The doorman, who knew the situation, spoke with a hint of schadenfreude.
After hearing this, He Tian staggered back two steps and almost fell to the ground.
"What? He owes gambling debts? Wasn't he in a cloth business with his maternal uncle? How could he owe gambling debts? By the way, is there any Liuguang yarn in the house? I bought it for two hundred taels. Your master has the house, he doesn't need Liuguang yarn. Please, give me back Liuguang yarn, I'll take it to Jiangnan County to sell. A bolt can sell for fifty taels. Can I give you five taels? Don't tell your master, please."
He Tian still held onto a last glimmer of hope: that Wang Gui had indeed acquired the fabric, but was simply too busy with gambling debts to sell it, and that the shimmering gauze was kept at the Wang family's residence.
Once he gets his hands on the shimmering gauze, he can take it to Jiangnan County to sell.
Then redeem the property deed.
There's still time.
"Heh, shimmering silk? That's something he can buy! A bolt of shimmering silk is worth a thousand taels! Fifty taels? Only a fool like you would believe that. Wang Gui's maternal family died out more than ten years ago. And he's still calling himself a third cousin? I advise you not to waste your time here. Either report it to the authorities or go find Wang Gui and see if you can get some money back. Don't come knocking on the door anymore. My master has a bad temper. If he hears you, you'll be in for a beating."
The doorman had a good heart.
Although he was laughing at He Tian, he also revealed some useful information to him.
After saying that, he closed the door.
He stopped paying attention to He Tian.
He Tian broke down.
He grabbed his hair with both hands, slumped to the ground, and as his breathing became heavier, his eyes turned bloodshot.
He was muttering to himself.
"What should I do? What should I do? I'm finished, I'm really finished. Where can I find him? Where can I find him? Ah, Wang Gui, I have no grudge against you, why did you harm me? You beast, you beast—"
He couldn't hold back any longer, so he sat down at the Wang family's door and loudly cursed Wang Gui, but the door never opened again.
The passersby pointed and whispered about him, as if they were watching a monkey show.
After sitting there for a long time, He Tiancai walked home like a madman.
"Son, what happened to you? Did someone beat you up? Huh?" Madam Song was startled when she saw her disheveled son.
Jiao'er also felt uneasy. She knew about this matter. Could it be that she hadn't earned any money? She wondered to herself.
Only Bai Ruixue was sitting on a small stool washing clothes. She didn't know anything, but she looked at He Tian with worry on her face.
"Mother, I'm so sorry, I'm ruined, your son is so sorry, Mother—"
"Thump—"
He Tian burst into tears and knelt down on the ground with a thud.
The sound of my knee hitting the ground was like drumming; it hurt just to hear it.
"My son, what's wrong? Get up quickly, does your knee hurt? What did you do? Tell your mother, tell me—"
Song had never seen He Tian like this before.
She was worried, but also a little scared.
He was afraid his son had committed some terrible crime.
"Mother, I..."
He Tian knew he couldn't hide it anymore. Since Wang Gui had lied to him, he must have planned not to pay back the money. What was the use of reporting it to the authorities? Wang Gui might have already disappeared. He wasn't like the gatekeeper's master from before, who had a large and wealthy family. He was all alone. What could he use to stop people?
He didn't even know where Wang Gui was.
But he only said two words.
The door was kicked open and slammed heavily onto He Tian's back.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood.
It hurt so much I was convulsing.
"My son—"
"Who are you? What do you want? You've injured my son in broad daylight! I'm going to report this to the authorities! Help! Someone's hitting me!"
Seeing her son vomiting blood, Song cried out for help.
But the neighbors only glanced at it before going home and locking their doors.
Because the area outside the Ho family's house was filled with thugs from the gambling den.
They all had thick beards, were big and burly, and some even had scars on their faces. They were clearly not good people, so no one dared to report the He family to the authorities. They all hid at home, not daring to make a sound.
"Ha, report to the authorities? Go ahead and try reporting them. Ask your good son what this is." The thugs made way for a man to step out from the crowd. It was none other than Shen Jiading, the manager of the gambling den.
He held up a piece of paper, sneering.
"Son, what is this?" Recalling her son's actions just now, and seeing the note with unreadable writing on it, Madam Song panicked.
Could it be that her son did something wrong, and that's why they came knocking on her door?
“I’m sorry, Mother, I’m so sorry, I, I…” He Tian couldn’t say it.
He was in so much pain that his voice became hoarse from vomiting blood.
He kept his head down, not daring to look at Song Shi even once.
"He mortgaged this house to our gambling den, took two hundred taels and left, saying he'd pay it back in three months, but that month has come. Where's the money? I saw you weren't coming to the gambling den, so I brought some men to find you. How thoughtful of me, right? Pay up! Two hundred taels of principal, fifty taels of interest, a total of two hundred and fifty taels. Don't even think about taking a penny less! Otherwise, your house, hehe."
Shen Jiading looked at the furnishings in the courtyard, then focused his gaze on Jiao'er.
He took back the paper contract, stroked his chin, and lewd gleamed in his eyes.
A pregnant woman...
He likes it.
"What? Son, is what he said true? How did you get our house deed?" Madam Song was already terrified. She patted He Tian in disbelief, as if she wanted to hear her own son deny it.
But seeing that her son remained silent and didn't even lift his head, she completely panicked.
So Song, with her old legs, ran back into the house and searched for a long time, but couldn't find the house deed.
"My God, I can't live anymore! I've worked so hard my whole life, raising you from infancy, and this is how you repay me? I don't want to live anymore, what's the point of living? My life has been a joke. Tell me, I told you to study hard and get a degree, but you wouldn't listen. You insisted on becoming a lowly merchant. Did you use these two hundred taels to do business?"
"Where's the money? Huh? Give the money back! I advised you before, but you wouldn't listen. You've lived longer than I have, why should anyone help you make money? Who do you think you are? Go and ask for the money back! Tell them you're quitting, and get the money back. Not only did you get an extra fifty taels of interest for no reason, but you've also made me lose all face. Look at Jiao'er, look at Xiaoxue, one is due to give birth in four months, and the other is only three months pregnant. What are you going to do with them? What are you going to do with me? Are you trying to drive us to our deaths?!"
Song sat on the ground, crying and singing at the same time.
He was even slapping his thigh.
She had the complete demeanor of a village woman.
Shen Jiading's eyes turned cold. He picked at his ear with his fingers, somewhat impatient.
“Mother, he’s gone. Wang Gui has run away. Unless we report him to the authorities, what’s the use? If he’s gone, the authorities won’t be able to find him. He’s gone. Mother, I’m so sorry. Your son knows he was wrong, he knows he was wrong—”
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