Jai Mei's Unforeseen Journey to Ancient China

Chapter Twenty One Paying Back Some Old Debts

The next day, the builders arrived to work on the house, and Jai Mei had to select three of them to help with the construction. As she made her decision, one of the builders expressed his disappointment at not being picked.

"But why not me?" he protested. "I have experience with this kind of work."

Jai Mei remained firm but kind. "I appreciate your interest, but I only need three workers for this project. Perhaps there will be other opportunities in the future."

The other builders got to work and soon the sound of hammers and saws filled the air. Jai Mei and her husbands worked alongside them, helping where they could.

As they finished up for the day, Jai Mei's husbands expressed their excitement for the progress made on the house and the new skills they had learned.

She remember three things one that she never built the contraption she thought of with the bamboo sticks to make watering the garden easier, she needed to start on her soaps, and that she only had a few days before she had to pay the gang back their 10 taels she owes them.

That morning, Jai Mei told her husband that she had some errands to run and that she wouldn't be back until after working with the doctor.

Jai Mei made plans to meet the gang outside her family circle to avoid dragging them into any more of her troubles. However, she also wanted to be around other people to avoid getting hurt alone, so she went to a tavern that she knew the gang would hear about her being there from word of mouth.

As Jai Mei walked into the tavern, the bar owner's eyes narrowed and he sneered at her.

"Look who decides to grace my doors. I ain't come looking for you because I knew something like you would come back to these doors. You just can't stay out of trouble and I ain't here to let up on you either. You owe me 5 taels of silver for them drinks you never paid for and for that stuff you got into a while back tearing up my tavern bar. If you don't pay up, you ain't walking out here."

Jai Mei felt her heart race, but she kept a calm exterior as she approached the owner. "I told you I'll pay you back. And that girl, she had it coming." She slid five taels across the table to the owner.

"Don't worry, I won't be back. I found me something new to do."

The owner whistled and said, "Looks like you're getting into deeper trouble, but that ain't my business. Consider our bad blood paid." Jai Mei nodded and went to sit in the corner, waiting for the gang to show up.

As Jai Mei sat in the corner waiting for the gang to arrive, she couldn't help but feel anxious. She knew that meeting with them meant having to face the consequences of not doing business with them anymore. But she also knew that she had to settle her debts and put this chapter of her life behind her.

When the gang finally arrived, they took a seat at the table with Jai Mei. One of the members, a burly man with a scar on his cheek, spoke up. "You know why we're here. You owe us 10 taels of silver for the money you borrowed from us, since you decided not to do the business deal with us. And we don't take kindly to people who don't pay their debts."

Jai Mei nodded, feeling the weight of their words. "I know I owe you. And I'm here to pay you back." She reached into her bag and pulled out a pouch of silver coins, counting out the 10 taels and placing them on the table. "Consider us even."

The gang members looked at each other, surprised at Jai Mei's willingness to pay back her debts. One of them, a woman with a scar above her eyebrow, spoke up. "You know, Jai Yuna, you could've just kept running and never looked back. But you came back to settle your debts. That takes guts."