Chapter 186 Pay off the debt "Liu Laizi! Please give me back the money since I helped you in the past! Otherwise, my family will be in dire straits!" The middle-aged man pleaded with a touching expression. The crowd around also spoke up: "Yes! You rascal, you two used to come to my teahouse to drink tea together, and you were as close as brothers. If you had no money, it would be fine, but now that you have money, why don't you pay it back!" "This person is really a piece of shit..." "You were able to run your cloth shop because people lent you money back then, otherwise how could you be doing today?" When the short and dark Liu Laizi heard these voices, he felt angry, annoyed, and distressed, and was extremely unwilling. However, he did not dare to argue or get angry in front of so many people. But he also has his own ways. "Ouch……"
Liu Laizi's face fell and he looked pitiful: "Where do I have money? If I had money, why wouldn't I pay you back? We were brothers and had a bond back then, and I still remember the money I owe you." "You said this! Check your conscience, do you believe it?" the middle-aged man cried. Some of the onlookers who knew them or knew about this incident also spoke up: "Nonsense!" "The dogs don't believe it!" But Liu Laizi didn't listen at all and just continued: "Don't underestimate me because I run a small cloth shop. It seems that I can make some money. In fact, I am losing money. My family can't even afford to eat! The clothes I'm wearing may look decent, but I've been wearing them for four or five years. If I hadn't been going out today, I wouldn't have worn them. They're worn out at home..." "How dare you say you carry such a big box with no money in it?" "This..." Liu Laizi was shocked, and then immediately said, "Of course there is no money in it!" "Still lying! How could I be so blind to make friends with you!" The middle-aged man's voice was hoarse, and he kept pulling Liu Laizi's clothes, "You went to pay for the goods with Zhang, the shopkeeper of the South City Cloth Shop today. Do you think I don't know? Open the box and take a look!" "you……" Liu Laizi suddenly panicked and started arguing with him, saying that he had no money no matter what. A group of Taoists were watching outside. I spent half a day with this middle-aged man yesterday and learned that he is actually a kind-hearted person. Otherwise, he would not have lent more than one hundred taels of silver to someone who was not related to him. It was obvious that he had come here prepared today. He knew that Liu Laizi was going to settle the payment for the goods, so he arrived outside the city a day in advance and came to the city to block him early in the morning. Judging from the expressions of the onlookers, similar scenes had happened countless times. But this guy is really a scoundrel. It was just that this middle-aged man had helped them clean up the Taoist temple last night. Although his effort was not much, it was still a gesture of friendship. How could they bear to see this? Not to mention such a thing, even passers-by felt angry when they saw it. It's just that when you encounter this kind of scoundrel, even if everyone has the ability to exorcise demons, it's still difficult to deal with him. Not to mention the Taoist who values money more than life, even if the gods come, they may not be able to help. Lin Jue was thinking - I have a magic trick of illusion silver.
