Chapter 98: Gambling Debt
Pang Xiaofang blinked guiltily, forcing a calm expression. "You believe everything that wretched girl says?"
"If what Su Qing said wasn’t true, why didn’t you refute it just now?" Wang Xuehong asked coldly.
"That wretched girl was rattling on like a machine gun. Did I even have a chance to get a word in?" A look of grievance crept onto Pang Xiaofang’s face as she spoke, her lips pressed together.
"Pang Xiaofang, don’t think I couldn’t see how guilty you looked. If you have the guts to do something, have the guts to admit it. Don’t be a fucking coward who doesn’t own up to their actions." Wang Xuehong could clearly see through Pang Xiaofang’s twisted logic and spoke angrily.
"You’d rather believe an outsider than me?" Pang Xiaofang said angrily. "Don’t take it too far."
"Cut the crap. Just tell me, why were you trying to borrow three hundred yuan? That’s not a small amount. What were you going to do with that money? If you don’t come clean today, this isn’t over between us," Wang Xuehong roared.
"I... I..." Pang Xiaofang jumped, startled by Wang Xuehong’s roar, and instinctively took two steps back. Her resentment for Su Qing grew. ’That wretched girl did it on purpose. She deliberately exposed the fact that I was borrowing money to Wang Xuehong.’
Seeing Pang Xiaofang’s guilty expression, an idea suddenly struck Wang Xuehong. He asked, "This money... you were borrowing it for your family, weren’t you?"
Pang Xiaofang pressed her lips together and said nothing. The money was indeed for her family. They needed it for an emergency and couldn’t raise it anywhere else. They were all sick with worry.
"Fine, don’t talk." Seeing her silence, Wang Xuehong took a ragged breath and pointed at Pang Xiaofang. "Then I’ll go to your family and ask them. I’ll ask what on earth they need three hundred yuan for, and I’ll ask if they have any ability to pay back that much money after borrowing it."
With that, Wang Xuehong started to head out the door.
Pang Xiaofang quickly grabbed Wang Xuehong’s hand. "Old Wang, you... don’t go! I’ll talk. I’ll talk, alright?"
"What’s the real reason?" Wang Xuehong turned his head and asked.
Pang Xiaofang said uncomfortably, "My older brother’s son was roped into gambling and now he owes nearly three hundred yuan. The creditors have come to their door to collect..."
"What?!" Wang Xuehong was so stunned he could barely breathe. "Nearly three hundred yuan from a gambling debt?!"
Wang Xuehong slammed his fist on the table. "Your nephew is really something else! Does he have any idea how much money that is? Besides, gambling is illegal, don’t you know that?"
"He’s young, he doesn’t know any better," Pang Xiaofang said anxiously. "They tricked him. He thought it was fun, so he went along to play cards. Then they tricked him into borrowing all that money, and he lost every last cent. Now the debt collectors are at the door, making a scene and demanding my brother pay up. You know my family doesn’t have that kind of money. How could they possibly pay it back? I was just thinking I’d borrow some from Su Qing and pay it back slowly over time. But who knew that wretched girl Su Qing would have no sympathy at all? She wouldn’t even lend it."
"Your nephew is twenty-one!" Wang Xuehong fumed. "He’s about to get married, and you call that young? A grown man who can’t tell right from wrong, and you have the nerve to say he’s young? He never learns anything good, but he picks up bad habits in a heartbeat. Now he’s dragging his whole family down with him! Let me ask you, if you borrow this money, can you pay it back? How long will it take you? Are we supposed to just stop living our lives?"
Pang Xiaofang was still defiant. "But don’t we need to solve the debt problem first? They’re threatening to cut off my nephew’s hand if we can’t pay! Isn’t that horrible? My nephew is still so young. If he becomes disabled, how will he live the rest of his life? Besides, it’s not like Su Qing doesn’t have the money. She can afford to lend three hundred yuan. Even if we can’t pay it back right away, she’s not depending on that money to get by. So why not? Saving a life is a greater merit than building a seven-story pagoda."
"Bullshit!" Wang Xuehong was so angry at her words that he swore. "What does Su Qing’s money have to do with your Pang family? By what right do you demand she lend it to you just because you ask? Especially for a gambling debt like this! Even if you shamelessly borrow the money this time and pay it off, can you guarantee your nephew won’t do it again? When he runs up another gambling debt, how do you plan to pay it? I’ve told you all time and time again, you can’t touch gambling! But now look. Not only did he gamble, he dared to borrow so much money. It’s a trap, don’t you know that?"
Wang Xuehong was so furious he paced back and forth in the room. "Those people are setting a trap for you! They lend you money, then they use tricks to win it back. In the end, they don’t lose a single cent and even get double their money back for free. It’s a business with huge returns, and they’re just waiting for fools like you to jump into the pit."
"What’s the use of saying all that?" Pang Xiaofang couldn’t help but wipe her tears. "The debt is already there. The most important thing now is to deal with it quickly."
Pang Xiaofang looked at Wang Xuehong. "Old Wang, my nephew is your nephew too. Please help. Go talk to Su Qing and borrow the three hundred yuan from her. Didn’t she just say she could bring the money over to you later?"
"Just shut your mouth," Wang Xuehong said angrily. "There is no way I’m going to borrow money from Su Qing."
After a moment’s thought, Wang Xuehong said, "This is fraud and illegal gambling. Tell your family to report it to the police. This kind of thing can only be resolved by the police. Otherwise, it will only get worse and worse."
"No way," Pang Xiaofang said. "Didn’t you just say gambling is illegal? If we report it to the police, wouldn’t my nephew have to go to jail? If that happens, my family will hate me forever. No, no, that won’t work. Old Wang, just help me borrow the money from Su Qing."
"Impossible," Wang Xuehong said, his face grim. "If your family won’t report it to the police, I’ll report it for them. In short, this absolutely cannot be solved by borrowing money. You borrow from someone, and when you can’t pay it back, are you just going to shift the loss onto them to bear?"
"Don’t." Hearing that Wang Xuehong was going to report it himself, Pang Xiaofang quickly said, "I’ll go back and talk to my family. I’ll try to persuade them first. You know how us common folk are terrified of dealing with the authorities."
"Fine. Go back to your family tomorrow and explain everything to them clearly. This matter must be reported to the police."
"I know," Pang Xiaofang responded listlessly. She sighed internally. ’In Lihua Village today, the only ones who could produce three hundred yuan in one go are Su Qing and the Old Su Family. However, the Old Su Family recently suffered a major setback, and besides, she knew Old Su’s personality all too well. There was no way Old Su would ever lend her the money. That’s why she had set her sights on Su Qing. She originally thought that as a young girl, Su Qing would be too thin-skinned to refuse and would be afraid of looking bad. Who would have thought she’d stab her in the back like this!’
Because of this incident, Pang Xiaofang began to harbor a grudge against Su Qing.