Chapter 59: Writing Proper IOU Notes and Receipts

Lin Qiushui stared in utter astonishment.

The Zhang family’s household was so bare it looked as though they had been destitute for generations.

Who would have thought they were actually this wealthy?

Indeed, truly rich people kept their wealth hidden!

No, wait.

Thinking of how busy and hard-working Zhang Yang had been running around lately, Lin Qiushui formed another theory in her mind.

Perhaps this money hadn’t been accumulated over generations at all.

Just looking at the issue years of those large-denomination banknotes, they must have been acquired very recently!

Could it all be earned by Zhang Yang himself?

In this day and age, when many families couldn't even get enough to eat, he had managed to earn this much!

That was simply incredible!

As she looked at Zhang Yang again, it felt as though the man was glowing all over!

Following Zhang Yang's instructions, Zhang Yan pulled out two crumpled ten-yuan banknotes.

Even though there were still hundreds of yuan left in the box, the thought that this money was going to be handed over to the Wang family for free made Zhang Yan’s hand feel empty as she gave it away, and her heart felt empty too.

This was the blood, sweat, and tears her younger brother had risked his life to bring back!

And the Wang family, without lifting a finger, was just demanding it like that!

How could she not feel a shred of resentment?

She truly hated her bad luck for falling in with the wrong people!

Just as she was standing there with her head bowed, she saw Zhang Yang hand a thick stack of large bills back to her.

"Let's just give them ten yuan for now. Ten yuan is enough for their family to cover medical expenses."

Zhang Yang took the ten-yuan bill and walked outside.

Lin Qiushui followed him. "I feel like that man is up to no good. If you just hand him the money outright, he might start getting ideas..."

Zhang Yang stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her.

Although Lin Qiushui felt a bit shy, she knew that money was a serious matter and could not tolerate the slightest mishap.

It was always safer to be cautious!

"I just think you're being too generous. They'll figure out that your family still has spare cash..."

"As the saying goes, it's not the thief you fear, but the thief who keeps thinking about you!"

"In case you run into someone with evil intentions who spreads the word, thieves will be sneaking into your house by tonight..."

Lin Qiushui glanced back inside the house.

Zhang Fei and Zhang Wen were innocent and cute, and Yaya was still nursing.

Although Li Huifang was capable, she wasn't fierce.

Zhang Yan was still recovering her health and was feeling anxious and unsettled.

A family like this looked nothing like they could withstand thieves!

"Zhang Yang, why don't you say a little later that you borrowed this money from me! Let's put on a joint act!" Lin Qiushui suggested.

Seeing her sparkling eyes, Zhang Yang found it rather interesting. Without saying much more, he accepted her suggestion.

After whispering back and forth for a moment, Lin Qiushui walked out the door first with a slightly scrunched-up face.

"Zhang Yang, I'm making this clear to you right now! I can lend you the money, but you must pay me back as soon as possible. This is every last cent I have on me!"

Zhang Yang clutched the heavily worn ten-yuan bill in his hand and followed closely behind.

"Don't worry, I always return what I borrow."

Out outside, the moment Wang Jie caught sight of the bill in Zhang Yang's hand, his eyes turned green with greed!

A ten-yuan bill!

That was a real ten-yuan bill!

He had seen small change before, but he had never even touched a single large ten-yuan note!

He lunged forward in a single bound and reached out to snatch it!

"Hand it over!"

Who would have guessed that Zhang Yang would effortlessly sidestep, dodging his hand.

Wang Jie grabbed at thin air and stumbled, nearly falling over.

"Wang Jie! Listen up! I swallowed my pride to borrow this ten yuan from Teacher Lin at the last minute. I can give it to you, but you must write me a formal receipt stating the reason!"

Wang Jie curled his lip.

He had heard every word they said loud and clear.

Hearing it was one thing, but Zhang Yang borrowing the money—what did that have to do with him?

Anyway, once the money was in his hands, it belonged to the Wang family.

"Zhang Yang, shouting at the top of your lungs won't help!"

"In our two villages, who doesn't know that you still owe me eighty-eight yuan because of your sister's divorce from me? What receipts do we need to write?"

"Today, you just need everyone here to act as witnesses that I've received your ten yuan, and that's the end of it!"

Lin Qiushui immediately stepped up to grab the money as well. "That won't do!"

She said righteously, "I only agreed to lend this money because Zhang Yang and his mother promised to teach me how to raise rabbits! Lending money is meant to save a life... but a loan is a loan, not a handout! Zhang Yang has to write me an IOU, and you have to write Zhang Yang a receipt! Otherwise, I'm not lending it!"

Without any further nonsense, Zhang Yang curled his palm into a fist and pulled the money back.

Wang Jie felt as though the top of his head was about to blow off!

That was money about to go right into his pocket!

How could a cooked duck fly away right in front of him?

Wang Jie immediately raised his high hand and shouted, "Isn't it just writing a receipt? I'll write it, I'll write it!"

Lin Qiushui immediately fished a fountain pen out of her pocket and told Zhang Yang to go back inside and find some paper.

That really put Zhang Yang in a tight spot.

His family genuinely didn't have any paper you could write on!

Wang Jie grew arrogant again.

"Look at that! You don't even have paper, what's the use of writing a receipt? Let's just forget it!" he said with a completely roguelike attitude.

Lin Qiushui, however, was blunt. "We are not forgetting it! If we don't write an IOU and a receipt today, I am not lending this money out!"

A neighboring elderly woman poked her head over and asked, "Young lady, you are far too bold! Exactly how much money are you lending out?"

Lin Qiushui held up two fingers.

The old woman was stunned. "Twenty yuan?!"

"That's right," Lin Qiushui said with a calm and open expression. "Zhang Yang said he couldn't gather that much on such short notice, and the family needs money to buy things at the market... and this elder brother here is shouting about saving a life. Both are urgent matters, and I couldn't just stand by and not help."

The villagers began to murmur among themselves.

"Oh dear, if I had twenty yuan in my pocket these days, I wouldn't lend it even if the Jade Emperor himself came down!"

"Zhang Yang, you'd better treat this young lady well!"

"She's not just some ordinary girl, she's practically a fairy descended from heaven, bringing light to the old Zhang family! Hahaha!"

Amid the chatter, a kind-hearted neighbor tore out two pages of an outdated old calendar from home and brought them over.

"Young lady, see if this paper will work?"

Lin Qiushui beamed with joy. "It works, it works, as long as the blank side can be written on."

With that, she handed the paper and pen to Zhang Yang.

"Come on, write the IOU for me first, and then have this elder brother write you a receipt."

Her eyes curved when she smiled, her voice was pleasant to the ear, and she handled matters in an orderly fashion, prompting the villagers to praise her inwardly.

However, after taking the paper and pen, Zhang Yang didn't move.

He smiled awkwardly. "To be honest with you, I haven't had many years of schooling, so I don't know how to write an IOU."

Wang Jie slapped his thigh. "After all this fuss, we still can't get it done... I'm really in a rush to take the money and save a life, so stop dawdling and just give me the money!"

"If he doesn't know how to write, I do." Lin Qiushui glanced impatiently at Wang Jie. "We've been overcoming all sorts of difficulties to find a solution, so why are you the only one acting like you've never seen money before, only thinking about stuffing this bill into your own pocket the moment you see it?"

Hearing her put it that way, Wang Jie was thoroughly ashamed!

As expected, these educated people had the most venomous tongues!

They could curse people without even using vulgarities.

Lin Qiushui had already pressed the paper against the wall and started writing the IOU.

No matter how much resentment Wang Jie harbored in his heart, he couldn't say anything and could only wait for her to finish writing.