David Brooks could sense just how much curiosity was hidden in that look. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Dad, I want to do something. I don’t want to keep being looked down on by others. This... will need some capital.”

Mom suddenly spoke up, her face full of worry, “Isn’t this too much, Little Ethan...”

However, Dad suddenly coughed, interrupting her, “You want capital, you’ll have it. I’ll go borrow it for you, but don’t do this out of spite. If you run a business out of spite, you’ll lose money, and if you lose, you’ll be paying it back for many years. It’s hard to recover.”

After a pause, he added, “You’ll have to pay it back yourself!”

David Brooks nodded, “I know. If I lose it, I’ll pay it back myself!”

…………

The next day, before dawn, David Brooks was awakened by the sound of a motorcycle engine.

He was dazed for a few seconds, then quickly got up to look out the window, but the bike had already left the yard. In no time, the yellowish glow of the headlight shone into the mountains, and two or three minutes later, the light disappeared around a bend.

Now he was wide awake.

He knew that Dad must have ridden the motorcycle straight to Xizhou City to borrow money from Second Uncle.

That’s just the kind of person he is.

Not much of a talker, but a man of his word, and he acts as soon as he says something.

But there wasn’t much more to say about it—David Brooks had already decided to do this, and once the decision was made, there was no point in worrying too much about the details.

The trip would be tough going down the mountain, but once he hit the national highway, the road would be easy. It was a little over 200 li, about 130 kilometers, to Xizhou City. Once he got to Second Uncle’s house, he might even be able to have breakfast there—though they’d been living apart for a long time, and except for holidays when Second Uncle came back, they didn’t keep in touch that often, but David Brooks knew the brothers were very close.

Dad would definitely be able to bring back the money.

It was just a matter of how much.

Now that he was fully awake, he didn’t bother going back to bed. David Brooks turned on the light, got dressed, and as he was heading out after turning off the light, he ran into Mom coming back after seeing Dad off. So David Brooks said, “Mom, I’m going fishing!”

But Mom grabbed his hand, “Little Ethan, tell Mom the truth, what do you need the money for?”

David Brooks smiled, “To do something big. If I succeed, you and Dad will enjoy a lifetime of happiness!”

…………

The sky really did brighten inch by inch.

In his previous life, David Brooks had gotten up countless times before dawn to go to school or catch the subway, but never once had he quietly watched the morning light brighten like this.

The mountain morning was stunningly beautiful, so beautiful it made you want to hold your breath.

Because this time, David Brooks felt utterly calm inside.

Once he’d made up his mind, he no longer dwelled on the pros and cons.

He sat quietly by his family’s pond for a full hour and a half before the first group of people came out. Seeing him fishing by the pond before dawn, they were all a bit surprised, and when they greeted him, there was a hint of confusion and astonishment. After that, he ran into a few more groups, and at seven o’clock, Mom called him in for breakfast.

At first, it was too dark to see the bobber, but as the sky gradually brightened, he actually caught two fish—not going home empty-handed like yesterday.

As noon approached, around eleven thirty, the motorcycle suddenly started up with a putter-putter sound.

David Brooks instinctively turned to look back, and sure enough, Dad was riding the motorcycle, quickly rounding the bend. When he reached David Brooks, he slowed down a bit and said, “Let’s go home!”

“Okay!”

Chapter 12 This is all I have!

When David Brooks got home, his parents were sitting around the dining table. He didn’t know what they’d been talking about, but when they heard their son come in, they both turned to look.

Mom looked worried, glancing at her son and then at the bag on the table.

When David Brooks walked over, she said, “Little Ethan, Mom is a little scared. What exactly are you trying to do?”

David Brooks pulled out a small bamboo chair and sat down, then smiled at his mom, “Don’t ask, Mom. I can only tell you, I’m more than ninety-nine percent sure I’ll win. If I really hit that one percent chance and lose it all, I’ll accept it!”

So Mom opened her mouth, but couldn’t say anything more. At that moment, Dad decisively reached for his briefcase and started taking things out.

He opened a newspaper, revealing four and a half bundles of crisp hundred-yuan bills, clearly in their original bank packaging. “This is forty-five thousand. I went with your Second Uncle to withdraw it, emptied the account. This is what he saved for Ethan to go to college and get married in the future! It should be all the savings he and his wife have accumulated over the years.”

“Mm.”

Ethan Brooks is Second Uncle’s son, probably a year younger than James Brooks and a year older than Linda Brooks.

Next, Dad reached into the briefcase again and took out a paper packet. Opening it, there was another neat stack in bank packaging. “This is from your aunt. I took her to withdraw it too. She thought something had happened at home and wanted to take it all out, but I didn’t let her. I just took a round number—ten thousand!”