NOVGO.NET Chapter 1400: Side Story: Fan Zijin (16)
Chapter 1400: Side Story: Fan Zijin (16)
Editor: Atlas Studios
Fan Zijin put on a hat and jumped off the horse, and he could not help but take off his fan and fan himself. With a bitter expression, he said, “Why is it getting hotter and hotter? Aren’t we heading north?”
Qi Haoran removed the bag from the horse and found a shady place to put it down. Then, he tied the horse to the side and let it nibble on the grass, as well as take a rest.
“We’ll rest here at noon today and leave when the sun sets a little.” Qi Haoran took out some dry food and untied the water bag for him. He comforted him and said, “I’ll go into the forest later to take a look and see if I can catch some prey. If possible, we’ll eat wild animals tonight.”
Fan Zijin nodded tiredly and said, “Let’s count the money we have left first. Previously, we didn’t control our spending because we thought that we were bound to be captured. Since the people chasing us have gone ahead of us, the chances of us being captured and brought back are very slim. We have to be more mindful of our spending going forward. Stop sponsoring those refugees so extravagantly. We have to save some money for ourselves.”
Qi Haoran unhappily took out the oil paper bag from his chest and poured out the silver ingots from the pouch.
Fan Zijin counted the banknotes and sighed. “This money depletes so quickly.” Despite starting out with more than 50,000 taels of silver, they were only left with 10,000 taels of silver in less than a month. There were not many silver ingots left. After Fan Zijin counted, they only had 120 taels of silver, excluding the banknotes.
He wrapped the banknotes and stuffed them back into Qi Haoran’s arms. He said solemnly, “Let’s not use banknotes in the future. With these silver ingots, we will definitely be able to find Eldest Cousin in Xingzhou Prefecture.”
Seeing the unwillingness on Qi Haoran’s face, Fan Zijin said, “I heard that Eldest Cousin supports the army with his own money since the rations given by the Imperial Court are not enough. Why don’t we leave these 10,000 taels for Eldest Cousin? Since we’ve come all the way here to seek refuge with him, we should at least give him a gift, right?”
When Qi Haoran heard that, he nodded in agreement. He kept the banknotes close to his body before stuffing the silver ingots into his pouch and throwing it aside.
The two of them were so casual about the silver that the people watching from afar on the mountain gritted their teeth. “Rich people are indeed different. It’s so much silver and they just casually threw them aside.”
A burly man with a fierce face wiped his saber and sneered. “That’s because they have more money in front of their chest. Those ingots on the ground are nothing in comparison.”
He looked down from above and put away his saber. “Let’s go. Be careful, that fair-faced young master is very smart. Don’t let him see through you. You’ve seen that round-faced young master’s martial arts, too. It won’t be a problem for him to knock down forty to fifty of us.”
After saying that, he turned his blade and said with a cold expression, “If we expose ourselves, those youths might not kill us. But if Chief finds out that the matter has been exposed, he will definitely offer sacrifice using our blood.”
Everyone’s hearts turned cold, and they immediately became 120% cautious. Yu Niang, who was in the team, grabbed her daughter’s arm fiercely and instructed in a low voice, “Cry when Mother asks you to.”
Fan Zijin and Qi Haoran, who were at the foot of the mountain, had no idea that danger was approaching. They were lucky today. Shortly after Qi Haoran entered, he managed to bring out a huge pheasant.
Qi Haoran chuckled and hung the pheasant on a branch. He said smugly, “Let’s eat this tonight.”
Fan Zijin could not help but smile. However, before his smile faded, he saw Qi Haoran frowning and looking towards the road.
Fan Zijin followed his gaze and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I heard shouting and crying.”
Fan Zijin listened carefully and could not hear anything. However, he did not doubt Qi Haoran’s judgment. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Follow my instructions later. Don’t interfere rashly.”
Qi Haoran nodded solemnly.
