Sold for 300, I Fight Back with Superpowers

Old Mrs. Pang was seething with resentment. ’If only Su Qing had lent our family three hundred yuan,’ she thought. ’Not only could we have paid off our debt of over two hundred and seventy yuan today, but we would’ve had more than twenty left over. Our savings would have grown!’ In her mind, everything the Pang family was suffering today was Su Qing’s fault.

As for repaying Su Qing, Old Mrs. Pang had never even considered it. ’After all, Pang Xiaofang was the one who borrowed the money, not the Pang family itself,’ she reasoned. ’If anyone pays it back, it’ll be Pang Xiaofang. It has nothing to do with us.’

So, Old Mrs. Pang developed a vicious hatred for Su Qing. She wished Brother Liu and his men would hurry up and rob Su Qing of every last cent, just to let her get a taste of what it’s like to have no money.

Pang Xiaofang was also annoyed that Su Qing had refused to lend them the money. However, she had a bit more of a conscience than the rest of the Pang family, so she ultimately felt a little uneasy about it.

But that was as far as it went. As for warning Su Qing, the thought never crossed her mind. After all, if she went to warn her, wouldn’t that be as good as admitting her own guilt?

The family’s money was gone, and they had to figure out how to raise more in the coming days. A pall of gloom hung over the Pang family. As for Pang Xiaofang’s initial suggestion of reporting it to the police, the family was staunchly against it, terrified that their only male heir would be arrested.

After leaving the Pang family’s home, Brother Liu and his two men quietly left the village. One of them finally said to him, "Brother Liu, about that girl, Su Qing... should we go and..."

As he spoke, he made a grabbing motion with his hand, the meaning clear: secretly go and get the money.

Five hundred yuan. That was a lot of money. Who wouldn’t be tempted?

Brother Liu frowned. "Let’s not rush this," he said. "First, we need to find out if it’s true. Plus, we have to run this by Brother Lu and see what his orders are. We can’t act on our own. If we piss off Brother Lu, we’ll be in for it. Don’t forget, Brother Lu said if we do a good job, he’ll take us to Xiangcheng to live the good life."

"Right, right, Brother Liu is right." Hearing this, the other two men nodded excitedly. They had heard Brother Lu’s descriptions of Xiangcheng before and had been yearning for it ever since. They felt that life in Xiangcheng was the life they were meant to live. How could this place compare? This poor, run-down mountain hollow was so backward you couldn’t even buy anything good with money.

The three of them chatted and laughed as they headed back to their den, fantasizing about their future lives in Xiangcheng. When they arrived, they saw the very man they were talking about: Brother Lu.

"Brother Lu!" Seeing him, Brother Liu and his men hurried forward, greeting him excitedly and respectfully.

"Mm," Brother Lu said, looking at the three of them. "How have things been around here lately?"

"Pretty good," Brother Liu said quickly. "It’s just that we can’t collect on a lot of the debts. The people here are too poor. You can’t squeeze blood from a stone."

"Get what you can. For now, give me the money you’ve collected over the past few days," Brother Lu said with a stern expression.

"Yes, sir! Right away!" Brother Liu said, then quickly turned to the two men beside him. "What are you waiting for? Go get the money for Brother Lu."

"Yes, yes," the two men quickly agreed.

While the other two were fetching the money, Brother Lu warned Brother Liu, "Be careful how you handle things. Don’t get on the police’s radar. Otherwise, we’ll have to shut down this whole money-making operation. When that happens, you’ll have nothing left, and you might even end up in the slammer."

"Yes, I understand. We’re just scaring them a bit. We haven’t done anything too extreme," Brother Liu said hurriedly.

"Good. Just don’t get too conspicuous. You don’t want to attract trouble."

"Yes, I understand," Brother Liu agreed, nodding quickly. He then brought up the Pang family. "It looks like the Pang family really did empty their coffers. But I reckon they can still scrape some more money together in the next few days. By the way, they told me something today."

"What is it?" Brother Lu asked.

Brother Liu quickly explained the situation with Su Qing in great detail. He added, "They say she’s just a young girl, lives alone, and is sitting on a huge pile of cash. Brother Lu, what do you say? Should we make a move?"

Hearing this, Brother Lu narrowed his eyes in thought. "I’ll go back and run this by Brother Sheng," he said. "Don’t you guys make any rash moves until then."

This Brother Lu was just a lackey among the men who had come from Xiangcheng. He had been staying in Baihua Mountain for a long time, so Brother Sheng had Lu Zi secretly organize this gambling business in the nearby villages. Over the past six months or so, it had been booming, and he’d made a good amount of money.

"Yes, sir! I’ll wait for your word," Brother Liu said, ever the sycophant.

"Mm. You’re not bad, kid," Brother Lu said with a chuckle, patting Brother Liu’s shoulder. "When we go back to Xiangcheng in the future, we’ll take you guys with us. Let you experience what a truly dazzling world is like."

Brother Liu was overjoyed. "Thank you, Brother Lu! Thank you, Brother Lu!"

After taking the money, Brother Lu returned to Baihua Mountain to report to Brother Sheng. "Brother Sheng, it looks like Little Liu and his men are handling things pretty competently. The business is doing well so far."

Brother Sheng nodded. "That’s good. Our brothers have been stuck in this godforsaken mountain for so long with no source of income. It’s been hard on everyone. This money can serve as a little bonus for all their trouble."

"Thank you for your consideration, Brother Sheng," Lu Zi said, immediately seizing the chance to flatter him with a grin.

Brother Sheng chuckled, then turned to Brother Ming, who was sitting to the side. "A Ming, who would’ve thought a gambling business could do so well in a poor backwater like this."

Brother Ming laughed. "Brother Sheng, I’m impressed. You’re the brilliant one. If it weren’t for you, we’d just be sitting around foolishly in these mountains every day with no way to make this kind of money."

"Heh," Brother Sheng chuckled. "It’s nothing. You all followed me out here, and while it was the First and Second Masters’ idea, I still have to make sure everyone has a way to make some cash, right?"

Brother Ming smiled and offered Brother Sheng a few more compliments. The two of them exchanged pleasantries, and it seemed the animosity caused by the street hacking incident a few days ago had vanished.

Su Tao, sitting obediently by Brother Ming’s side, kept her head slightly bowed in a submissive posture. For the past few days, she had been working hard to please Brother Ming, and it seemed to be paying off. Case in point: today, while they were discussing business, he hadn’t shooed her away.

Su Tao couldn’t help but feel a secret sense of triumph.

"Oh, right, Brother Sheng, there’s one more thing," Lu Zi added quickly. "It’s something that guy Little Liu told me today."

Lu Zi then told Brother Sheng all about Su Qing.

Before Brother Sheng or Brother Ming could speak, Su Tao cried out in surprise, "Su Qing?"

Hearing this, Brother Ming raised an eyebrow. "You know her?"