Debt

"Philosophy…"

Baili Qingfeng listened to the lecture.

This philosophy differed from what he had in mind.

The philosophy he had in mind was about sentences that touched the mind.

For example…

Those who cannot lose weight are always seething, and those who cannot gain weight are fearless.

Nobody really has nothing; they at least have diseases.

The one thing more pitiful than eating alone is not having the money to eat at all.

Every lazy person can find the most justifiable reason for everything unhurriedly.

Every sentence was reasonable and educational.

As for what he was learning right now…

What was it exactly?

He felt that he was drifting further and further away from the path of a philosopher.

After class, Baili Qingfeng couldn't help but consider if he should switch to a different major.

After checking his schedule, Baili Qingfeng realized that there were no more classes that day. He left school and returned home by bus.

After he returned, Baili Qingfeng saw, to his surprise, that Baili Die was at home.

And it was…

Three o'clock in the afternoon?

"You're back, Qingfeng."

"Yes."

Baili Qingfeng nodded. "Is it your vacation?"

"I've quit my job." Baili Die sounded slightly unnatural when she said that.

"You're back, Qingfeng?" Before Baili Qingfeng asked, his father's voice came from outside the yard.

Baili Qingfeng looked at Baili Hong. He discovered that his father seemed much older although it had only been half a month since he came back.

"Are you going to spend the night or go back to school today?" Baili Hong asked.

"I will stay here tonight," Baili Qingfeng said and looked at Baili Hong. "Don't exhaust yourself . Try to take a rest."

"Somebody has to manage the things at the factory." Baili Hong smiled bitterly.

"What's wrong?"

"Dad's factory owes a debt of hundreds of thousands. The proprietor ran, and the bank cut the loans. Now, it's impossible to give the workers their salary. The proprietor sold the factor to dad before he left, so the debt is on dad now," Baili Die complained. "That factory is worth four hundred thousand. How could you not sense something wrong when you bought it for 150 thousand?"

"I worked in the factory for eight years and knew Old Zhou very well. I never thought he would do such a thing." Baili Hong was regretful.

"Do we have 150 thousand in the family?" Baili Qingfeng was stunned.

Could it be…

His family was actually very rich?

"We saved forty thousand over the years, earned sixty thousand by selling your songs, and borrowed fifty thousand," Baili Die said.

"That factory is still promising. If we can pay off the debt and add some investment to make it operate again, we will recover the losses soon enough."

"That factory owes a debt of 430 thousand. Including the wages of the workers it owes, we need over five hundred thousand to get the factory back to track," Baili Die said.

Five hundred thousand was certainly not a small number.

When the average monthly salary of a college graduate was only three hundred dollars, five hundred thousand was their income of a hundred years with any spending.

"We can probably gather eighty thousand by selling the house. Then, the factory will operate again. As for the debt, let's see if we can let the debtors extend the time limit."

Baili Hong paused for a moment. "If there's no choice, I'll borrow some from your mother's brothers."

"My mother's brothers…"

Baili Die stopped talking.

Her uncles…

They could provide five hundred thousand easily, but…

They had always despised their in-laws. How much ever he begged, the best he could borrow was twenty thousand.

It was certainly impossible to borrow five hundred thousand from them.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Baili Qingfeng said.

"Your mission is reading and learning. This is none of your business," Baili Hong said. In the end, he added, "Although it won't hurt if you write more songs."

"I will." Baili Qingfeng said, "I'll check up on second grandpa. I'll return before dinner."

Frowning, Baili Hong meant to stop him, but something seemed to occur to him. He eventually said, "Don't be too late."

Baili Qingfeng nodded and took a bus to Sanshun Town in the suburb.

Baili Qingfeng's senses were much keener now. Before he entered his second grandpa's house, he could already hear his uncle's voice from the yard. "Now, not only has my big brother lost his job, but even Qingfeng's dad is also affected and has a debt of hundreds of thousands thanks to their trick. They are being outrageous. We have to fight back and show them what we've got."

"No. You have just reached the spirit-nurturing phase through the meditation picture. You are no match for them. Besides, they have allies. If you act recklessly, you will only get yourself killed," Baili Changkong's voice followed rather heavily.

"Don't we still have General Melbourne's old subordinates?"

"No, things will be worse if they're out. General Melbourne's reputation hasn't been restored yet. Once those old brothers are exposed, they will threaten them to work for the maintenance team or kill them for rebellion… I'll be killing them in such a case."

"Are you talking about Eddy and Eit?" Somebody said from the outside.

"Qingfeng?" When they saw Baili Qingfeng, both Baili Tianxing and Baili Changkong's expressions changed.

"Seems so," Baili Qingfeng said.

"Qingfeng, you don't need to worry about them. I've found out that Eddy and Eit will spend four months in Shire at most. If they achieve nothing, they will have to leave. Now, there are only two months left. We can deal with it. After they leave, we'll work on your father's debt together," Baili Tianxing said.

Baili Changkong waved his hands. "Qingfeng, read your books and practice your martial arts. This is the adults' business."

"They will have to leave in two months if they achieve nothing… In other words, they will put in more effort to achieve something, right? Now, my father and sister are indebted. What next?" Baili Qingfeng asked.

"There's no need to worry about that. He does not dare cross the line in case we are really infuriated and decide to die with them." Baili Changkong looked at Baili Qingfeng. "All in all, just focus on your martial arts. Otherwise, you won't be capable even if you want to be involved."

"Got it," Baili Qingfeng said and did not continue the topic.

"Alright, let's not talk about those things. Come on, Qingfeng, let's see how much you have improved," Baili Changkong said with a smile.

"I can't show it to you today. I need to go home for dinner. I'm here mainly to ask you what qi-refining, spirit-nurturing, and integration of essences are…"

"Now that you have developed vibe, you should be prepared for the change of blood next. It's indeed necessary for me to give you guidance. You must be careful in blood change, or you may have thrombus…" Baili Changkong asked Baili Qingfeng to sit down and explained patiently.

Soon, it was six.

Many of his questions were answered during these two hours.

When he reached home, Baili Qingfeng went upstairs, turned on the computer, and typed in 'Shire maintenance team'.

Soon, the search results popped up.

Baili Qingfeng read for a while and entered a website where he found the office of the maintenance team.

It was at 101, Santal Street.