Chapter 31: A Debt of Four Hundred Million
The courier industry in Hua Country was highly developed, and urgent deliveries within the city could be completed in just an hour or two.
An hour later, the Tong family received the letter.
“Absurd! They want us to transfer four hundred million? Is this a prank or extortion?” A middle-aged man with a beer belly erupted in anger.
The speaker was the son born to Chen Meihua after she was trafficked to the mountains, later brought to Haicheng and given his stepfather’s surname, Tong.
Old Master Tong furrowed his brows, staring at the signature at the bottom: “Bai Chu? That seems to be the name Meihua used to transfer money to every year before she passed.”
Tong Qingyan, just back from the Duan family, looked troubled. The thought of Fourth Master Duan picking up a girl in his car had left her unsettled. She always felt that Fourth Master’s attitude toward Bai Chuwei was somehow unusual. As soon as she entered the house, she overheard her grandfather and father discussing the matter.
Tong Qingyan immediately inquired about the situation.
After learning the reason, Tong Qingyan’s delicate brows knitted together. Her voice was sweet but indignant: “Grandpa, Dad, that’s four hundred million! Why should we give it to her? We worked hard for it!”
“Even if she once saved Grandma, didn’t Grandma give her a reward before she died? This Bai Chu is really greedy—four hundred million is outrageous!”
Tong Qingyan pondered for a moment before continuing, “Grandpa, could it be that Bai Chu knows Aunt Yunrou is about to marry Uncle Duan Xiuqi and join the Duan family, so she’s deliberately trying to extort us?”
News of Tong Yunrou’s imminent marriage to movie star Duan Xiuqi was known throughout Hua Country, so it was very likely Bai Chu was aware of it too.
Tong Qingyan was already in low spirits, and seeing the bill made her even more upset. She raised her hand and tore the paper to shreds. “Our Tong family is wealthy and powerful. I’d like to see how this Bai Chu expects us to ‘bear the consequences.’”
The entire Tong household burst into laughter.
Of course, while not a century-old aristocratic family, the Tongs were among the most prominent in Haicheng. When Yunrou married into the Duan family, she would be part of them—who could threaten the Tongs’ status?
If Bai Chu had any real guts, she could come demand the money in person!
This Bai Chu was simply foolish to send such a bill.
The Tong family dismissed it with scorn, paying it no mind.
Bai Chuwei did not witness the Tong family’s reaction, but she didn’t care. She had patience—and had already promised to give the Tongs a month to raise the money.
She picked up a blank sheet and quickly wrote down a list of traditional medicinal herbs, intending to photograph it and send it to Duan Xingye so the Duan family could prepare the ingredients.
Suddenly, her hand paused, and a cunning smile, like that of a little fox, crept onto her lips.
Snowball beside her exclaimed internally: “!!!”
Whenever the Ancestor wore that smile, it meant nothing good—someone was about to suffer!
Bai Chuwei stuffed the herb list into her desk drawer and opened a chat with Duan Feihan, her slender fingers flying across the virtual keyboard.
[Your Ancestor: Mr. Duan, I’ve written the prescription. Pick me up after school tomorrow, and we’ll buy the medicine together.]
Rumor had it that, under Duan Feihan’s leadership, the Duan family was poised to surpass even the eight great clans.
He must be wealthy—she’d have to get more out of him tomorrow.
[Duan Feihan: Okay.]
That simple “Okay” killed the conversation instantly. Bai Chuwei couldn’t find anything to reply, and was about to let it drop when another message arrived.
[Duan Feihan: Thank you, Miss Bai.]
Bai Chuwei: …
[Your Ancestor: …It’s no trouble.]
The man in his tailored suit sat at his desk, his dark eyes fixed on the painfully awkward chat history. Eventually, he silently reached for a few books from the shelf: “How to Chat,” “The Art of Language,” “Those Who Speak Well Have High Emotional Intelligence.”