Chapter 278: With me at home, the sky won't collapse

What are you doing? The old person's funeral is about to start—who let you park the car here? Move it now!

Sorry, we're here to collect a debt. We haven't seen Ding Yongxin, so we can't move the car.

If you don't move the car, we'll call the police!

Go ahead and report us—we didn't do anything; the car just broke down and we stopped here. Besides, we're here to collect a debt legally, the IOU is right here—what can the police do to us even if they come?

Four men got out of the minivan, and they didn't look like good people at all.

The leader, a man in his early thirties, wasn't tall but looked extremely sturdy.

He had a crew cut, and on his neck was a somewhat faded tattoo of the characters 'loyalty and righteousness'.

Upon hearing they were there to collect a debt from Ding Yongxin, the uncles and aunts who knew the full story worried about getting into trouble, so none dared to step forward and stop them.

Ding Yongxin owed a usurious loan, so this debt-collecting gang certainly weren't good people—they might all have criminal records and have served time, and angering them would surely bring no good.

On the contrary, neighbors hearing the news came over to mediate, hoping they'd move the car first so the deceased could be buried.

Hey, young man, how can you do such a heartless thing? That's utterly depraved!

You have parents and children yourselves—can't you put yourself in their shoes?

Even if you're after money, at least wait until today is over so the deceased can rest in peace. Blocking the door during a funeral will bring heavenly retribution.

The neighbors' words only made the burly leader laugh: 'Heavenly retribution? Only those who don't repay debts suffer that. We're collecting a debt legally—if we don't see Ding Yongxin today and get no money, this coffin isn't leaving this gate!'

The commotion grew loud; Ding Tengfei and his mother went downstairs ahead of Lu Yang, saw it was a debt-collecting crew, and their faces darkened.

Mother Ding fumed: 'Old Ding went to raise the money—we aren't refusing to pay; the money was all taken away by someone.'

The burly man spread his hands: 'That's none of our business—we go by the IOU. Besides, who knows if he went to raise money or is just hiding?'

He walked into the memorial hall, picked up an apple from the offering table, rubbed it on his clothes and took a bite: 'All we care about is money—if we have it, we'll move the car and let his father rest in peace.'

If we don't see the person or the money, don't blame us—not today, not tomorrow, not the day after; even if that old guy rots in the coffin, you won't be moving it out.

Damn, I'll fucking kill you!

Ding Tengfei could no longer contain his anger; he stepped forward, wanting to beat that bastard to death.

Even a mud Buddha has a bit of fire—these people set a trap to harm my father, and now they're pushing him toward death.

But just as he was about to rush forward, his uncles and aunts grabbed him, and even his mother pulled him back.

Ding Tengfei is a soldier now, not an ordinary civilian—he can't just act recklessly.

Besides, his superior officer Lu Yang is still here; if he injures someone, he'd violate military discipline and be expelled from the unit.

Mother Ding saw Ding Tengfei's changes and progress, and hoped that once this matter was over, his son could return to the unit and serve as a soldier in peace.

He absolutely couldn't let a few thugs get him disciplined, detained, and ruin his bright future.

Hey, hey, swearing at people isn't good—we live in a civilized society.

Come on, I don't want to waste time with you either—call Ding Yongxin and have him scramble to raise the money; otherwise, his father will really end up as dried salted fish.

The situation on site kept deteriorating; even the funeral crew, who had prepared to arrange the burial, had never faced this before and didn't know how to handle it.

After all, it's someone else's private affair, so they dared not get involved, fearing they'd draw fire upon themselves.

Outside, more and more neighbors gathered to watch the spectacle.

Mother Ding, helpless, could only repeatedly call her husband.

Ding Tengfei's eyes were bloodshot, his nails digging into his flesh; anger burned in his chest, assaulting his last line of restraint.

Just as he turned to go into the kitchen, intending to grab a knife and hack those scumbags to pieces, a hand clamped down hard on him.

If you're my brother, don't stop me!

Ding Tengfei glared at Lu Yang, but his wrist was gripped tightly.

Lu Yang stared at him calmly: 'I know you're furious, but ruining your life over a few scumbags, making your parents weep every day for the rest of their lives, isn't worth it.'

'Gao Feng has been worried about your situation—if the New Recruit Company weren't in its final stage, needing personnel, he would have come over already.'

'Nobody wants you to do something stupid—calm down and don't act impulsively.'

Ding Tengfei's eyes red: 'What can I do? I can't just watch them keep causing trouble while my grandfather lies in that coffin!'

