Chapter 267 - 259: Borrowing Without Returning
Chapter 267: Chapter 259: Borrowing Without Returning
Old Mrs. Bai sidled up to Hu Changlin, forcing a fake smile onto her face. "Changlin, to tell you the truth, we rushed over here so early in the morning because it’s an emergency. My Dazhu broke his leg. He was at home all night, in pain the entire time. As soon as it was light out, we went to Lu Changchun’s house to ask him to treat Dazhu’s injury, and guess what happened?"
Hu Changlin’s expression remained unchanged. "He’s a doctor. If you asked him to treat Dazhu’s injury, of course he’d agree to go. But I’m guessing he demanded you pay him before he’d treat the wound, am I right?"
Liu was taken aback. "How did you know?"
Hu Changlin chuckled, his face filled with scorn and derision. "It’s just a matter of putting myself in his shoes. If I were him, I’d also demand you pay first before I provided any treatment."
’It’s your own fault for having a history of not paying your debts!’
Old Mrs. Bai and Liu looked terribly awkward, seething with hatred internally, but they didn’t dare lose their tempers right now.
Old Mrs. Bai gave a hollow laugh. "You have a point. We’ve certainly made mistakes in the past. But we paid off our debt to Lu Changchun long ago, and it took every last bit of silver we had. Now, we don’t have a single copper coin to our name, and our rice jar has been empty for ages. Forget about paying for Dazhu’s treatment—we can’t even afford a proper meal." As she spoke, Old Mrs. Bai raised a sleeve to dab at the corners of her dry eyes, pretending to wipe away tears.
But Hu Changlin wasn’t buying her act. He waved his hand dismissively. "Don’t bother telling me all this. It has nothing to do with me."
Old Mrs. Bai said quickly, "I know, I know, this really has nothing to do with you. But look, how about this? Could you lend me ten taels of silver first? Once Dazhu’s injury is healed, we’ll figure out a way to pay you back."
Hu Changlin sneered. "Figure out a way? What way could you possibly figure out? And how would you pay me back? With just those two acres of unripe, weed-choked wheat of yours? You think you can sell the harvest for ten taels of silver?"
’Lending them money would be like throwing meat buns at a dog—a complete waste with no return.’
Liu forced a laugh. "What kind of talk is that? Even if we can’t pay you back, doesn’t Zhao Lan have money? She’ll pay it back for us, so don’t you worry."
Hu Changlin knew this was their real plan. ’What a lovely little scheme,’ he thought.
"You don’t need to say another word. I’m not lending you any money. Leave. The Hu family doesn’t welcome you." Having said his piece, Hu Changlin began to herd the two women out.
’There’s no need to be polite with people like this. They won’t appreciate any courtesy you show them. The moment they have the upper hand, they’ll just trample all over you.’
Old Mrs. Bai and Liu were thrown out, leaving them absolutely furious. But they couldn’t get even with Hu Changlin; after all, he had no connection whatsoever to their Bai Family.
An idea suddenly struck Liu. "Mother," she said, "Zhao Lan must be at the construction site now. The last time I saw her and Bai Zhi, it was around this same hour, and they were pushing a wheelbarrow to the site to deliver breakfast."
Old Mrs. Bai immediately grabbed Liu and started walking toward the construction site. It wasn’t far from Hu Changlin’s home, just over two hundred paces away.
As they neared the old locust tree, they saw Zhao Lan standing by the wheelbarrow, talking with an unfamiliar man. They were laughing and chatting, their faces wreathed in smiles. The men on the construction site were eating their breakfast: white steamed buns and white congee—a thick porridge with more rice than water.
On their empty stomachs, the aroma of the buns and congee made the two women ravenous.
They dashed up to the wheelbarrow, ignoring the astonished looks from Zhao Lan and the man, and tore off the thin cotton quilt covering the wooden barrel. They plunged their hands inside, fingers spread wide, as if they could snatch eight or ten big steamed buns in a single grab.