In order to ensure that Zhang San'er could return home smoothly, Zhang's mother specially hired an oxcart.

Perhaps Zhang San'er was just unlucky; the oxcart that Zhang Pozi had just hired had been used to transport live pigs.

The pig had diarrhea and pooped on the oxcart.

After unloading, the truck owner gave it a quick rinse, dried it, and then moved on to the next job.

It just so happens that they pulled up Zhang San'er.

As soon as Zhang San got on the bus, he was nauseated by the smell.

He wanted to get off the bus, but he had already paid the coins and the driver wouldn't give him a refund.

Furthermore, without the car owner's help, he was unable to get out of the car.

To prevent the wounds on his buttocks and thighs from reopening, Zhang San'er even relaxed his breathing throughout the journey.

The smell was just too strong, and Zhang San'er kept vomiting the whole way, which was quite a sight.

A little child looked on in confusion and asked, "Grandma, is the person on that oxcart pregnant?"

This prompted the grandmother to quickly gag the child.

"What nonsense! No man gets pregnant."

The child shook his little head.

"Grandma is lying. If she's not pregnant, why would she be vomiting? And why is she vomiting so badly?"

Grandma was quite helpless; this little grandson was just too serious.

"Maybe he's greedy and ate too much, which is why he keeps vomiting."

"It's just too ugly; it makes the street look disgusting."

Grandma held her grandson's hand, teaching him as they walked.

Don't wolf down your food; if you overeat, you'll not only have to throw it up, but you'll also suffer.

The child clearly listened, nodding his head as he walked.

Zhang San'er was vomiting so badly that he was completely disoriented and felt terrible, so he had no time to pay attention to what was happening around him or on the street.

When they arrived at Granny Zhang's lodging, Zhang San'er was helped into the house by Granny Zhang, and there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

When she heard someone knocking on the door, Granny Zhang was very puzzled.

The only people who knew she lived here were Ma Dahua and her husband.

"Who is it?" Granny Zhang asked as they reached the gate.

The row of burly men outside exchanged glances, then one of them spoke in a high-pitched voice,

"Open the door, madam! I'm your neighbor."

I noticed someone lives at your house, so I came over to say hello and get to know them.

When Granny Zhang heard a woman's voice, she lowered her guard, opened the door, and was dumbfounded.

"Who...who are you?" Granny Zhang asked, her voice trembling.

The burly man at the head of the group entered the courtyard and looked it over.

"Hehe, you've hidden it quite well. I thought you only had that one house, but I didn't expect you to have another one here."

I am An Si, An Wu's older brother.

You don't think that just because you moved, you don't have to pay back the money you owe, do you?

"You owe me 55 taels of silver, but I only got 10 taels from your Zhang San'er. I still owe 45 taels. When are you planning to pay me back?"

When Granny Zhang heard that they had come to collect a debt, she immediately became furious.

"Damn it, if it weren't for you, how could my old man have died?"

"You still have the nerve to come to me asking for money? This old woman is making this clear: you'd rather die than give me money."

As he spoke, he was about to crash into An Si.

An Si reached out and stopped Granny Zhang's head from bumping into him.

"Stop your tantrums. An Wu has been sentenced, so they've already paid for your old man's life."

But your son hasn't paid back the money he owes yet.

"Paying back debts is a matter of course. You old woman, are you trying to renege on your debt?"

An Si spoke casually, but Granny Zhang sensed a chill in his tone.

"We have no money. All of my money has been used for my son's medical treatment, and he is still lying in bed unable to move."

"Please, please have mercy. Once my son recovers, I'll slowly earn money to pay you back."

Seeing that crying and making a scene was useless, Granny Zhang changed her tactics, hoping to gain sympathy.

What are An Si and his gang doing? Asking them to express compassion is like asking them to rain down red flowers from the sky.

Especially because of Zhang San'er's affair, several of their brothers lost their lives.

Even if it's not a capital offense, who can guarantee they won't die from exhaustion while performing hard labor?

Given that Dawar's magistrate was an impartial enforcer of the law,

Therefore, An Si and his gang changed their approach. They didn't need to use ruthless methods to get revenge; they just needed to go to the door to demand their money back with a legitimate reason, and intimidate the other person along the way.

Seeing Granny Zhang playing the victim, An Si sneered.

"Don't pretend to be poor. Your house is worth about 20 taels of silver. Why don't you give it to me as collateral?"

That way you'll only owe me 25 taels of silver.

You should try to scrape together some more money. I heard you have some secret savings. Take it all out, or we brothers might have to search you.

Your precious son should be lying on the bed unable to move right now, right?

"What if we run into him when we go in to search the house? What do you think will happen?"

Granny Zhang now feels that An Si is a devil.

"No, no, this house doesn't belong to me, you can't take it away."

"I'll give you the money."

Granny Zhang dared not gamble; if she let the person in, she might really lose the money and property deeds she had hidden.

Back inside, he rummaged through the cupboard for a long time, finding a cloth bag here and a cotton-padded jacket there. In the end, he managed to scrape together 45 taels of silver.

When it came time to pay, she wasn't completely oblivious; she first asked An Si for an IOU.

After checking and confirming that it was the same one he had seen before, he handed over the money.

Disappointment flashed in An Si's eyes.

"You're smart to be honest, brothers. Let's go. This is the first time I've ever acted out of conscience, and I've ended up dragging you all down with me. What bad luck."

They came in a flurry and left in a flurry. After watching An Si and the others leave, Granny Zhang quickly closed the gate.

Once inside the house, Granny Zhang started crying.

"My son, you must never gamble again. If you keep gambling, your mother will really have no way to survive."

As you can see, our family is ruined. Your father is gone, and your two older brothers abandoned your mother.

My mother's savings for her funeral are gone, and I don't know how we're going to survive.

Once you're better, go find a job. You can't keep drifting like this..."

Granny Zhang's complaints clearly displeased Zhang San'er, but he was now bedridden and unable to move, so he was very irritable.

"Alright, I know. Stop nagging all the time. It's so annoying. I'm starving."

When Grandma Zhang heard her son say he was hungry, she quickly went to cook for him.

Zhang San'er, lying on the bed, seemed to be possessed.

"It's all Dad's fault. If he had taken out the house deed earlier to offset the loan, he wouldn't have had to die."

That old man died young. You'd be better off dead, but you made me take 30 lashes! It hurt like hell!

"With my gambling luck, I shouldn't be losing! What went wrong?"

It's a pity that Old Master Zhang, who had only been buried for a short time, lost his life, but it didn't even bring this scoundrel to his senses.