Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon
The moment Zheng Jiaxing heard that, he was moved to tears as he knelt to the ground. “Dear, I really know my faults. Don’t worry. As long as I pay off this debt, I guarantee you that I will never gamble again. In the future, we will live our lives in peace.”
“Our lives? Heh heh, let’s hope there is a future.” With that said, Li Na left and prepared to return to her parents’ place.
Zheng Jiaxing bit the bullet too and returned to his parents’ place to borrow his parents’ life-savings. There was a total of 25,000 yuan.
Not long later, Li Na brought back 30,000 yuan. Zheng Jiaxing gathered all the money and rushed to Wang Laosi’s place before placing all the money on the table.
Wang Laosi smiled. “Jiaxing, not bad. You returned the money pretty fast. Let me count it…”
Wang Laosi took out a money-counting machine, and it quickly counted the cash. Upon seeing the number 150 on the machine, Zheng Jiaxing heaved a sigh of relief.
However Wang Laosi smiled cheekily. “Jiaxing, that’s not right.”
“Oh? What’s not right? Didn’t we say it was 150,000?” Zheng Jiaxing’s heart sank.
“That’s right, it was 150,000. There’s enough here for the original sum, but there’s still the interest. Let me do the math. 4% interest for a 150,000 loan for a month. That’s 6000 yuan interest you owe me.”
“Interest… Hey, Brother Wang, we know each other so well. Why don’t you… It was only a month.” Zheng Jiaxing smiled fawningly. This month, he had met Wang Laosi nearly daily, and they had had a great time together. At times, Wang Laosi would treat him to watermelon. He felt like their relationship was pretty good.
However…
Wang Laosi’s smile instantly turned grim, like stormy clouds in the sky. The tone in his voice changed. Wang Laosi said coldly, “Jiaxing, when money isn’t involved, we are friends, and I recognize you as a friend. But when money is involved, I only care about the money! So you have to pay me the six thousand! Also, I will keep this 150,000, but you still have to pay back the 6000. Heh heh, don’t blame me if I bring people to pay your house a visit.”
Zheng Jiaxing felt struck by lightning as he stood rooted in his spot.
Wang Laosi continued. “I’ll be keeping this 150,000, but the interest will be counted on a 156,000 balance. Whenever you clear the debt is when everything is settled. Of course, my place welcomes you at any time. What would happen if you won? It’s just 6000. That’s just a round or two…”
At that moment, Zheng Jiaxing only found Wang Laosi’s face extremely terrifying. This place that he had treated to be his kingdom, a place that had given him dignity, instantly became a devilish hell. His body froze up.
6000 was indeed not much, but where was he to get 6000? He only had a few hundred yuan at home for food. He had drained his parents’ savings, and it was likely the same with his parents-in-law. He had borrowed from everyone he was familiar with in the village. Who was to lend him now?
Zheng Jiaxing left Wang Laosi’s place in a daze. He felt the world spinning around him.
At that moment, someone ran to him and shouted, “Jiaxing! No good! Your wife fell down while checking on the paddy fields!”
Zheng Jiaxing jolted awake and started running frantically.
The person said, “Don’t worry. She has been sent to the hospital. We were looking for you everywhere but couldn’t find you. The hospital’s doctor said that her fall was quite bad, and it might affect the fetus. So there’s a need to do some check ups. Bring some money and head over to the hospital to pay for it.”
Upon hearing that money was needed, Zheng Jiaxing felt his head nearly explode! Money! Money! Money! Where was he to get money?
Zheng Jiaxing thought all day before finally biting the bullet to head to Wang Laosi’s place.
“Jiaxing, I lent you the money previously because you had the ability to pay it back. Now, do you have the ability to repay me? You still haven’t repaid me the 6000 you owe me. If I lend it to you, am I not digging a deeper hole?” Wang Laosi said with a sneer.
