Chapter 360: Chapter 187 Entrusting_1
At midnight,
**......**
"This, this is a usurer’s contract," Old Master Lian said weakly, "Old Fourth, go to the county town and tell them it’s my word, and have them repay the money."
Old Master Lian felt that his time was coming to an end and wanted them to seek out Lian Shouren to collect the debt. This task was thankless and required great effort, and why should he give the IOU to her? Lian Manman felt hesitant.
The old master’s hand was held up with difficulty, and his eyes were fixed on Lian Manman.
Lian Manman sighed inwardly, glanced at Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang, but eventually she took the deed.
The old master seemed relieved and couldn’t help recalling the moment when the contract was signed. He had felt it inappropriate to have Lian Huahua, an unmarried girl, to sign the document. Looking back, if he had considered the face of the family elder and ignored the objections of several family members, signing his own name on the IOU, his situation today would be extremely passive.
Did he ultimately agree to let Huahua sign the document because deep down he already felt that Lian Shouren couldn’t be trusted?
Even so, as the guarantor and Lian Shouren’s father and Lian Huahua’s grandfather, if Lian Shouren didn’t produce the money, he would still have to repay the debt. Without the funds, he would only burden his children and grandchildren.
This debt must be reclaimed.
Lian Shouyi, the Old Second, had been bribed by Lian Shouren and was of no use. Lian Shouli, Old Third, was too honest; sending him to collect the debt would certainly end in failure. That left only Old Fourth, Lian Shouxin. Although Lian Shouxin was somewhat sturdier than Lian Shouli, he was a simple and honest man, not a match for Lian Shouren and Lady Gu.
Only Lian Manman, though young, was clever and scheming. This child had matured all at once through that incident. How she dealt with Lady Zhou and Lian Shouren’s family, he had seen it all. Only this child might possibly manage to recover the money.
Collecting the debt should have been his responsibility, but after coughing up blood, he feared he couldn’t do it. The task of debt recovery could only be left to Old Fourth and his family.
After exchanging glances with Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang, Lian Manman took the IOU, which meant she was taking on the matter. Old Fourth, his wife, and these few children were all earnest and responsible. He could finally be somewhat at peace; without this debt, the Lian family would not collapse, and he would carry less guilt.
At that moment, Old Master Lian’s heart was heavy with despondency.
After receiving the deed, Lian Manman quickly read it from beginning to end. She had learned the characters with Old Master Lian these past days, and she could nearly recognize all the characters on the IOU. Only when she saw that Lian Huahua’s name was listed as the borrower did her heart truly settled down.
Naming Lian Huahua as the borrower was her own idea initially. Yet Old Jin was still worried it wasn’t secure enough and added Old Master Lian’s name as the guarantor.
There was no choice, Old Jin wouldn’t lend them the money otherwise.
Most willing to issue usurious loans had some shady background. Old Jin could bully his way around in these ten miles and eight villages, but even he would have to think twice about going to the Song Family in the county town to collect the debt. He was willing to lend the money to them because Old Master Lian’s family lived right in the village with a home and a livelihood. The Song Family had the money to repay him, and he could get a hold of Old Master Lian’s family to recover the debt.
So Old Jin came here to collect the debt instead of directly seeking out Lian Shouren or Lian Huahua.
As Lian Manman pondered these things, she heard a clutter of footsteps outside. Lian Shouli and Erlang almost carried Doctor Li from outside as they rushed in.
"The doctor has arrived, the doctor has arrived."
"Master, don’t lose hope, you’ll definitely be alright," Lian Manman comforted Old Master Lian, and promptly stepped aside to let Doctor Li check Old Master Lian’s pulse.
By then, Old Master Lian’s breathing had grown very weak.
Lady Zhou was crying all along.
The room was too crowded for Doctor Li to concentrate on taking the pulse, so only Lady Zhou and a few, including Lian Shouxin, were permitted to stay in the room while the others were sent out to wait.
The sons remained inside the house, while the grandchildren stood outside in the yard. Coughing up blood was a serious matter, and Lian Manman had no confidence whether Old Master Lian could survive this ordeal. She carefully folded the deed, put it away, and looked around only to see Erlang squatting silently beside the pickle jar.
Erlang seldom spoke. In fact, among the children of the second generation, only Si Lang had a talkative nature; like Lian Shouyi, the others were people of few words.
