Interest

"Uncle Pan, please return it." Chen Ping'an's smile never wavered. Ignoring Old Pan's suggestion, he held firm to his stance. "Ping'an, didn't Uncle Pan just tell you? You brought this up far too suddenly. Your Uncle Pan hasn't had any time to prepare himself mentally. Go on back first, and come back in a day or two. When the time comes, we'll discuss what to do about it," Old Pan said in a coaxing tone. The implication of his words was that bringing up the repayment so abruptly had caught him completely unprepared—as though Chen Ping'an were the one in the wrong. One had to realize that this debt had been outstanding for nearly a year. Any halfway decent household wouldn't have waited for someone to ask, but would have taken the initiative to bring it up themselves. Even if money was genuinely tight, they ought to have explained their situation and discussed a repayment schedule beforehand. That would have been fair to both sides and set a clear date. Old Pan was an old fox who tried to dictate the pace. He was even turning the tables, twisting his own failure to offer repayment into Ping'an bringing it up out of nowhere and inconveniencing him. Any ordinary youth would have felt embarrassed upon hearing this. To think that one's own abruptness had caused the other party such trouble was precisely how one fell into Old Pan's trap. "Uncle Pan, this debt hasn't been around for just a day or two. What mental preparation could you possibly need? Why don't you tell me, so I can understand?" You have your pace, but I have my resolve. Hearing this, the smile vanished entirely from Old Pan's face. "Ping'an, you aren't married, nor do you have any debts to pay. You aren't hurting for this bit of money, so what's the rush to get it back? We're all neighbors around here—is there any need for this? It's not like we won't pay you! Didn't your Uncle Pan just say he needed to think it over? Besides, you're a fine young lad. Obsessing over this bit of money day in and day out—aren't you ashamed to let people hear of it!" Aunt Pan chimed in from the side, her tone dripping with sarcasm. What a brilliant deflection, turning the tables! Truly, they were two of a kind. It would have been one thing if she hadn't brought up debts, but bringing them up now was frankly ridiculous. Back then, Old Chen had preferred borrowing high-interest loans from the Tiger Head Gang over demanding the return of the silver Old Pan's family owed him. And Chen Ping'an had gathered fourteen taels of silver with his own hands to clear the debt to the Tiger Head Gang. Yet now, they were trying to paint him as the one at fault. He obsessed over this bit of money day in and day out? Just who was the one obsessing over this bit of money?! Debts had to be repaid; it was the natural way of the world! Even taking ten thousand steps back, Chen Ping'an demanding his money back did not require their consent in the first place. Even if their family had no money, they would simply have to scrape together the silver to pay him back first. No matter where this was taken, he was in the right. Half a tael of silver, for nearly a year, and he hadn't asked for a single copper of interest. Yet now, according to them, he was the one disregarding neighborly ties and blinded by greed. "Uncle Pan, Aunt Pan, whether I need this money has nothing whatsoever to do with whether you repay it. It's precisely because I care about keeping things respectable between neighbors that I came to your door to discuss this in a quiet, civil voice. If word of this really gets out, I wonder who will be the one feeling ashamed and disgraced!" Chen Ping'an did not lose his temper, nor did he display any agitation. He spoke deliberately and unhurriedly. "You!" Chen Ping'an spoke slowly, but his words choked Aunt Pan up completely. Seeing Chen Ping'an lay everything bare, Old Pan's face instantly hardened as well. "Ping'an, nobody said we wouldn't pay you back. Do you really have to talk like that?!" "If that's the case, then Uncle Pan, please return it." "Go home first. I'll pay you back in a few days!" Old Pan said coldly. Had Old Pan spoken this way from the start, Chen Ping'an might truly have agreed to give them a few days' grace. But now... they were dreaming. "Please return it right now, Uncle Pan!" Chen Ping'an's attitude was resolute, his voice ringing with absolute finality. The members of the Pan family were completely dumbfounded. They had never expected that Chen Ping'an, a youth who had not even come of age, would react like this in a situation like this. "Chen Ping'an, don't you push things too far!" Aunt Pan began slinging accusations, her voice turning shrill and piercing like a madwoman. "We said we'd pay you in a few days—do you really have to press us so hard?! You just don't want our Pan family to survive!" Faced with Aunt Pan's tantrum, Chen Ping'an remained calm and said slowly, "Uncle Pan, neighbors value dignity and decency. If you don't return my money today, then you won't need to worry about dignity anymore." *Bang!* Uncle Pan slammed his palm onto the table and stood up, fuming with rage. "Chen Ping'an, you know full well we're neighbors! No matter what, I am still your elder. Speaking like this, do you have any respect left for your Uncle Pan?!" Truth be told, Old Pan standing up red-faced with fury was quite intimidating. "You little bastard, how dare you speak like that! Even if the Lord of Heaven himself showed up today, there's no money!" Aunt Pan went wild, resorting to the usual shrewish tactics of brawling women. To Chen Ping'an, however, none of this meant a thing. "In that case, we'll see each other at the Suppression Office!" With that, Chen Ping'an lifted his foot and started walking out. Seeing this, Old Pan's momentum came to a screeching halt. The Suppression Office?! He had assumed Chen Ping'an would go to the lizheng at most. How had this escalated to the Suppression Office?! Every street and alley in Nanquan Lane had a lizheng, primarily responsible for mediating civil disputes large and small. If they went before the lizheng, Old Pan's family had plenty of people and could act like ruffians to muddy the waters. At worst, they would simply have to repay the half tael of silver. But going to the Suppression Office... That... Old Pan finally realized something. The youth before him was no ordinary boy. He was a runner serving in the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office! When Ping'an was being polite, he might value neighborly sentiment and call him Uncle Pan. But if he stopped being polite, he had plenty of ways to make their lives miserable. Old Chen was dead, and Chen Ping'an had seemed so easygoing that Old Pan had forgotten the boy drew a government wage. Damn it! "Wait!" Old Pan could no longer sit still and shouted to stop Chen Ping'an. Yet Chen Ping'an kept walking, not paying him the slightest heed. "Ping'an, wait, wait! I'll pay! I'll pay right now!" With that, Old Pan rushed into the inner room. "Old Pan!" Aunt Pan tried to stop him, but Old Pan shoved her aside. The woman was so worked up she hadn't even caught on yet! Hearing his words, Chen Ping'an stopped in his tracks. From the inner room came the sounds of rummaging through chests and cupboards. Before long, Old Pan emerged holding a black cloth bag. "Ping'an, don't be angry. The silver is all in here. Take a look," Old Pan managed a strained smile and said. Chen Ping'an took the bag. Inside were both large cash and small cash. He counted the coins, then slowly raised his head to look at Old Pan. "The money doesn't seem quite right." "Ah! How could it be wrong? I counted it! There are five hundred small cash in that bag, exactly half a tael of silver." Old Pan stepped forward flustered. Chen Ping'an looked quietly at Old Pan. "There are indeed five hundred small cash here. You borrowed half a tael of silver. By the going market interest, after nearly a year, the repayment should be five hundred and fifty small cash. You're still fifty small cash short."