Chapter 55: 55 Listening to Wife's Words Really Will 'Prosper

55 Listening to Wife's Words Really Will 'Prosper'

The driver parked the car at the Xiao Family's gate, and Tushan Jiu got out.

She glanced at the big door.

The four gold‑trimmed characters were manifested on the Xiao Family's two main doors.

At the gate there was a dedicated reception room; when the security inside saw a visitor arrive, they came out and asked, "Hello, may I ask who you're looking for?"

"I'm looking for Xiao Yingwei; I'm his creditor."

The security guard stared, "A creditor?"

Tushan Jiu nodded.

He looked Tushan Jiu up and down several times, muttering to himself.

She looked just about of age, not as tall as the household's young ladies and young masters.

Could she be President Xiao's creditor?

What a joke!

But he was just thinking to himself; no matter who came, they were seeking the master of the house, and he absolutely could not speak out of turn, lest he lose his job—that would not be worth it.

Nowadays, the biggest taboo is a loose tongue; "trouble comes from the mouth" is a saying he still keeps in mind, after all his wife constantly reminds him of the principle that the happy keep silent.

"All right, please wait a moment; there are chairs to sit on over here—I need to notify the steward."

Tushan Jiu nodded, "All right, thank you."

The security guard acted quickly, going into the guard booth to make an internal call.

Upon hearing that the visitor claimed to be a creditor and was a girl who looked just about of age, they immediately gave a negative answer.

The security guard let out a breath, saying to himself, "I couldn't have been wrong—how could President Xiao possibly owe money to a little girl!"

After hanging up, he went out to where Tushan Jiu was still standing at the gate and said, "Sorry, the steward just said he doesn't know you, so you can't go in—please leave."

He did not, having guessed correctly, choose to mock or speak harshly.

Tushan Jiu didn't mind, "No problem; they'll call back from inside shortly."

"What?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the phone inside the guard booth rang.

The security guard, half‑believing, half‑doubting, ran back and picked up the phone.

As soon as he picked up, the old steward's panting voice came through, obviously from running:

"Hurry, that girl you just mentioned hasn't left yet—stop her, whatever you do don't let her go; she's an honored guest of President Xiao!"

"Oh dear, these damned old legs of mine—hurry up and run!"

"Stop her, whatever you do don't let her leave, or we'll all be packing up and leaving!"

The security guard lifted his head and saw Tushan Jiu looking over and giving him a faint smile; his heart jumped.

See, indeed, listening to one's wife really does bring prosperity.

Fortunately I didn't say anything rude, nor was I neglectful.

The electric gate with gold trim swung open, and an old gentleman came running out, about sixty years old.

Perhaps he could barely hold on; he bent over, hands on his knees, gasping, "Please, may I ask, miss, are you of the Tushan clan?"

Tushan Jiu stepped forward two paces, "Hmm, I'm Tushan Jiu; I've come to collect a debt from ten years ago."

The old steward had been with the Xiao Family since they first started their business, and being somewhat related to Xiao Yingwei, he naturally knew what had happened to the Xiao Family ten years ago.

Since March this year, Xiao Yingwei has repeatedly reminded him to pay attention to visitors, for fear of slighting the knife‑credit people.

Just now, after receiving the call from the guard booth saying it was a girl who looked just about of age, he really hadn't reacted yet.

Once he realized, he exerted himself and ran over here as fast as he could.

Tushan Jiu, unfazed, walked over and helped the old steward.

The old steward thanked her, "Thank you, Miss Tushan; I've already notified President Xiao—he's just returning from the company and will be here shortly, please come in."

Tushan Jiu nodded; she had just timed it right, only a moment apart.

Indeed, after being ushered inside, a chubby man hurried in from outside.

Xiao Yingwei, upon entering the house, saw Tushan Jiu sitting in the living room.

He first stared, then recalled the words of that person from before.

He said that the one who would come to collect the debt would be his junior, and also their most proud junior.

He really hadn't expected the other party's age to be even younger than his daughter.

Xiao Yingwei's astonishment lasted only a second; he immediately put on an enthusiastic smile: "Miss Tushan, hello, I'm Xiao Yingwei. Ten years ago I owed a knife to Old Master Tushan Liang, and I've long been awaiting the Tushan clan's people—you've finally come."

Owing the knife‑credit people, his heart was constantly in suspense, fearing they'd forget to come collect and then something would happen.

But they didn't know that as long as one didn't actively renege on the debt, there wouldn't be any serious trouble.

However, this kind of 'little secret' that every trade has naturally isn't something outsiders would know.

It also serves to keep these people in awe.

Of course, if anyone truly tried to evade or renege on the debt, the backlash they'd have to bear would certainly be more than they could endure.

Such a thing had happened before.

In a village below the Tushan clan's mountain, a family's child fell into the water; his soul was seized by a water ghost to become a stand‑in dead person, and the family's elder sought help from a Tushan disciple, taking out a knife on credit.

After it was resolved, the Tushan disciple merely symbolically collected two hundred dollars as payment.

But when the child's parents, who worked in the city, returned and refused to acknowledge the incident—considering it feudal superstition—they even called the police to arrest the Tushan disciple.

The Tushan disciple only asked them one thing: those two hundred dollars they were definitely going to take back.

The family insisted on taking it back.

That very night, after the Tushan disciple returned, the old man who had taken the knife on credit from him, while going to the kitchen to serve dishes, knocked over the kitchen knife on the cutting board; the knife fell and directly severed his foot.

It's clearly a dull knife for chopping meat, yet the wound of the severed foot is neat and tidy, just as if it had been cut off by a brand‑new sharp kitchen knife.

Later, the story spread among the neighbors, who all said it was heavenly punishment for that family's failure to keep their promise and their regret after buying a knife on credit.

In the end, the old man's severed foot was never reattached, and to this day he can only walk with a limp.

This is merely one kind of retribution for his default on the credit‑knife debt, and from now on his family's fortunes will only grow worse.

Therefore, whoever—human, ghost, demon, or god—who owes them money for the credit‑knife deal would rather see the prophetic verses come true and then present both hands with generous rewards.

Tushan Jiu responded with a sound and directly stated her purpose for coming today: "Five hundred gold, jewelry, gold bars, each half."

Five hundred gold, as the name suggests, five hundred catties of gold.

Xiao Yingwei had no objection at all; he immediately nodded and said, "All right, Miss Tushan, but I thought the payment would be a bank transfer, so I don't have that much gold on hand. I need a day to arrange it—would that be okay? Once I've gathered everything, I'll personally deliver it to your door."

Tushan Jiu didn't make things difficult for him; she had only come today to give a heads‑up, and she knew that even if he were a gold‑and‑jewelry tycoon, five hundred catties of gold couldn't be raised on short notice.

She nodded, about to say yes, when suddenly a voice interrupted her.

"What? Five hundred gold? You're trying to extort us!"