Hearing the noise, Zhang Chen couldn't help but frown, turning his head to ask Steward Wu, "Wu Bo, what's going on?"
"Young Master, it's Huang Yuanwai from the west of the city. The master received his deposit before. The last time he went out was to handle his batch of goods, but unexpectedly met with misfortune. Now, the master has just passed away, and he's come to collect the debt."
"How much money did father receive from him?"
"Originally it was five thousand coins, but since the master had his accident, he said he wanted interest, compound interest... Now, he insists we pay back twenty thousand coins!"
"Hmph! This Huang Yuanwai is such an ungrateful wretch! Back when he was down and out, it was the master who lent him ten thousand coins as capital, otherwise, how could he be where he is today? Yet now he turns his back on us!" Ping'er, who was standing nearby, was also full of indignation. "But speaking of which, his luck is quite good. In just a few short years, he's become prosperous. Heaven is truly blind to let such a person rise!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Zhang Chen raised an eyebrow, letting out a cold laugh. "Then this Young Master will have to see for himself."
Just as they were speaking, they heard a "bang," and the main gate was actually knocked open. Immediately after, the sound of several people's footsteps came from the courtyard.
The few of them were startled and quickly walked out.
In the courtyard, more than a dozen people were standing. The leader was a fat man, around forty, dressed in luxurious brocade, and wearing a jade thumb ring, clearly from a wealthy family.
Behind him, a dozen servants in plain cloth clothes, each holding a wooden stick, had fierce looks on their faces.
Seeing this, Ping'er and Steward Wu quickly blocked in front of Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen cupped his hands with a smiling face: "Uncle Huang, I haven't seen you in days, how have you been?"
Zhang Chen stepped forward, greeting him warmly while sizing up the fat man.
【Name: Huang Wenyi】
【Possesses Traits: Good Fortune (Green), Unscrupulous Rich (White)】
【Good Fortune (Green)】: You are naturally favored by the God of Wealth, with wealth pouring in. (Business income increased by 100%)
【Unscrupulous Rich (White)】: Although you are rich, you are very bad. (Reputation slightly decreased)
Holy crap! Zhang Chen's eyes lit up.
No wonder Ping'er said this Huang fellow had good luck and became rich in just a few years; it turns out he had such a heaven-defying trait!
A 100% increase in business income, this can definitely accumulate a huge amount of wealth in a short time!
But why is such a heaven-defying attribute only green? Zhang Chen secretly pondered, perhaps it's because the status of merchants in this era is low, so even if traits related to business have good attributes, their rating isn't high.
But Zhang Chen didn't care about that; he was very clear about the value of this trait.
In this chaotic world, what is most important to achieve a great undertaking? Valor? Strategy? None of them!
It's money, a large amount of silver!
Only with money can you recruit soldiers and buy horses, only with money can you widely recruit heroes...
This trait, I'm taking it! Zhang Chen thought to himself, a greedy smile unconsciously spreading across his face.
Huang Yuanwai was somewhat bewildered by his attitude and felt a little creeped out seeing him staring at him intently.
He secretly thought that they had no friendship on normal days, and he had come several times to collect debts, so the other party shouldn't have a good impression of him.
"You... you stop trying to get close! Let me tell you, if you don't pay back the money today, I'll tear down your house and kick all of you out onto the street!"
As Huang Yuanwai spoke, he glanced behind him. The dozen servants, carrying wooden sticks, took a few steps forward with malicious intent.
Seeing this formation, Ping'er was scared and quickly hid behind Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen, however, calmly swept his gaze across them, then his lips curled slightly upward, revealing a hint of disdain.
These people only had some white trash traits on them.
【Errand Boy (White)】: You are just an errand boy.
【Low-level Thug (White)】: Martial arts are weak, only knows how to use a stick to scare people.
【Three-legged Cat (White)】: Knows a few moves, basically not presentable.
...
Hmph, none of them can fight!
Zhang Chen immediately felt relieved and smiled slightly, "Of course the money must be repaid. My Zhang Family has been in business for many years, relying on the principle of 'trust'. I just don't know how much father owes you?"
