Chapter 40: The Debt-Collecting Roadshow

Tang San Shao covered his face. He wanted to argue, but when he met his father’s furious gaze, he immediately wilted.

For the Tang family’s reputation, he had to take the blame.

Tang San Shao lowered his head, looking wronged.

“Father, I know I was wrong!”

The onlookers understood now. It had been Tang San Shao’s fault all along, and they berated him for his dishonesty.

Seeing this, the Tang Family Head bowed to Lin Yaoyao and the others, putting on a great show of righteousness.

“Third Young Master Lin, I have failed to discipline my son. I had no idea this unfilial boy had borrowed things from you. I’ll have him return everything right away.”

The Tang Family Head’s move was clever. Now all the blame fell on Tang San Shao alone.

After a while, servants from the Tang estate carried out two large chests filled with all kinds of treasures.

Lin Yaoyao had Chunyu check everything against the list, so the Tang family couldn’t play tricks.

“Miss, everything on the list matches. Some pieces even carry the Lin family’s mark.”

Chunyu was careful. Lin Feiyuan also inspected everything himself. He hadn’t realized he’d lent so much to the Tang family.

Back then, Tang San Shao had come up with excuse after excuse, scheming endlessly to swindle those treasures out of Lin Feiyuan.

Now he had nothing to show for it and had dragged a mess of trouble onto himself. The Tang family’s losses outweighed their gains. They just wanted to send these three little ancestors packing.

The Tang Family Head finally saw things clearly. Of the three, Lin Yaoyao was the youngest, yet she was their pillar of support. Everyone else followed her lead.

“Miss Lin, everything has been returned in full. Please return the IOU. One of these days, I’ll prepare a modest gift and visit in person.”

The Tang Family Head had lowered his posture enough, retreating in order to advance. He figured these juniors wouldn’t dare push him much further.

At that, Lin Feiyuan glanced at Lin Yaoyao. When she said nothing, he took out the IOU and made to hand it over.

The Tang Family Head was reaching out to take it when Lin Yaoyao snatched it away.

“Hold on! The IOU says clearly that you agreed to pay three percent interest. Over three years, that adds up. I’ll give you a discount. Three million spirit stones as interest, and we’re square.”

Three million spirit stones?

Lin Feiyuan and Gu Mingchun hadn’t expected Lin Yaoyao to drive such a hard bargain. She opened her mouth and demanded three million spirit stones from the Tang family.

Getting the treasures back so easily had already surprised Lin Feiyuan.

Before, he had visited the Tang Family Head and said every nice thing imaginable. The man had been unmoved. He played dumb and brushed Lin Feiyuan off with a simple “I don’t know anything.”

“Three million? There’s no way it costs that much. You’re outright extorting us!”

Tang San Shao roared, veins bulging on his forehead as he glared at Lin Yaoyao.

Lin Yaoyao didn’t spare him a single glance. She said directly to the Tang Family Head, “These treasures are priceless. Your family borrowed them for three years. At the three percent interest written on the IOU, your entire Tang family couldn’t pay us back.”

The crowd had gathered in layers upon layers. The IOU was passed from hand to hand amid endless discussion.

The Tang Family Head hadn’t expected Lin Yaoyao to be unmoved by soft words or hard pressure. He could only spend money to ward off this disaster and settle things quickly.

“Here. This storage ring has three million spirit stones in it.”

After receiving the payment, Lin Yaoyao tore up the Tang family’s IOU in front of everyone. She even gave the Tang Family Head a way to save face.

“Neighbors, the Tang family runs a proper household. They return what they borrow. Their head is wise, decisive, and impartial. Give him a round of applause!”

Amid the applause, the Tang Family Head’s forced smile looked worse than crying.

Lin Yaoyao stood on a chair and shouted, “Anyone who wants to see more fun, follow me!”

Regular folk could never resist a good show. Lin Yaoyao led the crowd in a grand procession to the next house.

The next one, the Zeng family!

Using the same method, Lin Yaoyao and the others set up tables and chairs in front of the Zeng residence and calmly drank tea.

The ones holding the banners were beggars from a ruined temple west of town. Lin Yaoyao had hired them for ten taels of silver.

On normal days these people couldn’t even get a full meal. Now a generous patron was paying them to work.

The job was a breeze, just shouting a few lines. Each one worked harder than the next, and each voice was louder than the last.

“Murder pays with life, debts pay with money!”

“Refusing to repay a debt is worse than killing your parents!”

“Repay what you borrow, and borrowing again is easy!”

The Zeng residence’s gates stayed firmly shut. They shouted for ages without a single person coming out.

Oh, so there really were families that played dead and had no shame.

Then let’s see who could hold out longer.

Lin Yaoyao had people paste a bunch of IOUs on the Zeng family’s gates. These were copies made with her system’s functions.

Right, the public opinion offensive was a must. Spreading the word also needed a troop of little loudspeakers.

“The Zeng family owes and won’t pay, hiding away like shameless scoundrels. Paying debts is the way of heaven. Dragging it out is simply wrong!”

Lin Yaoyao had the children take the rhyme all over town. Anyone who sang it well got an extra piece of candy.

The rhyme was catchy and spread almost instantly.

The debt-collecting squad had a clear division of labor, and their publicity efforts far exceeded Lin Yaoyao’s expectations.

Even more people gathered than at the Tang residence. The front of the Zeng estate was packed so tight that not a drop of water could pass through.

With this many people, it was the perfect time to promote the Immortal King Milk Tea.

Collecting debts and advertising the milk tea at the same time. Two birds with one stone.

“Dear folks, thank you for your righteous voices. This humble girl has nothing to repay you with, so I’ve specially prepared Immortal King Milk Tea for everyone to taste.”

Immortal King Milk Tea? Lin Feiyuan and Gu Mingchun were baffled. Lin Yaoyao hadn’t told them about any of this.

Lin Feiyuan lowered his voice and leaned close to her.

“Yaoyao, aren’t we here to collect debts? How did this turn into handing out Immortal King Milk Tea?”

Gu Mingchun thought the name sounded rather special.

“Third Brother, Senior Brother Gu, just sit tight. Want to try the Immortal King Milk Tea I made with my own hands?”

On the table sat a variety of jars and bottles filled with milk tea ingredients, along with many bamboo cups and hollow little straws.

Lin Yaoyao stepped up and went to work, moving with practiced skill. The first cup was done in no time.

No, it could use some ice. That would make the texture better. Lin Yaoyao channeled her spiritual energy and gave a light palm wave. A lump of ice appeared in the milk tea inside the bamboo cup.

Condensing ice from a distance. Her Ice Palm had reached great mastery.

“Who gets the first cup, you two?”

Lin Feiyuan and Gu Mingchun just stared blankly, still recovering from the shock of the Ice Palm.

Neither of them said a word. Were they afraid she’d poisoned it?

Fine, drink it or don’t. Lin Yaoyao was about to pull her hand back when Gu Mingchun, quick as a flash, took the cup.

By the time Lin Feiyuan reacted, Gu Mingchun was already gulping it down.

Smooth and icy, with an excellent texture. He had never drunk anything this good. Gu Mingchun’s eyes went wide, his expression dramatic, and he didn’t speak a single word.

“Brother Gu, is it awful?”

Lin Feiyuan looked disgusted. He’d never seen Lin Yaoyao cook, so whatever she made probably tasted terrible.

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