"It's 150, that's right, your fingerprint is still on it! If you don't pay, we're going inside to take our things." Xiao Fang waved the IOU in his hand, his face turning cold.

"Let me see, you must be mistaken." Ding Ermei wasn't stupid; she naturally couldn't just take whatever amount Xiao Fang said.

"Stand back and watch, don't touch me. If you tear up the IOU, you won't get the money, and I'll beat you so badly your own mother won't recognize you." Xiao Fang threatened, raising his fist before showing Ding Ermei the IOU in his hand.

Upon seeing the words "150" on the IOU, Ding Ermei secretly groaned inwardly.

She saw it was 50 that day! How did it become 150?

Ding Ermei had actually thought about finding an opportunity to snatch the IOU and tear it up.

After being reminded by Xiao Fang, Ding Ermei dared not do it again.

Ding Ermei had witnessed firsthand the ferocity with which Xiao Fang beat people.

Oh my god! What should she do?

At this moment, Zhou Fugui heard Ding Ermei's voice from inside the house and came out to see what was going on.

Seeing the menacing looks on Xiao Fang's face, Zhou Fugui demanded, "Who are you? What do you want in our Zhoujia Village?"

"Old man, mind your own business. We're here to collect a debt," Xiao Fang said arrogantly.

"Yes, we're here to collect a debt."

"Old man, you and this old woman are from the same family, right? Perfect, hurry up and pay the money, then we'll be off right away."

Xiao Wu and Xiao Yuan chimed in from the side.

Seeing Ding Ermei's shifty eyes, Zhou Fugui grew anxious: "Ding Ermei, tell me, what exactly happened? Where did you get to know this group... this group..."

Zhou Fugui pointed at Xiao Fang and the others, wanting to say the word "scoundrels," but he was also a little scared.

Zhou Bingqiang and Zhou Bingxing were not home, and Zhou Fugui was afraid of being beaten.

“I…we met at the police station,” Ding Ermei stammered.

"Are they police officers?" Zhou Fugui's eyes widened.

Xiao Fang and his gang looked like thugs; they didn't look like police officers at all.

“It wasn’t the police; they were arrested by the police that day too. There were seven or eight of us locked up in one cell.” After Ding Ermei finished speaking, she lowered her head and didn’t dare to look at Zhou Fugui.

Zhou Fugui immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

It's good that they're not police.

"What are they doing following you home? Hurry up and tell me!" Zhou Fugui said impatiently.

"We've come to collect the money." Before Ding Ermei could speak, Xiao Fang waved the IOU in his hand and said, "Your wife owes us 150 yuan, and we agreed to pay her when she's released."

"One hundred and fifty? What money do you owe?" Zhou Fugui asked anxiously, pulling Ding Ermei aside.

"She ate our food for three days," Xiao Fang said.

"No, this money is what you owe me for doing me a favor by letting me out earlier," Ding Ermei quickly retorted.

"You idiot, there's no way you can get favors at the police station!" Zhou Fugui finally realized that Ding Ermei had been fooled by the people in front of her.

"Gentlemen, my second sister is ignorant; she signed the IOU carelessly, so it doesn't count. However, she's been well taken care of by you all these past few days inside. If you don't mind, how about having lunch at my house today?" Zhou Fugui said with a forced smile.

“No, we want the 150 yuan.” Xiao Fang’s face darkened.

With such a large piece of meat about to be eaten, Xiao Fang was naturally unwilling to give it up.

“This is Zhoujia Village, not a place for you to run wild. My son is an officer in the army. If you don’t know what’s good for you, don’t blame me for being impolite,” Zhou Fugui said threateningly, narrowing his eyes.

"Hey old man, you've got guts, daring to threaten us guys."

"Old man, why are you being so polite? I'd like to see what you've got."

Xiao Wu and Xiao Yuan were shouting at each other.

"It's written in black and white. If you don't pay back the money, we're coming to your house and taking your things!" Xiao Fang stuffed the IOU in his pocket, rolled up his sleeves, and rushed towards Zhou Fugui's house.

Zhou Fugui tried to stop him, but Xiao Wu knocked him to the ground.

Zhou Fugui tripped and fell on his backside, unable to get up for a moment. He hurriedly shouted, "Help! Someone has broken into the village and is robbing us!"

"Help! Murder!"

The people of Zhoujia Village are very united. At Zhou Fugui's shout, a bunch of people rushed out of their homes.

"Who, who dares to come and cause trouble in our Zhoujia Village?"

"If they dare to come to our Zhoujia Village to steal, I'll make sure they come in upright and leave horizontally."

...

Some of these villagers were carrying carrying poles, some were carrying hoes, and one was carrying a shiny axe.

The three of them were so frightened that they froze on the spot.

Xiao Fang was quick-witted. He immediately pulled out the IOU from his pocket, waved it at the crowd, and said, "Fellow villagers, we are not here to rob you. We are here to collect a debt from Ding Ermei. Here is the IOU. They are unwilling to pay back the money, so we thought of taking their belongings to pay off the debt."

"Uncle Fugui, what exactly happened?"

"Uncle Fugui, your wife owes money, just pay it back. Why are you yelling about murder and robbery? Are you playing with us?"

"Fugui, we people of Zhoujia Village can't renege on our debts!"

...

After everyone had read the words on the IOU, they turned around and began to persuade Zhou Fugui.

Xiao Fang and the others smiled.

“Listen to me, everyone. This IOU is fake. My second sister was detained in the police station for three days and only ate a few meals. How could it be worth 150 yuan?” Zhou Fugui hurriedly explained.

"It is indeed expensive."

"Ten yuan is more than enough for three days' worth of food."

"Young man, don't be so heartless, just take a few dollars and let it go!"

The group turned back to persuade Xiao Fang and the others.

“Normally, a few meals wouldn’t be worth this much money. But these past few days, no one has brought you food. If it weren’t for us, your wife would have starved to death long ago. So, this money isn’t just for food; it’s for saving a life. Is 150 yuan a lot for a life?” Xiao Fang said emphatically.

The villagers fell silent.

What's Zhou Fugui up to?

Ding Ermei has been in the police station for so many days, and no one from Zhou Fugui's family has brought her food.

A few minutes later, someone spoke up.

"Fu Gui, what this young man said makes sense. Human life is priceless."

"Uncle Fugui, with so many people in your family, why doesn't anyone bring food to your wife? There's plenty of food at home, it wouldn't be too much trouble to bring her food."

"This can be considered a life-saving favor. The IOU was even signed with my second sister's own fingerprint, so it's only right that she repays the money."

Zhou Fugui's face turned bright red, both from anger and embarrassment.

How can the villagers speak up for the thugs? Shouldn't they help them drive the thugs away?

Seeing that no one was willing to help, Zhou Fugui had no choice but to admit defeat.

"Go get the money quickly," Zhou Fugui said, giving Ding Ermei a push.

Ding Ermei had no choice but to suppress her heartache, go back into the house, take out 150 yuan, and send Xiao Fang and the others away.

After Xiao Fang and the others left, Zhou Dazhu finally arrived late.