An Bihuai's face flushed red and then turned pale. Knowing that he had no way to borrow money, he could only leave dejectedly.

As soon as he left, Wang pulled Yuan Doudou into the house.

"I need to discuss something with you," Wang said cautiously.

Yuan Doudou guessed a bit: "Mom, you want to help him?"

Wang nodded slowly, her eyes filled with helplessness.

"It's all my fault. When your father was dying, I promised him that I would take good care of the An family." An Bisheng was a good older brother. Even on his deathbed, he was worried about his younger brother, even though the second branch of the family had already separated.

Yuan Doudou didn't quite understand, so she could only listen to her mother-in-law.

"Actually, what I mean is to make Anping suffer a bit, otherwise he won't have a peaceful life in the future." Yuan Doudou analyzed the pros and cons, and decided that solving the problem with money would be too easy on him.

Madam Wang sighed, "He is, after all, your cousin. We should help him if we can. Once he's in the yamen, we don't know if he'll be able to get out safely. If he's crippled, the burden will be even heavier."

Yuan Doudou remained noncommittal and went inside to retrieve the box.

After counting, it totaled five taels and ten coins.

“This isn’t enough. I’ll send more after I sell the oyster mushrooms today.” Yuan Doudou closed the box. “It’s getting late, Mother. Let me help you to rest.”

"good."

The next morning, Yuan Doudou arrived at Haoqinglai and happened to run into Li Cai, who was out shopping.

"DouDou, why are you here so early today?" Li Cai asked, slightly surprised.

Yuan Doudou laughed and said, "I'm just afraid of delaying your business opening. It's better to deliver goods sooner rather than later."

Li Cai helped unload the basket and saw that it was full.

"Perfect, let me weigh it for you, then I'll go out." Li Cai instructed someone to move the oyster mushrooms to the back kitchen.

This was exactly what Yuan Doudou wanted.

"Exactly twenty pounds."

Li Cai had the accountant give Yuan Doudou ten taels of silver, and then he left.

Yuan Doudou remembered that early that morning, she had harvested all the oyster mushrooms in her house to make up twenty jin (10 kg).

Right now, what's troubling her is what to do if An Bihuai doesn't return the twenty taels she gave him.

She always signed written agreements when she borrowed money before, and she needs to do the same this time. She wants to find a notary, but there isn't a suitable one in the village.

"Miss Yuan." The visitor interrupted Yuan Doudou's thoughts.

"Officer Fang."

It came at just the right time.

"Officer Fang, I happen to need your help with something."

Yuan Doudou told Fang Deming what had happened, and after listening, Fang Deming frowned deeply.

“Miss Yuan, if I remember correctly, your second uncle’s family just destroyed your greenhouse. How can you repay kindness with ingratitude?” Fang Deming was straightforward and spoke his mind.

Helpless, Yuan Doudou explained the reason to him.

"I see." It's only natural for the elderly to have many concerns.

"Alright, I'll give you some instructions and then we'll go together." Fang Deming turned and went into the alley, giving his men some instructions.

He arrived on horseback and took Yuan Doudou to the post station to fetch his horse.

“Miss Yuan, I’m sorry to trouble you to sit in the front.” Fang Deming said calmly.

Yuan Doudou stared blankly at the tall horse, wondering how she was going to get on it.

She had never ridden a horse before, nor dared to touch one, for fear of startling it and causing serious consequences.

"I'd rather take a carriage." It's more reassuring to pay for a ride.

Fang Deming, unaware of the situation, quickly tried to dissuade him: "The carriage is too slow, my little darling is much faster."

He had ridden in a carriage, which was slower than walking.

"Okay," Yuan Doudou reluctantly agreed.

Fang Deming took the initiative to carry the basket on his back, held the reins, and helped Yuan Doudou onto the stirrups. With a split, he mounted the horse.

The place is small, but fortunately Yuan Doudou is thin and doesn't take up much space.

"Hold on tight, we're off," Fang Deming reminded her behind her ear.

Fang Deming was indeed a master horseman. He loosened the reins, cracked the whip, and Xiao Guai shot off like an arrow.

"Wow, that was fast!" Yuan Doudou exclaimed excitedly.

The wind felt nice on her face, like a massage.

Fang Deming smiled knowingly, revealing two small tiger teeth.

If it weren't for her, he could have ridden even faster.

After a bumpy ride, when they finally arrived at Ping'an Village, Yuan Doudou's face was frighteningly pale.

After dismounting, my legs felt weak and I couldn't walk properly.

"Miss Yuan, are you alright?" Fang Deming asked with concern.

Yuan Doudou forced a smile: "It's nothing, a piece of cake."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yuan Doudou bent over and started gagging.

Once she had recovered sufficiently, the two went to Anbihuai's house.

Before even entering the door, a sharp, cursing voice could be heard from inside: "An Bihuai, if you don't pay me today, I'll immediately go to town and report you to the authorities."

"Wang Cuihua, don't go too far. I told you it's not that I don't want to give, it's just that my family really doesn't have any money."

Zhuang Shuhui damaged the greenhouse, losing almost all of her family's savings.

With over a dozen family members, all needing to eat, if all the money were given to Wang Cuihua, the family would be starving.

"I don't care! Your Anping has done terrible things, and you, as his father, are not going to pay for them. What do you want? My daughter is still at home, crying her eyes out!" Wang Cuihua wanted nothing more than to tear Anping to pieces.

Then, a clanging and banging sound came from inside, presumably indicating a fight had broken out.

"Let's go in," Fang Deming urged, his experience telling him that a fight had broken out inside.

Yuan Doudou slowly pushed open half of the door, looked at the mess in the yard, and smiled without saying a word.

Zhuang Shuhui and Wang Cuihua were wrestling when they heard the door open and both looked towards the entrance.

"Yuan Doudou, what are you doing here?"

The two of them stopped pulling their hair at the same time.

"Do you think I wanted to come? If it weren't for my mother's sake, I wouldn't even bother to look at you." Yuan Doudou said, taking out her purse.

An Bihuai quickly stepped forward, smiling obsequiously, "Doudou, you've come here to give me money, haven't you?"

"Second Uncle, let's make this clear: this money is a loan to you, and you'll have to pay interest," Yuan Doudou said seriously.

An Bihuai's face turned cold when he heard about interest.

"DouDou, I'm your second uncle, can you waive the interest?" An Bihuai asked shamelessly.

Yuan Doudou laughed, "In that case, I also asked Second Uncle. Has Second Uncle forgotten?"

An Bihuai recalled that when Wang was seriously ill, Yuan Doudou came to his door crying to borrow money, and he also asked for interest and drew up a written agreement.

In Ping'an Village, family members typically don't sign receipts when lending money to each other, and they certainly don't ask for interest.

Fine, I'll give it to you then; it'll solve our immediate problem.

How much interest?

Seeing that he was quite agreeable, Yuan Doudou didn't make things difficult for him and, as usual, paid him five taels and fifty coins for a year.

"One tael, ten copper coins a year, isn't that much?"

An Bihua frowned upon hearing this; it was the interest rate he had previously quoted.

"DouDou, my dear niece, look at your second uncle now, can't you be a little more lenient and give him five coins a year?"

An Bihuai grinned slyly; what would a girl like her know about interest?

Yuan Doudou remained calm and slowly said, "Ten coins, not one less."

"Second Uncle, will you lend it to me or not? If not, I'm leaving."

Just as Yuan Doudou was about to leave, An Bihuai grabbed her sleeve.