Soon, a group of people appeared at the bend in the road. Two burly men held knives as they herded an old woman, a young woman, and a little girl over.
Both of them frowned slightly. Needless to say, Qi Haoran couldn’t help but move his fingers when he saw the two burly men pushing the old woman forward ruthlessly. Still, he looked at Fan Zijin and waited for his decision.
Fan Zijin also frowned fiercely. If he encountered such a situation in the capital, he would most likely pretend not to see it. However, in the past month, he had been doing good deeds and helping people almost every day. He had already formed a habit of “helping others for fun and helping out when they see injustice on the road.” At this moment, when he saw the old, weak, women, and children being bullied by two burly men with fierce faces and broadswords in their hands, he could not help but feel disgust.
He glanced at Qi Haoran, who was also frowning, and waved casually. “Go and save them.”
Qi Haoran immediately rushed forward. With a flip of his body, he flew in front of them. Instead of landing, he kicked out with both feet, sending the two burly men carrying broadswords flying.
The old woman, Yu Niang, and her daughter were stunned. They fell sitting on the ground and stared at Qi Haoran in shock.
Qi Haoran landed in front of them and sneered at the two burly men. “I’m saving them. Aren’t you going to scram?”
The two burly men clutched their chests and shouted, “Young man, you’re so unreasonable. They owe us money, and we only want to take them back to repay the debt, not kill them. What crime have we committed?”
Qi Haoran glared at him and was about to scold him when he saw the other burly man say with a frown, “It’s only right to repay a debt. No matter where we go, we’re the ones in the right. How can you hit someone without finding out what’s going on?”
Qi Haoran’s face turned red. He turned to look at them and asked, “Do you really owe them money?”
The old woman nodded timidly and said, “We owe them five taels, but they want to collect 20 taels of silver with interest. Our family can only gather five taels of silver even if we sell everything we have. How can we take out 20 taels of silver? They want to take us to the city to sell us for money. I’ve lived long enough, and it’s fine if I’m sold. But my daughter-in-law and granddaughter’s lives are going to be ruined.”
Yu Niang covered her face and cried. She secretly pinched her daughter in her arms, and the little girl in her arms also began to sob loudly.
Qi Haoran’s heart softened and he looked in Fan Zijin’s direction hesitantly.
It was indeed right to repay a debt. Although Qi Haoran did not like the two burly men, he could not chase them away like this. However, the three of them were indeed pitiful.
Fan Zijin only needed to look at Qi Haoran’s eyes to understand what he was thinking. He secretly rolled his eyes and took out an ingot of 20 taels of silver from his pouch. Then, he went forward and asked, “Why do you owe them five taels of silver?”
“It’s only because my son was seriously ill previously and didn’t have the money to buy medicine that I dared to borrow money. Who knew that my son couldn’t be saved in the end and our entire family now has to pay for it?” After saying that, she sobbed.
During this period of time, Fan Zijin had interacted with the lowest class of commoners. Naturally, he knew that the poor commoners could not afford to fall ill or die. Otherwise, their family would definitely descend into financial ruin overnight.
He carefully observed the expressions of the two burly men. Seeing that there was no change in their expressions, he believed most of the story.
The two burly men also said angrily, “Before you borrowed money, we agreed on the interest and made it clear how much you need to repay. Since you want to borrow money, you should think about how to repay it. At that time, we also agreed that if you can’t repay it, you’ll repay it with your bodies. Why put up this pitiful act now?”
“That’s enough.” Fan Zijin sneered. “Isn’t it just 20 taels? I’ll pay for them.”
After saying that, he threw the silver ingot in his hand to them and stretched out his hand. “Where’s the IOU?”
After the two burly men bit the silver ingot to confirm that it was real, they returned the IOU to him. Fan Zijin saw that the handwriting on it was crooked, and there was only a fingerprint on the borrower’s side. He showed it to the old woman and burned it on the spot after confirming that it was their IOU.