Chapter 41: Driven to Madness by Unpaid Debts

“Then… then go ahead and smash things, but don’t hurt anyone.” Mrs. Qin finally gave in, shielding her daughter as she stepped aside to make room. After all, borrowing money and failing to repay it was inexcusable; they had to let the collectors vent their anger somehow.

Upstairs.

Qin Hongfei was left speechless by what she saw—her own mother was truly a genius! It always seemed like the debtor was barely affected, while the creditor was the one driven to fury.

Just as the loan sharks were about to start wrecking the place, Qin Hongfei couldn’t help but speak up. “Wait a minute! All you want is your money back. Smashing up my home won’t get you a cent and it won’t help anyone. I can pay off my mother’s debt…”

The short man immediately turned to her. “You—you’ll pay?”

“That’s right,” Qin Hongfei replied. “It’s only right to pay what you owe. But the original sum was a hundred and twenty thousand, and now it’s ballooned to five hundred and thirty thousand. There’s no way I can repay that much in such a short time.” Even if she could, she had no intention of being taken for such a fool.

The short man suggested she could at least pay the interest first.

She chuckled. “Do you take me for an idiot? If I start paying the interest, it’ll just keep piling up and up—we’ll never see the end of it. At this rate, we’ll never pay it off. So how about we both compromise? Lower the interest, I’ll pay you, and you can take the money back to your boss. How about it?”

The short man’s eyes darted nervously. Given the sorry state of the Qin family, he was beginning to realize they might never be able to pay off five hundred and thirty thousand, not even in a lifetime. Maybe a compromise wasn’t such a bad idea. “How do we compromise?” he asked, thinking at best he wouldn’t raise the interest any further.

Qin Hongfei replied, “One hundred and twenty thousand, plus thirty thousand in interest. I’ll pay it all back within three months.”

The man’s face darkened. “Little girl, do you believe I won’t kill you?”

This was her idea of compromise? Was she backing off or pushing them right to the edge of the cliff?

“If you kill me, you’ll get nothing except a murder charge,” she answered calmly. “Leave me alive, and I’ll find a way to pay you back in three months. You’ll get your principal back and make thirty thousand in interest. You want to make money, don’t you? But if anything happens to anyone in my family, not only will you lose your money and risk prison, you’ll be responsible for a life. So, do you want your principal back plus thirty thousand, or do you want to drag this out forever? We already owe plenty—at this point, we’re like a pig not afraid of boiling water. Think it over.”

“You really think you can pay it all back in three months?” The short man eyed her skeptically.

“Even if I have to sell everything we own, I’ll get you your money. My word is good.” Seeing that he was wavering, Qin Hongfei breathed a sigh of relief and reaffirmed her promise.

“Fine, I’ll give you three months!” The man took a deep breath, his tone turning menacing. “But if you don’t pay up in three months, I’ll go straight to your old family home for the debt. If a son and daughter-in-law rack up debt, it’s only right for the parents to help pay it back. If anything happens to your elders, don’t blame us, all right?” With that, he and his men left as forcefully as they had come.

But somehow, word of this reached the old family home.

That very evening, Old Mrs. Qin arrived at their door with the second and fifth branches of the family, after some undisclosed discussion with the fifth branch. When Qin Hongfei opened the door, she was met by her grandmother’s disappointed gaze. She hesitated, but didn’t try to explain. “Grandma,” she greeted.

Her grandmother called for her mother to come out. Once everyone was gathered, she spoke. “We’ve discussed it. The fifth branch can put up the fifteen thousand for you, but there’s a condition.”

Mrs. Qin eyed her suspiciously, wanting to retort—since when was the fifth branch so generous? But Qin Hongfei and her sister Qin Fei quickly stopped her, letting their grandmother continue.

“Your uncle and aunt are very busy these days…”

“And Wanwan and Xiao Nian have their studies to focus on. The family needs to hire a housekeeper. The fifth branch will give you the fifteen thousand, but Fei’er will have to go over there to do the laundry and cook.”