Chapter 97: The Jia Family Signs an IOU

"Gangzi, tell me, what good method do you have? Otherwise, I'll have to go ask the neighborhood office for help," Liu Haizhong sighed helplessly, realizing that being the First Uncle wasn't as easy as he had thought; he hadn't felt this way back when he was just the Second Uncle.

Not to mention anything else, just this Jia Family alone was enough to give him a headache; even when Yi Zhonghai was still the First Uncle, he had often had to pay out of his own pocket.

"I have a method that kills two birds with one stone. Doesn't the Jia Family have no money right now? They need medical fees at the hospital, but which household in our Siheyuan isn't tightening their belts to get by?"

"It's not that we can't give it to them, but this money must be paid back to us. Let their family sign an IOU for us."

"And they must also pay a portion of interest, otherwise we won't bother with this matter and will let them fend for themselves. How about that?"

Zhao Gangzi's idea made Liu Haizhong's eyes light up. This was indeed a good method; why hadn't he thought of it before? This way, the Jia Family's problem would be resolved, and there would be no fear of them not paying.

"But will that old thing, Jia Zhangshi, be willing?"

Liu Haizhong suddenly realized an important problem.

"That's not up to them. Now that her grandson Bang Geng is still lying in the operating room, do they dare to disagree?"

Zhao Gangzi smiled, then took out an IOU he had already drafted from his pocket: borrowing 30 yuan, which must be repaid within half a year to total 40, or else it would be forcibly executed.

This scene made Liu Haizhong tremble inwardly. This kid was ruthless! He did things thoroughly; once it was in black and white, even if their family made a scene, they wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble.

"Good! We'll do as you say. I'll go find Shazhu," Liu Haizhong took the IOU and turned to find Shazhu. When Shazhu saw the IOU, he was also shocked, not expecting that dog Zhao Gangzi to be so ruthless.

"This won't do, Second Uncle. Who can afford ten yuan in interest?"

Shazhu shook his head repeatedly and said.

"Silly Pillar, you have to know, the Jia Family is in a hurry for money right now. This extra ten yuan of interest can save their lives, you know?"

"Otherwise, why don't you put up the 30 yuan yourself? Right now, I'm afraid your house is the only thing your family has that's worth any money..."

Liu Haizhong said irritably. This Shazhu was truly a fool; it had nothing to do with his family, so why was he meddling so much?

But Shazhu firmly disagreed with this matter.

Seeing that there was no result, just as Liu Haizhong was about to turn and leave, he was suddenly called back by Shazhu, "Second Uncle, wait, give me the IOU, I'll go find them."

"Yo, has your brain finally cleared up?"

Liu Haizhong was somewhat surprised.

Shazhu, however, already had a plan in his heart. When the time came, he would have Jia Zhangshi sign the IOU; even if it came to repayment, he would have to find that old thing. Besides, Jia Dongxu was half-dead, and he might not last a few more days.

By then, it would be a world for just him and Qin Huairu.

Immediately, Shazhu brought the IOU to the hospital. At first, Jia Zhangshi was unwilling. These stingy ghosts from the Siheyuan wouldn't donate to her family, and now they even wanted her to sign an IOU?

Not only did she have to sign an IOU, but there was also ten yuan of interest. What kind of logic was that?

"Take your IOU and get lost! Isn't it just 30 yuan? I won't pay this medical fee anymore. Let's see what they can do!"

Jia Zhangshi was cursing in the hospital room. Other patients frowned for a while, but the next moment, the sound of Bang Geng came from the operating room not far away. Only then did she remember that her precious grandson was still lying in the operating room.

Just as Jia Zhangshi was hesitating, a nurse came over to urge payment of the medical fees and said to the group, "Can the family of Bang Geng hurry up and pay in full? The anesthesia is wearing off over there; if any accidents happen, don't blame us..."

"And the money for Qin Huairu's childbirth, as well as the money for the two of you, hasn't been paid either. Don't blame our hospital for reporting this to the police later."

There was a faint sense of threat in her words. Jia Zhangshi was furious but dared not speak out. Their Lao Jia family only had this one boy; if something happened to him, their family line would definitely end.

If that happened, she wouldn't have the face to face Lao Jia when she went down below.

Jia Dongxu, who was lying on the bed weakly to the side, pleaded, "Mom, if there's really no other way, just sign it. It's just ten yuan more in interest; we'll definitely be able to pay it back within half a year."

Jia Dongxu was gasping for air. Because of the medical fees, the IV drip hadn't been changed, and the blood had already flowed back into the tube.

"Why don't you let that little slut Qin Huairu sign it? You're trying to scam me, aren't you?"

Jia Zhangshi was still unwilling and turned to find Qin Huairu, but because Qin Huairu was weak, she had been moved to another ward, and she didn't know how long it would take to find her now.

"Jia Zhangshi, are you going to sign or not? Otherwise, I'm leaving. When the time comes and no one cares whether Bang Geng lives or dies, let's see if you can bear to lose that ten yuan?"

Shazhu also became firm. What time was it now? Was those few dozen yuan more important, or was Bang Geng's life more important? She couldn't even tell the difference between what was heavy and what was light.

It was truly the worst luck of eight lifetimes for Sister Qin to marry into their family. I, Shazhu, must rescue Qin Huairu from this fire pit!

"Sign, sign, sign! I'll sign, is that enough?!"

Jia Zhangshi truly had no other choice, and since she was illiterate, she had no choice but to press a red thumbprint on the IOU.

Seeing the signature, Shazhu nodded, then took out the 30 yuan he had scraped together from his pocket, ten of which had been provided by Zhao Gangzi alone.

When it came time to collect the interest, that kid would take the lion's share.

How truly wicked!

Shazhu felt he couldn't compare. He hadn't realized Zhao Gangzi was this cunning before; he had finally experienced it this time.

The hospital received the medical fees and officially prepared to finish the surgery for Bang Geng. They couldn't even find the cause of the illness; he looked perfectly normal, but he just kept having diarrhea.

He even had an accident on the operating table, almost causing an infection.

After handling the matter with Bang Geng, as for the third child Qin Huairu gave birth to, the doctors kept their stories consistent and did not spread the news.

The Jia Family thought the child was born a eunuch and were afraid of others knowing, so they publicly claimed that Qin Huairu's third child was a girl and named her Jia Huaihua.

"It's all because of you, you slut, you jinx, you evil woman! How unlucky, to give birth to such a thing for your third child!"

"If that dog Yi Zhonghai wasn't a eunuch, I would have really thought it was his seed!"

From then on, the mother and son of the Jia Family treated Qin Huairu even worse, often beating and scolding her, to the point where even outsiders couldn't bear to watch.

Qin Huairu's heart also collapsed.

She lived like a walking corpse every day, and there had been no shortage of arguments these past few days. She was no longer willing to suffer in silence as she had before.

Shazhu took this opportunity to intervene. Don't look at him just cleaning out latrines at the Rolling Mill; he still had a decent salary, and he often helped Qin Huairu buy food. The relationship between the two grew closer and closer.