Lu Yang: 'Leave it to me to handle.'

'How will you do it?'

'First, call the police.'

'That guy said calling the police is useless!'

'Don't listen to his lies—detain him for fifteen days and he'll straighten out right away. This is the Armed Forces Department Chief's phone; call it together. I have experience dealing with people like this—watch for my signal.'

'What signal?'

'You'll find out soon.'

Lu Yang gave a mysterious smile, then rummaged in a nearby cabinet and slipped something into his sleeve.

Time ticked by; two lackeys guarded the door, pretending to smoke while putting on a show.

From time to time they glanced at the crowd, using bluster to intimidate the civilians.

The other two stood in the memorial hall, brazenly eating the offerings as if it were their own home.

Lu Yang stepped up to the burly leader, rubbed his hands, and asked: 'May I ask how much Ding Yongxin owes you in total?'

The burly man sized up Lu Yang, seeing he was young, and asked in a contemptuous tone: 'What's your relation to him, and why are you asking this?'

Lu Yang: 'I'm his nephew.'

'2,180,000.'

'Do you have an IOU?'

'What the hell are you asking all this for?'

The lackey beside him slammed his palm on the table and glared at Lu Yang.

The hooligans' most common tactic is to bluster and shout to intimidate people.

Lu Yang is naturally not easily frightened; his tone carried a sense of negotiation: "It's like this, I was thinking, could you help him pay back a little first? You drive the car away, after all the deceased is paramount, making a mess like this is really unsightly."

"You two big brothers look like respectable people in society; can we compromise and each take a step back?"

The burly man stroked his chin; he actually didn't expect to be able to demand the full two million all at once.

Door-to-door threats and intimidation are just their usual trick; most of the time, collecting debts is like squeezing toothpaste.

Originally, their goal was just to take some back to report; even collecting partial interest would do.

After all, it's a loan shark business; they just expect to make money from this bit of lending.

The principal Ding Yongxin actually owes is only over six hundred thousand; the rest over one million is interest.

The house and car are enough to cover the debt, but their boss has a huge appetite and won't easily let the Ding family off.

"Alright, let's start with one million."

"That's too much; I don't have that much on hand."

"Then how much do you have?"

"I only have over three hundred thousand."

"Damn, you're messing with me!"

The burly man's lackey beside him started cursing again.

Ding's mother stood in the courtyard with a worried look, but Lu Yang had his back to them while speaking to the two men.

She didn't know exactly what they were discussing, just constantly worrying: "Chief, can you settle this? Nothing will happen, right?"

Ding Tengfei patted his mother's hand: "My elder brother Yang says he can do it, so he definitely can; he's very capable, extremely capable."

"But the other side has many people, and they're all......"

"Mom, don't worry, I've already called the police; they'll be here soon, nothing will happen."

"I hope so, I hope so."

"Is Dad's phone still not getting through?"

"No one answers; I sent him a text but got no reply; I'm worried about him......"

"Mom, don't be afraid, I'm here; your son is a soldier, a pillar of the nation, with me at home, the sky won't fall!"

Looking at her son's resolute eyes and gripping his sturdy arm, Ding's mother burst into tears.

Perhaps sending him to join the army was the most correct decision they've ever made in their lives.

"Three hundred thousand is too little!"

"Then how much do you say? We'll try to scrape together as much as we can!"

"At least six hundred thousand; that's the bottom line—if it's less, there's no point in talking!"

Lu Yang looked troubled, but in the end he still agreed to that amount.

"We'll give the money, you write a note, and then leave right away!"

"Okay!"

The burly man grinned.

This six hundred thousand is pure profit.

Lu Yang reached his hand into his clothing pocket, turned sideways to block the view of the lackey on the right: "I have a bank card here with three hundred thousand; I'll give it to you first, and then I......"

The burly man reached out happily to take it, but ended up grabbing a fruit knife.

He froze, not understanding what the other meant.

But the next second, Lu Yang grabbed his knife-wielding hand and stabbed it toward his own thigh.

The blade cut a notch neither big nor small on Lu Yang's leg, and blood quickly seeped out.

Lu Yang stepped back two plops, plopped onto the soft mat, covered his bleeding thigh, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "You're asking for death—you dare attack an active-duty military officer of the unit, a second-class merit recipient, a third-class merit recipient, a four-haves outstanding soldier, a model advanced exemplar of the division!"

Having received the signal, Ding Tengfei exploded to his feet, lifted a bench, and charged into the memorial hall: "Damn your mother, you dare assault my superior—I'll fucking kill you!"