Chapter 89: Blood-Teared Reckoning

This story is entirely fictional.

"Yes, yes, yes. I came today, didn’t I? Whether the well can be filled to the brim, we have to take it step by step. It’s not as if I owe you money and am trying to wriggle out of it. Since I promised to pay you back, I will keep my word. I’ll return fifty thousand today; give me a few more days for the rest. I still have the remaining balance." After speaking, Chi Zhaoming signaled Mingyue to take out the money and hand it to the thug.

"You’ve got three more days for the rest. If you still don’t pay by then, the interest will snowball. You know how it works," said the thug.

Mingyue took fifty thousand yuan from the small bag on her person and handed it to him.

After receiving the money, the thug took a bill counter from a leather bag and counted the notes.

Once the money had been counted and verified, he tossed it into the leather bag and said to his accomplice, "Let’s go. I’m heading home. You find a few people and go to the vocational college in Hexi to collect the debt from that Wang fellow."

"The Hexi debt will probably have to wait. Even if we go there today, it may not do much good. The homeroom teacher of that Wang guy called earlier; I forgot to tell you," the follower said.

"Tell me what?"

"I mean I’m telling you about Wang Yifa’s phone call."

"That isn’t what I call information. Whatever the hell the situation is, if it’s time to pay, there’s nothing to argue about. Today he can be gardenia, tomorrow jasmine—are you telling me you’d just listen to him?"

"All right, then I’ll take people over now. If it really won’t work, I heard he still has some inherited family treasure or whatever. Supposedly it’s valuable. If he refuses to pay, I’ll have someone go to his house and seize that treasure by force."

"Are you stupid? Treasure or no treasure, everything you people bring back ends up being fake junk or worthless scraps, doesn’t it? Careful the boss doesn’t kick you to death."

Chi Zhaoming and Mingyue followed behind in silence and went straight downstairs.

"What are you trailing along for? Hurry up and go. You didn’t even bring enough money. So annoying!" The thug turned back and snarled at Chi Zhaoming.

Chi Zhaoming and Mingyue said nothing. Hearing the thug’s ruthless tone, Chi Zhaoming’s hatred surged up. Grinding his teeth, he thought, Just wait until I get the chance—I’ll kill you myself one day!

The thug went to the villa courtyard to get his car. Chi Zhaoming and Mingyue left the gate and hurriedly hailed a taxi.

The siblings did not rush to leave the villa immediately. Chi Zhaoming signaled the driver to wait a moment.

Only after seeing the thug’s car drive out of the villa courtyard did Chi Zhaoming say, "Follow that car ahead."

A little over ten minutes later, the thug’s car arrived at a residential compound. He got out, entered the complex, and went upstairs in one of the buildings.

Chi Zhaoming signaled to Mingyue to follow the thug and find out exactly where he lived.

"What do you need to know where that hoodlum lives for? Are you planning to go looking for them and get yourself tangled up with them somehow?" Mingyue asked.

"Don’t ask me why I need to know their background. They’ve taken my money, so at the very least I need to know where these people live. They’re just hired thugs too, and they might run. If they refuse to acknowledge the debt, at least we’ll know where they live, won’t we?"

Mingyue thought that made sense and said nothing. She quietly followed the thug upstairs until he opened the door and went inside.

When Mingyue returned to the roadside outside the compound, Chi Zhaoming asked, "You remembered where that guy lives, right?"

Mingyue nodded to show she had. "Apartment 303 in Building Two."

"I know. Let’s go home," Chi Zhaoming said.

"You only wanted to know where that man lives so you could get revenge, didn’t you? Don’t get mixed up with them again. The current mess is already bad enough. If anything else happens, your sister-in-law will never know peace. Don’t go adding fuel to the fire," Mingyue advised him.

"Maybe one day, I’ll have someone hack that bastard to pieces just to vent my hatred." Chi Zhaoming sounded half-joking, yet half-serious.

"Stop talking nonsense. You can barely avoid these hoodlums as it is, and you’re talking about hacking them to pieces. That’s enough of that." Mingyue spoke as they walked.

"I’m joking. I wouldn’t butcher someone over a mere two hundred thousand yuan!" Chi Zhaoming said.

"Go back and reflect properly on yourself. Whether your sister-in-law gets angry or scolds you, you must endure it and not say anything that will hurt her. Right now the whole family is worrying about your debts. You should be grateful to your sister-in-law and grateful to your father-in-law," Mingyue said.

Chi Zhaoming did not reply; he only kept nodding.

At that moment, Du Juan called. Chi Zhaoming answered. "You and Mingyue went to repay the money. Is it done? Father has already withdrawn the cash from the bank. Come home now, and we’ll take the money together to settle the debt."

Chi Zhaoming glanced at Mingyue. Mingyue understood what her brother meant, that he was asking what to do. She took the phone from him and said, "He and I have already repaid the fifty thousand I had on me. Those bastards said there’s still nearly three hundred thousand left. I told my brother to go back now, and I’ll come home immediately."

