Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Hearing that the first question was for seven hundred yuan, Wang Feng frowned and said in a deep voice:

"Qin Huairu, I don't have any money to lend you. Also, even if you manage to raise a thousand yuan, those people might not let Banggeng go. I advise you to report it to the police as soon as possible. Maybe with the help of the police, you can find Banggeng."

"Wang Feng, how could you not have money? Your combined salary with Jingru is only 178 yuan a month. My mother-in-law also gave you 1,000 yuan in compensation when she stole from your house. I know you have money. I beg you, please lend me 700 yuan. I will pay you back slowly in the future."

Qin Huairu knew very well that in this courtyard, there were no more than three families who could still come up with 700 yuan. The first was Wang Feng, the second was He Yushui, and Xu Damao's family could probably also come up with the money.

Qin Jingru had now heard the whole story and said, "Qin Huairu, use your brain and think about it carefully. Who asks for a thousand yuan right away? What ordinary family can afford that much money? And judging from Bang Geng's clothes, he's just an ordinary kid. Asking for a thousand yuan right away is obviously not normal."

"You might have given the money to those pimps, and they might have just sold the rice stalks to the countryside. I advise you to report it to the police as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu sat down on the ground with a thud and burst into tears.

"Waaah... Waaah, I know, I know all that, but I can't gamble with Bang Geng's life. What if those money-grubbers are trustworthy and release Bang Geng after receiving the money? What if I don't have the money ready and report it to the police? What if they harm Bang Geng? I really can't risk Bang Geng's life!"

"Qin Huairu, I can only offer you advice on this matter. Whether or not to report it to the police is up to you. As for the money, I really don't have any to lend you," Wang Feng said, frowning.

"Waaaaah, Wang Feng, Jingru, please help me! Bang Geng is your nephew, how can you be so heartless as to stand by and watch me die?"

Qin Jingru helped Qin Huairu up and pulled her towards the door. Once outside, Qin Jingru closed the door and analyzed the situation:

"Qin Huairu, in the past two months, more than a dozen children have been abducted by child traffickers in our Nanluoguxiang area. Have you heard of child traffickers demanding ransom from the parents of their children? I advise you to think carefully, lest you end up losing both the money and the children."

Qin Huairu wiped away her tears: "Jingru, I've considered all of this, but what can I do? I can't just do nothing!"

"Waaaaah, Jingru, please, for the sake of how I've played with you since we were little, I beg you, please talk to Wang Feng and ask him to lend me some money. If anything happens to Banggeng, I don't want to live anymore."

Qin Jingru frowned. Why wouldn't Qin Huairu listen to advice?

He took out 1.2 yuan from his pocket, handed it to Qin Huairu, and said, "Brother Wang Feng doesn't have any money, but I have 1.2 yuan here. Do you want it?"

Upon seeing Jingru, Qin Huairu lent her 1.2 yuan. Qin Huairu glared angrily at Qin Jingru and coldly said:

"Jingru, we're sisters after all, I misjudged you."

After saying that, Qin Huairu turned and left. She knew that she couldn't borrow any more money from Wang Feng's house, and there was no point in staying.

Qin Jingru put the money back in her pocket and shouted as she watched Qin Huairu's retreating figure:

"You've misjudged me, but I've misjudged you too! Seven hundred yuan right off the bat? Do you really think I owe you something?"

"And another thing, Qin Huairu, in the countryside, the dowry for marrying a wife is at most five yuan. Including other miscellaneous expenses, it won't exceed 20 yuan. Seven hundred yuan could marry hundreds of wives. With that much money, you could have as many sons as you want!"

Qin Huairu, who hadn't gone far, heard Qin Jingru's words and trembled with anger. However, she didn't stop to argue with Qin Jingru and quickly walked towards the Jia family.

She also considered going to Xu Damao's house, but after thinking about it, she gave up. After all, her mother-in-law had stolen a few old hens from Xu Damao's house before. Moreover, even her cousin-in-law Wang Feng was unwilling to lend her such a large sum of money. Her family and Xu Damao were just neighbors, so how could they possibly lend her the money?

Needless to say, He Yushui was completely scorned. Sha Zhu had previously fawned over her, and Yushui was often starving. She had long since come to hate him.

Qin Jingru only pushed open the door and entered the house after seeing Qin Huairu return to the Jia family.

Lu Banxia then came over from the kitchen and said, "Brother Feng, I overheard your conversation in the kitchen just now. Do you think if Qin Huairu really raised a thousand yuan, those beggars would release the sticks?"

Before Wang Feng could speak, Qin Jingru interrupted, "How could that be? Have you ever seen a beggar keep his word? I reckon Qin Huairu will lose both the money and the beggar's stick."

Wang Feng nodded: "Jingru is right. The kidnappers won't give you money and the person at the same time. They'll make Qin Huairu give them the money first, then tell her to go back and wait. Whether they release the person or not is up to them."

Lu Banxia sighed, somewhat puzzled: "Brother Feng, I feel something's not right about this. Anyone with eyes can see that Banggeng is from an ordinary family. Which ordinary family can come up with a thousand yuan? If they can't afford it, why would they do this to beggars? Isn't that a contradiction?"

Qin Jingru frowned, also puzzled.

"Yes, I heard Liu Lan and the others say in the cafeteria that when child traffickers abduct children, they usually sell them to the countryside. I've never heard of them asking the children's parents for money."

Wang Feng said speechlessly, "Alright, every gang of child predators is different, there are always exceptions. Maybe Qin Huairu is just unlucky and runs into an exception. We're not the police, this is someone else's business, why should we care so much?"

Lu Banxia stuck out her tongue: "I was just curious. Brother Feng, Sister Jingru, it's almost time for work, I'm going to work now."

"Okay, go ahead."

......

The Intermediate People's Court, the Jia family.

When Jia Zhangshi saw Qin Huairu return and remained silent, she immediately burst into a tirade of abuse:

"Qin Huairu, are those two damned little bastards, Wang Feng and Qin Jingru, unwilling to lend money? My Banggeng has been kidnapped by a kidnapper, and those two are still Banggeng's aunt and uncle, are they really just going to stand by and watch him die?"