Others said, "That's right. I heard that Hongyan's eldest son is going to get married. People always say that raising a son is a good thing for old age. I've never heard of someone like you giving all the benefits to your daughter's family. You're really getting more and more confused. You're giving it to them, but you're supporting outsiders."

"When you are old in the future, do you expect Hongyan to support you?"

"That's right. She has her own parents-in-law. Are you expecting your grandson to support you? Her last name is Zhao, and she has her own grandfather to look after. Who is your grandpa?"

Li Pingwang was not convinced: "How can Hongyan be an outsider?"

No matter what we said or how we persuaded him, he was as stubborn as a donkey and wouldn't listen.

Others couldn't say anything more because if they said too much, they would offend him.

"You owe so much money, how are you going to pay it back?"

Some people with bad tempers even spat at Li Pingwang before leaving.

Li Pingwang's face turned red, and he felt that he had never been so embarrassed in his life.

The couple stopped fighting and the neighbors dispersed.

Taking advantage of the fact that there were no outsiders around and he didn't have to continue to lose face, Li Pingwang couldn't help but sarcastically say to Chen Xiaoying: "You are so great. You tell everyone everything and make them laugh at our family."

Chen Xiaoying sat on the chair expressionlessly: "No one is as good as you. You even dare to deny the loan shark's debt."

"What am I blaming for? Didn't I tell you to use the money you earned from the restaurant first? If that doesn't work, just sell Hongwei's house..." He took it for granted that the debt should be distributed to his wife and eldest son.

Chen Xiaoying interrupted him: "The restaurant is closed, and the house is rented. If the restaurant is not open, there will be no money to be made. The house has long been mortgaged to the credit union, so we can borrow 100,000 yuan."

"Do you understand? Hongwei and I, mother and son, have no money!"

No money.

She explained it clearly to Li Pingwang in a straightforward manner.

No money!

Li Pingwang was dumbfounded: "How can you be broke? You make 100 or 200 yuan a day, and the store has been open for more than a year. Can't you make 20,000 or 30,000 yuan?"

This was all calculated by his eldest daughter Li Hongyan. He clearly made a lot of money.

"No." Chen Xiaoying still had only these two words: "After deducting the costs of labor, rent, water and electricity, rice, flour, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, there is not much money left."

Anyway, there is no money.

For the first time, Li Pingwang felt a little nervous.

The two brothers, the second brother Li Hongjian and the third brother Li Hongqiang, looked at each other. They had never seen how the gang led by the third brother collected debts. They only knew that he was a powerful man.

I haven't seen it with my own eyes, so I don't know how powerful he is. Now I'm just a little confused.

What should I do if I don’t have money to pay the debt?

The whole family sat in the yard, waiting anxiously for news from Li Hongwei who had gone to Zhaojia Village.

Li Hongwei hurried to Zhaojia Village and told the matter to Zhao Bangzi, the village party secretary, and asked him to help call Hei Laosan.

I was afraid of being criticized, so when I went there, I bought a pack of cigarettes from the convenience store, with ten dollars on it.

Zhao Bangzi was a man in his forties or fifties who was elected as the village party secretary. He was a man of good speech and had some family background. He skillfully stuffed cigarettes and money into his coat pocket and said, "Your eldest sister hasn't married yet, and you don't have enough money to spend. Why are you thinking of paying back the money?"

"Then you guys are just wasting your time. It's been almost two months, and you're just paying interest for nothing."

"After all, we've got our daughter-in-law married and got the marriage certificate, so we're not afraid that she'll run away, right?"

Li Hongwei is an honest man. He works on the farm from dawn to dusk and has almost never asked anyone for help.

The land is the least deceptive thing. If you work hard, it will give you a bountiful harvest in the autumn.

Having dealt with the mute landowner all his life, he felt uncomfortable when he came to the house this time. He smiled apologetically, "Uncle, to tell you the truth, my eldest sister has been tossing things around. Except for my dad who was called over by her to press his fingerprints, none of us know about it."

"There's a big quarrel at home now. My mother said that whoever borrowed the money should be asked to ask Hei Lao San to pay it back. Anyway, we don't have the money to pay them back."

Zhao Bangzi has been acting as a matchmaker and passer for Hei Lao San for 10 to 20 years. He has heard a lot of this kind of talk. When the time comes that the whole family can no longer live together, won't they have to work together to find a solution?

Can they really watch their loved ones being forced to death?

He just smiled and said, "Aren't you rich? You opened a small restaurant and bought a house in the county town."

If Li Hongyan had not brought up the small restaurant and the house in the county town, she would not have been able to borrow 28,000 yuan from Hei Lao San. Even 3,000 yuan would have been enough for her.

Li Hongwei said hurriedly: "How much money can a small restaurant make from selling food? Besides, the house is my house. My eldest sister spent money to marry her daughter-in-law. She can't turn around and ask me, her brother, to pay her back, right? I spent another dime."

Zhao Bangzi smiled. It was indeed true. However, it was his father's fault for being so stupid that he was deceived by his own daughter Li Hongyan.

"Hongwei, I understand what you mean, but it's your father who signed and put his fingerprints on it. If he can't pay it back, then he's going to look for you, his eldest son, right?"

"It's useless to say these things. Hei Lao San doesn't care about your affairs."

After saying that, Zhao Bangzi called Hei Lao San according to what Li Hongwei said.

Li Hongwei stood aside, not daring to breathe, and listened quietly to the person talking on the phone.

After a while, he hung up the phone and asked, "What did they say?"

"He said that he doesn't care about the mess in your family. He only cares about going to your father for money when the time comes. If he doesn't have money and scares your father, don't blame him." Zhao Bangzi said.

Li Hongwei's heart sank: "Didn't you tell him that I have 5,000 yuan here, can you pay me back first?"

Zhao Bangzi shook his head: "They said that the earliest you can start paying back is three months. It's too early for you to pay back. We'll talk about it later."

Li Hongwei suddenly felt weak all over. He thought that the other person had connections in both the black and white worlds and didn't take what he said seriously at all.

I brought 5,000 yuan, but they refused to accept it. They said they would have to earn at least three months' interest.

How much will that cost?

"Uncle, please give me some advice. What should we do about this?" He was also extremely anxious.

Zhao Bangzi smiled and said, "I am just a messenger."

It was obvious that Zhao Bangzi didn't take him seriously.

Li Hongwei had no choice but to leave Zhao Bangzi's house. He stood on the side of the road for a long time, then turned around and rode his bicycle to his eldest sister's house to ask Li Hongyan.

Li Hongyan and her husband had just returned from the fields and were about to have lunch.

When he saw Li Hongwei enter the house, his brother-in-law Zhao Faliang saw him, but turned his head and pretended not to see him. He washed his face and went into the house and never came out again.

It was as if the brother-in-law had not come and he avoided him.

Li Hongyan curled her lips. She looked unhappy, as if she didn't sleep well last night.

"Why are you here? Don't you want to work in the fields?" His tone was a little sour: "Don't think that you can make a lot of money just because you opened a small restaurant in the county town. You don't want to work anymore."

"This is business, there are gains and losses, you have to be careful."

Hearing her words, Li Hongwei felt furious. She was hoping that he would be in trouble.