"You’ve worked hard. Be careful on the way," Du Juan said.

After hanging up, Chi Zhaoming said goodbye to Mingyue as well. "I’m going back now."

"Go back. No matter how your sister-in-law blames you, you must accept it. Don’t say anything that will make her sad. Right now, the whole family is struggling to help you repay this debt. You need to go back with gratitude in your heart and thank your sister-in-law, thank your father-in-law," Mingyue urged him.

Chi Zhaoming said nothing, only kept nodding.

When Mingyue got home, her husband was sitting nearby, silent and sullen.

Mingyue felt exhausted. She lay down on the bed, planning to rest for a while.

"Paid it back?" Situ asked.

"Mm, yes," Mingyue answered with her eyes closed.

"Good enough if it’s paid back," Situ said.

Mingyue suddenly remembered something and sat up to ask, "Oh, right. The other day when I wanted to ask you for some money, you were being evasive. Where did your money go?"

"My money? I put it into a company called Duhao, something about a siphon-hose business or whatever. I’m just waiting to collect the interest," Situ replied.

"Oh, don’t go making a mess and end up throwing your money into the water," Mingyue warned him.

"Relax. My money makes money. Not like you, taking it out to help your brother-in-law pay debts—more likely meat buns thrown to a dog, never to return," Situ said coldly.

"Don’t be sarcastic here. Helping my brother pay his debts was something you agreed to. Don’t tell me you gave the money too and still want to play the villain," Mingyue said. "Just make sure you keep your own little pile safe."

"My money is watched over tight. With interest coming in every month like this, how could we possibly not prosper?" Situ said.

"That’s your fantasy. Stop dreaming impossible dreams," Mingyue replied dismissively.

When Chi Zhaoming returned to his father-in-law’s home, he saw the old man’s withered hands counting the cash withdrawn from the bank. Because his fingers were stiff and dry, the counting went slowly. Watching him, Chi Zhaoming felt a pang in his heart, and tears began to well in his eyes.

His father-in-law said nothing. After a long while, he finally finished counting the eighty thousand yuan in bills. Sitting down, he let out a sigh and turned to look at Chi Zhaoming. "How could you be so foolish? Tell me, just how much courage did you have? As a media worker, you ignored the country’s laws and regulations and got involved in underground betting on the side. To put it plainly, you were breaking the law, do you understand?"

Every word from his father-in-law pierced Chi Zhaoming’s heart like a steel blade. He knew how outrageous his mistake had been, how deeply it had wounded the family. With a thud, he dropped to his knees on the floor. "Thank you for your kindness. I will certainly mend my ways and start anew!"

Du Juan, standing nearby, was also in tears, sobbing without a word. What filled her was grief and anguish, and pity for the two elderly people over seventy who had not hesitated for a moment to stand by Chi Zhaoming in his hour of need, so genuine and devoted were their hearts.

"Get up. You must reflect carefully on yourself, on your actions, on your thoughts. Don’t harbor desires you shouldn’t have. Don’t do things that go against your station. Remember, you are still a former outstanding cadre. You must be responsible for all your actions and responsible for your family," his father-in-law instructed.

Chi Zhaoming said nothing. He rose in silence. Noticing a bit of grime on his knee, Du Juan hurried to fetch a cleaning cloth and wiped it away for him.

As they left his father-in-law’s house and walked home, Du Juan looked at Chi Zhaoming. "Settle on a time for the repayment. Tomorrow I’m going with you to return the money. I really can’t trust you to go alone. If you take the money and gamble it away again, I’ll truly be left with nowhere to turn."

"It won’t happen again. I’ll learn my lesson and start over," Chi Zhaoming said, unusually earnest now. "Then I’ll have to go myself too. I still need to warn those bastards not to keep harming people." Du Juan’s anger would not subside. "I’m repaying this debt for Xi Yu’s sake, for you. You should thank your precious son. He cried and begged me to save his father. Do you know that? It was your son who asked me to save you. Hearing him cry like that, I simply couldn’t bear it. You’d better behave yourself."

After hearing her words, Chi Zhaoming felt as though his heart were bleeding. His eyes grew moist. He was deeply grateful to his son, Xi Yu, because it was Xi Yu who had moved Du Juan to save him from the brink of death.

In fact, on the second day after returning from Bincheng, Chi Zhaoming had already thought of death. He had even opened the gas cylinder at home, intending to end it all. But at that very moment, Du Juan’s phone call came, and in an instant the thought of suicide vanished without a trace.

That night, Du Juan had dreamed of her husband leaping from the top of a skyscraper. Stranger still, after Xi Yu had a similar dream, he urged his mother to save his father. It was then, just as Chi Zhaoming was thinking of suicide, that Du Juan’s call woke him.

That one phone call made Chi Zhaoming think of the family’s past, of the unforgettable journey he had traveled through life, and of the hardship he had endured in order to escape the countryside...

To be continued.