Chapter 99: Chapter 99: I Know Where the Money Is

"Xiao Fang, were you able to borrow the money?"

The next day, Pang Xiaofang returned to her parents’ home in Qili Village.

The moment Pang Xiaofang returned, the Pang family quickly gathered around her.

Seeing the desperate looks on her parents’, older brother’s, sister-in-law’s, and nephew’s faces, Pang Xiaofang sighed and gently shook her head.

"What? Why couldn’t you borrow it?" Pang Xiaofang’s sister-in-law, Liu Dan Ni, grew anxious. "Didn’t you say that woman in your village, Su Qing, has money? She got five hundred yuan when her family split up! Out of five hundred yuan, can’t she spare three hundred for our emergency?"

"Exactly," Old Mrs. Pang added anxiously. "Back when that girl’s family split, didn’t your husband go and help mediate for her? For that favor alone, she should have lent you the money."

Pang Xiaofang’s nephew, Pang Baozhu, also chimed in, "Auntie, if you can’t borrow the money, I’m done for. You can’t let me get crippled!"

As he spoke, Pang Baozhu’s voice started to tremble, and his whole body began to shake. When Old Mrs. Pang and Liu Dan Ni saw this, their hearts ached terribly for him.

"She refused to lend it," Pang Xiaofang said helplessly. "After all, it’s a huge sum of money. No one would lend it out so easily."

Old Man Pang and Pang Xiaofang’s older brother, Pang Dayong, exchanged a look. Old Man Pang sighed and said to Pang Xiaofang, "Xiao Fang, I know this is difficult for you, but he’s the only male heir of our Pang family. We can’t let anything happen to him. You’re his aunt; you have to look out for your nephew."

Pang Xiaofang said, "Dad, I really can’t borrow it. Wang Xuehong said our family should report it to the police. That way, maybe we won’t have to pay this gambling debt. After all, Baozhu was tricked into gambling by those people, and they conned him into borrowing the money. It’s fraud, so... why don’t we report it to the police?"

"What? Wang Xuehong knows about this?" Old Man Pang was startled.

"No, absolutely not," Old Mrs. Pang said hurriedly. "That gang is vicious. What if they retaliate against us after we report them to the police? The police can’t keep them in jail forever. When they get out, our family will be the one to suffer! You only have one nephew; you can’t do this to him! Otherwise, I’ll disown you as my daughter."

"Mom—" Pang Xiaofang cried out helplessly. "Then what should we do? I can’t borrow the money, and those guys are coming to collect the debt tomorrow. We can’t just let them chop off Baozhu’s hand, can we?"

Hearing this, Pang Baozhu immediately hid in Liu Dan Ni’s arms. "Mom, I don’t want them to chop off my hand! I don’t!"

Liu Dan Ni hugged her son, her heart aching, and said to Pang Xiaofang, "His auntie, please, just think of something. No matter what, we have to scrape together the money to pay off the debt first. We can worry about everything else later, okay?"

"I don’t have any money either," Pang Xiaofang said, growing anxious herself. ’Ever since that last fight with Wang Xuehong, he’s stopped letting me manage the family’s money. I don’t have anything on me. If I were still in charge, I could’ve brought at least *something* for my family. But now... it’s useless no matter how much I worry.’

Thinking about how Su Qing refused to lend her money, Pang Xiaofang said angrily, "That damn girl Su Qing! She clearly has the money but refused to lend it to me. She even went to my house and told Old Wang about me trying to borrow money! Old Wang chewed me out yesterday. He said we have to report this to the police."

"No, no," Liu Dan Ni said hurriedly. "I heard that anyone involved in gambling gets arrested by the police. If our Baozhu gets arrested, what will we do? How will he ever get married?"

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Pang Xiaofang had run out of ideas and sat fuming on the edge of the kang bed.

For a moment, the Pang family was fraught with worry, and no one spoke.

Just as the family was brooding, a loud banging echoed from the courtyard gate. "Open up! Open the gate!"

"Mom, it’s them!" Pang Baozhu instantly recognized their voices and panicked.

"Ah!" Pang Xiaofang said in surprise. "Didn’t they say tomorrow? Why are they here today?"

"I don’t know!" Pang Dayong was trembling inside. As the banging on the gate grew louder, he mustered his courage and opened it. Three burly men with cold expressions walked in. One of them asked, "So, is the money ready?"

Pang Dayong said cautiously, "Gentlemen, didn’t we agree on tomorrow? We’re still... still trying to gather it."

"What’s the difference between today and tomorrow?" the man said, glaring. "It’s just one day."

"But... but we haven’t raised all the money yet," Pang Dayong said with a pained expression.

"How much do you have now?"

"Not much."

Hearing this, the man’s eyes bulged as he cursed, "Damn it, are you trying to screw with me? You don’t have much today, but you’ll have it all by tomorrow? Looks to me like you’re just stalling."

He then added menacingly, "Fine. Since you’re not serious about paying, I’ll take one of your son’s hands. That’s not too much to ask, right? Let’s go, boys. We’ll teach that little brat a lesson."

With that, the three men barged into the house.

"Ah! Mom, Grandma, save me!" Pang Baozhu was terrified, scrambling to hide behind his mother and grandmother, shaking like a leaf.

"You... you can’t do this." Seeing the three men barge in, the Pangs all panicked. They protectively surrounded Pang Baozhu, staring at the intruders in terror.

Pang Xiaofang was scared out of her wits too. ’These guys were clearly bad news. Her family was no match for them at all.’

The three men looked at the Pang family with contempt and sneered, "We came here quietly to let you save face. Since you’re throwing it away, don’t blame us for what happens next."

With that, the three men moved to grab Pang Baozhu.

Pang Baozhu was horrified. In his panic, he blurted out, "I know where there’s money! I know where to get money!"

"Hm?" Hearing this, the three men exchanged a look and stopped. Their main goal was money; the threats were just to scare them. After all, getting paid was the most important thing.

"Where’s the money?" one of the men asked. "If you have it, why didn’t you just give it to us?"

Pang Baozhu quickly pointed at his aunt. "In my aunt’s village, there’s a girl named Su Qing! She lives by herself in her own courtyard. She has money, at least five hundred yuan! She just refused to lend it to us."

"Five hundred?" Hearing this, the men asked eagerly, "A girl, living all by herself? For real?"

Pang Baozhu pointed at Pang Xiaofang and said, "It’s true, absolutely true! If you don’t believe me, ask my aunt!"