"We are not unreasonable people. We can wait another three days. However, if you still cannot repay it by this day three days later, our blades are not blind." The man eyed his hands and legs with ill intent.
"Absolutely, absolutely," Qiu Ze quickly replied, afraid they might change their minds.
"Brothers, let's go. We'll be back three days from today. Everyone bring your tools." The man shouted, and the crowd behind him responded in unison.
After the men left, Qiu Ze slumped to the ground.
Shen Niangzi quickly went to his side and helped him up.
"I never expected Doctor Qiu to be so daring, borrowing at usurious rates."
"One cannot judge a book by its cover. To stoop to borrowing at usurious rates and still help others, you are truly foolish."
"After we go back, I need to educate my children. They must not gamble, nor should they provoke such people. They all carry knives, it's terrifying."
...
The neighbors, who had seen a group of intimidating people arrive at their home, watched from a distance, holding their breath. Only after they left did they begin to murmur among themselves.
Once the house was empty, Qiu Ze couldn't help but ask the question that was foremost in his mind: "Where did you go just now?"
"I went back to see if we had any more silver at home." Shen Niangzi had already prepared her excuse, knowing Qiu Ze would ask.
Hearing about silver, Qiu Ze became anxious. "Is there any more?"
"No."
"What are we going to do? I said from the start we shouldn't have gotten involved with them. You insisted we borrow at usurious rates, and now they want to chop off my hands and break my legs." As he spoke, Qiu Ze's voice rose, resentment filling him.
"It was I who insisted we borrow at usurious rates, but with your earning ability, you could have paid it off. Wasn't it because you're always showing off your kindness and playing the good Samaritan? I've warned you that we have debts to repay, and we can't keep up appearances. Did you ever listen?" Shen Niangzi felt a sense of blame. She worried herself to death every day, while Qiu Ze took it lightly.
She even regretted giving out the ten taels of silver just now. If Qiu Ze couldn't repay the money in three days, they could have parted ways, and she could have taken Lei'er and left. Ten taels of silver would have been enough for her and her son for several years.
"What do we do now? After paying ten taels, we still owe twenty." Qiu Ze regretted it. If only he hadn't helped them. He also knew that Shen Niangzi couldn't come up with a good plan, and was merely talking to herself.
"We can only borrow. You've helped them so much all along; it's not too much to ask them for a small loan, is it?" Shen Niangzi voiced her idea. She felt that Qiu Ze was reaping what he sowed. They say adversity reveals true friendship; she wanted to see how much his so-called brotherhood was worth.
"You go borrow. It's so embarrassing for a doctor like me to go asking for loans. Besides, this whole situation is because of your family's affairs." Qiu Ze had never worried about money in his life. Before, it was always others who complained to him and borrowed money from him. Now that it was his turn, he found it hard to open his mouth.
"You've helped so many people; you're known far and wide as a great benefactor. Now it's their turn to repay you. When you show up, people will give you respect. I'm just a woman; if I go around borrowing money, people won't take me seriously, and I probably won't be able to borrow anything." Shen Niangzi had other plans. If they were to separate in the future, relying on Qiu Ze to repay the debt would be impossible. If someone were to ask her for the money then, where would she get so much? She was determined not to borrow and let Qiu Ze find his own way.
Seeing that Shen Niangzi wouldn't go, and her words had some sense, Qiu Ze hesitated for a long time before finally going himself.
He walked to the door of Liu Di's house, thinking about having to ask others for a loan. He felt a desire to escape, but reason told him that the consequences of not borrowing would be worse. He raised his hand and hesitated for a long time, finally making up his mind, with a look of resignation, he gently knocked on the door.
Soon, the door opened, and Liu San's head appeared. Seeing it was Qiu Ze, he was very surprised. "Brother, what brings you to my humble abode? Please come in and sit."
Seeing the other person's politeness, Qiu Ze breathed a sigh of relief. Before he had even decided to borrow money, he had thought about who to approach first. He chose Liu San because Liu San was the closest of all his good brothers.
"I heard that the Yingbin Tower has new dishes. Shall we call the other brothers to try them?" Liu San hadn't been to a restaurant in days, and as soon as he saw Qiu Ze, his mouth watered.
"That... that... I've encountered some difficulties recently and wanted to borrow some money from you. Don't worry, I'll repay it soon." Qiu Ze said his purpose for visiting, his face flushed.
"Brother, are you joking with your little brother? With your daily income, how can you be short of money?" Liu San was truly surprised. Having grown up in the town, this was the first time he had heard that the Qiu family was short of money.
Qiu Ze sheepishly told him about borrowing at usurious rates. Liu San already thought Qiu Ze was a fool with too much money. Upon hearing that he had borrowed so much at usurious rates and gotten involved with those people, he knew there would be no good outcome, and he clutched his money tighter.
"It's not that your little brother doesn't want to help you, brother. My entire family relies on me to earn money. We barely manage to make ends meet. How can I have extra money to lend to brother?" Liu San thought that if Qiu Ze could get through this ordeal, he would definitely forgive him if he pleaded poverty and told him his troubles.
Qiu Ze had mustered up tremendous courage to ask him for money, and this was the result. It would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed. He was already thin-skinned. Since the other person said he had no money at home, he wouldn't pester him.
However, when he went to see his other brothers later, either they were not home, or before he could even speak, they started complaining about their own hardships.
After going around in circles and returning to the medical clinic, he didn't have a single copper coin in his hand.
Shen Niangzi knew this would be the outcome and said sarcastically, "You treat others as brothers, but they treat you as a fool. I knew you wouldn't be able to borrow any money."
"Don't talk nonsense. My brothers are genuinely poor. They don't even have enough to eat, how can they lend us money?" Although Qiu Ze was disappointed in his brothers, he could understand their poverty.
Shen Niangzi sneered, "You call yourself silly, but you don't admit it. No money? How is that possible? Most likely, they heard our family borrowed at usurious rates and didn't want to lend you money. To make you, this fool, understand, I'll take you out for a walk today."
Shen Niangzi led the way out. Qiu Ze, seeing her so confident, hesitated for a moment before following her.
Seeing her heading towards the pork stall, Qiu Ze was a little confused. If it were in the past, buying some pork to improve their lives would be fine. But now, their family was in debt, and his wife didn't seem like someone who would be so careless with money. Su Dan Novel Network
Seeing Qiu Ze's bewildered look, Shen Niangzi didn't bother to explain and simply pulled him behind a large tree.
Soon, Liu San arrived.
"Third Brother Liu, you're here. It seems you've made a fortune recently, coming to buy meat every day. How many jin will you be buying today?" The butcher, seeing a customer, greeted him warmly.