Chapter 138: The Aunts Face a Setback (Part 1/2)

Following the aunts’ command, the room quickly descended into chaos.

Among them, two creditors, swayed by the agitation, rushed into the inner room, rummaging around and causing Feng Biao, Huang Hao, and their group to hastily intervene. The two sides tussled, nearly coming to blows.

Neighbors shook their heads and frowned in disapproval.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, these three women really won’t let anyone live in peace. Having such relatives would make anyone’s life difficult.”

“What else can be done? The creditors have come knocking, and without money to repay, belongings have to be moved.”

“Pity Brother Zhao died early, and with Little Feng being so young, and Hongmei being laid off, not earning much, this debt of over thirty thousand, with Little Feng’s ability, who knows how many years it would take to pay back…”

In 2001, thirty thousand was almost equivalent to two hundred thousand in 2023.

In the neighbors’ eyes, for Zhao Qingfeng to save up thirty thousand, he would first need to finish university and then work for another three to five years.

They sighed incessantly.

Some couldn’t bear to watch and thought about pooling some money with the neighbors to help get through this difficult time temporarily.

Zhao Qingfeng saw it all.

He remembered well those who were kind to him.

He didn’t stop them, sitting with his mother on the sofa, watching the aunts, Zhao Ming, and Zhang Ping struggle to move items, as if watching a clown performance.

Until five minutes later,

When they started to take down the TV, Zhao Qingfeng finally shouted.

“Uncles, aunts, wait a moment, please don’t hurry, I hadn’t finished speaking just now!”

“What I said about not being able to repay that much wasn’t because I didn’t want to repay more, but because I wanted to repay even more.”

“It might sound a bit confusing, but you’ll understand once you see this. The money, I’ve already prepared it.”

“To thank you all for your past help and trust in my father, I’ve decided to repay you all a bit more.”

“For each of you, in addition to the principal and interest owed, I will give an additional twenty percent as compensation. This is also my mother’s wish, to thank you for your past help to our family.”

This speech was significant.

After he finished, the entire room fell silent.

Neighbors looked at each other, wondering if Little Feng was bluffing. They saw him always laughing and playing with Shen Lingyao, where would he get the money from?

Zhao Ming also thought it was nonsense.

The three aunts scoffed, disbelieving.

But,

The truth was right in front of them.

When everyone’s gaze turned to Zhao Qingfeng, he swiftly opened the newspaper on the coffee table, revealing stacks of cash, a total of one hundred and fifty thousand!

It might not sound like a lot,

But in 2001, many people had never seen a hundred thousand in cash stacked together.

The three aunts had never seen it.

The sight of so much money made their eyes pop.

Zhao Ming’s mouth hung open, thinking if he had that one hundred and fifty thousand, he could expand his internet café by at least twice!

“Where did you get this money from!”

Zhao Ming was the first to question.

He couldn’t believe that the historically impoverished mother and son could possess so much money, his heart bleeding, his stomach in knots.

The three aunts also doubted.

“Zhao Qingfeng, you didn’t turn into a thief, did you!”

“You worthless loser, how dare you have so much money!”

“Feng Hongmei, I get it, you’ve been prostituting, haven’t you, you shameless whore, how many men have you slept with!”

Zhao Xiuhua was the most vicious in her accusations.

But before Zhao Qingfeng could respond, Huang Hao’s slap landed squarely.

Chin Gentsai and Bashin followed suit, with Feng Biao joining in, outraged at the insult to their “Auntie Feng.”

Zhao Ming hurried to intervene, but Huang Hao was relentless.

The neighbors struggled to separate the two groups, with Huang Hao, his face twisted in anger, pointing at Zhao Xiuhua and shouting, “Zhao Xiuhua, right! Listen up, if I hear you insult Auntie Feng again, I swear I’ll knock out every single one of your teeth!”

During this time, Huang Hao and the others felt a kinship with Qingfeng’s mother they had never experienced before.

For orphans, what mattered most?

The unattainable in youth haunts the rest of their lives.

Though they never expressed it, they considered her their godmother, not allowing anyone to bully her, not even with a single insult.

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