Although he had mastered the art of silver illusion, the effect was still acceptable because the Yin-Yang Spiritual Technique he had cultivated was quite compatible with this kind of mysterious magic, and it could last for some time. But the person asking for money was a middle-aged man, and if he wanted to get money from Liu Laizi, he would have to design it carefully if he used this magic. "I'm really not talking nonsense! I was just planning to go to the cloth shop owner Zhang and ask him to give me credit!" "Then open the box and take a look!" "How can I do that? This contains my daughter's things. My little girl is not married yet, how can you just take it out and look at it!" “My daughter is starving to death…” "I want to pay it back, too! Give me some time, let me think of a way! Trust me again!" While several Taoists were thinking and thinking of a solution, the seventh senior brother had already walked out and said: "Borrowing money is a gesture of gratitude. This believer is already struggling to make ends meet. Since Mr. Liu is willing to find a way to repay the money and can let the cloth shop owner Zhang buy on credit, why not lend a little more money to repay this believer who helped you? That way, his family can have food to eat." When they heard this, they both turned to look. The middle-aged man felt a little grateful when he saw that it was the Taoist he met yesterday, but he didn't have many other thoughts in such a hurry. He just raised his hand to wipe away his tears. When Liu Laizi saw that someone else came to speak for the middle-aged man, he became distressed and angry, and began to rebuke: "That's easy to say! Where can I borrow the money to pay it back? “Who is willing to lend me money? "Anyone here, is there anyone willing? This amount of money is not a small sum, who can lend it to me? "Could you lend it to me, Taoist priest?" When Senior Brother Seven heard this last sentence, he smiled slightly. This was the sentence he had been waiting for. "of course can!" "Ok?" Liu Laizi was stunned: "What did you say?" "I can lend it to you." "Can you lend it to me?" "Why not?" Senior Brother Seven said with a smile, "I met this believer next to Mr. Liu yesterday. I know he is a kind person. Mr. Liu was able to become friends with him when he was young, so he must be a kind person. I think he is just in financial difficulty now and can't afford to pay." "No! Taoist priest, you can't do that!" When the middle-aged man heard this, he panicked. Even if he could get the money back, he would still try to dissuade him: "This Liu Laizi is now a well-known deadbeat. Even the shopkeeper of the cloth shop wants money before he is willing to deliver the goods to him. If you lend him money, he will definitely not pay you back!" The seventh brother just smiled and said to them: "Don't worry, believer. I have money. It just so happens that I passed by Cuiwei County before and received a lot of silver from the kind people in the city. If Mr. Liu is really willing, I will lend it to him first and return it to the believer." "..." After a moment of daze, Liu Laizi stood there, thinking secretly. The middle-aged man next to him kept persuading him. Some of the onlookers also tried to admonish Senior Brother Seven. However, Senior Brother Seven smiled and declined, stubbornly believing that such a thing would not happen and asked them not to worry. Soon, Liu Laizi finally made up his mind:
"Let me make it clear first! Even if you're willing to lend me money, I don't have any collateral!" "Can!" "Hmm?" Liu Laizi was stunned. This Taoist's straightforwardness made him feel uneasy. Thoughts flashed through his eyes, and he added, "My shop is not doing well and is losing a lot of money. I'm afraid I can't pay you back in one or two days if you lend it to me." "It's okay. I live in the former Qingyi Temple outside the city. I'm a monk and don't have much to spend money on, so I'm not in a hurry." Hearing this, Lin Jue and his junior sister looked at each other. Liu Laizi thought about it again: "Then I have to make a deal. Since it's the money you lent me to pay back Luo Laosan, I won't handle it and will give it directly to Luo Laosan. I don't care whether the money is real or fake. I will just pay it back to him! The debt is settled!" "Mr. Liu is really smart and cautious. No wonder his business is so big." The seventh brother smiled and said, "I am a cultivator, not a quack. How could I use fake silver? That is a serious crime." "That……" Liu Laizi continued to look at him, and then said, "That's settled! I'll pay you back when I have the money, but I don't have it now. How about I write you a promissory note and use a piece of good cloth as collateral?" "That's even better!" Senior Brother Seven smiled brightly, "Mr. Liu is indeed a kind man!" "Wait for me a moment!" Liu Laizi then pulled the cart back. People around him all looked at the foolish Taoist priest, some of them were there to watch the fun, some of them were there to empathize with him and were worried about him. The most anxious one was the middle-aged man named Luo Laosan. "Master, you are so careless..." "It's not too late for you to regret now, Taoist priest!" "Master, you look quite old, how can you be so confused?" "It's fine if you lent him the money and took the IOU. If you can hire a lawyer to help you out, and then file a complaint with the government, it's possible that you can get the money back! But you should never, ever, take his piece of cloth as collateral! That piece of coarse cloth is worth very little, and it will be even harder to get the money back after you took it!" Everyone was talking about it. Which ordinary person has not encountered such a thing? No matter whether he is kind-hearted or not, he wants to persuade him to wake up. As the Taoist was trying to persuade him, Liu Laizi ran back like a flying bird, holding a piece of cloth, as if he was afraid that the Taoist would go back on his word. "Master, take it!" "Thank you." Senior Brother Seven took a look at the cloth and found that it was just as the people around him said, a piece of coarse cloth and not valuable. However, he had just arrived at Qingyi Temple, and there was nothing in the temple, and the monks did not need any good cloth. This piece of coarse cloth could be used to make door curtains, pillowcases, aprons, etc. Unexpectedly, there was an unexpected gain. Brother Seven smiled and said, "Write the IOU." He immediately borrowed a pen and paper, wrote the IOU, and signed his name.
