Han Zhuangzi and Han Guang's three families were filled with sorrow.
Twenty taels of silver was not a small sum for their family. The family would never be able to save so much money in a lifetime, let alone only have three days to collect the twenty taels of silver to pay off the debt.
Sister-in-law Han sat on the threshold of the west wing and sobbed softly.
Han Dafu in the yard said irritably, "Cry, cry, cry, just cry. What did you do earlier? If you have some money at home, you can use it to pay off your gambling debts to that second brother. It's fine now. Your bastard second brother cheated us." My father owes me twenty taels of silver, what do you want our family to pay back?"
Sister-in-law Han cried more and more fiercely.
Han Guangsan tapped the soles of his shoes a few times and said, "Shut up, your own wife can't control her, so what's the use of talking about it now."
"Dad, I..."
"Shut up." Han Guangsan scolded, and then said, "I'll go find your Uncle Chen later and ask him to help sell our house and the few acres of irrigated land at home. We should be able to get ten Two or three taels of silver."
Han Dafu said, "That's not enough. There's still a lot left to be desired. And if it's sold in such a hurry, the price will definitely be lowered."
Han Guangsan said, "Then we can only sell it first. When the seventh master comes again, I will see if I can discuss it with him. I will owe the remaining money for a period of time, and then I can pay back the remaining money."
"The money in the gambling house is compounded by interest. Even if we pay back part of it, before long, we will only owe more with interest." Han Dafu worried.
"There's nothing we can do about it. We've sold everything we can at home, and we can't even make twenty taels." Han Guangsan sighed.
Han Sanfu, who was standing aside, interjected, "Dad, how about I go to Tiger Flag? My second brother gets two taels of salary a month in Tiger Flag, and he usually takes care of food and housing. I can pay back the debt within a year after I go there." Pay some money."
"No." Han Guangsan's face sank.
Han Dafu also said, "My youngest, you are still young. Even if you want to go to the Tiger Flag to serve as a soldier, I will go. You stay at home, so that you can be filial to our father."
This time Han Guangsan did not speak.
Sitting on the threshold of the west wing, Sister-in-law Han heard that her man was going to the Tiger Flag to serve as a soldier. She immediately cried, "Master, what will I do if you go to the Tiger Flag? You can't go! The family still needs to rely on it." You hold on."
"Shut up, if it weren't for your second brother, the family would be like this." Han Dafu glared at Sister-in-law Han fiercely.
Sister-in-law Han did not dare to speak anymore, and even her sobs became much quieter.
Han Guangsan, who was sitting on the bench, said at this time, "Last time, the master of Tiger Character Banner came and said he would give our family three buckets of rice, noodles, three kilograms of meat, and three hundred big coins every month. I did the math. The things add up to more than one tael of silver, which is more than a dozen taels a year. I am thinking of going to the master of Tiger Character Banner. I don’t want these things every month. I only need to pay ten taels of silver at a time."
"Then our family is at a huge disadvantage. We need at least twenty taels." Sister-in-law Han, who was sitting on the threshold, muttered in a low voice.
Han Dafu in the yard stared when he heard this and yelled, "What are you talking about!"
Sister-in-law Han quickly lowered her head.
Han Dafu looked at Han Guangsan and said, "Dad, if Erfu's pension is exchanged for ten taels of silver, what will our family eat and drink in the future? Without our house and land, in winter, our family will freeze to death outside, or will I?" Go and work for the Tiger Character Banner. I heard Erfu say that the Tiger Character Flag can eat well, wear well, and get paid every month, which is much better than farming at home."
"Brother, let me go. You stay at home to take care of our father and sister-in-law." Han Sanfu said.
Han Guangsan's face sank and he said, "No one is allowed to go. I will stay at home. If anyone dares to go to the Tiger Flag to serve as a soldier, I will break his legs."
"Is Guangzo at home?"
As the words fell, Uncle Chen walked in from outside.
Beside him, followed by a strong young man, walked into the yard together.
"Uncle Chen is here." Han Guangsan stood up from the bench and greeted him.
Han Dafu and Han Sanfu on the side followed. Sister Han in front of the door of the west wing wiped the tears on her face and stood up from the threshold.
"They're all at home!" Uncle Chen greeted and immediately said, "Guang San, this is the master of the Tiger Flag, and he came here specially to see you."
"Ah!" Han Guangsan was stunned.
Zhao Wu smiled and said, "I'm not a master, I'm just a guard around my boss. Uncle Han, just call me Zhao Wu."
"Zhao... Guard, please come in quickly." Han Guangsan wiped his hands on his clothes and shouted to Sister-in-law Han, "Dafu's wife, go and boil some water. Sanfu, go to your Uncle Yang's house and borrow some tea."
"Hey." Han Sanfu agreed and ran out of the yard.
Zhao Wu waved his hands and said, "Don't bother me. I'll leave after I finish speaking."
"That's not okay. Now that you're at home, you can't even drink a bowl of water." Han Guangsan said.
Chen Dafu on the side said, "Daughter-in-law, Dafu, please stop being busy. Guard Zhao has something to say when he comes to your house this time. After that, Guard Zhao is going back to work as a bodyguard for Boss Liu. You should act like us, in the field." Once the work is done, there will be nothing to do."
"Dafu's wife, don't boil the water yet." Han Guangsan turned around and said to Sister-in-law Han.
Chopping firewood also costs money.
No need for him to remind her, Sister Han had already stopped what she was doing.
Standing in the yard, Zhao Wu took out an IOU from his arms, handed it to Han Guangsan, and said, "Uncle Han, look at it, is this the IOU you owe Laicai Gambling House?"
Han Guangsan took the IOU, took a look at it, and said with a wry smile, "I can't read, I just look like it."
"Let me take a look." Uncle Chen took the IOU from Han Guangsan, glanced at it, and said, "That's it. It's clearly written on it that Guangsan owes Laicai Gambling House twenty taels of silver."
"That's right." Han Guangsan slapped his thigh.
Zhao Wu smiled and said, "Uncle Han, please put the IOU away. You don't have to pay back the money. Laicai Gambling has already settled it."
"It's solved!" Han Guangsan said worriedly, "They won't come to my house again to ask for money!"
"Now that the IOU is in your hands, who can force you to pay back the money?" Uncle Chen said, "Go and tear up the IOU!"
"Hey, yes, yes." Han Guangsan took the IOU, handed it to Han Dafu who was standing aside, and said, "Burn it, burn the IOU quickly."
Han Dafu walked quickly to the stove with the IOU in hand with a happy face, lit the IOU with a fire stick, and threw it into the stove mouth to burn it to ashes.
Zhao Wu stood in front of Han Guangsan and said solemnly, "Before you come, our boss asked me to tell you that if you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can go directly to Xujiazhuang to find the tiger-character flag, or you can also ask Chen Lichang to convey the tiger-character flag. I won’t let any brother have to worry about his family after his death.”
Han Guangsan's eyes turned red.
He didn't expect that because of his family affairs, a big shot like the proprietor of the Tiger Flag would not only send his bodyguards over, but also help him get the IOU back.
The inner touch made the corners of his dry eyes become moist.
He was still standing in the yard until Zhao Wu and others left.
Han Sanfu, who came back from borrowing tea, said to Han Guangsan in the yard, "Dad, I want to go to the Tiger Flag to serve as a soldier."
Han Guangsan's lips moved twice. The words of rejection were on his lips, but he couldn't say them out.
