After Qiu Heping finished speaking, he waved to Xiao Qiuli, who was not far away. The little girl with two high ponytails ran over and grabbed Qiu Heping's hand tightly.
"Third sister, what are you talking about?" Qiu Li looked up at Qiu Mang, her face innocent and adorable.
Qiu Mang suppressed her displeasure and forced a smile. "It's nothing. Just eat properly from now on and don't be picky. I'm going out to work and might not be back for a long time, so don't go hungry!"
The little girl nodded, somewhat bewildered.
Qiu Heping assumed his daughter had come to her senses and agreed to marry Uncle Zhao Gang, so he patted her on the shoulder and said, "Amang, thank you!"
Qiu Mang turned around, walked up to Zhao Gang, looked at the man's dark and fat face, and said, "Zhao Gang, I still stand by what I said, I'm not willing."
Zhang Guihua glared at Qiu Heping, wondering how he had managed to persuade her, but this girl was even more stubborn than before.
Zhao Gang wasn't annoyed. Anyway, today was either about getting people or collecting debts. He put his hands in his pockets and said, "No problem."
After the man finished speaking, he turned his head to look at Zhang Guihua, his face relaxed, "Did you hear that? Let's sell the house!"
Zhang Guihua's chest heaved violently; she was so angry she wanted to slap Qiu Mang across the face.
Qiu Mang glanced at Xiao Qiu Li, who was holding Qiu Heping's hand, and said in a calm tone, "No need, I'll pay the 500,000!"
After saying that, she looked at Qiu Heping and Zhang Guihua, "This is the last time. From now on, I will make my own decisions about my life, and you should stop interfering!"
“Okay! As long as you take on this 500,000 yuan, I won’t care what you do after that!” Zhang Guihua said excitedly.
Qiu Mang took out her phone and called a few friends, but they were all classmates who had just graduated not long ago, and she couldn't borrow much money from them.
Hearing her make so many humble phone calls to others, only to receive 50,000 yuan in return, Zhang Guihua couldn't help but mock, "Why bother with all that hard work? If you had just married him, wouldn't all this have ended?"
Aunt Zhang couldn't stand her act of getting the better of her while pretending to be innocent. "Sister-in-law Qiu, have some decency! You've driven your daughter to this state, and instead of feeling sorry for her, you come here to mock her. I've never seen a mother like you!"
"You..." Zhang Guihua was glared at by Zhang Sao, and she didn't know why she loved to meddle in other people's business!
Qiu Mang took out his phone and borrowed some more money from several lending platforms, but in the end, he was still short 100,000 yuan.
Qiu Mang pursed her lips, flipped through her contacts until she was exhausted, and had already made all the calls she needed to make. She really didn't know where to find that 100,000 yuan again.
Suddenly, her finger slid to Lu Yanting's phone number, the last uncalled number in her contacts.
She looked up and glanced around. Everyone was looking at her. Zhang Guihua looked at her with an arrogant look, her eyes full of disdain.
A hint of heartache flashed across Qiu Heping's face, but it was only for a moment before his expression became as indifferent as everyone else's.
Zhao Gang was already sitting on the chair next to him, his fat legs crossed, leisurely smoking another cigarette.
The man in the wheelchair made no attempt to hide the desire in his eyes, staring intently at her as if waiting for his dying prey to die so he could take it home.
Qiu Mang knew this was her last chance, so she dialed Lu Yanting's number.
The phone rang for a long time without being answered. On the last ring, a deep, magnetic male voice suddenly came from the other end, "Hello?"
Qiu Mang took a deep breath. "Hello, I'm Qiu Mang."
“I know, I have your number.” The man on the other end of the line wasn’t surprised.
Qiu Mang tightened her grip on her phone. After a long pause, she slowly spoke, "I...I want to borrow some money from you."
The man on the other end of the phone smiled and said, "Borrow? Are you sure? I clearly mentioned a simpler and more direct method to you."
Qiu Mang pursed her lips, "I'd like to borrow money from you, 100,000, is that alright?"
The man chuckled softly, "It took you more than half a year to pay back 30,000, and now you want to borrow again. I seriously doubt when you'll ever be able to pay it all back!"
After a pause, the man's businesslike voice came through the phone again, "I'm a businessman, and everything is about profit. Even if you go to the bank for a loan, they will check your credit first. You don't have a job or a stable income right now. People like you who have almost no ability to repay will not be lent money by the bank. Why do you think I would do such a losing business?"
The man's icy tone was like sharp arrows, each one piercing her heart. Qiu Mang clutched her chest, the feeling of being pierced by a thousand arrows so real.
But she knew that everything Lu Yanting said was the truth, a true reflection of society.
She knew that Lu Yanting was her last hope, but she just couldn't bring herself to say that she was willing to be his lover.
After a moment of silence, Qiu Mang said, "Mr. Lu, I'll go to work right away. I'll earn a lot of money and pay you back with interest, okay? Please help me one more time!"
Qiu Mang doesn't know how to say anything conciliatory; this is almost the lowest she can go.
Qiu Mang waited for almost half a minute, but there was still no response from the other end of the phone. She took the phone away from her ear and found that the call had been disconnected at some point.
With her last glimmer of hope shattered, Qiu Mang forced a bitter smile. It seemed that Lu Yanting hadn't received a satisfactory answer and didn't even bother to listen to her anymore.
Everyone who saw her being hung up on, and from her ashen face, could tell that she wouldn't be able to come up with the 500,000 yuan tonight.
Zhao Gang crossed his arms, watching her with a leisurely air, a malicious smile playing on his lips. His chubby face jiggled with his laughter. "How about it? Still struggling?"
Aunt Zhang looked at her with some concern, "Amang, I have 20,000 here. It's not much, but it can help a little. Give me your bank account number and I'll transfer it to you!"
Qiu Mang looked at Zhang Sao, a tear rolling down her cheek. Unlike Zhao Gang and the Qiu family's aggressive behavior, and unlike the many bystanders who were kicking her while she was down, Zhang Sao was the only person on her side tonight.
She shook her head, "Aunt Zhang, no need..."
The girl's eyes were filled with despair. 500,000 was the price for her to redeem herself, but she couldn't scrape together that amount no matter how hard she tried. Perhaps she was born to suffer.
Suddenly, the phone screen lit up, accompanied by a slight vibration. Qiu Mang opened it and saw that it was a transfer of 100,000 yuan from Lu Yanting.
A glint suddenly appeared in Qiu Mang's lifeless eyes. "Zhao Gang, I'll transfer this last 100,000 to you. We're even now!"
Zhao Gang suddenly stood up. He hadn't expected her to raise the 500,000 so quickly, but he had already made the promise, and there were so many people present, so he couldn't go back on his word.
"Of course! I, Zhao Gang, keep my word!"
Qiu Mang then looked at Qiu Heping and Zhang Guihua, "Dad, Mom, I've paid off the 500,000 yuan. From now on, please give me my freedom and don't interfere with any of my decisions! And don't force me to marry anyone anymore!"
This was the first time Zhang Guihua had seen such determination and resolve in Qiu Mang's eyes. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but Qiu Heping quickly pulled her arm and whispered, "Alright, that's enough! Don't say anything more. Mang already has a debt of 500,000 yuan. Let her go!"
Zhang Guihua then remained silent.
After Zhao Gang received the money, he left in a large group, and the crowd of onlookers dispersed, leaving only the Qiu family in the courtyard.
Qiu Mang went straight into the house, packed a few clothes, and then came out with her suitcase.
Qiu Hongwei walked over, reached out and grabbed the suitcase, and asked with his eyes downcast, "Amang, what are you doing?"
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