Chapter 479 - Chapter 479: Chapter 471 Kindness Must Have an Edge_1 (2/2)

Xu Zhenchang was neither kin nor kith to him, so naturally, he wouldn’t offend Wang Haikun, the village tyrant, just to speak up for him.

People are reciprocal.

When Qin Niu was weak and young, Xu Zhenchang didn’t offer much help. So now that Xu Zhenchang had fallen on hard times, Qin Niu wasn’t obliged to help him.

If Xu Zhenchang wanted assistance, he would definitely need to offer something beneficial in exchange.

The dozen or so acres owned by the Xu family were of no interest to Qin Niu.

However, the prospect of employing Xu Zhenchang as a manager for the Qin Residence was something he could consider.

Firstly, Xu Zhenchang had excellent planting techniques, as well as planting and management experience, which made him well-suited to be the manager of the Qin Residence.

Under normal circumstances, if Qin Niu asked Xu Zhenchang to be his manager, Xu Zhenchang would surely be reluctant.

But if Qin Niu offered him the opportunity to be a manager when Xu Zhenchang was in dire straits, he would undoubtedly be grateful and loyally handle affairs for him, which is precisely the outcome Qin Niu desired.

“At Baofeng Silver Bank, the total calculated debt comes to sixteen taels and five maces of silver. If I cannot pay it today, for each day I delay, at least two more maces of interest will accrue. Our family has run out of money, so if possible, please lend me the sixteen taels and five maces of silver, Master Qin. Rest assured, as soon as the price of the land rises, we will immediately sell our property to repay the silver money,”

Li Shuixiang said with a sobbing tone.

Xu Zhenchang only borrowed nine taels of silver, and in less than a year, the interest had shockingly reached seven taels and five maces.

High-interest lending was truly terrifying.

No wonder so many poor people who borrowed money ended up having to sell their sons, daughters, and wives to repay their debts.

Baofeng Silver Bank was still considered one of the more regulated banks, its interest rates were much lower than those places that specialized in high-interest lending.

Some high-interest loans could reach an interest rate of 300%.

Borrow one tael of silver for a full year, and you’d need to repay a total of four taels, including principal and interest.

Xu Zhenchang’s debt of nine taels of silver had now matured. If he couldn’t repay it on time, the bank would calculate interest on the new principal. With principal and interest combined, 16.5 taels, that is the new principal amount.

“Auntie, I really can’t come up with that much silver all at once. However, I do have some connection with Uncle Xu, and I can’t just ignore this matter. Please wait here for a while, and I’ll do my best to gather some silver for you,”

Qin Niu said, then rose and went inside.

Meanwhile, Li Shuixiang was still kneeling on the ground, realizing that despite his youth, Qin Niu was not so easy to handle.

She thought the self-pitying act she had put on would’ve earned the sympathy of most people.

It seemed that Qin Niu was not swayed by her tactics.

Constantly kneeling made her knees extremely painful. The ground in the Qin Residence was not made of mud, but paved with hard floor tiles. She wanted to stand up but worried that if Qin Niu returned and found her standing, he might no longer sympathize with her.

In the end, Li Shuixiang gritted her teeth and continued to kneel on the ground.

She calculated in her mind that the more miserable she appeared, the more generous Qin Niu would be with the loan.

Yet, even after such a long wait, Qin Niu still hadn’t returned.

Seeing Qin Niu come in, Wang Wanyan immediately asked, “Husband, did you settle Li Auntie’s issue so quickly?”

“Not yet! She wants to borrow sixteen taels and five maces of silver, and I told her that our household has many expenses and is quite strapped for cash,”

Qin Niu had no need to hide anything from his wife.

“Sixteen taels and five maces isn’t an especially large sum; our family can afford it. Are you worried that Li Auntie won’t repay the silver after borrowing it?”

Wang Wanyan clearly didn’t understand the various calculations of adults.

She was as pure as a blank sheet of paper.

“That’s not it. Xu Zhenchang and Li Shuixiang aren’t the type to renege on debts. If they had the money, they would surely repay us. But have you thought about this? If we lend them money so readily this time, what if they come to us again with another problem next time, would you lend it to them or not?”

Qin Niu sat down and chatted casually with her.