Chapter 18: Looks Like She’ll Have to Collect Some Debts Soon

Tu Shanju didn’t return to the Xie family’s old residence. When she left earlier, she had been craving hotpot, so she told Grandpa Xie she wouldn’t be coming back for lunch.

Early that morning, Xie Jingzhou had already transferred her the 1,000 yuan reward, and just now she received another 1,000 from Zhang Xuefeng. That brought her WeChat balance to 2,000 yuan.

She knew Nancheng had a high cost of living—but she hadn’t expected it to be this high.

When the waiter brought over the bill, Tu Shanju was stunned.

A single hotpot meal, and her 2,000 yuan wasn’t enough.

She had to dip into her emergency savings and add another 500.

She admitted she ate more than most people, but 2,500 yuan for one hotpot? That was outrageous.

Back in Yun City, even the priciest hotpot she ever had barely hit 900.

Tu Shanju pouted, heart aching.

As the saying goes: Heaven’s secrets must not be revealed—yet knife-barterers like her constantly did just that.

For the Tu family, short lifespans were the norm. Anyone lucky enough to live long usually had flaws in their fate—“Five Weaknesses and Three Lacks.”

So the fact that her grandfather managed to die with a smile was already impressive—in truth, it was because he had died broke.

Naturally, growing up under her grandfather’s wing, she’d also lived a frugal life.

Fortunately, she had inherited all his debt ledgers, including those passed down from their ancestors. After reviewing them, she discovered many outstanding debts—and many debtors now living very well in Nancheng, thanks to predictions from the past.

Nancheng, being a major city, of course had a much higher cost of living than Yun City.

Her grandfather had even mentioned before his death: “Don’t forget to collect some dowry for yourself—don’t go into marriage empty-handed.”

Looks like it was time to go collect on a few debts.

The waiter, Ning Hao, standing beside her, could barely hide the changes in his expression.

At first, he had been amazed by Tu Shanju’s looks and thought about scheming something.

Then he saw her order ten plates of lamb rolls and a table full of other ingredients—all for one person—and he was stunned.

When she winced at the sight of the bill, he became disdainful. His lips even curled into a mocking smirk.

Where did this gluttonous bumpkin come from? he thought. Sure, she’s pretty, but she acts like she’s never seen the world. Doesn’t she know this is the trendiest, most popular hotpot chain in the city?

Good thing he hadn’t made a move yet. There were plenty of pretty girls out there—if one couldn’t even afford to treat him, he wasn’t going to waste his time.

Tu Shanju was deep in thought and didn’t notice the sneer on Ning Hao’s face.

Smack! A loud slam brought her attention back—he had dropped the tablet with the bill hard on the table.

Snapped out of her thoughts, she looked up in confusion.

Standing beside her, the waiter rolled his eyes and sneered, “Miss, your bill is 2,580 yuan. How would you like to pay? We don’t do installment plans, and we’ve got other guests waiting. Please settle the bill promptly.”

The contempt in Ning Hao’s eyes was obvious. Tu Shanju immediately understood.

She calmly picked up her phone. “Half on WeChat, half on Alipay.”

Her emergency funds were in her Alipay balance, and the reward money from Xie Jingzhou and Zhang Xuefeng was in WeChat.

Ning Hao rolled his eyes again. “Tch. Either WeChat or Alipay. We don’t accept split payments.”

Tu Shanju frowned—now she was irritated.

She quickly transferred all her money from WeChat and Alipay to her bank account.

As the transfer processed, she paid the bill and said evenly,
“Standing by the river too long, you’re bound to get your shoes wet. Let me give you some advice: stop racking up negative karma with your words. Otherwise, when you die, it won’t just be the Iron Bed of Hell—you’ll also be sent to the Tongue-Pulling Pit.”

Ning Hao’s expression changed instantly. A flash of anger crossed his face—but he quickly put on a pitiful look and reddened his eyes.

“Miss, you came out to eat and didn’t bring enough money. I simply told you we don’t accept split payments—and now you’re cursing me to death? Just because I work in service doesn’t mean I deserve to be insulted, does it?”

He deliberately raised his voice, and the people around started to look in their direction.

Tu Shanju froze, lips slightly parted. Her eyes sparkled with an inner “Amazing~”

So this was what it meant to twist black into white. She had truly learned something today.

No wonder this guy could fool so many women!

He was clearly the one being rude, yet after his little pity act, it miraculously became her fault.

A line popped into Tu Shanju’s mind out of nowhere:
“This consort simply cannot do it~”

More and more people were now turning to look at the commotion.

Meanwhile, on the second-floor balcony of the hotpot restaurant, two people crossed paths.

The second floor had rows of private rooms, and the hallway offered a full view of the dining area below.

Xie Jingting had just returned from the restroom and was about to rejoin his friends when he heard a loud voice downstairs, sounding like an argument.

He leaned forward to get a better look—but at that moment, a private room door opened, and out walked the last person he wanted to see: his archrival, Chen Younan.

Just yesterday, Xie Jingting had beaten Chen Younan in a bet and won his favorite car. He’d even parked it right at the entrance of the club with a huge banner.

As soon as Chen Younan saw him, his face darkened.

Xie Jingting pushed up his sunglasses and grinned provocatively.
“Well, well. If it isn’t the sore loser. No wonder my sister-in-law said I shouldn’t leave the house today—turns out I was fated to bump into bad luck.”

Chen Younan’s eyes bulged with fury—but then, he caught a key phrase in what Xie Jingting said: sister-in-law?

Sister-in-law?

Could it be that Xie Shiyu’s mountain bumpkin of a fiancée had come to Nancheng?

Everyone in their circle knew that Xie Shiyu—the eldest grandson of the Xie family—had a long-standing engagement arranged in childhood with a knife-barterer from some remote village.

They said knife-barterers were just folks peddling knives from street to street, hyping things up with fortune-telling predictions.

In other words, it was just an old-school sales gimmick.

These so-called “predictions” were nothing more than lucky guesses. If they got it right, they’d charge tens or hundreds of thousands. If they didn’t, well, a knife cost next to nothing to make.

That’s why everyone gossiped behind the scenes: how could Old Master Xie—normally so shrewd—be fooled into shackling his prized grandson to someone like that?

Everyone knew Xie Shiyu was a rare genius in business—gentle and polite in person, yet razor-sharp in the marketplace.

He took over the Xie Corporation at 20, and in just four years, he had increased its valuation from 10 billion to 100 billion, firmly establishing the Xie family as Nancheng’s wealthiest.

Even though the Chen family had deeper roots and greater heritage, they had now fallen behind the Xies and become Nancheng’s Number Two.

Even Chen Younan secretly envied Xie Jingting for having a big brother like Xie Shiyu.

But that was all whispered gossip—no one dared say it publicly.

Now, the realization hit him like a thunderbolt.

That fiancée had really come to Nancheng.

His lips curled into a sinister smile. Xie Jingting clearly wasn’t thrilled about that marriage, either.

This was going to be fun.

Right in front of Xie Jingting, Chen Younan took out his phone and made a call.

“Hello? Pass it along—Xie Jingting’s knife-barterer of a sister-in-law has arrived in Nancheng~”