual salary to about one hundred and twenty thousand.
"Counting the year-end bonus, my monthly salary is ten thousand." Gu Yanzhi saw the surprise in Xie Yishu's eyes and paused, "Xiao Shu, what's wrong?"
Xie Yishu shook his head and explained, "I didn't expect the auto repair industry to become so prosperous in recent years." He was still stuck in the mindset of five years ago when auto mechanics were almost being replaced by bionic robots and had a monthly salary of just a few thousand, not expecting that they would now even have year-end bonuses.
Gu Yanzhi hadn't expected to be assigned a job already and was momentarily stunned before responding, "I, um, my car repair skills are quite good, and I was fortunate enough to be promoted to a senior auto mechanic by the shop manager."
So that's how it is.
Xie Yishu nodded in understanding.
Thinking about what Gu Yanzhi had just said, he began to plan the repayment.
The minimum repayment was one hundred thousand per year, to be paid off in thirty-five years. Thirty-five years... they would be sixty by then. If they repaid two hundred thousand per year, they could clear the debt before Bo Zai graduated from university, but that would leave them with only about three thousand per month to live on.
Three people living on three thousand, after deducting food, accommodation, and utilities, would leave them with almost no savings.
If they urgently needed money in the future... Xie Yishu roughly calculated and felt that relying solely on his and Gu Yanzhi's current salaries, it would be quite stressful to pay off the loan before Bo Zai started working.
They would still need to do live streaming and sell patents to ensure that Gu Yanzhi and Bo Zai could live a decent life.
This thought gave Xie Yishu a faint sense of being the head of the household. Looking at the beautiful "little wife" across from him, Xie Yishu's mood suddenly improved. He held the hand of his "little wife" and said, "Leave the loan repayment to me. I'll find a way."
Gu, the "little wife," sensed the head of the household's high spirits and responded warmly, "Okay."
Bo Zai looked at Dad, then at Mom, and quickly placed his chubby little hand on top of theirs. "Bo Zai will also find a way."
He didn't want Mom to be under so much pressure and, without thinking, said, "Bo Zai has a little savings. I can help with the repayment."
Xie Yishu laughed and asked, "How much is in Bo Zai's little savings?"
Bo Zai was just about to answer when he felt a sharp pain in his chubby bottom.
The little rich kid quickly realized and lowered his proud chubby face, saying to Xie Yishu, "F-Five credits."
Xie Yishu suppressed a laugh, rubbed Bo Zai's little head, and not wanting to dampen his enthusiasm, said, "Then we'll count on Bo Zai for those five credits."
Bo Zai nodded wistfully.
He really wanted to hand over his little savings to Mom; that way, they could pay off the debt quickly.
In the end, it was Dad's fault.
If Dad had understood his hint and said fifty credits, it would have been fine. Bo Zai rubbed his chubby bottom, feeling a silent but intense frustration.
After lunch, Xie Yishu took Bo Zai to kindergarten.
Gu Yanzhi wanted to go with them, but remembering that he was supposed to be a "mechanic who had to go back to work in the afternoon," he had to give up the idea.
He escorted Xie Yishu and Bo Zai to the station.
The next bus was two stops away. Xie Yishu, looking at the travel notification on his light brain, thought about the phone number and messaging issue. "Gu Yan, did you change your number?"
"I called you many times, but your phone was always off. I sent many messages, but you didn't reply."
Gu Yanzhi was stunned.
"You never responded, so I eventually stopped calling. I also changed my number and messaging signal."
As Xie Yishu spoke, he took Gu Yanzhi's light brain and called his own number, saving it to the contacts. After adding each other as friends on the messaging app, he handed the light brain back to Gu Yanzhi. "Alright, this is my current number and messaging signal."
Gu Yanzhi looked at the number on the screen; it was indeed the spam number he had blocked some time ago.
He hadn't expected those calls to be from Xie Yishu.
If he hadn't blocked the number directly back then, but instead had called back or checked the intercepted messages... Gu Yanzhi pressed his thin lips together, feeling a bit regretful.
The bus that passed by Yunshan Kindergarten soon arrived at the station.
Xie Yishu and Bo Zai boarded the bus, which had many empty seats at this time of day. Xie Yishu let Bo Zai sit by the window. From there, they could see Gu Yanzhi, who was watching them intently.
Bo Zai waved his little hand at Gu Yanzhi.
The bus started.
Gu Yanzhi stood at the edge of the platform, watching the bus carrying Xie Yishu and Bo Zai disappear around the corner before turning to walk back.
His car was still parked below the apartment building.
He didn't plan to return to the company in the afternoon; he intended to visit a real estate agency.
Yunshan Kindergarten was an hour's bus ride away from here; he couldn't let his Xiao Shu spend that much time on the bus every day to go to work.
He needed to find a rental near Yunshan Kindergarten.
And he had to set it up to look like the place he usually lived in with Bo Zai.
The rental couldn't be too big or too small, and the monthly rent on the contract couldn't be too high.
Gu Yanzhi searched for real estate agencies near Yunshan Kindergarten on the StarNet, chose the one with the best reviews, and drove there.
The agent warmly greeted him, "Sir, what kind of house are you looking for?"
Gu Yanzhi stated his requirements, "Close to this area, suitable for a family of three, well-ventilated, two bedrooms and one living room, clean and tidy, and available for immediate occupancy today."
Calculating based on his stated monthly salary of ten thousand and the annual repayment of one hundred thousand, he added, "The rent can be any amount, but the contract should state five hundred interstellar credits per month."
"Alternatively, if there's a suitable second-hand house available for immediate transfer and occupancy, that would work too."
He could then act as the landlord and rent it to himself.
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