“Brother Wang, please. Lend me a bit of money. My pregnant wife fell down, and it has affected the fetus. She needs to do a checkup. If this isn’t done well, the child will be gone. Even the mother would be at risk.” Zheng Jiaxing knelt in front of Wang Laosi.
“I told you, I don’t talk about emotions when money is involved. Go home.” After Wang Laosi said that, he chased Zheng Jiaxing away.
Zheng Jiaxing was truly out of options when he saw a rag-and-bone man pass by. With an idea coming to him, he invited the rag-and-bone man home and pointed to everything in his house. “Take anything that fancies you. Just pay me for it.”
The rag-and-bone man was overjoyed when he heard that. When he took a careful look, he realized that many of the items were one or two years old. Furthermore, they were in good condition and were almost as good as new! He would definitely make a killing if he took them. His eyes darted around as an idea came to his head. “The items don’t look anything impressive. They are quite old, right? 200 for the TV. 300 for the fridge. 200 for the washing machine. 50 for the induction cooker, 20 for the rice cooker…”
Upon hearing the low price, Zheng Jiaxing fumed as he shouted angrily, “You think these are crap!?”
“That’s right, I’m a rag-and-bone man! If your things aren’t crap, I wouldn’t even take them. Are you selling or not? If not, I’m leaving.” The rag-and-bone man could tell that Zheng Jiaxing was in desperate need for money, so he fleeced him.
“Alright, I’ll sell them. I’ll sell them all!” Zheng Jiaxing closed his eyes as he gritted his teeth.
The rag-and-bone man was overjoyed as he moved the items onto his truck and smiled. “A total of 1362 yuan. I’ll round it up for you. 1400. I’m quite a bro, ain’t I? If you have any deals in the future, remember to call me!”
With that said, the rag-and-bone man stuffed 1400 yuan into Zheng Jiaxing’s hands and drove off.
Zheng Jiaxing touched the money in his hand and immediately broke down. When he saw his house in a desolate state, he felt even more upset.
However Zheng Jiaxing was even more anxious to rush to the hospital to take care of his wife. He ran to the village entrance, but someone was waiting there for him!
“Wang Laosi!?” Zheng Jiaxing was stunned.
“Jiaxing, the rag-and-bone man just went. I know him. His name is Song Duanqiao. People call him the Death Peddler. He usually doesn’t go to anyone’s place but will only head to houses that have death in the family. He just told me he collected quite some items from your house and paid you 1400, right? Don’t you think it’s time to first return me some money?”
“Brother Wang, don’t do that. This is money meant to save a life!” cried Zheng Jiaxing.
“Don’t cry. It’s useless. If crying could bring me money, I’d be crying every day. Alright, hand over the money.” Wang Laosi extended his hand.
“Brother Wang, I beg you. Please, not this time. I will repay you the money I owe, alright? This money is needed to save my wife,” pleaded Zheng Jiaxing.
“As you said it, this is money to save your wife, not my wife. It’s not something I care about. All I know is that if you owe money, you need to pay it up. That’s only right. Hand the money over!” Wang Laosi said with a sinister grin.
When Zheng Jiaxing saw this, he got up and began running.
Wang Laosi tsked. “That sucks. Chase after him! Get the money back!”
Wang Qingzhi and Yue Fan immediately chased. Wang Laosi revved his motorcycle and followed behind leisurely. He did not accelerate and just stayed at that speed. He liked this feeling. It gave him a sense of achievement! Just like how he liked fishing. He liked to hang the fish high in the air after catching one. He liked to see the fish die under the sunlight due to dehydration. Whatever was happening in front of him reminded him of the pleasure of fishing.
Zheng Jiaxing ran all the way without knowing where he found the strength to do so. He ran like the wind and with great stamina. He knew he could not evade Wang Laosi who was on a motorcycle. Therefore he ran into the fields and began running into the ravines. When Wang Laosi saw this, he immediately cursed. He had no choice but to abandon his motorcycle and chase on foot.
The few men continued their pursuit until they entered the Mt. Tongtian mountain range.
