Chapter 100: Diverting the Disaster
At Pang Baozhu’s words, the three men turned to look at Pang Xiaofang.
Pang Xiaofang’s heart clenched, and she instinctively took a step back.
"Is what this nephew of yours saying true?" one of the men asked, narrowing his eyes at Pang Xiaofang.
"Well... I..." Pang Xiaofang felt her stomach churn. ’I’m furious that Su Qing refused to lend me money, but if I really tell these men about Su Qing’s situation, it’s the same as bringing disaster upon her.’ A part of her couldn’t bear to do it.
"Enough with the ’wells’ and ’I’s.’ Just tell me, is it true or not?" Seeing Pang Xiaofang’s timid demeanor, the man roared at her impatiently.
Pang Xiaofang jumped in fright and quickly said, "Yes, there is such a person."
"Good. Tell us the details of her situation," the man said with a nod, now that Pang Xiaofang had admitted it.
Pang Xiaofang was still hesitating, but the other members of the Pang family urged her on. "Hurry up and tell them."
In the end, Pang Xiaofang had no choice but to recount Su Qing’s situation to the three men in full detail.
The moment Pang Xiaofang finished, Pang Baozhu hurriedly chimed in, "That Su Qing has a lot of money, and she lives alone. It’ll definitely be easy to get money from her."
The leader of the three men glanced sideways at Pang Baozhu and sneered, "You’re a clever one, aren’t you? Know how to throw someone else under the bus. Thinking that if you give us a tip to get money from her, your debt here will be wiped clean. Is that it?"
"Heh, heh." His plan exposed, Pang Baozhu could only laugh dryly. He hid behind his mother and grandmother and looked fawningly at the man. "Brother Liu, I’m just thinking of you guys. My family is truly broke. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be unable to pay you back."
"You had the nerve to borrow so much from us when you had no money? You’ve got some balls, kid." The man called Brother Liu looked at Pang Baozhu with utter contempt. ’To be honest, I think I’m quite a conscientious guy. When this kid’s eyes were red from gambling, I even reminded him to take it easy. But who knew he was such a degenerate gambler, daring to borrow so much at once?’
However, he wasn’t a great philanthropist. Since the other party was willing to borrow, he had no reason to turn away business. You can’t let a cooked duck fly away, after all.
At Brother Liu’s words, Pang Baozhu shrank back. Then, he said cautiously, "Brother Liu, seeing as I’ve provided you with such a good lead, my debt..."
"Forget it," Brother Liu’s eyes widened as he cut him off. "Since the three of us came all the way here today, there’s no way we’re leaving empty-handed. If your family doesn’t show some sincerity today, don’t blame me for getting rough."
As he spoke, Brother Liu kicked a chair in the main room, sending it flying. The chair crashed against the wall and immediately fell apart, scaring the Pang family so much that they trembled in silence.
"Um, Brother Liu, my family really has no money," Pang Dayong said, his face pale and his voice trembling.
"Don’t tell me you don’t have a single cent in your home," Brother Liu threatened, his eyes wide. "If I don’t see a trace of money today, don’t expect things to go well for this son of yours."
As Brother Liu finished speaking, the other two men moved to restrain Pang Baozhu. Terrified, Pang Baozhu clung tightly to Liu Dan Ni’s arm and screamed at Pang Dayong, "Dad, get the money! Hurry up and get the money! I don’t want to be crippled! WAAAHHH..."
Pang Dayong quickly yelled, "Wait, wait! We, we’ll get the money, we’ll get it!"
"Right, right, we’ll get the money," Old Man Pang and Old Mrs. Pang chimed in hurriedly.
Immediately, Old Mrs. Pang rushed into the room to get the money. A short while later, she came out with a little over fifty yuan. With a pained expression, she said, "This... this is all the money our family has."
Looking at the money in her hand, Old Mrs. Pang was reluctant to part with it. It wasn’t easy for the family to save this much. A portion of it was even money their daughter had given them out of filial piety. Otherwise, they could never have saved so much on their own.
Brother Liu snatched the money from Old Mrs. Pang’s hand, licked his thumb, and counted it. "Just over fifty yuan? Are you trying to shoo away a beggar?" he said disdainfully.
"It’s true, we really have no more money," the Pang family members said, their faces long with misery.
Liu Dan Ni, holding her trembling son, mustered her courage and whispered to Brother Liu, "Brother Liu, that Su Qing really does have five hundred yuan at her place. If you get that money, then... then you could use it to cover the rest of the debt, okay? Please, we really have no more money."
Brother Liu stared at the Pang family for a long time, so long that they broke out in a cold sweat. Finally, he spoke. "Writing it off is impossible. When you owe a debt, paying it back is the way of the world. There’s no reason I should take a loss for nothing, right? Besides, whether we can even get our hands on that five hundred yuan you mentioned is still a big question. So stop making us empty promises. How about this: since you’ve been relatively cooperative today, I’ll give you a little more time to pay. Five days. In five days, I want to see the remaining two hundred and twenty yuan. Otherwise, don’t expect me to be so merciful next time."
The Pang family wanted to plead further, but seeing Brother Liu’s fierce, non-negotiable expression, they all timidly swallowed their words.
Brother Liu pointed at the Pang family and stressed again, "Five days. Remember, I’ll be back in five days. If you try to delay again, I won’t be so polite."
With that, he waved to his two lackeys. "Let’s go."
The three of them swaggered out of the Pang family’s home.
After Brother Liu and his men left, it was as if all the spirit had been drained from the Pang family. Old Mrs. Pang even collapsed onto the floor. The thought that all the family’s money was gone made the old tears stream down her face. "This is a disaster! How are we supposed to live? Over two hundred yuan! Where are we going to find that kind of money?"
As she wailed, Old Mrs. Pang slapped her thighs, crying with a heart-wrenching sorrow.
The other family members were also listless. Seeing this, Pang Xiaofang’s heart ached, but she had no money herself and was powerless to help.
After a moment’s thought, she grew worried that Su Qing would really be targeted by those men. "Was it really a good idea to tell them about that girl, Su Qing?" she said with concern. "After all, she has nothing to do with this."
"What do you mean she has nothing to do with this?" Upon hearing that, Old Mrs. Pang slapped her thigh in anger. "If that damn girl had just lent us the money, would our money have been taken like this? Now the family doesn’t have a single cent left, and here you are, defending her! If you ask me, she deserves to be robbed! It’s her own fault for not lending us the money."