"Hmph, no more, no less, twenty-five thousand coins!"
"What! You... Last time you said it was twenty thousand coins, how come it's..." Upon hearing this, Steward Wu quickly stepped forward to retort.
"What 'how come'? Isn't interest money? It's been almost a month since last time." Huang Yuanwai's eyebrows shot up, and he roared angrily, "You old geezer, get lost!"
"Hehe, virtuous nephew, your family is large and successful, you surely don't care about this small sum of money. Why don't you just settle the account today?"
Saying this, he even took out a written agreement.
Zhang Chen glanced at it and found that it was indeed the receipt written by Master Zhang, but it clearly stated that five thousand coins had been received for the goods.
This fellow took advantage of Master Zhang's death to demand an exorbitant price, clearly bullying Zhang Chen's youth and ignorance.
Good! You want to play, huh? Then this young master will play with you properly!
Zhang Chen smiled, tucked the written agreement into his sleeve, and without waiting for Huang Wenyi to say anything, he said, "As for this account, it naturally needs to be settled, but we also need to calculate it clearly first. Uncle Huang, if this nephew remembers correctly, three years ago, my father lent you ten thousand coins as capital. This money, it seems, has never been repaid, right?"
"Wh... what ten thousand coins?"
"Wu Bo, get the written agreement." Zhang Chen called out. Steward Wu turned and walked into the study, and before long, he came out with a written agreement.
Zhang Chen pointed to the written agreement and said, "It's clearly written in black and white here, Uncle Huang, you wouldn't want to default on the debt, would you?"
"This money... this money your father personally said he didn't want!" Huang Yuanwai's face flushed, and he argued, "You yellow-mouthed brat, don't confuse right and wrong here. Today I'm here to collect the debt, hurry up and pay back the money, other matters can be discussed later!"
"Hey, it's better to clarify things." Zhang Chen smiled. "Wu Bo, according to Huang Yuanwai's calculation method, how much should this ten thousand coins be now, having been owed for three years and not repaid?"
This Steward Wu had followed Master Zhang for many years and had long mastered mental arithmetic. At this moment, he closed his eyes slightly and after a moment said, "Reporting to Young Master, it should be two hundred three thousand eight hundred coins."
"What!" Huang Yuanwai seemed to choke, saying in surprise.
Zhang Chen, however, smiled and said, "Since that's the case, considering the many years of friendship between our two families, we'll round it down. Please return two hundred thousand coins to me first, so I can take out twenty-five thousand from it for you. From now on, the accounts between our two families will be considered settled. How about that?"
"You... you..." Huang Yuanwai was choked by Zhang Chen's indifferent attitude and immediately shouted, "Alright, you little brat, I see you're deliberately causing trouble!"
Seeing this, Ping'er quickly tugged at Zhang Chen's sleeve and said, "Young Master, there are many of them, how about... we don't provoke him?"
"Yes, Young Master." Steward Wu also whispered, "A wise man doesn't suffer immediate losses."
Huang Yuanwai shook his sleeve, pointed at Zhang Chen, and cursed, "You little brat, for your father's sake, I won't bother with you. If you don't know what's good for you, don't blame me for being impolite!"
"Is that so?" Zhang Chen sneered and said sternly, "Huang, I called you Uncle because of the friendship between our two families. If you don't return these two hundred thousand coins today, I'll make sure you can't leave the Zhang Manor!"
As soon as these words were spoken, not only Huang Yuanwai was startled, but Steward Wu and Ping'er behind him were also shocked.
It's over, is Young Master crazy? If he provokes them, what will happen if a fight breaks out?
It's over, it's over, Heaven wants to destroy my Zhang Family...
Upon hearing this, Huang Yuanwai immediately roared angrily, "You little beast have quite the nerve, aren't you afraid of biting off your tongue in a strong wind! Do you think you're still the Zhang Family's Young Master? In this Guangping County, I, Huang, am the one who calls the shots! Men, hit him, beat him to death, no matter what!"
Huang Yuanwai fiercely gave the order. A servant behind him immediately picked up a stick and rushed forward.
Unexpectedly, the next second, a mournful scream echoed throughout the entire courtyard.