After transmigrating,The Female Supporting Character Became Darling of The Five

Chapter 19: Uninvited Guests

"Right, Fourth Brother is correct!"

Since it was all nonsense, Su Guan could only go along with it and quickly end the topic.

Having been in the county for so long, it was almost the time of Shen Shi, and it was time to return as agreed with Old Hong. At the county gate, He Jiaolan and Chen Yinghong had just arrived not long ago, but their baskets still contained many pine mushrooms, indicating their business was not good today.

If they couldn't sell everything, they would have to take it back and dry it for their own consumption.

"Since everyone is here, let's get ready to go back. Get on the cart!" Old Hong called out to Su Yun and his sibling.

In Su Yun's basket were only the items they had just bought; all the pine mushrooms were sold out. He Jiaolan looked at the two in shock.

"You sold everything?"

Su Guan nodded:

"Yes, we changed our selling spot, so we managed to sell everything!"

It seemed she knew He Jiaolan would ask how they managed to sell everything, so Su Guan clarified it all at once to prevent further questions.

"How come you're so lucky? Look at us, we're stuck with all of ours!" He Jiaolan envied Su Guan's good fortune.

Su Guan just smiled without a word, and the ox cart started heading back to the village.

Getting off the cart at the village entrance, Su Guan kept talking about how to eat the meat tonight, how to use the newly bought flour for making steamed buns and baozi, and how to share them with her brothers later. But Su Yun just responded perfunctorily, with only one request:

"Tonight, when I cook, could you come and give me some tips?"

Su Yun now thought Su Guan's cooking skills were better than his. He was particularly interested in cooking, dreaming of opening a restaurant in the future and doing business to provide a better life for his family.

"With such sincerity from Fourth Brother, I'll definitely give some tips!" Su Guan said teasingly, which indeed earned an eye roll from Su Yun.

"Give you a little sunshine, and you become brilliant."

Almost every household in the village was drying millet on bamboo mats, and their home was no different. However, the siblings were unaware that a group of uninvited guests had arrived at their house.

Su Jing and his three brothers were standing in the courtyard, accompanied by five or six other strong men. Leading them was a man in a brown silk robe, smoking a tobacco pipe, with both sides in a standoff.

"With black words on white paper, you can't deny it. If you don't return the money, I will take away all the grain in your house, and then report you to the authorities. Aren't you studying at Zhongyun Academy? Do you still want to participate in the imperial examinations next year? If you end up in jail, you'll have a stain on your record and won't be able to participate!"

The person pointed at Su Jing's nose and said, with every word and line carrying a threat.

As soon as Su Guan and Su Yun returned, they saw this scene. Hearing about not being able to participate in the imperial examinations, Su Jing's face turned completely pale.

"How can you be like this? We have already paid back the silver we owed you, 30 taels, not a penny less. How come you have changed your tune now, even talking about interest?" Su Chen became anxious, stepped forward to take action, but was held back by Su Mu.

"This is extortion! We should be the ones reporting to the authorities!" Su Mu said coldly.

"Report to the authorities? On what grounds? I have black on white, with reason and evidence. What do you have to accuse me with?" The person came prepared and was not afraid at all.

"Look carefully, it clearly states that if not paid back in three months, interest will start to accrue. Although you eventually paid back the 30 taels in bits and pieces, the interest hasn't been fully paid. The interest of 5 taels has accumulated for over a year now, a total of over four hundred days, 5 coins a day. You still owe 25 taels. This handprint and signature are from your own father, don't even think about denying it!"

The brothers looked closely and indeed it was written so.

"You are clearly taking advantage of our father's illiteracy!" Even the usually gentle Su Yi was infuriated.

"Well, who asked you to borrow money from me? I lend money with interest. When your father came to borrow life-saving money, he should have thought it through. I heard that your family's little girl is actually the biological daughter of landowner Gu from Qinghe County, the wealthiest man there. You've raised their daughter for over a decade, there should be some affection. If you really can't pay back, I can take this document to Gu. He surely won't care about this small amount of money!" The leader said with a malicious grin.

Su Yun, outside the courtyard, heard this and lost his temper. He put down his load, rushed in, and picked up a broom by the door to drive them away.

"Fourth brother, calm down!" Su Guan couldn't stop him.

"To hell with you, a bunch of robbers, have you no sense of reason!"

He picked up the broom to hit the man. Su Jing and the others quickly grabbed him, but the broom still swept the man's clothes.

"Fine, I just came to get back the silver you owe me, and you even dare to hit people. Dump all this grain!"

He knew he couldn't afford to injure anyone, as that would mean not getting his money, so he took out his anger on the family's newly harvested grain. Su Guan saw this and couldn't just stand by.

This was the Su family's food for a whole year; it couldn't be wasted.

"Stay still, let's talk calmly, and we'll just repay the money!" The young girl rushed in and shouted, attracting everyone's attention as they all turned to look at her.

Su Chen was already prepared to take action but refrained from doing so, as he couldn't reveal his martial arts skills for the moment.

"Who are you?"

The person leading the group, with a sharp and sly look, saw Su Guan standing there and heard that she would repay the money, so he signaled the others to stop.

"I am the true daughter of the Su family!"

The sharp-looking person sized her up and thought, "She's really pretty."

"Alright, as you said, repay the money!" He extended his hand toward her.

Su Guan immediately put on a bright smile. "Dear sir, you look so elegant; let's have a civil conversation!"

Seeing her attitude had improved, the sharp-looking person's expression softened.

"Enough with the chatter, repay the money quickly, 25 taels of silver, not a penny less. After you repay, I'll tear up this IOU in front of you, and we'll be done!"

"Sir, can you give us a bit more time? Wait until I gather the silver, and then I'll repay you, alright?" Su Guan didn't actually have that much money to repay him; she just wanted to prevent him from wasting food.

"Ha, are you trying to play tricks, little girl?" The sharp-looking person spat on the ground, looking unfriendly and clearly upset.

Seeing this, Su Jing quickly stepped forward and shielded Su Guan.

"Mr. Zhang, we won't deny the debt, but we just can't produce that much silver right now. Our whole family is depending on this money for food. Can you give us a bit more time?"

"More time? How long have I already given you? Don't think I'm easy to bully. I'm telling you, you must repay the money, or I'll take this matter to the authorities and have your little brother thrown into jail!"

That darn sharp-looking person had absolutely no mercy. He didn't mention this earlier; he just wanted to rack up the interest and then demand the money. Such a cunning person!

If they sent his older brother to the authorities, his future career prospects would be ruined.

Su Guan couldn't just stand by and watch her older brother lose his chance at a career.