"Where's the money?" Liu Laizi looked at him holding the IOU. "Wait a moment, let me look for it." The seventh senior brother walked aside with a smile, "One hundred taels of silver, plus interest, how much should it be now?" "What interest?" "How can I borrow so much money without interest? How can I borrow without interest?" Liu Laizi was about to retort when he heard the people around him start to scold him again. He was afraid of being scolded and also afraid that it would affect his future business. He thought that it was the Taoist who paid for it anyway, and he could not "pay it back" anyway, so he simply said: "Then I'll just rewrite it! How about giving him twenty taels of silver as interest?" "Twenty taels in more than ten years? It must be fifty taels at least." "Fifty? That's also..." "Mr. Liu can lend it to me without interest." "You said it! Fifty is fifty!" "Please rewrite the IOU!" Liu Lai Zi tore up the IOU and wrote a new one. Senior Brother Seven continued to withdraw money. Everyone saw the Taoist take a package from the horse's back. The package was bulging, but looked very light. He reached his hand into it and felt around. He immediately took out an ingot of waist-bound honeycomb silver. He took out a few pieces of silver. After doing this several times, he finally collected 150 taels. "money!" "IOU!" "Where's your IOU, Luo Laosan?" The three of them stood together, Liu Lai Zi gave the IOU to the seventh senior brother, the seventh senior brother gave the money to the middle-aged man, and the middle-aged man gave the IOU, which had long been worn and yellowed, to Liu Lai Zi. Liu Lai Zi tore it up on the spot. The people around him all sighed that this Taoist was confused, while others thought that this Taoist must have something to rely on, which made him so fearless. Only Liu Lai Zi was secretly happy. Luo Laosan has been pestering him for several years. Although he is unwilling to pay back the money, he still feels annoyed. He didn't expect to meet a kind-hearted stupid Taoist today... I feel relieved. I couldn't help but look back as I walked.
Although Luo Laosan got the money, he was still anxious. He followed the group of Taoists closely and kept saying something. I'm afraid you're saying bad things about me. But at this glance, Liu Laizi happened to see the foolish Taoist carrying a package, and he put the IOU he gave him into the package, but did not put it away properly. It was windy just as autumn began. The wind blew and blew the IOU down. "Ok?" Liu Laizi's eyes widened, and he ran over quickly and picked up the IOU. Spread it out and take a look—— It turned out to be the one I just wrote. "Haha! Great!" Liu Laizi clapped his hands and laughed! Now I am so happy! I never thought that happiness would lead to sorrow—— It was not until he pulled his mule and cart to the cloth shop in the south of the city and found Manager Zhang to pay and take the goods that he opened the box and discovered that most of the more than 150 taels of silver that were originally in the box had disappeared. Only a few pieces of silver are left. Liu Laizi immediately panicked and broke out in a cold sweat, and began to search frantically. But where can I find it? It was not until he touched the IOU he had written in his arms, calculated the amount of silver, and found that it was exactly the same that he realized what was going on. Liu Laizi's face suddenly turned pale, as if he was struck by lightning. He could not even stand steadily and almost fell to the ground. A moment later, his cries and curses could be heard throughout half the city. Some people who had watched him and Luo Laosan arguing over debt collection in the morning passed by and heard his crying. They were surprised and puzzled at first, but after listening to him for a few more sentences, they gradually came to their senses. It turns out that the Taoist really knows magic. The news quickly spread throughout Mingxia County. …… I wish you all a happy National Day! By the way, I want to ask for double monthly tickets at the beginning of the month! This is really important! (End of this chapter)